Loading ...
You’re no one in 2009 unless you’ve got a smartphone in your arsenal. And the TG01 is Toshiba’s effort to muscle in on ground gobbled up by Apple, Nokia and HTC. Unfortunately, in spite of a spec sheet that makes most other smarties blush with embarrassment, the Toshiba TG01, with its outdated Windows Mobile 6.1 OS, doesn’t cut it against the big boys.
If smartphones were measured on specs alone, the Toshiba TG01 would be as far ahead of the field as Usain Bolt on the running track. It’s the first phone to cram in the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, has a Samsung i8910 HD–bashing 4.1–inch screen, an iPhone–matching 3.2–megapixel camera and workhorse Microsoft office apps.
But smartphones aren’t just about what you can cram in. The Qualcomm Snapdragon might be billed as super speedy, but the TG01 is slower than an incompetent learner driver. The accelerometer is sluggish and opening apps takes an age. The latter is not helped by an ugly, low res rendering of the widget as it expands when you tap it.
Screen issues don’t just end with ugly icons. While the 4.1–inch screen is impressive, offering up to 800×480 resolution, the South Park video we downloaded from Orange’s video store was just 320×240 and looked hideous and pixellated. Add to that the fact it cost 95p for just a one minute clip and you can only deduce that Orange needs to try harder in order to get its video house in order for the TG01.
The video app itself is hamstrung by Windows Mobile 6.1. You don’t tap clips to play them, rather a button hidden in the bottom corner. Toshiba has promised us that the TG01 will get Windows Mobile 6.5 as an over–the–air download later this year. Windows Mobile 6.5 is a vast improvement, but you can’t help but feel Tosh should have stuck Google Android in instead. Right now, Windows Mobile doesn’t appeal to anyone who want easy–to–use smartphones. The HTC Hero already understands that, perhaps the TG01 needs to too.
Unfortunately, the problems don’t end there. The resistive touchscreen is awkward and requires persistent prodding. Typing with the on screen QWERTY threw up countless problems and we struggled to send any messages without having to make wholesale changes to the text. That 4.1–inch size doesn’t help the TG01’s cause either. Unless you’re rocking trousers designed for childlike skaters or nu metal fans, it causes untold discomfort. Measuring a pancake thin 9.9mm deep though, we can see the potential benefits it could offer to business types with jacket pockets.
Toshiba’s TG01 is a case of so near and yet so far. The big screen offers a decent on–the–move video solution as long as you feed it with the right files, but the lack of a capacitive touchscreen and the presence of Windows Mobile 6.1 means it just doesn’t measure up to its high profile rivals.
Well i really have no idea what happened when you used the TG01 but your review certainly doesn’t resemble my experience at all. Admittedly i don’t use the Orange Home screen UI nor the Toshiba Stripes UI but have installed SPM Mobile Shell 3.0 instead. This is easily the fastest and smoothest operating WM device I’ve used in fact it’s faster then either the N97 or i8910HD that I’ve tried and returned both of then due to a lack of performance, Screen orientation form portrait to landscape and back is immediate no lag at all as is opening apps although i didn’t like MIE6 and so have installed Opera Mobile 9.5. The screen response is fast and kinetic scrolling also works perfectly as long as you remember it’s resistive so requires a light touch and then swipe as just swiping lightly obviously doesn’t work. The screen itself besides being nice and big is clear and sharp and the colours are also greatly defined, again i don’t know which one of the 3 Video players you tried but i have set up the pre installed CorePlayer as my default and it does go full screen with just two taps. I am also playing my unconverted MPEG-4 DivX files @624 x 352 @23.976 fps perfectly in full screen with no lag stutter or out of sync problems at all. As for the Keyboard once again i have no idea which one of the choices you were using but i use the Toshiba keyboard with nice large buttons and word suggestion on it is both fast and accurate no problems at all. Personally I’m amazed at the difference the Snapdragon processor and 256Mb of Ram have made as what you describe is how i found my previous attempts at using WM devices but the TG01 is nothing like that at all. I do think SPB Mobile shell really makes a world of difference and even when WM6.5 comes i will be sticking to it over that. Now I’m prepared to back up all that I’ve said and am willing to come to your Offices or meet a reviewer anywhere within a reasonable distance of London to prove all i say is true.
