I purchased a new Toshiba Portege 710 under VDA GPS(Vodafone) branding in Germany for about 100 Euro, and I must say that in my opinion the device has few, if any, competitors for the price, but I discovered a few drawbacks which I found more or less disappointing:
1) The battery life is really poor compared to a budget-class mobile phone I previously had. I've been using the phone for 3 weeks only, but the battery runs from fully charged to flat after 2 days of stand-by mode plus 15-20 minutes of talking. One of my intentions was to use the phone as a pocket e-book reader, but as I see reading at "bright" highlight level discharges the battery completely very quickly. Strangely enough to me, the phone is losing datetime settings when the battery runs flat, so unless you charge it regularly you'll have to reset system time over and over again... :((
2) Windows Mobile 6 is OK- but because it is a Standard edition and there is no touch-screen, you cannot use touchscreen keyboard software as in Pro version, and it might take some time and $$$ to find software for additional language support(In my case, I need Russian while my Windows version does not support it). I am thinking of finding a localized Windows Mobile version and reflashing the smartphone.
3) My Portege 710 has got a good polyphonic speaker, but unfortunately the headphone sound is quite unpleasant because of a background buzz, similar to one that you might have heard on your desktop speakers when you have microphone plugged into sound card. The buzz is really irritating, especially at low sound level. Also, the audio jack is mini-USB one, and the accessory headphones quite poor in output, so I'd have to consider buying a miniUSB-to-3,5 adapter+regular headphones or Bluetooth headset for a decent sound quality. Luckily, I don't mind poor headphone sound as I use an MP3 player instead.
4) GPS is working with Google Maps and Route 66 v.7 at least. The sad thing is that Google Maps are not working on my phone after I use Route 66 and exit it. The only way to fix it is a phone restart.
5) Pay attention that there is NO WiFi support. If you do not need WiFi capability, it's OK, otherwise keep in mind that Skype calls for example will hardly work via EDGE connection(at least this is my case for Vodafone EDGE in Prague)
6) Good news is that 2+ GB SDHC cards are supported. But you'll need to install a standalone driver for SDHC card support (I found one under SDHC.777.cab.zip via Google)
All in all, most of the things mentioned above are not crucial- I was longing for a stylish design, GPS, a convenient QWERTY keyboard and some Windows Mobile applications for a fair price, and I got it. But the battery life is falling far beyond phone specifications, and that is truly upsetting. Hopingly it's just a defect of my phone, not a general model flaw- but I would recommend to pay special attention to battery life issue upon purchase.
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Intelligently combining personal navigation with communications - the G710 delivers. more
Features: Operating SystemWindows Mobile 6 standard Dimensions111.5mm (L) x 62.5mm (W) x 12.8mm (T) GSM/GPRSTri-Band GSM 900/1800/1900MHz, GPRS/EDGE InterfaceBluetooth v1.2 with A2DP/AVRCP, USB1.1 DisplayQVGA 65K colours, TFT, 2.46 Memory Card128MB ROM / 64MB RAM, User Memory 60MB (expandable Micro SD) NavigationBuilt-in GPS The Toshiba Portege G710 personifies professionalism and embraces cutting-edge technology. Weighing only 130 g, this classy Smartphone packs a whole lot of punch. It comes with a 128 MB built-in ROM and 64 MB RAM memory as well as a 2.4" QVGA display screen. Shutterbugs will love the 2.0 megapixel CMOS camera that not only allows users to edit photos but also gives them the option of recording videos and voices. The Toshiba Portege G710 was designed with the ambitious professional in mind. It acts as your own mobile office, allowing you to edit documents on the way, sync your E-Mail and schedule list as well as your contacts database. It also allows you to access Windows Live on the go, so you can have multiple conversations with your friends and business partners as well as instantly push your Hotmail E-Mail directly to your phone. To ease things further, this device is equipped with Voice Commander, enabling you to make calls and browse through messages and E-Mails hands-free. The Toshiba Portege G710 is also equipped with a 5-way navigational button, 3-way smart jog bar andfull QWERTY keypad, guaranteeing you seamless navigation, convenient scrolling and easy input for messaging, sending and receiving E-Mails as well as chatting on MSN/Live Messenger. With a Built-In GPS receiver, get to all your meetings on time and without stress. Sat-Nav software is sold separately. Look for our great deals in the bundles tab. High Lights - 2.5G/EDGE - Built-in GPS - Slim Bar QWERTY Smartphone - Windows Mobi
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