Toshiba TG01 Continues to Dazzle

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/17/toshiba-tg01-hands-on-and-video-walkthrough/' target='_blank'>http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/17/...eo-walkthrough/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"This handset is thin and light and makes the iPhone we used for some scale pics look positively chubby -- it's like having a PSP-sized display in your pocket. The 4.1-inch Regza-inspired screen is clear, the resistive touchscreen is typical hit and miss with fingertips, video and gaming are fast on the 1GHz Snapdragon processor and look gorgeous. You know, if Toshiba sees fit to add some 3G bands other than the 2100MHz included in the first effort, we could easily see this living -- almost unnoticed -- in our pockets."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/ppct/auto/1234972550.usr2.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p>The <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/news/show/92396/toshiba-unveils-tg01-shows-off-4-1-wvga-touch-screen-and-snapdragon-chipset.html" target="_blank">Toshiba TG01</a> is an example of a device that just looks undeniably slimmer and sexier in the flesh than in renderings. Don't believe us? Take a gander at <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/17/toshiba-tg01-hands-on-and-video-walkthrough/" target="_blank">Engadget's hands-on and video walkthrough</a>, and try not to drool on the way out.</p>

[Adan Galvan]

This phone lucks amazing!!! But.....

Why on earth would you want such a beautiful entertainment device without a headphone jack?? This really bothers me, since most of the time the headset that comes with most phones is junk.

Also, why couldn't they have at least added a basic flash for the camera?

I continue to search for the "total package" when it comes to pocket pc hardware.

[WyattEarp]

Now, there's a device that looks worthy of replacing my hx4700. The Toshiba UI is also more appealing to me than what I've seen coming in WM6.5 or 7. Looking forward to reading all the specs on this and hopefully it doesn't remain limited to the 2100Mhz frequency. What would really be useful is if all these new devices had combination resistive/capacitive displays. That would just rock.

[WyattEarp]

This phone lucks amazing!!! But.....

Why on earth would you want such a beautiful entertainment device without a headphone jack?? This really bothers me, since most of the time the headset that comes with most phones is junk.

Also, why couldn't they have at least added a basic flash for the camera?

I continue to search for the "total package" when it comes to pocket pc hardware.

Agreed, I missed that entirely, didn't even realize the missing headphone jack. That just ruins it for me. It definitely need a 3.5mm jack without question.

Is a flash really that necessary when phones don't even take pictures half a decent as a real camera?

[Adan Galvan]

I guess that's true regarding the flash. I could do without it if they added the headphone jack.

[felixdd]

Oh the irony of Toshiba making a "multimedia" device

I have the Toshiba G810 that I won through a draw. This device, if I am correct, is not a rebranded HTC. This was developed in-house.

But from the initial launch of the device over half a year ago, the pockethal support on it has been broken. Toshiba HK has just blown off the customer, saying it just isn't supported. Of course, HTC devices rebranded to Toshiba work perfectly.

DirectDraw is broken -- videos are painfully slow on this device no matter what player you use, unless you recode them to the QVGA resolution (this was not necessary on my older Ipaq). As for games -- 99% of them does not work. Even old ones like Snails, Anthelion, Anthelion 2, refuse to work. Java games do no better. Heck, even regular programs are slow. They load and run faster on my old Ipaq 2210.

Anyways...I'm not going to hold my breath. If this new device was developed in-house as well, there's no guarantees they won't make the same mistakes again. And given Toshiba's "stellar" customer support track record, I doubt they'll do much to rectify it (similar to how they've chosen to ignore the issues on the G810).

EDIT: Oh and also...the G810 also doesn't have a 3.5mm jack. It has a mini-USB out. And as expected, the stock headsets have horrible quality.
However, Toshiba does not carry any 3.5mm adapters. So I tried 2-3 aftermarket ones at my local electronics stores

They don't work. None of them.

So there. That's why I don't have faith in Toshiba in making a multimedia device.

[V-iPAQ]

Great work Toshiba! Making devices with 2 superior features and 3 deal-breaking shortcomings since '02.

Why do they even bother? Name one Toshiba PPC/WM since the eGenio that isn't fatally flawed somewhere.

[Menneisyys]

DirectDraw is broken -- videos are painfully slow on this device no matter what player you use, unless you recode them to the QVGA resolution (this was not necessary on my older Ipaq).

This isn't a problem on the TG01 - see my benchmarks at http://forums.thoughtsmedia.com/f349/breaking-news-toshiba-tg01-1-ghz-cpu-benchmarked-real-life-situations-92599.html . BTW, the HTC Touch HD also has amessed-up driver - for example, it produced 48% (!!!) in my H.264 test - while the TG01 produced three times more, 148%.

As for games -- 99% of them does not work.

This problem is related to WVGA, not the Toshi in particular. That is, the same games don't run on the HD either.

Of course, I'm not stating the TG01 is / will be flawless. Particularly the lack of the D-pad is a real pain in the back. However, given that HTC's new devices are, in my opinion, considerably worse than the TG01 (speed / feature-wise; again, I'm not speaking of Toshi bugs / issues because I don't know whether it'll have any), the TG01 seems to be tempting.

[Menneisyys]

Great work Toshiba! Making devices with 2 superior features and 3 deal-breaking shortcomings since '02.

Why do they even bother? Name one Toshiba PPC/WM since the eGenio that isn't fatally flawed somewhere.

e800? Was pretty much ahead of its time - a dream of every Windows Mobile user back in the second half of 2003.

[felixdd]

This isn't a problem on the TG01 - see my benchmarks at http://forums.thoughtsmedia.com/f349/breaking-news-toshiba-tg01-1-ghz-cpu-benchmarked-real-life-situations-92599.html . BTW, the HTC Touch HD also has amessed-up driver - for example, it produced 48% (!!!) in my H.264 test - while the TG01 produced three times more, 148%.



This problem is related to WVGA, not the Toshi in particular. That is, the same games don't run on the HD either.

You misunderstand me. Those problems you've quoted are what I'm experiencing on my G810, which is a QVGA device. I'm worried that since Toshiba got it wrong on a previous in-house device, they may repeat the mistakes again.

Hopefully the 1GHz will have enough raw horsepower to overcome whatever shortcomings it may have drivers-wise, if the drivers turn out to be flawed as well.