Dogmann
Hey Marc, sounds like you’ve gone to a lot of effort there. But the question is, why should you? Most people will use the TG01 straight from the box – that includes the Toshiba UI and Orange home screen. When they discover they’re slow, very few people will know how to do anything about it. We review products for the people who’ll go to a store and buy them, whereas you clearly have more knowledge than most and are able to tweak them. That’s great for you, but won’t help the majority of potential TG01 owners I’m afraid!
OK James i can understand what you are saying but i really wouldn’t call installing a well publicised product like SPB Mobile Shell and Opera Mobile going to a lot of effort nor making an alreday installed app in CorePlayer the default media player difficult either. It’s not like I’ve been tweaking the registry or installing cooked Roms or installing tons of apps is it? Also i would doubt most people buying a WM smart phone are first time users either although obviously some may be and may just of been tempted by the large screen. But your experiences with the TG01 are so different and far apart from mine i find it difficult to believe we are using the same device.Oh and this is only my 3rd WM smart phone ever the other two didn’t even last a week with me which were the TyTN 2 and Xperia X1 so I’m hardly a WM expert in fact far from it is true. As i said if you want my offer stands to prove all i said is true and i don’t work for or own any Toshiba shares or have any connection with them either so am not working to any hidden agenda.
Dogmann
Sorry Marc, I can’t agree there. It’s like saying a Nissan Micra is a great car… if you install a supercharger and a body kit. That’s not true, it’s the add-ons that are doing the work, not the base product. Maybe it’s a question for Toshiba – why isn’t that stuff installed as default if it makes such an improvement?
Fact is, few people want to expend time and effort on a product that should just work out of the box, and expecting people to know the intimacies of Windows Mobile before they buy it doesn’t cut it either I’m afraid.
Just to point out, all our reviews also have a reader rating feature below our own score. Feel free to vote it up if you think we’ve marked harshly. Cheers!
Marc:
I’m an Information Technology Manager and I agree with James. You’re missing the point of the article. It’s to review the phone as is. Not modified and customized. That’s great you were able to customize yours but the average user is going to want the phone to just work out of the box.
The only thing I can agree with you on Marc is the X1 comment. The Xperia X1 was such a POS I returned mine after 24 hours. The reviews shocked me seeing as how the phone I saw looked like a slimmed down version of an old PPC-6700. Nothing ground breaking about it.
Anyway…the screwed up big time by putting Windows Mobile and a resistive touch screen on this phone. Windows Mobile is only hurting phone manufacturers right now. People want the iPhone, Palm Pre/WebOS feel. Times have changed. Windows Mobile hasn’t. They should have went the Android route.
I’m looking forward to the Sony Xperia “Rachael” which should be snapdragon, 8.1MP camera, capacitive touch, and running Android. The only issue I see there is Sony not subsidizing it in the US which means another epic FAIL for Sony.
It’s sad that these phone manufacturers aren’t listening and following trends to see what consumers really want. It seems for every one thing we gain, we lose two things. Toshiba puts a 1GHz capable processor in a 4.2 in screen WOO HOO!! Then they turn around and slap Windows Mobile and a resistive touch screen on it. BOOOOO. Not to mention those stripes are down right hideous.
I’m looking for that perfect phone. I gave up my iPhone for a Palm Pre because I was tired of EVERYONE having an iPhone, AT&T and Apple’s strict control/monopoly, special pricing structure, lack of insurance, etc etc. I like my Palm Pre but now the issue is apps and improving the speed.
Someone make the EVERYTHING PHONE!!!
While I understand the article was meant to review the TG01, I don’t think the criticism is really aimed at the hardware at all. It is the software that is under attack. If this is the case, then suggesting SPB is perfectly reasonable. People buy WinMo for several reasons; they have been using MS products for years and feel comfortable with Windows, or they want to be able to have complete control of their OS rather than being locked down, or they are enamored with the specs of the harware, etc. I purchased my first WinMo handset for the specs. I quickly learned the UI was quite familiar in the sense I know Windows quite well, and I LOVED that I could modify it to my hearts content. I actually had a real PC in my pocket. When I purchased SPB, I found the user experience was greatly improved.
