Windows Phone Thoughts: E-TEN Goes QWERTY: Glofiish M700 Reviewed

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Thursday, March 22, 2007

E-TEN Goes QWERTY: Glofiish M700 Reviewed

Posted by Darius Wey in "HARDWARE" @ 08:30 AM


Design: What's Hot? What's Not?
Out with the plastic/metal front and the rubbery rear and in with an all-plastic shell. Yes, the M700's design is quite a departure from that of the X500, and admittedly, that's something that may not appeal to those who take pride in the appearance of their device. However, while it certainly feels "cheaper" in the hand, it's still structurally solid and overall usability is in no way impacted.


Figure 2: The M700 from the front - (1) call speaker and adjacent GPS and Today/M-Desk buttons, (2) power button and soft reset button, (3) camera button, and (4) microSD slot and Mini-USB port.

If you're a fan of black, you'll find none of that here. Silver dominates the front and rear, while a grey strip lines the side. A quick gaze at the front of the device and you'll instantly notice that the M700 appears vastly different to the X500. While only marginally longer than the X500 (size comparisons will be discussed in detail later in the review), the M700 comes across as a very "tall" device, due to the seemingly empty spaces that sit above and below the display. Toward the top, we see the call speaker, and the GPS and Today/M-Desk buttons sitting on either side. Unfortunately, these buttons aren't backlit. Adjacent to the buttons are the wireless and battery indicator lights, and like the X500, Wi-Fi uses orange, while confusingly, both Bluetooth and GPS use blue. The battery, on the other hand, uses a more familiar orange while charging, and green when full charged.


Figure 3: The M700 from the front - (1) call speaker and adjacent GPS and Today/M-Desk buttons, (2) microSD slot and Mini-USB port, (3) 2.5mm headphone socket, and (4) volume controls and voice command button.

Toward the bottom of the M700 is a confusing array of buttons that can be a little hard on the thumb at times. Beneath the Glofiish logo, we see two buttons assigned to Windows Mobile 5.0's soft keys, and below them are the call buttons, which are shaped like inverted shoes, and they're not exactly the easiest buttons to press. Aim your thumb a little too high and you'll hit the soft keys. Too far to the left and you'll find yourself messing around with the D-pad. On that note, the D-pad tells a different story. Thanks to its concave nature, the tip of your thumb sits nicely on it, making navigation a breeze. The action button sits in the centre and offers ample tactile feedback. Sadly, while the call buttons and D-pad are backlit, the soft keys are not. Considering E-TEN had a good thing going with the X500's backlit buttons, the M700's buttons simply feel like an unfinished job.

Still on the topic of buttons, the M700 follows the X500 in that it doesn't sport any on the front that are dedicated to the OK and Start functions of Windows Mobile, so true one-handed operation is absent. Although, E-TEN's recent unveiling of the upcoming Glofiish X800 suggests that this shortcoming will no longer plague future devices.


Figure 4: The M700 sports a bright 2.8" QVGA display.

Like the M600 and X500, the M700 possesses an extremely bright 2.8" QVGA (240 x 320) display. However, unlike the other two, the M700 has a bit of trouble making white appear as it should be; instead, there's a very slight yellow tinge, although certainly not to the same extent as the HP iPAQ h1940. In fact, it's unnoticeable to the untrained eye. On a different note, the display size specification of 2.8" is actually 2.8" (the X500's is a little less), so you can use third-party screen protectors if the one in the box doesn't tickle your fancy.

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