Toshiba Portégé G900 Review

Toshiba Portégé G900 Review
These days it seems that almost all the major brown goods manufacturers are chancing their arm in the mobile market in some shape or form. Toshiba are the latest of the electronics big guns to produce a suite of Windows Mobile 6 devices after several years in the Pocket PC wilderness and we've already seen the G500 slider. Fortunately, those generous chaps at Clove Technology have seen their way to lending me a Portégé G900, the flagship device in Toshiba's line. In my experience I've found Toshiba equipment to either be really very good (Televisions) or really very bad (Laptops) and so the Portégé G900 comes to me with only the expectations its very impressive looking spec sheet brings. With the Windows Mobile device market being notoriously difficult to break into Toshiba certainly have a marathon task ahead of them. Will the Portégé G900 see them sprinting across the finish line or struggling with Imate, Asus & Samsung to keep HTC in sight? Read on to find out!

Many thanks to Chris at Clove for lending us a Toshiba Portégé G900 for review purposes.

For more information visit the Clove Website

All device images are clickable thumbnails linked to full size images.

Specifications

Manufacturer: Toshiba	Cellular Phone
Release Date: June, 2007
	Cellular Networks: GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900, UMTS2100
Physical Attributes	Cellular Data Link: CSD, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA
	Cellular Antenna: Internal
(width x height x depth): 61 x 119 x 21.5 millimetres
Call Alert: 72 -chord melody (polyphonic)Bounding Volume: 156.1 cubic centimetres	Vibrating Alert: Supported
Mass: 196 grams (battery included)	Speakerphone : Supported
	Phone Controller (DSP): Qualcomm MSM6280 (2x QDSP4000)
Software Environment
	Control Peripherals
Embedded Operating System: Microsoft Windows Mobile 2006
Operating System Kernel: Windows CE 5.2.1215	Positioning Device: Touchscreen
	Keyboard: Slide-out QWERTY-type keyboard, 45 keys
Microprocessor, Chipset	Keyboard Backlight: Automatic keyboard backlight (upon press of any key) and ambient light intensity sensor
	Directional Pad: 5 -way directional block (including action button)
CPU: Intel XScale PXA270	Jog / Scroll Wheel: Not supported
Width of Machine Word: 32 bit
CPU Clock: 520 MHz	Interfaces
CPU Clock Multiplier: 2.5
Internal Systembus Clock: 208 MHz	Expansion Slots: SDIO, miniSD
CPU Core: Intel XScale	Serial (UART): RS-232 , 115200bit/s
Level 1 cache: 32KB data cache / 32 KB instruction cache	Proprietary connector
Instruction Set: ARM v5TE	USB: USB 1.1 host/client, 12Mbit/s
	USB Series Mini-B (mini-USB) connector
Memory, Storage capacity	Infrared Gate: Not supported
	Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.0 , Internal antenna
ROM type: Flash ROM	Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi): 802.11b, 802.11g (54Mbit/s)
ROM capacity: 128 MB	Internal antenna
RAM type: SDRAM
RAM capacity: 128 MB, 112MB accessible	Built-in Digital Camera
Graphical subsystem	Main Camera: CMOS sensor, 1600x1200 (1.92 million pixels)
	Autofocus (AF): Not supported
Display Type: color transflective TFT	Optical Zoom: 1 x
Display Color Depixel (65536 scales)	Macro Mode: Not supported
Display Resolution 800 x 480 (384000 pixel)	Built-in Flash: Mobile light (LED)
Display Diagonal: 3 " (77 millimetres)	Recordable Image Formats: JPG
Viewable Area: 2.6" x 1.6" (66.03 x 39.62 millimetres)	Camcorder: 352x288pixel
Dot Pitch: 0.0825 millimetre/pixel	Recordable Video Formats: 3GPP, MPEG4
Graphical Controller: Qualcomm MSM6280	Secondary Camera for Video Calling
	Secondary Camera: CMOS sensor, 640x480 pixel
Audio Subsystem	Recordable Image Formats: JPG
	Camcorder: 640x480pixel
Digital/Analog Converter: stereo , 16bit audio sampling	Recordable Video Formats: 3GPP, MPEG4
Microphone: mono
Speakers: 2 loudspeakers (stereo)	Power Supply
Audio Output: 2.5mm jack
Audio Chip: Qualcomm MSM6280	Battery: Lithium-ion , removable
	Battery Capacity: 1320 mAh
	Avarege Current: 165 mA
	Estimated Battery Life: Standby Time - up to 330 hours (3G),320 hours (GSM)
	Talk Time - up to 160 min (3G), 265 min (GSM)

