Hands-on: Toshiba TG01

The Toshiba TG01 goes on sale today, exclusively through Orange. With the largest screen on any current smartphone, this Windows Mobile 6.1 device is set to challenge the likes of the iPhone 3GS and Samsung i8910 HD as the leading device for multimedia.

But does it live up to expectations? Here’s our lowdown on the key features of the phone.

Size
It’s big. Very big. In order to accommodate a 4.1″ screen it couldn’t really be any smaller. It’s the width in particular that makes it feels large to hold, and also makes the phone difficult to use one handed, unless you are equipped with particularly long thumbs. Thankfully it’s also thin: at less than a centimetre it sits in your pocket very nicely.

Speed
The much hyped Snapdragon processor, running at 1GHz, takes its bow. For once here is a phone that is worth running benchmark tests on since it is difficult to gauge the actual speed of the phone in regular use. It didn’t feel all that much quicker for some basic tasks, although was aided by a screen that is as repsonsive as any we’ve seen on Windows Mobile, but it does seem as though it will devour any media content you throw at it. And it will do so in a wide range of formats thanks to Toshiba’s splendid decision to license CorePlayer for this phone.

Memory
Seemed a little on the light side. There’s probably enough for most uses, but we did encounter a few low memory warnings with lots of apps running. Admittedly this has likely got as much to do with the way Windows Mobile manages background apps as anything else.

New UI
The one real disappointment about the TG01, skin deep doesn’t even begin to describe Toshiba’s new UI. It is simply an app launcher: hit almost any button and you are straight into Windows Mobile. There are dozens of third party programs that do the same job, and some do so better than this. In the past Toshiba has used Mobile Shell for its front end, and probably should have done so here. Still, Windows Mobile 6.5 will be along in a couple of months, and will be available for this device, so maybe that will correct things.

The inevitable iPhone comparisons
The specs on the TG01 are great, but the device is another illustration of how ill-suited Windows Mobile 6.1 is for use as a consumer touch screen mobile phone platform. There’s plenty to like in this device, including a decent-looking camera and some neat gimmicks like being able to shake the phone to answer a call, but the choice of OS is still its biggest weakness.

So initial impressions reveal a mixed bag: UI is poor, video performance is great. How the Snapdragon processor and large screen affect battery life also remains to be seen.

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