So, in my opinion, if you are reviewing a WinMo handset, you should review the specs first and only touch on the custom software if superior to SPB, TouchFlo3D, TouchWiz, etc. If the software falls short of these, don’t wast your time reviewing the crap software, simply make the statement SPB is recommended. You should not judge based on the out-of-box experience with WinMo. This is contrary to the beauty of the phone. Would the 3GS be cool at all without the apps?
@divertito
Cheers for your comments. I’m afraid I can’t agree though. It’s impossible to review the hardware and software separately. One compliments the other. It’d be remiss to talk up the hardware when in this case it is crippled by the software.
This phone is very much being marketed towards people who want a smartphone for the first time. All phones should work well straight out of the box and our review is aimed right at those who want to know what it’s like the minute they take it out of the box and turn it on. The fact is you shouldn’t need to mod a phone to get it work well and Toshiba should have known this when they bundled 6.1 with the TG01. Readers need to know how it works and sadly in the case of the TG01, it doesn’t work well.
Cheers
Joe
Quote from Joe “All phones should work well straight out of the box”.
What about the iphone? If you judge it without app store it has no features. Apple market it soley on the appstore. Although it can now copy and paste, something WinMo2002 could do!!! Yet you feel the toshiba can’t measure up to that?
Hi Lee
Thanks for your comments. I have to say though, that the iPhone existed well before the App Store. And like its iPod cousins, it does work out of the box. You turn it on and it’s instantly intuitive, hence it’s such a big seller and so popular.
I agree that Apple made some major omissions which left the device hamstrung. But I’d argue that being easy to use is more important than having a stellar spec sheet. Sure, the TG01 has some great stuff on board. But it can’t come close to Apple’s ease–of–use. It’s what a gadget should be – accessible to everyone. The TG01 is trying to be but is held back by software designed for real tech fans. And that’s a poor show in my opinion.
Cheers
Joe
[...] for apps galore, and Microsoft My Phone for cloud back up (which works on 6.1 too). Whether they’re enough to tear you away from your BlackBerry or iPhone – well that’s a different [...]
Look at your reviews and talking about the phone. I think this is a great phone but has one big problem the BATTERY
. I have used this for 2 weeks now. I have sent it back after talking to Orange as the Battery will only last for a few hours. This phone does a quick charge but discharges just as fast. My replacment phone is just as bad. This is a big flaw in the spec sheet and very missleading. This timings will last as the spec sheet mentions maybe if you don’t turn on the phone.
Software. MMMmmm if I bought a phone and then added £20 – £50 for the software I may not buy it at all. The software is poor if you don’t use a 3rd party software as mentioned above.
Jefferson
[...] resolution, HSDPA, a 1GHz Arm processor and a thin, 10mm shell. Think slightly bigger than the Toshiba TG01, and Android instead of Windows [...]
[...] Read our Toshiba TG01 review now There are few other details beyond this on the Toshiba K02, other than it runs Windows Mobile 6.5, and one of the panels is resistive. It looks like the Toshiba K02 will be a bit less responsive than the HTC HD2 if that’s the case, but at least it means the inevitable stylus, just like Ninty’s handheld gaming gizmo. [...]
[...] here, and stay tuned for a full HTC HD2 review. Trust us when we say it’s everything the Toshiba TG01 should have been, and [...]
[...] TG01 With its 4.1-inch screen and Snapdragon processor, the Toshiba TG01 was billed as the ultimate next-gen smartphone. Yet when it arrived, it was hamstrung by Windows [...]
[...] For those in need of a gadget news reboost, smart-books are next–generation instant–on machines, roughly the size of the Sony Vaio P. They will offer super–fast web access and speedy processing, thanks to the likes of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, already sitting snugly under the hood of the Toshiba TG01. [...]