hyp4mhz.com

Month: November 2011

  • Telstra QWERTY TOUCH Review

    hyp4mhz
    Welcome to the 2011 Telstra QWERTY-TOUCH review otherwise known as the Telstra T60. The QWERTY-TOUCH T60 was released in late November 2011 to met the demand by people who want a mini keypad on their phone.  It is the next model up from the previously review T50 which we thought was good for the price. The initial release recommended retail price for the Telstra QWERTY- TOUCH T60 is $129 from the major department stores. In terms of construction the all plastic QWERTY-TOUCH T60 is good for a cheap mobile phone. The matt finish has a faux metallic feel and look. It's logical competitor is the Nokia E63 and in hindsight matches Nokia.  The Nokia E63 is probably slightly better built and has a nicer keypad but overall the T60 keypad while a tad shallow to touch is still pretty good.  However the ace up the T60 is the touch screen. We love the addition of the touch screen as it does make certain tasks easier but the implementation on the T60 needs more work. Android is not optimized for this sort of format and on a small screen. The lower resolution screen also makes the interface look crude but expected at this price. In terms of use the T60 is quite good but despite the capacitive touch screen it's slower CPU doesn't help.  The QWERTY-TOUCH is not a sluggish phone rather the interface seems to need a tad more time to scroll but it is smoother and more responsive. That said it is faster than the older Smart Touch T3020. Since its the first Android keypad phone we've tried we were satisfied with the experience. We also found that we were using the screen more than keypad to navigate - again due to Android. Thanks to Android OS you can access all of Google's online applications including Gmail and the live backgrounds and widgets.  We love widgets that work - since you don't need to waste time opening and closing apps. The best feature of the T60 is the inclusion of Wi-Fi - it makes the most of the fully functional web browser, that said we did not find out if it had FLASH installed. The Live wallpapers and other Apps we tried unfortunately do not adjust to the size of the smaller screen. The T60 is perfect (like all qwerty equipped phones) for those into emails, texting and social network updates like Facebook. However you must remember that the quality and speed of the data transmission of your phone network is just as important as hardware specifications. Regardless of data speed this is definitely not the fastest phone and unlikely to impress. Overall Telstra QWERTY -TOUCH is a good effort but Nokia and RIM Blackberry's still do this format better. However at this price point it is hard to complain too much. The use of Android really makes the T60 a better phone than it may have been. The T60 is better than the even cheaper T50 or the fully touch screen T3020 but there's not much other competition at the end of the market. Don't expect much from the Telstra QWERTY-TOUCH and you will be surprised at the functionality it offers but not so the overall operational speed. (Apologies we posted the review before it was finished.) Technical Specifications
    • Telstra QWERTY-TOUCH T60
    • Network Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 Dual-band 3G 850/2100 HSDPA 7.2 Mbits data speed (download) Not mentioned data speed (upload)
    • Design Qwerty with Capactive Touch screen
    • L114 x W65 x D10.9 mm Weight 126 grams
    • Display/s External 2.6 Inch TFT 320 x 240 pixels
    • Camera 2 MP
    • Video Camera Yes - no specs
    • Connectivity Bluetooth V2.1
    • CPU 600Mhz
    • Memory Up to 100MB available to user MicroSD up to 32Gig (2Gig MicroSD included)
    • Ring tones MIDI, MP3, vibration and others
    • Features JAVA FM Radio Music and Media player Organiser/Calender SMS, MMS, IM, Email Speaker Phone/Hands free Li-Ion 1100mAh battery Up to 200 hours Standby Up to 180 minutes Talk Time
    • Price history Under $129 AUD 2011 (Pre-paid)

