E-TEN Glofiish X500+ Unboxing

[Darius Wey]

<img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20070626-glofiishx500plus9.jpg" /><br /><br />Ahoy there. We know you like unboxing galleries, so here's one of the <a href="http://www.glofiish.com/products/Communication/X500+.php">E-TEN Glofiish X500+</a>, which packs GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, an FM radio, an auto-macro camera with flash, and an impressive 2.8" VGA display. We also know you like detailed reviews, so keep your eyes peeled for one in the coming weeks. <!><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20070626-glofiishx500plus1.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20070626-glofiishx500plus2.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20070626-glofiishx500plus3.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20070626-glofiishx500plus4.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20070626-glofiishx500plus8.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20070626-glofiishx500plus5.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20070626-glofiishx500plus6.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20070626-glofiishx500plus7.jpg" />

[snookums]

I have had this for testing for a couple of weeks now.
Found the following:
-The GPS is is very good, incredible sensitivity
-Tomtom in VGA is nice
-It's very slow
-It's loaded with software, some good, some not so good.
-Battery life is poor

If you need a gps-phone it might be a good solution, but I'm not keeping it..

[dommasters]

I'd rather watch grass grow than see this thing getting unboxed.
2 Mega Pixels? 64Mb Ram? Is that the best we can do?
Wake me up when an exciting new Windows Mobile Professional device arrives.
Zzzzzzz.

[LPC]

I've got one on pre-order here in the UK. Waiting on it ... here's hoping it's not as slow as some people say. But I'm used to the iPAQ HW6910 and that's well slow so surely it's not that bad ?

[Darius Wey]

I'd rather watch grass grow than see this thing getting unboxed.

Well, now that you've mentioned it, I ought to take a few pictures of my lawn and post them here. ;)

[Darius Wey]

I've got one on pre-order here in the UK. Waiting on it ... here's hoping it's not as slow as some people say.

In all honesty, I find it slow with E-TEN's bundled applications installed. It's much faster otherwise - comparable to the X500, with the slight performance hit you'd expect with all VGA devices. You can skip the installation of said applications by holding the camera button during the initial installation phase.

[x51vuser]

I've got one on pre-order here in the UK. Waiting on it ... here's hoping it's not as slow as some people say.

In all honesty, I find it slow with E-TEN's bundled applications installed. It's much faster otherwise - comparable to the X500, with the slight performance hit you'd expect with all VGA devices. You can skip the installation of said applications by holding the camera button during the initial installation phase.

why bother with testing - 64 MB of RAM so it has to be slow.
If I chose to run one application at time I would go for Palm OS

[netboy]

the F?? isnt X800 annonced first, y is x500 get to release first??

[Darius Wey]

why bother with testing - 64 MB of RAM so it has to be slow.
If I chose to run one application at time I would go for Palm OS

For what it's worth, I have three VGA devices, each with 64MB RAM, and they're not even close to being unusable. Yes, 128MB RAM would help, but 64MB RAM certainly doesn't warrant writing off the device.

And note that I never said the X500+ was incapable of running more than one application at a time. The truth is you can run several with nary a hiccup. I'm merely hinting that E-TEN's bundled applications aren't all that memory-efficient, which would help explain the sluggish performance experienced by some users.

[Darius Wey]

the F?? isnt X800 annonced first, y is x500 get to release first??

The X500+ resembles the X500 in many ways, so it's easier for E-TEN to utilize some of its existing resources to get it out the door first. The X800 isn't too far away, though. Expect it in a couple of months.

[myuser]

I've been reading up on the slowness problem quite a bit on the X500+. Can you tell us what it means when you say it's slow? Don't compare it to any other pda. Just tell us if this renders the device unusable or what. Do the menus take 1-2 seconds to pop-up? Do applications take a long time to load? Does multi-tasking slow it way down? Is the graphics choppy?

thanks!
Peter

[Darius Wey]

I've been reading up on the slowness problem quite a bit on the X500+. Can you tell us what it means when you say it's slow?

