2 New Windows Mobile 5. 0 Smartphones from Qtek

[Mike Temporale]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.qtek.fi/' target='_blank'>http://www.qtek.fi/</a><br /><br /></div><img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Temporale-20050815-Qtek8300.jpg" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/><img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Temporale-20050815-Qtek8310.jpg" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><br />Qtek has just released a couple of new handsets for your drooling enjoyment. The new <a href="http://www.qtek.fi/qtek8310.htm">Qtek 8310</a> and <a href="http://www.qtek.fi/qtek8300.htm">8300</a> will feature Windows Mobile 5.0, a 2.2" QVGA (240x320) screen, Quad band - EDGE, a TI OMAP 200 MHz CPU, 1.3 MegaPixel Camera with digital zoom, Bluetooth, and WiFi. At least, I think that's WiFi - Anyone care to translate the Qtek web pages for us? ;) I haven't been able to pick out the differences between these two devices, other than the obvious colour and keypad layout. I love this time of year, when all the new handsets start hitting the streets and my wallet starts to feel a little lighter. :lol:

[egads]

The 8310 looks a lot like my Dell Axim X50 PDA :D

Both are nice looking, but where are the clam shell's!!!
I get excited with every new SmartPhone announcement just to be let down that it's just another candy bar that looks like a SMT5600.

Still waiting.....

[raulr]

http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Temporale-20050815-Qtek8300.jpghttp://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Temporale-20050815-Qtek8310.jpg

I haven't been able to pick out the differences between these two devices, other than the obvious colour and keypad layout.

Dedicated music playback keys on the 8300 meaning it has more of a music phone focus than the 8310.

[Omega2008]

If I had to have a candy bar phone it would be the 8310

[Mike Temporale]

I haven't been able to pick out the differences between these two devices, other than the obvious colour and keypad layout.

Dedicated music playback keys on the 8300 meaning it has more of a music phone focus than the 8310.[/quote]

D'OH! What was I thinking? :oops: Ya, you're right. I guess I was too busy trying to read the specs and I didn't look closely enough at the images. ;)

[ARW]

The 8310 looks a lot like my Dell Axim X50 PDA :D

Both are nice looking, but where are the clam shell's!!!
I get excited with every new SmartPhone announcement just to be let down that it's just another candy bar that looks like a SMT5600.

Still waiting.....

Clamshells? A better question is where are the CDMA phones? The i645 has supposedly been cancelled so now there are none in the pipeline for those of us forced into using CDMA.

[Kirkaiya]

After checking out the actual Finnish Qtek site, I'm not sure they both will have 240x320 screens, etc - if you look at the pages on the qtek site, the text is exactly the same, with just the model numbers and photos swapped out - also notice the title bar for those two pages (this shows up at the tab-bar title in FireFox).

In both cases, the page title is "Qtek 8200 Smartphone". Since for both models, the Finnish lists the screens as being 2.2", and the phones exactly the same size - then why does the 8310 screen look larger then the 8300? Or are the photos not quite to scale?

I think I'd wait before jumping to the conclusion that these 2 have the exact same specs.

Oh - in other news, I spent the weekend in Singapore, and was playing with an Axia A108 phone at one of the gadget-malls - it's pretty cool, although it runs Windows CE .NET (4.2) without the "Windows Mobile" or "PocketPC" GUI/Application layer on top (but it did have Windows Media Player 9, and MSN Messenger for CE, and that cool TextMaker app that's way better than Pocket Word (and whatever the spreadsheet "pocket Excel clone" that the Textmaker folks make).

While the interface was a tad sluggish (despite the box saying it had a 266 MHz OMAP processor), it did have (gasp) a QVGA touch-screen, and was about the same size/weight/heft of the O2 Xphone IIm that I was comparing it to.

Does anybody know if any of the other smartphones that are coming out (like these Qtek models) will have touch-screens, or is the Axia a sort of fluke? (and does anybody know of a way to flash a Windows CE phone with Windows Mobile 2005? just curious ;-) )

[encece]

If the specs are the same, the music buttons dont add much other than gimmicky functionality. They'll both run WMP10 probably with any kind of extra music interface software, so what's the difference.

I'll take the 8310! Today please! :)

[Jason Dunn]

That 8310 looks sweet - you can tell they just cloned the Axim X50 design, but it's nice anyway. :D

[machsurfer]

8310 does look sweet! Anyone know if it uses a stylus? I love the candybar form-factor... I'm waiting to see what I-mate comes out with for Win Mobile 5.0... Hopefully something similar to the Jam... Of course this Qtek does look awful tempting :D

[encece]

If it's a smartphone...no stylus

[Jason Dunn]

8310 does look sweet! Anyone know if it uses a stylus?

Smartphones are strictly non-touchscreen, so it won't have a stylus.

[gib8080a]

The dedicated music buttons would be quite useful if they are functional regardless of what application is currently active.

For example, I may want to press the forward button to go to the next song while writing a note without having to first switch to WMP. Does the SPV C550 work this way?

[tsaari]

The Finnish text says that 8300 and 8310 both have build-in Wi-Fi chip for WLAN use. The only difference are the media keys. Personally I'm disappointed that there is only 32MB of RAM and no 3G.

Interestingly, there is only 64MB of ROM. I have understood that WM5 requires 128MB...

[Jerry Raia]

I might be in the minority here but I think dedicated music player keys on a phone are a poor use of real estate.