  • Huawei Ideos X5 Review

    hyp4mhz
    Welcome to the 2011 Huawei Ideos X5 review page. The Ideos X5 has been around for a little while now but we only recently had a chance to try it out last week. The Ideso X5 was released in various markets but only arrived here recently.  It has a low outright price of under $300 and combined with decent hardware specifications makes it a must try for those wanting a good value Android based smart phone. The X5 is easy to use as any other Android phone. The X5 does not have any OS modifications that we could tell so very easy to customise with numerous theme apps and icon sets.  We only wished it came out with version 2.3 of the software rather than 2.2 which is looking dated. Everything worked quickly with minimal lag although it could do with a faster CPU or additional GPU to make games work better. If you have a Gmail address the you can Sync everything with your account including phone numbers and calender entries. The big question is whether you trust Google with your personal data. Thankfully you can turn off the Google accounts Sync process and use MS Exchange or Outlook. The best bits of the Ideos X5 is the very large screen for its price at 3.8 inches with the standard resolution of 480 x 800.  There is no special screen technology so the image quality is very good for the price category. Apart from that the construction is good although missing a dedicated camera button for photos or movies. The location of the camera lens does help those taking movies. However there is the bonus of exchangeable batteries. The X5 only has the 900/2100Mhz 3G band so it will work with most networks but not Telstra. Overall we are running out of interesting things to say about Android phones - after all they can do everything you want. If it doesn't have the function than you can simply go to the App store for a download. A word of caution with the Apps on the store though. Some Android Apps require excessive permissions which any reasonable person would be shocked. A simple wallpaper or game that wants your phone number and access to your system log is not worth having. Since the privacy policies or promises by the developer essentially means no accountability - Beware - read the permissions before downloading. Likewise for Apps from iTunes and iPhone, since their hidden it is even scarier! Your personal and credit card details are worth more than a throw away App. Overall you can forgive almost any problem with the Ideos X5 because it is now priced very well. That said that is nothing intrinsically wrong or exceptional about the phone.  The X5 is also the logical step up from the Ideos X3 and X1 and Sonic. However the main question that potential owners will need to consider is whether other even cheaper Android based phones such as numerous HTC and Samsung models and others priced the same of even cheaper (with network locked pre-paid) with the same level of features. Our advise is to see which one looks and feels best before purchase. Specifications
    • Huawei Ideos X5 (U8800)
    • Network Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 Dual-band 3G 900/2100 HSDPA 7.2 Mbits data speed (download)
    • Design Touch screen
    • L120 x W62 x D11.6 mm Weight 136 grams
    • Display/s External 3.8 Inch TFT 480 x 800
    • Camera 5MP LED Flash
    • Video Camera HD 720P 30 FPS
    • Connectivity Wi-Fi Bluetooth V2.1
    • CPU 800Mhz
    • Memory Up to 8Gig available to user MicroSD up to 32Gig
    • Ring tones MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others
    • Features A-GPS Proximity Accelerometer (G-Sensor) Light Sensor Music and Media player Organiser/Calender SMS, MMS, IM, Email Speaker Phone/Hands free Li-Po 15000mAh battery
    • Price history Under $280 AUS 2011 (Outright)

  • HTC ChaCha Review

    hyp4mhz
    Welcome to the 2011 HTC ChaCha review page. The new HTC ChaCha is one of the few implementations of the Android OS in a Blackberry style mobile phone.  For a first attempt the ChaCha succeeds at being something that could find a dedicated owner, specifically those whose lives evolve around Facebook.  The convenience of a keypad, touch screen with widgets running updates with the live wallpapers will make them love the phone. The recommended retail price for the HTC ChaCha at release is $199 as a pre-paid package. The construction of the ChaCha is pretty good considering it's position as a reasonably priced mobile phone. The real metal parts and clean design including it's weight makes it feel good to hold, unlike the other all phones in the same price bracket... It is just like the HTC Wildfire S in terms of presentation and that it probably the best made and feeling phone in this class. The ChaCha's hardware is a mixture of high end and low end which makes it hard to categorize, except to say that it is focused at being a mobile connection to social networks, in particular Facebook. The 800Mhz CPU is good like wise the keypad, GPS, Radio, Wi-Fi and everything else you'd need in 2011. The only short falls worth mentioning is the basic spec camera and size of the screen which could have be a bigger, which there is plenty of space for. The only criticism that can be made of the ChaCha is aimed at the Android OS. It is clearly not designed for button pushers and the smaller screen, although works well enough thanks to the touch screen. It reminds use of the Nokia E6 except that the ChaCha is smoother in operation. Furthermore the ChaCha does work better than the Blackberry's. The various apps do not look right on the smaller screen either - which is expected but at least it will last a day or two more than the larger full touch screen phones before needing a full recharge. Overall the HTC ChaCha is a decent well priced mobile phone for those into Facebook. Specifications
    • HTC ChaCha
    • Network Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 Dual-band 3G 850/2100 HSDPA 7.2 Mbits data speed (download)
    • Design Touch screen
    • L114.4 x W64.6 x D10.7 mm Weight 124 grams
    • Display/s External 2.6 Inch TFT 480 x 320
    • Camera 5MP LED Flash
    • Video Camera Front and rear
    • Connectivity Wi-Fi Bluetooth V3.0
    • CPU 800Mhz
    • Memory Up to 512MB available to user MicroSD up to 32Gig
    • Ring tones MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others
    • Features A-GPS Proximity Compass Accelerometer (G-Sensor) Light Sensor FM Radio Music and Media player Organiser/Calender SMS, MMS, IM, Email FM radio Speaker Phone/Hands free Li-Po 1250mAh battery Up to 640 hours Standby Up to 450 minutes Talk Time
    • Price history Under $199 AUS 2010 (Pre-paid)