What this means is that a menu may take a fraction of a second longer to appear, and applications may take a little while longer to load. You can still multi-task. There are less FPS while watching a video in native VGA as opposed to native QVGA, but no surprises there. There is always a performance hit when dealing with a quadrupled number of pixels.

So, what's fueling all the fuss in forums elsewhere? I'm going to take a stab in the dark and assume that most users complaining about the slowness of the X500+ have never used a VGA device before. They're analyzing the X500+ from the perspective of the X500, and so their expectations are high given that the X500 is a very snappy device. In all honesty, of the three VGA devices that I own, the X500+ comes out on top in overall performance.

[myuser]

That's great news to hear. I've honestly been getting worried, reading a few of the posts from people on the eTen forums. But, it appears these are largely unfounded.

The PDA I've been using to date is the VGA Axim X51V. Have you used this device, and can you comment on how it would compare to this other device? If not, it still sounds like the X500+ is usable.

What are the other VGA devices you've used and are referring to?

As far as losing a few FPS on video, would you say the video is choppy or is it still watchable and smooth?

Thanks again.

[Darius Wey]

The PDA I've been using to date is the VGA Axim X51V. Have you used this device, and can you comment on how it would compare to this other device? If not, it still sounds like the X500+ is usable.

I've put the X500+ head-to-head with the JASJAR, X51v and X50v (all running the latest publicly-available ROMs), and the X500+ does feel faster overall. For what it's worth, the X500+ scored 357.3, the X51v scored 340.9, the JASJAR scored 285.7, and the X50v scored 207.6 in overall benchmark tests. Of course, benchmark figures aren't conclusive evidence, but you may still find them valuable.

What are the other VGA devices you've used and are referring to?

The JASJAR and X50v are the VGA devices I own. The X51v I mentioned previously is a friend's.

As far as losing a few FPS on video, would you say the video is choppy or is it still watchable and smooth?

It's a bit choppy. "Watchable" is subjective. Most videos I tested averaged 15-25 FPS; truthfully, I'm an FPS junkie, so 15-25 FPS makes me cringe. What hurts the X500+ most is its lack of a dedicated GPU. As you know, the Intel 2700G is the X51v's biggest strength when it comes to video performance, so there's no real contest between the two. The X51v is a clear winner.

[myuser]

Wow. So, it's actually faster than the X51V, but just not in video performance, which makes sense, since the X51V has a 16mb GPU.

Have you tried other video playing software such as TCPMP for improved FPS? I'm sort of FPS junkie, too, but I guess I honestly don't really watch movies on my PDA very often. Even on my X51V, which I just sold, I didn't really watch movies on it more than once or twice, ever.

[Jason Dunn]

why bother with testing - 64 MB of RAM so it has to be slow. If I chose to run one application at time I would go for Palm OS

That's just a goofy statement - most devices shipping today have 64 MB of RAM and they're perfectly usable. I know some people here run into trouble when they have a GPS program open while streaming video and uploading 100 MB files over FTP...but that's a very small number of people. ;-) 128 MB would be better, sure, but there's also increased battery drain with more RAM.

[myuser]

why bother with testing - 64 MB of RAM so it has to be slow. If I chose to run one application at time I would go for Palm OS

That's just a goofy statement - most devices shipping today have 64 MB of RAM and they're perfectly usable. I know some people here run into trouble when they have a GPS program open while streaming video and uploading 100 MB files over FTP...but that's a very small number of people. ;-) 128 MB would be better, sure, but there's also increased battery drain with more RAM.

Exactly! Even my top of the line Axim X51V I just sold had only 64mb of RAM.

[Darius Wey]

Have you tried other video playing software such as TCPMP for improved FPS?

Actually, I've been using TCPMP all this time. Windows Media tends not to handle video too well.

I'm sort of FPS junkie, too, but I guess I honestly don't really watch movies on my PDA very often. Even on my X51V, which I just sold, I didn't really watch movies on it more than once or twice, ever.

