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In the PDA world,
there are a couple names we hear a lot. One that we are hearing more and
more is E-Ten. E-Ten has created a variety of Pocket PC Phone Edition
devices, but because they are not picked up by carriers, many aren’t
aware of the available devices. The E-Ten glofiish M700 is one such
device. The device is powerful, includes a variety of standard hardware
features, and even boasts GPS. Thanks to our friends at
"MobilePlanet", I have had a
chance to check out the E-Ten M700 and put it through its paces.
Basic Internals
Inside the glofiish
M700 is a Samsung 400 MHz processor with 128 MB of ROM and 64 MB of RAM.
Wirelessly, the device includes WiFi 802.11g, Bluetooth 2.0, and
quad-band GSM/GPRS. There is also an embedded SiRF Star III based GPS
with SiRF Instant Fix. There is a microSD card slot for added
expandability, 2.0 mega pixel camera, and 1530 mAh battery. The screen
is 2.8" showing a standard 240 x 320 pixels with 16-bit color. The M700
runs Windows Mobile 5.0 (AKU 3.2)
Device Style
The glofiish M700 is a relatively standard slide open
Windows Mobile device. The front face of the device has quite a bit
going on. On the upper left and right of the front are two LED
notification lights with buttons below them (one for GPS functionality
and one for home navigation). Between the lights and buttons is a slit
opening for the phones ear piece speaker. Below the touch screen are two
soft key buttons and send/end buttons. There is a square directional pad
with an action button in the middle. (Interestingly, the action button
feels like an “eraser style” mouse, but it is not.) The left side of the
M700 has three buttons, two of them for volume control and the other for
voice recoding. Also on the left side is the audio jack. On the right
side of the device is the power button, camera button, and soft reset
button. There are no features on the top of the device but at the bottom
is the microSD card slot, microphone, and USB port. The back of the M700
has the camera with flash/light, speaker, and access to the battery. The
M700 has a relatively boxy appearance, though possibly that is part of
the devices charm.
General Feel
One of the first things I noticed about the M700 is
that, while it is relatively thin (with respect to other Windows Mobile
devices), it is slightly taller than a device like the T-Mobile MDA by
approximately half and inch. It is likely this added height is due to
the included GPS unit in the device. I think most people would rather
have a little taller than thicker. The device splits at about the 2/3
mark, with the thinner portion being on top. It is well weighted so that
it is very easy to hold. The snaps that hold the device closed and open
are very strong, which is good because on thing you kind of worry about
with a slide open device is that after long term use the slide won’t
hold.
Keyboard
Every slide open keyboard has its own style. The M700’s
is no different. While it doesn’t stretch the complete length of the
device, each button is an equally sized square (except for the space
bar) with really close spacing to a QWERTY keyboard you have come to
expect from a desktop keyboard. (Because the buttons are in a grid, the
layout isn’t identical to desktop/laptop keyboard). The buttons are
sized just about perfectly. They are of similar to style of some other
devices where they are more like keys than buttons. They have a
fantastic feel to them with good feedback. What I love about the
keyboard is the lighting. Not only does it look cool, but it is
functional. The additional lines of light through the keyboard helps
with key differentiation. There are two schools of though for placement
of the numeric keys. The M700 went with a numeric pad layout instead of
stretching them across the top. I tend to believe the latter is a better
option because it is more like a keyboard. I really never dial from the
keyboard unless I am typing a contact name, otherwise I use the onscreen
numeric pad. An interesting choice was made on the M700 which is a
departure from the norm of slide out keyboards on Windows Mobile
devices. Instead of placing the soft key buttons at the top of the
keyboard, they are placed on the left and right of the keyboard. I think
this is fantastic ideas since top to bottom real-estate is more
important to make keyboard buttons taller. Sadly, it is not implemented
as well as it could be. The soft key buttons are only as tall as a
single keyboard key and a little less then half the width. This makes
them difficult to press. If the buttons need to be at least double or
even triple the size to be really useful. So while the placement is
great for usability, I found I was using the onscreen soft keys much
more often.
As a Phone
Of course one very important function of a Pocket PC
Phone Edition device is the ability to easily make calls. As I often
note, most of this functionality is specific to Windows Mobile software,
but some of the functionality is related directly to the hardware.
Sadly, the performance of the phone was not great. The earpiece had a
bad echo of my own voice. It sounded like my voice was being looped back
to the ear piece, which made it hard to use and make calls.
GPS Functionality
One of the features I liked particularly well about the
M700 was the embedded GPS. With the fast processor, it is easy for the
M700 to process your current location. Some basic applications are
included, but additional software is needed to really use the GPS. After
the initial positioning, repositioning was fast and met my needs for
use. If you think you want GPS functionality, it is great to have it
built into the device.
Final Thoughts
It is great to see additional players make continued
investments in the Windows Mobile device world. E-Ten is defiantly
refining their devices style and functionality across multiple products
lines, which is great for users that want a device that really fits
their needs. The glofiish M700 isn’t one of my personal top picks, but
it is a strong device. While I was not impressed with its general phone
functionality and size, I was thrilled with the embedded GPS, fast
processor, and great keyboard. I used the M700 for over a month (thanks
again to "MobilePlanet" for the extended
review time). In some ways it has been hard to transition back to my
“standard device” with a slower processor and no GPS functionality.
Those are two features the M700 has that I will defiantly be looking for
in a new device. If you are interested in the M700, visit
MobilePlanet.com. |
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