In the Box

The G900 comes in fairly standard looking packaging complete with all the usual accessories but with a bit of a difference.
Included are:-

Power lead
Power adapter
USB Host cable
USB Client cable
2.5mm Headset adapter (mic and 3.5mm jack)
3.5mm Headphones
Manual
Toshiba help card

Software wise you get:-

MS ActiveSync 4.5
Windows Mobile Device Centre
User guide PDF(softcopy)
FAQ PDF (softcopy)
Teleport (Remote Keypad & Remote Screen)
GoldKey (PC lock software)
SIPserver (VOIP software)


I'll talk more about the USB and software later, but it's interesting to note that the Tosh comes with its own proprietary 10 pin Mini USB plug for charge and sync. The power adapter produces 5V (nothing new there) but a whopping 1.5A. Considering older generation HTC devices used 0.75A chargers and the new ones 1A this is quite a big step up. It also means the Portégé is unlikely to be charged via your existing USB power sources so an extra outlay may be required. The other issue here is that the USB power output spec for the PC is a mere 0.5A. The newer HTC devices that require 1A often struggle with the charge provided by PC USB ports so it will be interesting to see how the G900 handles it.

I thought the other significant inclusion in the package is the Toshiba help card. Having problems setting up your phone? "Who you gonna call?" well Toshiba obviously. This is a great idea, but has often been very poorly executed so I thought I'd give them a quick bell to test their technical knowledge. I asked about the charger and whether a standard 5V 1A charger could be used. I spoke to a helpful lady who dashed off to ask someone more technical. She returned promptly and said "Yes, as long as it's a 5V charger it should work". Sweet. Two bonus points for Toshiba for (A) the good technical help and (B) be able to use the regular power plants.

UPDATE: I've actually had mixed experiences with third party chargers. Sometimes they're fine and sometimes although the charging light comes on no charge is transferred. I've also had differing results from the same chargers too though. It seem as if the device is more likely to take a third party charger the more charge there is in the battery. The bottom line is, don't rely on a third party charger unless you've tested it thoroughly.


Convergence

It goes without saying that today's mobile telephones and PDA's are much more than the terms telephone and PDA infer. Today’s devices are becoming ever more complex to meet the demands of the modern lifestyle. No longer are users happy to carry around a PDA, phone, etc; more functionality is demanded from the market and in ever more pocketable and slight devices.

The Portégé G900 strives to meet these needs boasting a truly spectacular specification and therefore contains the following areas of functionality within the device:

Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
Mobile (cell) Phone
Camera
Push Email
Portable media player
Laptop Replacement(?)


Aesthetics

In my opinion, in the flesh this Toshiba is a very stylish device indeed. As is quite common with these type of devices you don't really get the full impression of the device from the photographs. It's difficult to not draw comparisons aesthetically between the G900 and the HTC Hermes. With the form factor being almost identical between the two devices the smaller details make all the difference. HTC have recently played around with the finish on their devices going through metallic looks (Hermes), to gloss (Trinity) and matt (Touch) finishes. Toshiba have gone with the standard metallic finish with quite large flecks. If anything, this is the only aspect that aesthetically I find better on the HTC devices. It's not that I don't like the metallic look, it just feels a little dated now. The lines on the G900 are very svelte with the bevelled black frame around the front of the device giving it a slimming look that belies its length. The shape on the controls around the d-pad is interesting, in a good way, and the chrome finish around the d-pad itself stands out nicely. Around the sides of the device the port covers match the case and look very tidy indeed. In my opinion a large improvement over naked ports.

