Toshiba TG01
09 FEB 2009
Launch price
from £free
Stuff says
Has the firepower to take on the smartphone big guns, but could be handicapped by Windows Mobile
Toshiba isn’t renowned as a relentlessly consistent source of top smartphones, but that hasn’t stopped it from throwing its hat into the increasingly crowded touch-phone ring with the TG01.
The good news? Toshiba’s fitted the TG01 with a huge 4.1in touchscreen and nippy ‘SnapDragon’ processor. The bad? It’s running Windows Mobile rather than Android.
Windows not Android
Once you’ve got past the disappointment that, despite being a part of Google’s Open Handset Alliance, Tosh has gone with the comparatively clunky Windows Mobile instead, the TG01 looks promising.
Best of all is that screen. We were impressed by the HTC Touch HD’s 3.8in job, but Toshiba has outdone its rival with a 4.1, WVGA beauty, which apparently draws on the tech found it its Regza TVs.
There’s also a 1Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, which isn’t just fast but has been designed to consume less power meaning, in theory, an extra-long battery life.
Continues after the break...
Survival of the thinnest
Impressively, this is all packed into a chassis that will have the iPhone consider hiring a personal trainer – it’s just 9.9mm thick, compared to the Apple’s 12.3mm waist.
Of course, all this counts for little if the TG01 turns out to be to be more fiddly than sewing in a pair of boxing gloves. Thankfully, Windows Mobile has been skinned with a neat 3D interface, but this could still prove to be its Achilles heel.
We’ll have a hands-on video and full review soon.