E-TEN Tries to Raise the Bar (4/4)
E-TEN Glofiish V900 with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
BENCHMARKS
Spb Benchmark from has been used for the
following benchmark comparisons with the E-TEN Glofiish V900.
These benchmarks are a good representation of performance: the V900 is a very fast Windows Mobile device, thanks to its speedy 533MHz Samsung CPU.
BATTERY
You'd think that 1530mAh was enough to get through the whole day, but it really isn't. With moderate use of HSDPA for internet browsing, plus some use of GPS, and a few calls, at the end of the day, I was about 15% battery remaining. Another phone call, and I may have drained the battery around dinner time. Perhaps by turning down the screen brightness you could squeeze a few more hours out of the V900 (though I had it set to auto-brightness), but as far as I'm concerned, the V900 has inadequate battery life. This may be remedied in a new ROM.
HELP SUPPORT
The guide that comes with the V900 isn't terribly comprehensive. The company is responsive to email.
BUGS AND WISHES
Lots to talk about here. Let's start with the bugs. I've been in communication with the company regarding these bugs - and they don't seem to have many answers. My guess is that I received one of the earliest units, meaning that future shipping models will have a newer ROM. That said, I can't be sure of that, so I have to comment on the current ROM.
The device, at times, was very buggy. For example, sometimes it wouldn't come out of standby, requiring you to take out the battery. Other times, the device would become unresponsive during use, thus requiring a soft reset (which make me glad the hole is placed within easy reach!).
Regarding build quality, the Glofiish V900 doesn't hit the mark. If I shake the device, I hear a slight rattle. The D-Pad feels like a hollow piece of plastic. All of the buttons on the device rock slightly back and forth and are made of plastic. Speaking of plastic, there is no metal to be found on the device, and so it feels cheap. E-TEN needs to take a lesson from HTC and Samsung and step up the quality a bit.
Speaking of that D-Pad, never have I used such a cumbersome selection tool! Not having a good D-Pad makes one-handed usage difficult. The D-Pad on the V900 doesn't present the user with any sort of feedback that they've moved in a certain direction - not so much as a click or a feeling of falling into a "notch" is present.
The G-Sensor is a great addition, especially since it works in any screen in the operating system, and it rotates the orientation very, very fast. Too bad it doesn't work right all the time. What would happen is that I'd rotate the device to landscape, and suddenly, it'd be stuck on this setting. I'd literally have to go into Start>Settings>Screen, change the default orientation to portrait, and then turn off the G-Sensor and turn it back on.
A device that has no hardware keyboard ought to have good onscreen keyboard options. The Glofiish has just one - called Easy Keyboard, which is a horrible name for a keyboard that doesn't even have a standard QWERTY layout in portrait. While on ease of use, the Glofiish is widely lacking in touch enhancements except for the use of Spb Mobile Shell, which we like. There is no flick scrolling, large menu buttons, or as implied above, usable on screen keyboard options. Perhaps E-TEN wasn't aiming for the V900 to be a device that could be operated with a finger - but the lack of hardware soft keys doesn't align well with that theory.
The web browser that the Glofiish includes is Pocket Internet Explorer. Admittedly, PIE in Windows Mobile 6.1 is better than it is in the previous version because it allows you to zoom, but it's still generally unusable for more complex pages. Newer WinMo devices are coming with Opera. Why shouldn't the V900? Another corner cut.
And the price. Wow, E-TEN, if you're going to cut corners and make this sort of "budget power device" (new term!), price it lower than $700. Of course, the price will come down after a short period of time.
PURCHASING
As of the writing of this review, pre orders for the V900 are being taken. Right now you can get it unlocked for about $700 over at Clove Technology.
PROS
- Very responsive (most of the time)
Crisp VGA screen with fast automatic screen rotation
- Quadband GSM/Triband UMTS
Hot-swappable microSD expansion
Includes Spb Mobile Shell
Video-out (with cable included)
- TV tuner for over the air broadcasts in Europe and parts of Asia
- Excellent FM radio
Includes case and extra stylus
aGPS/WiFi/FM Radio/HSDPA
CONS
Poor build quality
Buggy
Inadequate battery life
D-Pad is difficult to use
Unattractive and bulky
Screen rotation feature doesn't always work
Horrible on-screen keyboard options
Very few touch-friendly enhancements (flick scrolling, large menus, etc)
No good web browser included
No screen protector included
Pricey
| Value |  |
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OVERALL IMPRESSION
E-TEN has come very far since the days of the X500 and X800. This is by far their best device. But in a world where one device doesn't exist without being compared to others, the V900 isn't a winner. It's a shame that the V900 isn't a winner, because it has a lot of great things going for it: it's fast, does TV out, has an accelerometer and very quick automatic screen rotation, can do over the air TV, and has fantastic FM radio reception. It's the coming together of all of these elements that just doesn't work, plus all of the little bugs listed above. The device looks and feels cheap, unrefined, and not worth $700. If E-TEN is going to survive in a world with HTC Touch Diamonds and Samsung Omnias, they need to go back to the drawing board and stop producing partially baked devices.
