First 60 minutes with TechFaithWireless smartphone

March 25, 2006 | Pavel Koza | format - Other (ar.) | viewed - 51x
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First 60 minutes with TechFaithWireless smartphone

CLASS="warning">Note :: This article is not a proper revive nor is it a classic "First 60 minutes with..." article. The device is a pre-production unit whose hardware and software are yet to be fine-tuned. That is why there is no point in criticising or praising it. What I am offering is my first impressions. I just thought you might be interested in such a nice gadget:)

I had not heard about TechFaithWireless until last week. After I had a chance to play with one of its products, I did not hesitate to look it up on the web to find out more about it. Its portfolio includes four Windows Mobile 5 devices: two Pocket PCs and two Smartphones. The manufacturer is not very systematic in assigning its products codenames, so let's keep things simple and deal with the Device that I had an EXCLUSIVE opportunity to try. Czech the photos to see which one it is:)

My first impression from encounter with the Device is just great. Fortunately, past are the times when a smart phone with Windows Mobile equalled a bulky unattractive paddle that was "smart" as your nerdy classmate rather than an ingenious female scientist from James Bond movies. Let me mention the Qtek 8310 for all "smart" smartphones of the past few months. However, the Device's design is a cut above the rest. A bright silvery polish perfectly masks the fact that the body is made of plastic completely. The false sense of metallic shell is supported by the feel. Despite its small size (108 x 46 x 16 mm) and light weight (96 grams), you will believe you are holding an expensive piece of hardware packed with sophisticated electronics, not a children's plastic toy.

The Device's keypad with blue backlight looks very unusual. Well, apart from the fact that Motorola has been using this type of keypad in its Razr cell phones for quite a time. But it is surely a coincidence;) I prefer classic buttons but I got used to these after a short while. The keypad includes two call make and break buttons as well as two system-related buttons. Furthermore, there is a miniature joystick, a special button that takes you to the main screen and a Back button on the front panel. In addition, there are two volume control buttons on the left-hand side and camera shutter release button on the right-hand side.

The device's miniature requires compromising in some areas. One of them is the display, which is tiny with a diameter of 1.9 inch (49 mm) and resolution of 176x220 pixels. The resolution is common to most smartphones currently on the market yet Windows Mobile 5 devices are expected to bring about a shift towards 240x320 pixels. The quality, however, is uncompromised. The TFT display features snow-white, sufficiently intensive backlight and clear and faithful colour reproduction. The good quality is partly due to the absence of a touch-sensitive layer, as is the standard in smartphones.

Before discussing the parameters I should stress once again that the Device was a prototype whose main purpose was to show how it looks rather than what it does. TechFaithWireless offers substantial modifications upon request, so what I saw may be quite different from what eventually hits the market. That is why we won't spend much time on the parameters.

The Device is powered by a TI OMAP730 processor running at 200 MHz. It would spark a storm of emotions had it been implemented in a Pocket PC but it is quite commonly used in smartphones, delivering sufficient performance while being power-efficient. The basic configuration includes 64 MB of FlashROM and 64 MB of RAM; the user can access a much smaller amount after restart (the FlashROM contains the operating system and the RAM is reduced by a host of necessary utilities that load automatically). If you find it insufficient, you can extend storage room using a memory card. The Device can be fitted optionally with a miniSD or microCD slot, as the customer requires (not you but a mobile operator or wholesale distributor). My device had probably a microSD slot as I did not manage to insert a miniSD card, but I am not quite sure...

The telephone module is a tri-band (900/1800/1900Mhz) and supports GSM and GPRS (there is no mention of EDGE). Besides, the Device can communicate over USB, infrared and Bluetooth. Upon request, it can be fitted with a WiFi module for pro incomparably faster data transmission.

To make the overview complete, I should mention the 1050-mAh battery and an integrated 1.3-MPix digital camera, which can capture still photos as well as video. I originally wanted to attach a few snaps but the camera behaved strangely: all pictures were too bright and the Device stopped working after taking two or three and needed to reboot. Typical alpha version:)

[POLL]

And that's it for our brief introduction. No doubt, the Device is made attractive by its elegant design, small form factor and good display. It is a real pleasure to hold something like that. On the other hand, the parameters rank it among the average; the Device offers no unique or extraordinarily advanced features. Its success will depend on the final configuration and the price tag, but that remains to be seen. According to unofficial information, the manufacturer is interested in marketing the device in Central and Eastern Europe, too. Anyhow, introduction of cheaper yet elegant devices alongside the current offer of expensive high-end gadgets is going to benefit us, the customers. What do you think?