Ditto. These days, I use an iPod and Zune for media.

[myuser]

[quote=myuser]

Ditto. These days, I use an iPod and Zune for media.

I'm hoping to use just the X500+ for music/video. My goal is one device for everything. I think the X500+ is about as close as I'm going to get right now, and the price is still quite steep.

[myuser]

Darius,

Thanks for answering all these questions, by the way. This is great info. for my purchase. I've pre-ordered the X500+ and just want to make sure it's worth the $625.

One more question for you: have you used Voice Commander? How well does it work? This isn't MS Voice Command, right? It's something different?

Thanks.

[Darius Wey]

Thanks for answering all these questions, by the way. This is great info. for my purchase. I've pre-ordered the X500+ and just want to make sure it's worth the $625.

No worries. I do think it's a solid device, and hope you'll be satisfied by it.

have you used Voice Commander? How well does it work? This isn't MS Voice Command, right? It's something different?

It's Cyberon Voice Commander, which I'm not a huge fan of. It's a little slow, and requires a bit of training. For a great out-of-the-box experience, you really can't beat Microsoft Voice Command. Of course, the X500+ supports it, so you can easily uninstall Voice Commander and install Voice Command, if you so wish.

[LPC]

Ooooo when will they get to the UK. I've had mine on pre-order for some time now. Just hope they get here sooner rather than later.

[cakira]

Darius,
Thank you very much for your review. It was just giving up hope about X500+ but you that there's still hope. By the say, you recommended not installing E-ten programs in order to improve performance, but could we uninstall the programs latter, one by one, and achieve the same performance as you?


myuser,
My expectations for X500+ are very similar to yours. I had a X51v but I lost it 3 months ago. Since them I've been searching for a replacement with VGA and phone, but there's no one good enough. And I intend to use it as a PIM, e-mail reader, MP3 player and video player.

After you receive your unit, could you say your opinion about the movies quality? And about youtube in it. Oh! Has somebody ever heard about "Spb Mobile DVD for Glofiish X800"? I've found it in one of my researches.

I've been following the reviews of X500+ and XDA Flame and none of them seem to match users expectations. My hope was i-mate Ultimate 6150 but I'm not sure I can endure until September without a PDA just to see Ultimate's review. So, my current tendence is to choose X500+. Its the most stylish too! :-)

Thanks!

[myuser]

Yes, I definitely will. Since we both have used the X51V, I'll try to compare the video quality as well as other multi-media features. It should be shipping for me in about 5 days. So, I'll let you know on this forum when I receive it and what I think of it.

[myuser]

Darius,

What about the GPS receiver: I've read on a few forums that it doesn't get a fix very quickly. I'm happy with 30-45 seconds, but what has been your experience with it?

Also, I'm wondering how the battery lasts when you run GPS and bluetooth and use the phone. You may have answered this, but I'm too lazy right now to go back and check.

Thanks.

[Darius Wey]

Thank you very much for your review.

Thanks, although this isn't my actual review of the device. Rather, a quick unboxing. I'll try to have the proper review up within a few weeks.

It was just giving up hope about X500+ but you that there's still hope. By the say, you recommended not installing E-ten programs in order to improve performance, but could we uninstall the programs latter, one by one, and achieve the same performance as you?

Yes, although you may have a few leftover files and entries in the registry, but they shouldn't be much of an issue.

[Darius Wey]

What about the GPS receiver: I've read on a few forums that it doesn't get a fix very quickly. I'm happy with 30-45 seconds, but what has been your experience with it?

Cold boot-wise, 30-45 seconds isn't that far off the truth. It has a SiRFstar III chipset, and performance is on par with my other SiRFstar III-equipped devices/accessories.

Also, I'm wondering how the battery lasts when you run GPS and bluetooth and use the phone. You may have answered this, but I'm too lazy right now to go back and check.

Don't bother checking. ;) I haven't answered that yet, and I haven't quite tested an all-day GPS usage scenario yet. I'll address this in my upcoming review.

