Second Look (10 March 2006) at
Singapore's Group Sense's Xplore m68
OK, here's the lowdown on this phone
1. major flaw, okay BIG, FAT, MEGA flaw - a lo-res screen on OS 5
you can hardly find anyone writing programs or updating to OS 5 with lo-es
2. would i recommend it to a friend?
no. unless he is not a friend. then i dont need any more enemies
3. would i use it myself?
sure - but i dont have any high expectations. i expect to do a hard reset occasionally.
4. so why am i poking pins into my eyes with the xplore?
actually it is not completely unbearable - thanks to its great form factor and these saving grace software
a. backupbuddy - with a russian roulette genre pda like the explore, back up every hour!
b. zlauncher - put everything that can run on a card there; the miserable amount of ram that comes with the xplore will soon hang your xplore if you dont keep an eye on it
c. fat fingers - even when i cut the bottom half of the screen protector, leaving the silkscreen uncovered, graffit is still chancy. even when you do a space, a letter comes out.
d. mybible4 - makes it worthwhile to have a good bible.
5. how long will i hang on to the xplore - the moment treo 650 looks more like a phone instead of yester-year's walkie talkie. Actually i am already eyeing ppcs with built-in gps.
This review is taken from my thread at spug.net and is
presented as it is...
yeah i know that there are zillions of xplore threads at spug
but i want one just for owners
so we can rant our frustrations
share our delights
and ask questions/receive answers
and not just a thread for the curious
this phone is by the same singapore company, group sense
who came out with the very buggy zircon
my pal and i went to target at funan
and was graciously served by a ms valerie
looks like group sense has learned a thing or two
and we were so impressed with it
that both of us ended up with one each
i will be taking it through the paces
and if it werent as good
look out for it cheep cheep
at the palm marketplace
but as long as it is with me
i will post regular updates here
stay tuned
got a silicon skin (see above pic)at an accessory store
on the 4th level corner at sim lim facing the canal
the shopkeeper picked up one for me, and i paid him $10
dont know what model it was
need to do a little modification
cut line for card and holes for camera and stylus
but fits quite well, dont you think?
especially the all-important screen/earpiece/button areas
>>> tips on modifying the silicon skin <<<
1. cut the screen opening to include top row of buttons
2. cut a hole for the camera lens
3. dont cut any more
a. card is better accessed with the screen hole
b. stylus is better accessed with bottom hole
after all, it is e-l-a-s-t-i-c
>>> Great photo album <<<
the built-in photo album is great
and makes my splashphoto obselete
1. reads native jpg
2. set your own directory in your card
eg /dcim/
3. enlarge/move with jogdial
not all things to all men, but pretty ok
wishlist
1. set rotate for all photos (instead of individually)
2. higher zoom for higher res photos
3. simple edit like my se p190i
>>> xpore phone features <<<
with my really bad experience with the zircon
i spent my first few days with the m68
just for the palm features
and as a whole, proved pretty satisfactory
my big regret was the lo-res screen
rendering some of my zodiac games unplayable
otherwise, a 3 stars out of 5
this morning i got an extra sim card
put it on
and when the battery lid is closed
it immediately recognises it and turn itself on
hitting the green phone button brings out a quick menu
i started on the quick dial
but couldnt replace the faces with videos or pics
hmm... must go back to the menu
would like to get some tips and tricks from xplore owners
so far i am liking it more and more...
why lo-res? the smaller screen with lo-res is a pain - causes nausea
besides this and small insignificant stuff like
not able to delete free programs,
the xplore is really a pretty good phone
here's why
1. nice form factor
2. available in cool black, ipod white....
3. uses standard sd cards
4. palm features work well
5. phone is a no-brainer
6. sms works good
7. if you have gprs, email and web works good
btw dont use the built-in browser - use Xiino instead
my colleague and i turn on our xplore at the same time
he tap on the built-in browser, i tap on xiino
both of us goto www.ppcoc.org
the site showed up on my xplore in less than a minute
it never opened on his!
>>> will the xplore m68 be my daily mobile of choice? <<<
1. form factor: m68 wins over my se p910i
2. programs: overall m68 is better
a. bible thumper and mybible better than symbian bible
mybible4 is great
b. palm games better
c. backup better
3. fuctionality: se p910i better
a. handybase, opera browser, pdf reader better
b. email, phone, sms etc better
c. some games are very good
will be trying out my m68 this week
and report to this post
if it is not as good
i will consider se 990 when it comes out
it has been a few days since i used the telephony features
and i must say i am pretty happy about it
though not over the moon
1. form factor is good - best of any palm phone imho
compared to the o2 xphone 2
the xplore is an ugly ducking
fatter and larger
cant believe how sleek the old phone was
2. phone features works fine
and pretty easy to use
very happy about this
3. sms is lackluster but works
wanted group sms pretty badly
but funsms and maxtext wont run
so thanks to feedback on this threa
d
i now have groups on my memo pad
where i can cut and paste
limited to 12 numbers at the most
i've retired my p910i - because it is a fat pig
but missing it alot
still, we get used to pain because of beauty