There's no such thing as a full refrigerator. No matter how stuffed it seems, just a few clever rearrangements will vacate a spot big enough for a curry pot. That seems to be the principle behind some of E-Ten's devices as they have more than once squeezed in extra features in its handhelds without changing the form factor much. This happened in the M600's transition to the M600 Reloaded, and now again in the Windows Mobile 6 X500+, which is a newer version of the X500 GPS PDA-phone. The new X500+ retails for S$1,120, which is roughly the same as the X500's S$1,188 debut price last December. This review focuses on the changes made to the model since the X500.
Design of the E-Ten glofiish X500+ Handheld
The X500+ comes in black. The material used all around has a rubbery soft-touch feel, while the area around the display has a metallic finish. This, we feel, is more attractive than the X500's silver front and black shades.
Aside from the color and material finish, nothing much has changed. The microSD card and USB connector are still at the bottom, along with the stylus. Shortcuts are found along all edges except the top. Even on its front, there are two shortcut buttons above the screen, which by default brings you to the GPS application and Home, respectively.
Features of the E-Ten glofiish X500+ Handheld
The most prominent feature upgrade in the X500+ is surely its display. In the same area that housed the 2.8-inch QVGA screen on the X500, E-Ten has managed to put a full VGA panel here. PDAs with 640 x 480 pixels usually have much larger screens, like the O2 Flame and Dopod U1000. The result of having it on a 2.8-inch diagonal canvas means the display is very sharp. This is felt most evidently in the Internet browser, as more of a Web page can be shown at once. It does result in very much smaller text though, so those with failing eyes will have to actively increase the font size from the default.
Another added feature on this PDA-phone is the macro focus camera. An important use of this is with the bundled name card recognition software. This is a common application among PDA-phones these days, and uses text recognition to process the full contents of a name card after a photo of it has been taken. This is then quickly ported over to the contacts. Though not perfect, the results from it are good enough to help save a lot of time for those who need to update their contacts regularly.
The X500+ comes with a comprehensive software bundle, including quite a few for use with the GPS. These additional applications can be managed using the Application Recovery program which lists them so the user can choose which ones are to be installed.
Performance of the E-Ten glofiish X500+ Handheld
Like the X500, the X500+ uses a Samsung 400MHz processor. Even though that's the case, we found this updated model slower than devices with the same chip. This is likely due to the VGA screen, with the processor doing more to draw the display compared with a QVGA one. So you may find the device slightly sluggish at times, though it wasn't slow to the point of frustration for us.
Its GPS performance is up to scratch, and we had no problems with getting a lock or navigating. Battery life is decent, giving us about two days of use on a single charge.
In voice calls, we found the other party's voice slightly distant as compared to regular mobile phones. Other than that slight niggle, we did not have much trouble hearing the other party.
It is a pity that E-Ten did not include a 3G radio in this upgrade. Then again, even a well-organized fridge won't close properly when overloaded. We'll have to wait for the X800 for the full set of current features. Till then, the X500+ makes for a good GPS 2.5G PDA-phone, and one that has the sharpest screen of its size category.
Design of the E-Ten glofiish X500+ Handheld
The X500+ comes in black. The material used all around has a rubbery soft-touch feel, while the area around the display has a metallic finish. This, we feel, is more attractive than the X500's silver front and black shades.
Aside from the color and material finish, nothing much has changed. The microSD card and USB connector are still at the bottom, along with the stylus. Shortcuts are found along all edges except the top. Even on its front, there are two shortcut buttons above the screen, which by default brings you to the GPS application and Home, respectively.
Features of the E-Ten glofiish X500+ Handheld
The most prominent feature upgrade in the X500+ is surely its display. In the same area that housed the 2.8-inch QVGA screen on the X500, E-Ten has managed to put a full VGA panel here. PDAs with 640 x 480 pixels usually have much larger screens, like the O2 Flame and Dopod U1000. The result of having it on a 2.8-inch diagonal canvas means the display is very sharp. This is felt most evidently in the Internet browser, as more of a Web page can be shown at once. It does result in very much smaller text though, so those with failing eyes will have to actively increase the font size from the default.
Another added feature on this PDA-phone is the macro focus camera. An important use of this is with the bundled name card recognition software. This is a common application among PDA-phones these days, and uses text recognition to process the full contents of a name card after a photo of it has been taken. This is then quickly ported over to the contacts. Though not perfect, the results from it are good enough to help save a lot of time for those who need to update their contacts regularly.
The X500+ comes with a comprehensive software bundle, including quite a few for use with the GPS. These additional applications can be managed using the Application Recovery program which lists them so the user can choose which ones are to be installed.
Performance of the E-Ten glofiish X500+ Handheld
Like the X500, the X500+ uses a Samsung 400MHz processor. Even though that's the case, we found this updated model slower than devices with the same chip. This is likely due to the VGA screen, with the processor doing more to draw the display compared with a QVGA one. So you may find the device slightly sluggish at times, though it wasn't slow to the point of frustration for us.
Its GPS performance is up to scratch, and we had no problems with getting a lock or navigating. Battery life is decent, giving us about two days of use on a single charge.
In voice calls, we found the other party's voice slightly distant as compared to regular mobile phones. Other than that slight niggle, we did not have much trouble hearing the other party.
It is a pity that E-Ten did not include a 3G radio in this upgrade. Then again, even a well-organized fridge won't close properly when overloaded. We'll have to wait for the X800 for the full set of current features. Till then, the X500+ makes for a good GPS 2.5G PDA-phone, and one that has the sharpest screen of its size category.
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