Size

While I'm conscious of not turning this review into a direct comparison with the HTC Hermes, certain aspects of the device are easiest to describe by doing exactly that and size is one of them. If you've held the Hermes, and stored it in a pocket, then you'll appreciate the G900s dimensions. The thing that's most impressive about the size of the G900 is that even with the extra centimetre length and the extra 20 grams in weight it doesn't feel any different to carry than the Hermes. This is primarily because the device is so very well balanced. The mass is not concentrated into any particular part of the device, but spread along it nice and evenly. I'd even stick my neck out to say you wouldn't be able to tell which one you had in your pocket if you alternated between the devices. For those of you not familiar with the HTC devices the G900 is quite a large device, although in the world of Pocket PC's it's a fairly normal size and weight. While It's not too heavy to wear on a belt you would definitely know you're carrying if you stored it in your pocket. It's a good trade off between form factor and functionality, but I'm certainly looking forward to the same functionality in a smaller package in the future.






ErgonomicsThe horizontal sliding form factor of the G900 is a tried and tested method for incorporating a hardware keyboard into a device. Toshiba have implemented this very well with a robust feeling sliding mechanism. In fact, the whole device feels solid and sturdily built. The combination of the bevelled front frame and tapered sides of the G900 mean that it fits solidly into the palm of your hand. It's also a good size to hold to your ear for making and receiving calls. Unlike the VGA capable machines like the Universal and the Ameo you really don't need a BT headset to use the G900 as a telephone. In general I found the button placement reasonably good, although I did find myself triggering the camera inadvertently upon occasion. The lack of a scroll wheel is a bit of a disappointment as it makes navigation around the larger devices a lot easier.


Hardware Layout

I quite like the way Toshiba have organised the various controls on the G900. They've kept it simple in that most of the buttons are visible on the front of the device. The PIE button and front camera are mirrored square buttons above the screen on the front of the device, with the soft buttons, Windows, mail, contacts, accept/reject call and ok buttons all surrounding the d-pad below the screen. The right side of the device contains the volume control and camera button. On the top of the device is the power button and the unusual, but effective, catch for removing the battery cover. The bottom of the G900 houses the charge/sync port with the MiniSD card and headset sockets on the left side. The back of the device has just the camera lens and the bright LED flash.







Keyboard

The keyboard on the G900 is the now familiar slide out type that we've seen on the HTC Hermes and Wizard. In fact, the travel and the feel of the keys is very similar to the Hermes. There are a couple of differences though, with the soft keys sitting at either end of the keyboard. I found this a little strange at first but I became accustomed to it after a while. The other difference I noticed, and more of an issue, is the proximity of the top row of keys to the device chassis. I do like the keyboard on this Toshiba it has a nice feel to it, but I did find myself uncomfortably bouncing off the case when using the top row of keys occasionally.











Screen

I've had many good experiences with Toshiba and their televisions. I've had CRT's, an LCD and a Plasma and they've always been exceptional picture quality wise. I've also (touch wood) never had an issue with any of them. Unfortunately for you guys, other than filling the next paragraph with overly enthusiastic similes there's very little I can do to show you just how good the screen on the G900 is. You'll just have to take my word for it that it is truly the best Pocket PC I've ever seen. The combination of a high resolution and small size means it's amazingly crisp. The colours are good and the detail awesome.

The screen resolution itself is an unusual one. The majority of WM6 PE devices are QVGA running at 320x240. A few devices deviate from this standard running at either VGA (640x480) or the square screened 240x240. The 800x480 resolution the G900 runs at is a first for Pocket PCs. My first thought was that it would not be compatible with a lot of software and that it would represent a waste of real estate. As I've used the G900 I've realised I was mistaken. I've not found a VGA/QVGA application that the graphics chip hasn't been able to handle by centring it on the screen and adding the standard black bars at the top and the bottom. As for the advantages, there are plenty. Browsing in landscape gives you something like a standard PC resolution so websites display very well. The same goes for connections over terminal services (although bizarrely the terminal services client is not included in the default software). Finally, I'll bet there's no-one out there who can honestly say they haven't wished for more Today screen space at some point? well the G900 gives you 25% extra, free. You can't say fairer than that.