[Mark Larson]

I might be in the minority here but I think dedicated music player keys on a phone are a poor use of real estate. Yep. They should be on the sides like the W800i and other music-oriented phones.

[Jerry Raia]

Now "on the side" I can live with!

[Mike Temporale]

The Finnish text says that 8300 and 8310 both have build-in Wi-Fi chip for WLAN use.

NICE ! ! Thanks for the confirmation. They're now officially on my lust list. ;)

I have understood that WM5 requires 128MB...

Nope, that's not true. Most devices have 32 now, and that's cutting it a little close. So you'll see a lot of 64MB devices this fall. But it's not 128 by any means. There are only a handful of Pocket PC's that hit the 128 mark - and those are enterprise devices.

[Kris Kumar]

WiFi..WiFi..WiFi.. :drool: :rock on dude!: :beer: :clap: :drinking: :shocked!: :way to go: &lt;did I miss any emoticon?>

[yoos]

First person to send me one of these babies gets $50!!!

C'mon.... don't turn down this once in a lifetime offer ;-)

[Jerry Raia]

People please lets show some self control here! :P

[Mike Temporale]

People please lets show some self control here! :P

Hahahahaha....NOT. Gimmie WiFi. Gimmie it now!

[encece]

Can I ask what the big deal about WiFi is?

I can imagine one would want to browse or download at higher speeds when available or possible even access files on a network.

I'm not saying I would turn it away...but why all of the excitement? Just wondering how out of the WiFi loop I am.

[Mike Temporale]

Can I ask what the big deal about WiFi is?

When I'm at home or in the office, why waste time using a slow and often expensive GPRS signal to check my email, search the web, download the weather, post on Smartphone Thought, read my RSS feeds, MSN with friends, etc.. when I can connect to the WiFi network and use that instead?

[encece]

Why wouldnt you just use your pc when at home or the office? I could see when one is mobile....grabbing the fastest internet connection that you could. But when the option is PC or Smartphone for these things...I go for the PC everytime.

When on the move...GPRS (unlimited in my case) suits me just fine. Could it use a speed boost? Sure. Maybe EDGE will cover that.

But WiFi for Smartphones is a bit overrated in my opinion. In mist cases. Not across the board.

I wont turn down the option if available in a future phone. I just wouldnt call it a deal breaker for me.

I'd rather have integrated GPS.

[Mike Temporale]

Why wouldnt you just use your pc when at home or the office?

Typically, Yes it's my laptop first and foremost. However, I do a lot of email reading and even the odd chat while I'm trying to put one of the kids to sleep. Or when they wake up in the middle of the night. It's so handy to have something that I can hold in one hand and read while I'm holding a kid in the other.

Other times, I'm at my parents or the in-laws (who I've outfitted with WiFi) and I won't bring my laptop along - or I leave it in the car. So a small WiFi enabled device allows me to quickly check the site and make sure you guys are as up-to-date on the news as I am. ;)

I wont turn down the option if available in a future phone. I just wouldnt call it a deal breaker for me.

I don't know about deal breaker. If I had to choose between 2 handsets that are identical other than one having WiFi, I would grab the WiFi one. Would I take QVGA over WiFi? Not sure.

I'd rather have integrated GPS.

External GPS unit is fine for me. I don't use it much at all. It would be great if these things could be pluggable/configurable. Like buying a Dell - pick the GPS, pick the 128 MB RAM, etc...

[Kris Kumar]

Why WiFi?

- Skype
- T-Mobile has hot spots. And I can bundle WiFi plan with cell plan.
- Faster sync (I believe WM 5.0 event notification layer exposes an event such as faster network is available or 802.11 is available. Applications like RSS readers can use that event to perform automated sync)
- At work and at home it will be great. Of course at work, I am sure the Cisco LEAP protocol based network would spoil the fun. Because I am sure that the Smartphone will not be supporting that protocol. I still have trouble getting the Pocket PC on my work network. :-(

[Jerry Raia]

Ok I want one.

[Rocco Augusto]

i so want to touch one :)

[encece]

Eh, you still didnt sell me on WiFi. I can do most of that, other than Skype with GPRS....at a half decent speed.

Maybe I'll try it in the future and possibly see the light.

[drew_e]

Will the processor be able to cope with Skype (min recommended is 400 MHz) whilst running other apps?

I see the same 195 MHz TI processor is also used in the upcoming Qtek 9100 (for the wifi presumably) in place of the Intel 416 MHz used in the Qtek S110 &amp; Qtek S100 - is this progress ? :cry: Surely the 9100 performance will be comparatively poor?

Any observations?

[Mark Larson]

I also think GPS would be more useful than wifi. There have been so many times when the only functionality I've missed is GPS. Wifi is comparatively rare, and if holding a GPRS Signal is hard at 70 mph, wifi would be even more useless. I would love it if google maps worked on the Smartphone though. Google needs to get cracking on their mobile apps. :-)

[Mike Temporale]

Will the processor be able to cope with Skype (min recommended is 400 MHz) whilst running other apps?

We will have to wait for Skype to produce a client before we'll know for sure. ;)

[Mike Temporale]

and if holding a GPRS Signal is hard at 70 mph, wifi would be even more useless.

True, but I don't think anyone is expecting the WiFi to work under those conditions. It's more of a GPRS replacement when you're sitting in the office, home, or at the local hot spot and need to download the latest smartphone application or send a couple emails. :)