Windows Phone Thoughts: Total Convergence: The E-TEN M600 Reviewed

Size Comparison
The M600 measures in at 111.7mm x 60.7mm x 22mm. Pictures don't really do justice to the size of the device. You'll have to see it in the flesh to appreciate just how small it is. In fact, this is one of the few Pocket PC Phone Edition devices I feel comfortable holding next to my ear. Even an i-mate PDA2K (HTC Blue Angel) is too large for my liking, let alone an i-mate JASJAR (HTC Universal).


Figure 4: Comparison shot (angle) - from left, the Dell Axim X50v, HP iPAQ h1940, E-TEN M600, and the Nokia 6610i.


Figure 5: Comparison shot (side) - from top, the Nokia 6610i, E-TEN M600, HP iPAQ h1940, and the Dell Axim X50v.

Meet the M600!
This is where I take you on a tour of the device. At first glance, you'll notice the M600 lacks any sort of antenna bulge. I hate any sort of protruding parts with a passion - so the M600 gets a donut point from me.


Figure 6: A view of the M600's face.

Apart from the top where the SD card inserts into, the M600's body has a matte finish. It's actually something I prefer since it makes the PDA less slippery to hold, and on a steaming hot day, you'll quickly realise how valuable this is. Hairline scratches also tend to be less visible on a matte body. From the front, there are two multi-colour LED indicators. There is one situated in the top-left corner - it flashes blue when Bluetooth is active and orange when Wi-Fi is active. The other indicator is situated in the top-right corner - it is constantly red whilst charging, turns off when the battery is fully charged, and flashes red when the battery is low on juice. Alternatively, it flashes green when the GSM component of the phone is active (even when the device is in standby mode), and flashes orange if the device requires your attention (for example, a reminder or even an error message). Above the E-TEN logo is the earpiece (which is adequately loud, unlike some devices I have tried before), and below the 2.8" screen are some of the hardware buttons. Starting from the bottom, the M600 has the standard call buttons, and just above that are the Contacts and Home buttons (or M-Desk, which I'll discuss later). Toward the centre is the D-pad. It's firm to press and has a similar design to that of the HP iPAQ h1940. Due to the button arrangement, it's probably not ideal for gaming, but being a phone, I don't see this as being a priority. One caveat to all this - with the M600 running Windows Mobile 5.0, you'd expect soft key buttons, wouldn't you? Guess what? There are none. Much like Dell's upgrade from the X50 series to the X51 series, E-TEN has done the same in moving from the M500 to M600. There are no noticeable structural changes to the button arrangement, so you'll have to tap on the screen with your thumb or the stylus in order to use the soft keys. It's a shame though since there is quite a bit of empty space between the top row of buttons and the screen.


Figure 7: From the left side, the M600 offers several more buttons.

Turning the device 90°, you'll notice a further set of buttons on the left side. Toward the top end of the device, there's the Camera button (which has a dual-purpose: loading the Camera application and taking pictures); just below it is the volume slider, multi-purpose button (commonly assigned to the bundled Voice Commander application), and the indented, stylus-dependent soft-reset button. Unfortunately, only the Contacts, Home, Camera and multi-purpose buttons are assignable. It would have been nice to have the volume slider assignable as a jog dial. Unlike some Pocket PCs, none of the M600's buttons are backlit, effectively making night use a tad difficult if you place a great reliance on the hardware buttons. If you're more of a screen-only user, like me, then this shortcoming won't be an issue for you.

Also of note is a 2.5mm headphone jack (which supports audio in and out) - it's protected by a rubber cap that is attached to the device.


Figure 8: Views of the M600 from the top (above) and the bottom (below). Note the SDIO slot, power button, sync connector, microphone, and stylus.

Looking at the device from the top, you'll notice the power button and the SD/MMC slot (supporting SDIO accessories). This is where I think the M600 goes one up on some of the newer Pocket PC Phone Edition devices out there, which all use miniSD. SD has a couple of benefits over miniSD: (1) higher capacity, and (2) lower cost. Heck, I could even throw in a third benefit and mention that the vast majority of you probably already have SD cards and would hate to fork out the extra cash just to accessorise a mini-SD-equipped Pocket PC. From the moment I acquired the M600, I had already saved around $70 by avoiding that 1GB miniSD purchase.

One other point worth mentioning is that the SD slot is embedded well within the device. It may be a little hard to remove the SD card if you're not the sort of person with long fingernails, but there's an upside to this seemingly-annoying design. It's not as easy to 'accidentally' eject the SD card, and I'm sure it helps prevent your SD card from flying across the room if you were to drop the device. For obvious reasons, I'm not game enough to drop my M600, so I'll happily keep that point as an assumption.

The bottom of the device contains E-TEN's own synchronisation connector, microphone and stylus. It's a bit awkward having the stylus at the bottom rather than the top. First off, it takes a while to get used to. For the first few days, I found myself reaching for the top of the device without thought, until those gears in my head started to kick in for me to remember that the stylus was now situated at the bottom. Then there's also the worry that the stylus might slip out. Gravity clearly isn't your friend in cases like this, but I think E-TEN took this into consideration by making sure that the stylus would be locked in the device securely. It's always reassuring feeling that solid 'click' as you insert the stylus back into the device.


Figure 9: The M600 stylus in its compact form (above) and in its fully extended form (below).

While on the topic of the stylus, let's talk about its design. Although it employs a telescopic design, it automatically compacts down as you insert the stylus into the device, and extends out as you remove it. Overall, the stylus is built very well - it's of the right length, weight and thickness, and I certainly had no issues using it to write on the screen.


Figure 10: The rear of the M600. Note the 1.3-megapixel camera (with flash) and the speaker adjacent to it.


Figure 11: The rear of the M600 with the battery cover removed.

Looking at the rear of the M600, you'll notice the 1.3-megapixel camera, preview mirror and flash situated in the top-right corner. For a camera-phone, the flash is relatively bright, but probably not bright enough to make a half-decent night shot. However, I'll talk about the camera quality a little later. Situated just below the camera is the speaker. This is different to the one used for phone conversations (unless you enable the speakerphone option). While it makes sense to have this main speaker and the earpiece speaker as two separate components (primarily so you don't blow your eardrum if a loud alarm were to go off), I had issues with the loudness of audio if the device was resting against the palm of my hand or a table. Obviously, when you have something obstructing the speaker, it isn't going to be as loud as it would be when unobstructed. Having said that, it's not a huge dilemma. Even with the speaker obstructed, the sound emanating from it is still very audible.

With the battery cover removed, you'll notice the SIM card slot and the battery holder (which includes a lock switch). The M600 also includes a backup battery, though evidently not visible.