Camera

This most recent generation of Pocket PC's seem to be being released with a mix of 2 and 3 mega pixel cameras. The HTC Athena and HTC Kaiser have 3MP cameras and the HTC Touch, Wings etc 2MP. The soon to be released Imate Ultimate range will also have 2MP cameras. We've already seen good quality images coming from the 3MP on the HTC Athena, but the question here is can the G900's 2MP hardware compare with the impressive results from the HTC Touch. As you can see below, the detail level on the image is very good. I found the Touch was a little dark, and as you can see the Tosh is a little bright, but generally acceptable. There is a bit of a blue tinge to the images too, but it would be easy enough to correct this with software if required. I do feel the still camera is a good addition to the device and for a first attempt the software provided seems as mature as the HTC equivalent.

I've included a couple of other device images for you to compare against the Tosh. The order of the photos from left to right is:

Ameo (HTC Athena), HTC Touch and the Toshiba G900 itself.






Telephony

One of the things that has impressed me most about the Portégé G900 is the excellent call quality. It's by far the best I've heard on any PPC. Sat at my desk, in an average signal area at best, my calls are loud and clear. In fact I'd go as far as saying crystal clear. In an arena where traditionally Pocket PCs have struggled to be functional, let alone impress, the Toshiba performs admirably. I tested the G900 to a landline against a Motorola KRZR and the G900 was noticeably better. Fantastic.




Hardware Interfaces.

IR

As is fairly common with the new WM6 devices the G900 does not support IR functionality.


Wireless

The G900 comes equipped with both cellular data (CSD, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA) and Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) supporting the 802.11b, 802.11g (54Mbit/s) protocols. I found the Wi-Fi signal strong and sturdy, not having any issues connecting to the 3 WAPs I tried it on. There have been some issues reported with the Toshiba and randomly dropping the Wi-Fi connection although I did not experience this. The cellular data was a little unusual in that the GPRS signal seemed at least as strong as I was used to, but I saw the 3G symbol a lot less often than with my HTC Trinity. While the G900 is supposed to also support HSDPA, I didn't see an H, in the whole two weeks I used it. Again, this was a relatively frequent visitor to the status bar on the Trinity.


Bluetooth

The Portégé G900 comes with Bluetooth version 2 as is standard with many of the latest devices and supports many BT profiles. The regular features of Bluetooth are still up to scratch too. I found the Bluetooth performance of the Tosh to be about average for the devices I've used, but not quite as strong as the recent HTC Touch. Unlike most of the HTC devices the A2DP wireless headphones profile has not by default been set to JointStereo. Joint Stereo is a technique used that when the two stereo streams are playing the same or very similar sounds it combines them to save space. This helps to reduce the data transfer rates and therefore increase performance. As the Bluetooth performance seemed a little below par for me I tried enabling JointStereo, but to no effect.


USB Host

One of the things that constantly perplexes me about many Pocket PC devices is the lack of a USB Host. There have been some manufacturers, Fujitsu Siemens for example who have taken the feature on board, but many haven't. We saw it on the HTC Athena, but this is far from the norm for HTC devices. Toshiba have decided to include a USB Host function and for me it's a very worthwhile addition. The USB Host lets you connect regular USB devices to the G900 like external USB memory sticks, USB mice and USB keyboards etc. For me the G900 is made for hooking up a USB hard disk with some movies on it and view them on your 800x480 letterbox format screen! Sweet. Unfortunately only generic USB devices are supported unless you can get Windows Mobile drivers for the USB device in question, but that will suffice for most of us.



StorageFrom a memory perspective the G900 sits on the fence between the low memory devices like the HTC Touch with 128MB ROM and a miserly 64MB RAM and the high memory devices such as the Athena which come supplied with a generous 256MB ROM and 128MB RAM. Toshiba have given us 128MB ROM and 128MB RAM. This equates to usable figures of 39.28MB Storage and 112.51MB of Program memory. Personally I find the 128MB/64MB combination of the Touch enough for my needs so 128MB/128MB on the G900 seems generous! It'll be down to your own specific usage as whether there's enough storage here for you though obviously.

The G900 takes the MiniSD cards and seems to be quite at home running my 4GB High Speed card (150X). 4GB is the maximum size of MiniSD available at the moment. I tried running an SDHC card in the G900 but unfortunately it didn't work. If the HTC comparison is anything to go by a ROM upgrade may well fix this, but we'll have to wait and see.