[myuser]

[quote=myuser]
I'll address this in my upcoming review.

Will the review be in this forum or on a separate web page?

[myuser]

Darius,

Just a tip for your review, though you may already be aware of this: check out the eten users forum for some posts from individuals who think the X500+ is too slow. I think this is a big concern and needs to be responded to. Almost all the reviews (if not all) I have read on the X500+ talk about its features and even benchmarks, but don't really address REAL-WORLD-PERFORMANCE.

Here's the foum:
http://eten-users.eu/index.php?showforum=40

Thanks again.

[Darius Wey]

Will the review be in this forum or on a separate web page?

It'll be a separate thread in this forum, and featured in the Articles section of our site. Hard to miss.

[Darius Wey]

Just a tip for your review, though you may already be aware of this: check out the eten users forum for some posts from individuals who think the X500+ is too slow. I think this is a big concern and needs to be responded to. Almost all the reviews (if not all) I have read on the X500+ talk about its features and even benchmarks, but don't really address REAL-WORLD-PERFORMANCE.

Thanks. I have kept my eye on that forum for a while. Like most of my other device reviews, one of my aims is to address real world performance as much as possible, while still covering features, benchmarks, and X500 comparisons to great detail.

[myuser]

What do you think about this post from the eTen forum?

-----------------------
The iPhone is out. And, I have lots of reasons not wanting one. But, there are just few things Eten has to learn.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,133636-pg,1/article.html

Dare enough to try this on your X500? From some of the sad real stories we heard on this forum, X500 (or any Eten phone) does not stand up to this.

The number one complaint I have against the X500 is the workmanship. I paid more money getting a X500 a while back than iPhone is selling for today. I just wish or making the demand to Eten that my X500 can stand up to these tests as good as iPhone. I hate people telling me my X500 is a cheap product because it breaks so easily.
-----------------

[LPC]

Well fed up with waiting for UK stock of this device. Just canceled my pre-order and ordered a Toshiba G900, due with me on Tuesday this week :).

[Darius Wey]

What do you think about this post from the eTen forum?

FWIW, I've unintentionally conducted the carpet test and the hard floor test and the X500+ lived to tell the tale. Generally, Pocket PCs tend to be fragile, but at the same time, resilient enough to withstand a few knocks and drops.

[myuser]

Alright, I've been awaiting the fulfillment of my x500+ order through mobileplanet.com. Tonight I checked order status for the 50th time but this time it says for item status: DISCONTINUED.

Do have any clue what's going on? Is this product no longer going to be available in the U.S.??

[Darius Wey]

Alright, I've been awaiting the fulfillment of my x500+ order through mobileplanet.com. Tonight I checked order status for the 50th time but this time it says for item status: DISCONTINUED.

I'm looking at it now and it says 7 days?

http://www.mobileplanet.com/p.aspx?i=148877

[myuser]

Yeah, mine has shipped now. Tech support said they didn't know why it said that. ???

[cakira]

Hi!

Any news? I've found who sells X500+ in Brazil (but it's very expensive here) and my hands are itching to buy it. Should I?

[dommasters]

I'd rather watch grass grow than see this thing getting unboxed.

Well, now that you've mentioned it, I ought to take a few pictures of my lawn and post them here. ;)
I sincerely apologise if it came across as if this comment were aimed at you Darius. There was absolutely zero intention of that. My intention was to groan at the Groundhog Day effect of seeing almost identical devices getting released with no real progress in spec from what we have seen many years ago. It has been brought to my attention that my comment may have been misconstrued. If that is the case then I am truly sorry. There's no way it was directed at you and I was shocked when I heard. Just let's hope that we see some devices from manufacturers that truly break the mold.

[Darius Wey]

Any news? I've found who sells X500+ in Brazil (but it's very expensive here) and my hands are itching to buy it. Should I?

