Gigabyte g-Smart: Interactive First Impressions

[Guest nedge2k]

Hi all,

I've got my hands on one of the only g-Smart devices in th UK and it rocks! In preview to my main review, which is comming very soon, i've published some my first impressions HERE. Enjoy ;)

Oh how I love this phone! When i say phone i mean phone too. It has got to be the first PocketPC device i have ever used that has the look/feel of a phone but all the functionality of a fully fledged PocketPC!

[Guest colincliff]

looking forward to the full review ;)

Not that excited about the tv (can see it being very effective), but a touch screen with a slide out number pad for easy texting and using the windows mobile dialer look sweet, plus wifi for syncronisation!

Any idea how fat it is compared to the HTC Prophet?

Edited March 28, 2006 by colincliff

[Guest colincliff]

also seems to have lots of quality installed software, lets hope any networks who decide to carry it don't wreck it!

Edited March 28, 2006 by colincliff

[Guest nedge2k]

its not as wide as the Prophet but it is thicker due to the keypad. review won't be up for a couple weeks yet as there are some bugs that need to be fixed and i told Gigabyte i'd hold off until they got them sorted.

Good news is that Gigabyte listen! There was a bug with the background sound effects and within a week or so of me telling them, they had it fixed and sent me a new ROM image. The next couple of bug fixes is due in the next couple weeks.

Oh and i also have the retail version now with the good paint. The g-Smart survived quite a bad fall onto a hardwood floor without a scratch!

Don't worry though, the review'll be worth the wait ;)

[Guest TigerNet]

...couple of questions as mine just arrived...

1. How do you turn on the phone pad search thingy...when I tap numbers, that's all I get...

2. Is there a 'backspace key' - I can't see how to go back one letter if I make a mistake...

3. Does it have T9? If so, how do I turn it on?

4. Have you found a TV channel yet?

Cheers

Nick

[Guest nedge2k]

1. There isnt one as there is no t9

2. # key

3. No and never will now ;)

4. It is very hard to get reception anywhere. You can try tweaking the settings a little though. Go to the TV settings, amke sure you are on PAL-I and change the range to 260 - 453

My review will be up soon. There will be no further updates to the system software to fix the keypad problems as Gigabyte are now concentrating on their next model.

Edited April 28, 2006 by nedge2k

[Guest TigerNet]

...thanks for the replys...shame about the T9...in stuff I had read, that was supposed to be the killer feature...intelligently searching for contacts/numbers...

...oh well...

Cheers

Nick

[Guest TigerNet]

...oh, do you know how to hard reset it?

Cheers

Nick

[Guest nedge2k]

it'll be in the review ;)

by the way, could you post a scan of the article in stuff?

Edited April 28, 2006 by nedge2k

[Guest TigerNet]

...in stuff?? Explain please...

...oh figured the hard reset - ta...

Cheers

Nick

[Guest nedge2k]

in stuff I had read, that was supposed to be the killer feature...intelligently searching for contacts/numbers

[Guest tdx]

Hi there nedge2k,

I've been following this thread (and waiting for your review :P ) with a lot of interest because I was really looking forward to buying a Gsmart. What really sold it to me was, as you pointed, that it is the ONLY PPC phone (hate WM5 for smartphone ;) , can't help it) that has the size of a REAL phone. So I was going to go ahead and buy one as soon as it became available.

But then I started reading all these horror stories about the crappy UI and firmware, both for the Gsmart version and the I-Teq bond version (the one for arabic countries). Both seem to be plagued with bugs that render them borderline unusable, especially as a phone, which was the biggest selling point for me.

And the final nail in the coffin was your comment that Gigabyte has stopped trying to fix this phone and are focusing on the new version. You seem to have a lot of access to Gigabyte info, is there any way you could disclose what this new version will add (I heard something about GPS and DVB-T/DVB-H) and when it's supposed to come out?

I really wanted this phone to succeed, mainly because of the wonderful form factor, and I'm still hoping they'll get it right in the next version. So, any info will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks, TDX