Battery

When I first opened the box of the G900 I thought I'd been sent the wrong battery. The power cell in the box seemed barely big enough for a candy bar Smartphone let alone a high spec PPC. Certainly the batteries supplied with HTC's Tytn and Trinity are a lot wider, especially the Trinity. Upon further inspection it became obvious that there was no mistake but looking at the capacity, a mere 1320mAH, left me wondering how on earth the G900 could power the beautiful screen and a 3G connection for more than about 5 minutes. Easily is the answer. I don't know how, but Toshiba have managed to squeeze almost 2 days use out of a single charge from a battery 3/4 the size of its HTC rivals. An average day's use for me consists of up to 20 minutes of calls, 30 minutes of browsing in a mediocre 3G area and about 100 push emails. I'm not much of a texter but there's usually a couple of SMS in there too. I also use my device as an MP3 player while I'm cycling to work, so there's also an extra 30 minutes of music too, over a set of Bluetooth headphones. As I said I've been getting almost 2 days worth of charge from the G900 and that's pretty amazing.



BiometricsOn the underside of the keyboard sliding mechanism Toshiba have placed a finger print reader. This, in conjunction with the biometric software gives the device two major functions. The first, as you'd expect is the ability to tie the finger print reader into the device lock facility allowing you to unlock the device with a finger scan. The other option is the ability to launch specific programs depending on which finger you swipe. While technically I found both functions worked reasonably well, I found the launcher to be more hassle to turn the device over, swipe and then turn back over to access it than installing a simple launcher program to the more than ample space today screen contains. The device unlock feature worked well. I found I sometimes had to swipe it 2/3 times to get a hit but most of the time I got it first time round. I also tested it for false positives with 5 of my work colleagues attempting, and failing, to gain access with their own digits.


Software


Operating System

Toshiba has shipped the Portégé G900 with WM6 as you'd expect from a new device. Windows Mobile 6 has matured from its earlier iterations into a very stable, usable operating system. The launch ROM provided with the device has a few issues though concerning stability. We saw these type of problems in some of the grey ROMs that appeared before the OS official release. With the HTC Touch ROM being very stable I checked out the base build and compared the two. The G900 Operating system version is 5.2.1237 (Build 17742.0.2.2) while the HTC Touch Operating system version is 5.2.1238 (Build 17745.0.2.3). It is interesting to note that the G900 is an older build, but whether the underlying software problems come from this is a different matter. If this is the case then you have to wonder why Toshiba didn’t wait for a later release. If not, how the problems made it through the QA process. Either way, I for one will be watching Toshiba closely to see if they can deliver the software that this G900 so desperately needs, and deserves.

Applications:

Games – Bubble Breaker & Solitaire
Network – UK service provider setup installers
ActiveSync – The WM client component of ActiveSync 4.xx
Calculator - Calculator application
Camera - Toshiba Camera control application
File Explorer - WM 6.0 File Manager
Finger Launcher – Fingerprint program launcher application
Gold Key – Bluetooth PC locking application
Internet Sharing - Allows you to use your device as a modem
Java - Java Midlet Manager
Messenger - Microsoft Instant Messenger application
Notes - Note taking application
Opera Browser – Mobile version of the Opera web browser
Picsel Viewer – Alternative picture and video viewing application
Pictures & Videos - WM 6.0 Video / Picture viewing application
Search - WM 6.0 system search applet
SIM Manager - Sim Contact manager
Tasks - WM 6.0 To-Do list application
Teleport – Remote control application
TIPtalk – IP telephony app
Windows Live - Windows Live Sign in
Windows Media - Media player

The eagle eyed amongst you will notice the absence of the Mobile Office suite from the programs list. As this device is WM6 this is only accessible from the Start Menu, and has its own program group separate from the one above. In this group there is:-


Excel Mobile - MS Spreadsheet application.
PowerPoint Mobile - MS Presentation application
Word Mobile - MS Word Processor.

I would have expected to see a PDF viewer like Adobe Reader to be preinstalled. I found this to be a strange omission. You do, however, get the UK cellular network setup files which is good to have. If you’re a business user and experience a forced hard reset there's enough in the Ext ROM to be able to get your device up and running for email, contacts and calendar etc without having to rely on anything else. This is a nice touch.






Sleep of Death!

