MWC 2009: Live Report
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Back in 2007, Gigabyte, better known as computer hardware manufacturer, enter the phone market. Since then they’ve been releasing about six devices each year, most of them going by unnoticed by the media. The only Gigabyte device we have had change to review was the T600, which was model from 2007. At the MWC, Gigabyte showcased two new devices, part of their 2009 line.
GIGA-BYTE GSmart S1200
The S1200 is the more interesting one as is personalized with Adobe
Flash user interface. The device will originally launch with Windows
Mobile 6.1 but is capable to support 6.5 as well. The home screen shows
a large clock with the current weather information, the number of
missed call, SMS messages and new e-mails at the bottom, plus the “?”
which shows you a diagram of the functionality. The problem here is
that it is shown for a very short period of time and cannot serve its
primary role, which is to help the user find where the functionality he
wants is located.
Keep in mind again, that the software is really early alpha release, and a lot of the things we tried did not work properly or at all.
So think about the home screen as the center of the UI. Swiping finger from right to left will bring up the menu which stands to the right of the center, which is the Programs. Swiping finger from top to the bottom will bring My Favorites menu, which is situated to the north of the center. So, all the menus are positioned around the center home screen and are – Programs (east of the center), Smart Viewer (north-east), My Favorites (north), Smart Player (northwest), Setting (west), Smart Calendar (southwest), Phone (south) and Smart Browser (southeast).
So think about the home screen as the center of the UI. Swiping finger from right to left will bring up the menu which stands to the right of the center, which is the Programs. Swiping finger from top to the bottom will bring My Favorites menu, which is situated to the north of the center. So, all the menus are positioned around the center home screen and are – Programs (east of the center), Smart Viewer (north-east), My Favorites (north), Smart Player (northwest), Setting (west), Smart Calendar (southwest), Phone (south) and Smart Browser (southeast).
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The main issue here will be the large learning curve associated with memorizing where each menu is. Most owners of BMW have very similar experience with the company’s iDrive control system, which takes people a while to get used to, but once they learn it, it is extremely easy to use. We feel the same way about the Smart Zone UI – once accustomed to it; it should be a breeze to use.
Once the Phone menu is opened, displayed are the several options available – Speed Dial, Call History, Contacts and Call Settings. Each option has a very beautiful icon which is completely black and white. We really would have liked to see some colors in here. A small arrow at the top of the screen shows to which direction to swipe your finger to return back to the main menu.
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It seems Gigabyte’s strategy will be to fully personalize the whole WM interface. As this is not a small task (not even HTC has done it so far), they will start releasing devices with whatever they have done so far, and continue to develop their Smart Zone UI along the way. So far, it seems like Gigabyte has slightly deeper level of personalization compared to HTC’s TouchFlo 3D. Still a lot of menus still rely on the standard WM UI – music player and calendar to name a few. A very cool is the image viewer, where the images seem like flowing in the space and tapping on one zooms it in.
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Image viewer | |||
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The first device to run the new Smart Zone UI will be the S1200. A
quick glimpse reveals its complete departure from the designs we are
used to see from Gigabyte. It is very light, with a metal trim around
the corners and is considerable smaller compared to for example the
Samsung Omnia. The construction seems very good with really nice and
bright display. As it is WM 6.5 capable, the minimum three buttons are
present here. Smaller does not mean with less features – Gigabyte
managed to jam in 3.1 inch display with WVGA (800x480) pixels
resolution, quad-band GSM with only single band Euopean/Asian 3G and
3-megapixel camera.
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Our overall impressions from the flash based UI are positive. Even though the menu structure seems somewhat confusing at first, after a few days of usage should be enough to get accustomed to it. We hope the next level of the Smart Zone UI will offer even deeper customization.
GIGA-BYTE GSmart MS820
The second new device showcased at the MWC is the GSmart MS820 and unlike the S1200, it will run Gigabyte’s older UI. In is widget-like based menu, with limited customization. The home screen can either show a calendar, an image viewer, a music player or a phonebook plug-in. At the boom of the screen are positioned several shortcuts to other functionality.
The design language is similar to the older Gigabyte models with not so rounded corners. The size is larger compared to the S1200, but still decent for such a device with OK build-quality.
The design language is similar to the older Gigabyte models with not so rounded corners. The size is larger compared to the S1200, but still decent for such a device with OK build-quality.
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3 Comments
1. aza909 posted on 20 Oct 2010, 01:42 0 0
wow the omnia hd looks the best in the show (se idou- 3.5 inch; doesnt have 3.5 mm. why??) (hd video!!!_
2. Kiltlifter posted on 21 Feb 2009, 12:57 0 0
The home screen looks like windows mobile took some key components from the HTC TouchFLO 2D/3D concept expanded on it in a very intuitive way. I am excited that Windows 7 and WM6.5 look like they will be successful. THANK YOU MICROSOFT FOR GETTING OFF YOUR A** AND DOING SOMETHING FOR A CHANGE!
3. Agent posted on 21 Feb 2009, 22:03 0 0
Wow, now Winmo is only a couple years behind other platforms.
