Gigabyte g-Smart i120

.../> My review of the Gigabyte i120 sterns from a purchase particularly inclined towards testing features described about a model relatively unknown. Even though I live in London, I acquired the gigabyte i120 from florida USA. Well obviously, I'm very sure the reason for this is quite clear to many readers. The Gigabyte I120 is not available for purchase in the UK. One of the nation's best known online retailers (expansys) only stock the earlier versions ...
...packed and rated above older gigabyte i300 also featured on ciao.The entire transaction cost me approx. £365 including taxes and duties and it took exactly 3 days to receive it here in London.

***First impression***
My first impression upon seeing the boxed package was a good one for a brand name i'd never heard off let only seen before. The phone is really in a nicely designed box. Once I opened the box rather surprisingly ... more

Introduction:
My review of the Gigabyte i120 sterns from a purchase particularly inclined towards testing features described about a model relatively unknown. Even though I live in London, I acquired the gigabyte i120 from florida USA. Well obviously, I'm very sure the reason for this is quite clear to many readers. The Gigabyte I120 is not available for purchase in the UK. One of the nation's best known online retailers (expansys) only stock the earlier versions of the " i". *It must be noted that the i120 is more feature packed and rated above older gigabyte i300 also featured on ciao.The entire transaction cost me approx. £365 including taxes and duties and it took exactly 3 days to receive it here in London.

***First impression***
My first impression upon seeing the boxed package was a good one for a brand name i'd never heard off let only seen before. The phone is really in a nicely designed box. Once I opened the box rather surprisingly I saw many accessories are shipped with the product. Aside the wieldy TVantenna (yes TV antenna) , the package rather richly includes USB data cable, Extra stylus, Charger, Charger for the extra battery, Extra high-capacity battery, Wrist strap/ lace, Corded headset( can be used for TV and fm Radio), Headphones adapter, 3.5 mm, Antenna adapter (can be used with any tv input signal), Carrying case and offcourse the CD. One thing to note is that because the manufacturer is from asia, and didn't actually release this model for the english market, there was no detailed english manual expect a quick guide in english. A detailed manual in english can however be downloded from the manufacturers website. The model is not shipped with a memory card.

***Aesthetics***
The device is cased in a non metal finish. Its looks are reminiscent of the Nokia 3250 though even the least mobile phone fanatic will easily differentiate the two. The gigabyte possesses a larger screen aside many different outer looks. At a glance the I120 may not match the looks of others like the N95 but this one has its own strengths. Though the mobile is a fully touch screen enabled, it also has a conventional "hard" keyboard layout for dialling and texting or if you want the stylus to rest!
Operating system:
I wouldn't talk much about the operating system (windows mobile 5.0 AKU 3.3) Generally windows mobile is much more powerful than symbian models and offer many variants. If you like to know more about windows mobile various resources are available on the internet. Basically the OS comes with mobile versions of word, excel, PowerPoint, media player and internet explorer.

***Multimedia***
Embedded in the device is an analogue TV tuner supporting Pal/secam/ntsc and a TV recorder. Yep! TVrecorder. When used with the supplied headset the reception is decent and in vivid colour and good sound. The best option here is to use the antenna adapter it really works the best. Well I must say thanks to the Gigabyte I120, I was able to capture Man U's thrashing of Roma in the bus! As stated earlier actualised TV signals can be recorded by the user and played back on the device or a PC. There is also an fm radio that supports recording. Other unique features on the multimedia side worth mentioning is the "wise talk" feature. This comprises of an answering machine ( this is different from charged voice mail by providers), Background effects, phone recording and phone settings. The answering machine it's the phones own feature and you can set it to override the charged voicemail. Recordings are saved on the phone. There is the option to set your own greeting messages. My favourite here is the background effects especially since the device is relatively unknown. This allows you to set a background noise for incoming or outgoing calls, as an illustration lets say you receive a call from your girlfriend whiles at home doing your own thing. You can set the background to proportionate a business meeting room or whatever you may choose many options are available here. Lol! There is also the option to create your own background effects. By default the effect is effected at 20% which though the least is well actualised. You may increase it as may be needed. A wide increase may result in a typical call in a night club!!!!!!.
The device is equipped with a 2.1 megapixel camera supporting macro mode. By pda standards this is one of the highs. The quality of the pictures are good and can be used for fun outdoor scenes. The camera includes many other features i don't really fancy since am cool with my Olympus slim 7.1 digital camera. Video recording in encoded in mp4 and achieved at 30 frames per second .

***Music Abilities***
The embedded windows media player many playback options. But for greater versatility I recommend you install pocket TV(FREE) for stunning playback of mpeg coded movies. The speaker supports 3D output through "audio mixer" when that application is running(@ users request) Audio mixer is also used for fine bass and treble tuning. Overall the standard playback is good but is comparatively lower among purely music branded PHONES on the market today. Headphone output produces low well defined sounds.
Productivity / Connectivity / Organiser/Messaging
The device supports Bluetooth, Wifi(IEEE802.11B/G) USB synchronization, touch screen with handwriting recognition. The I120 is a very typical windows mobile with all the latest features in the PDA world, the Bluetooth is flawless and works well. About the wifi, detection rates are good compared to laptops and very easy to configure and use. However the device does not support mass usb data storage. The hand writing recognition feature is does a good job and more accurate than HP IPAQ rw6815 which I have used. As described basic features are symmetrical to windows powered mobile devices. Aside there is also a function called pocket ghost to secure all documents even in crashes. A zip tool also exist. Other useful features include using the camera as a touch and a caller block list. There is also a GPS port for communication with GPS systems for programs needing GPS. The device does not come with a full built in GPS system.
The organiser features are rather the very advanced or so are messaging more information of windows powered mobile touch screen messaging features are available online.

***Conclusion***
The gigabyte I120 from an unknown manufacturer in mobile phones has really impressed me combining business and multimedia features. After 3WEEKS of usage I will put the stability rating at 9.0 over 10.0. I have not encountered any bugs what so ever.I recommend it to those tired of the nokia's and co and who want a high end phone to stand out from the crowd. The only real negative is the adsence of 3G /HSDPA. Get it and your colleagues will be drooling about you.

*****my personal recommendation to potential BUYERS***:
Align the screen and run the phone in horizontal mode with windows pocket pc vista themes and customize the today screen and eliminate some shown information. Your phone will become a wow!

My other useful information
Memory: The phone/Pda has an inbuilt 240mb of FREE memory for users. It supports mini SD cards up to 4GB
Processor: Intel PXA 272, 416 Mhz
Battery life: The 1300mah can actually last just 15 hrs on heavy usage (combining wifi, TV, media player and less than 60 minutes of voice calls) The 950mAH obviously last less.
Games: Included games are Bubble Breaker and Solitaire. Install as many as you like, full functionally for mobile 3d.

********** I HAVE SUBMITTED A SHORT VIDEO REVIEW ABOUT THE TV FEATURE WHEN ONLINE I WILL POST THE URL HERE FOR READERS*******************  

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