Sorry for the delay in getting the review out. I'm also preparing a user group demo of new Windows Mobile 6 devices, so sadly, the review is taking a little longer than expected.

But back to your question, perhaps I can best answer it by learning what you're looking for in a device. Care to enlighten?

[Darius Wey]

I sincerely apologise if it came across as if this comment were aimed at you Darius. There was absolutely zero intention of that. My intention was to groan at the Groundhog Day effect of seeing almost identical devices getting released with no real progress in spec from what we have seen many years ago. It has been brought to my attention that my comment may have been misconstrued. If that is the case then I am truly sorry. There's no way it was directed at you and I was shocked when I heard. Just let's hope that we see some devices from manufacturers that truly break the mold.

Oh, no worries. I understood the original intention of your comment and have absolutely no qualms over it. But thanks for chiming in and clarifying what you meant.

[cakira]

But back to your question, perhaps I can best answer it by learning what you're looking for in a device. Care to enlighten?

Thank you for your attention, Darius. In fact, as said before, it seems I have exactly the same experience and uses for the PDA as myuser, so I'm waiting for his first impressions about the device.

Myuser, have you already got it?

What I was most concerned is about the video quality. I frequently download youtube videos in the PDA to watch later and I had no idea about how good is (15~25 fps). But I've just found Frame Rate Test Video at 24fps to get a better idea. Well... it's annoying, but I think I can live with. I'm almost convinced about buying X500+.

Woohoo! And GPS!! I never bothered about GPS, but I found today a GPS tracker called Reperion! It looks that travelling will be even funnier! :D

[ppc-fan]

Thanks for answering all these questions, by the way. This is great info. for my purchase. I've pre-ordered the X500+ and just want to make sure it's worth the $625.

No worries. I do think it's a solid device, and hope you'll be satisfied by it.

have you used Voice Commander? How well does it work? This isn't MS Voice Command, right? It's something different?

It's Cyberon Voice Commander, which I'm not a huge fan of. It's a little slow, and requires a bit of training. For a great out-of-the-box experience, you really can't beat Microsoft Voice Command. Of course, the X500+ supports it, so you can easily uninstall Voice Commander and install Voice Command, if you so wish.

I think Cyberon Voice Commander does not require any training before using it. i can directly call my contacts in phonebook. Only when there is commands always not able to be recognized or i wat to record my contact as preferred on, do i need to record voice tags for them.
moreover, there is prompot page when activating it, which MVC does't offer. a flash demo can be found on cyberon website.

[cpoole]

I have been using the X500+ for about 3 weeks now. I am pretty happy with it so far...

Battery life is pretty good. I can use WiFi for a hour or so - play some games - have a few phone calls and the battery still has charge at the end of the day. I do charge it every night.

I do not have a data plan so turned off the cell modem. I do use the standard WiFi connection. I only turn on the WiFi antenna when I want to access online data - saving on battery life.

Screen is very clear. It is much smaller than my old Toshiba e800 but the whole pda is smaller as well. Explorer looks pretty good once you get the right settings. All the older apps seem to handle the VGA screen better under WM6.

I like the email sync with exchange.

My volume will occasionally set to zero. I think that it has something to do with the M DESK stuff. Will likely boot it off the PDA.

I keep getting cheek prints on the screen while using the phone. I wonder how much battery life would be reduced by a bluetooth headset?

[technofile]

I've been thinking about the X500+ and compared it with the N95 (great camera 5PM and VGA res' video), but the N95 ain't a PDA and I like the extra software and flexibility of a Pocket PC PDA/Phone.

What's the video replay like, not so smooth I keep reading.

I'm wondering the if the 500Mhz equipped X800 would help smooth video playback and quicker response all round.

[Darius Wey]

What's the video replay like, not so smooth I keep reading.

Not as smooth as what you'd expect from your standard QVGA device.

I'm wondering the if the 500Mhz equipped X800 would help smooth video playback and quicker response all round.

It should, although it'll be interesting to see by how much. I'll probably get the chance to compare the two next month.