I understand some G900 devices experienced an issue whereby they do not recover from standby and require a soft reset. This has been labelled the "sleep of death". I was fortunate to receive the review sample from Clove with the much publicised "sleep of death" patch already applied to the device. This issue is not limited to Toshiba devices and was common with several early WM6 ROMs over several devices while using push email. While I feel it is poor that the issue was not discovered and fixed prior to release I feel the speed at which Toshiba have acted in releasing the patch is admirable. You could argue they should have issued a new ROM for the fix, but there are Pros and Cons to that argument which I'll not go into here. With the patch applied I still experienced the issue, but only a couple of times in the two weeks I used the device. The biggest issue for me is that with the soft reset button set underneath the battery cover you have to take the machine apart to reset it and that can be frustrating.

Added Applications

On the provided software CD you get 3 additional Toshiba applications. They range from the useful to gimmicky. These are: Gold Key, Teleport and TIPTalk. GoldKey is an application you can use to lock or unlock your PC using your G900 via Bluetooth. TIPTalk is an unusual execution of VOIP where you use your own server and handsets for free calls in your network. Finally there’s Teleport, a remote access application.

I thought both GoldKey and TIPTalk were more "show" apps really, not something I’d use in daily life but nice to display the phone's functionality. Teleport however is an excellent addition to the software suite. Teleport is a remote keypad and remote screen application that enables you to both control your phone from your PC and your PC keyboard from your phone. You can achieve remote connection over USB, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The PC keyboard is not a great application, its main use is to control PowerPoint if you are running a presentation but there is little else it is capable of. The phone control app from the PC is a good example, nicely designed and stable. Oh, and of course it’s free.






Performance

For general use the device seems pretty snappy. Switching between landscape and portrait modes was reasonably quick and painless. I noticed a very tiny amount of lag when using VGA apps that used the full screen, a couple of games for example but otherwise the device reacts well. As you'd expect there were no issues playing music but I could not get good performance from TCPMP because of the new hardware. WMV’s played well in Media player and obviously impressed on the Hi-Res screen.








Value

Cost: £339 ex vat. (£398 inc) available now from Clove Technology.

The G900 has been aggressively positioned at the same price point as the 1 year old HTC Tytn to within a couple of pounds. As the G900 has a higher spec than the HTC device and comes with WM6 this release price looks very competitive. We're yet to see the price point the new Kaiser will turn up at but I'd be surprised it you get any change from £500 SIM free at launch. If this is the case, then the Toshiba will be excellent value indeed. It's a good move by Toshiba. I think many of the other manufacturers have struggled to shift devices simply because the public will always go with a name they trust over a newcomer when the price is similar.


Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
Excellent call quality	Sleep of Death issue
Beautiful screen	No scroll wheel
Good build quality	Non-standard power/sync port
Great battery life (for a 3G device)	Top row of keys a little close to chassis
USB Host functionality	Strange place for keyboard soft keys
Decent camera
Nice suite of extra applications
Biometric fingerprint reader
Standard Headphone socket
3.5mm Headphone socket adapter
Nice port covers
Solid feel to keyboard
Competitive price

4WM Rating

85%





Conclusion

From a hardware perspective the Toshiba Portégé G900 is a very impressive first venture back from the wilderness. The device has WM6, good battery life, is nice looking, and has awesome visuals. The little extras like USB host and an aggressive price point mean that Toshiba's first foray into the Pocket PC market for several years has the pedigree to challenge HTC for the title. It's a shame then that Toshiba didn't spot the "sleep of death" issue before release as I feel this has tarnished the G900's image enough to prevent it being a real contender. There are also a few other aspects on the software side of things that show a little naivety on behalf of Toshiba such as the older OS build (and its foibles) and lack of Terminal Services etc. In my opinion the G900 is good, and is potentially only a new ROM release from being great. The question is whether Toshiba can, and will, put the resources in to putting this right. History says that most of its competitors wouldn't. We'll see. I'll be interested to see how the new generation of devices like HTC's Kaiser and Imate's Ultimate 7150, the G900's direct competitors, face up to the mark the Toshiba hardware has laid down here. There are interesting times ahead and Toshiba can consider themselves major players at the Windows Mobile table once more.