There’s a strange excitement over the Samsung Mondi [specifications]. It’s basically a PocketPC and yet that MID form factor, the hi-res screen and the slide out keyboard make it look incredibly appealing for mobile internet work.
Jenn at Pocketables has just received hers and posted a set of unboxing pics. She’s happy with the build quality and pleased at the surprise set of car mount accessories. We’ll have to wait for her to dive into the software and give her feedback on the user experience, speed and of course, the keyboard.
Meanwhile, Vincent Nguyen of Slashgear has posted his first impressions of the device along with an overview video that I’ve embedded below. Vincent is, like Jenn, impressed with the build quality but isn’t convinced about the keyboard. A full review is promised.
There are two ways to look at the Samsung Mondi, the oversized slider-style PocketPC with built-in WiMax. Either you wonder why Samsung didn’t go all the way with the convergence theme by adding in the cellular voice capability or you look at it as a flag-bearer in the Smartphone and MID market. One of the first devices that promotes the use of internet based services for all your communications and a real benchmark for pricing and capability.
My first impressions from this review are ‘oh crap.’ The most important element (in my mind) has turned out to be sub-par. The keyboard. “…as I started tapping away an e-mail, I was immediately disappointed; the keys are too flushed into the phone’s hardware, making them difficult to press.”
A few more thoughts:
Does it really do voice?
Just what does this mean: “The WiMax connectivity made browsing the Web, fortunately, a zippy experience… pages like ESPN.com or CNN.com load correctly—a pleasure compared with other popular phones, including Apple’s iPhone 3GS”
The subsidised price is a crime. Just $100 off ($350) for a 2 year lock-in? Are U.S. customers worth so little? [Info from sidecutreports]
There are lots more questions outstanding and I look forward to detailed reviews that cover battery life, screen brightness, web browsing speed, camera quality and more.
As time goes on, more and more of my time is being taken up reading very interesting smartphone news. WVGA, Android, WM6.5 and Cortex are the important keywords and every time a device comes up it becomes clearer that the push towards the MID market is greater from the Smartphone manufacturers than it is from the Intel-based MID and UMPC market. With Menlow in a strange UMPC-like state (with no Moblin support now) there’s a long wait until consumer-focused MIDs come out on the Moorestown platform in 2010. It’s even clearer than before that ARM will have the upper hand in the MID space in 2009 by building up from existing products and brands that already sell millions of devices. Intel will have to sit back and wait for the time being.
Today has been particularly active in the ‘MIDPhone’ space.
As I was updating myself on the status of my Samsung Omnia order (no delivery date in sight) I took a quick look at other options that are available and the Toshiba TG01 (soon available in the U.S.) jumped up at me. With a screen size of 4.1”, a resolution of 800×480 and processing power that is 2-4 times as much as the Nokia N800 / N810, it’s difficult to ignore. Pricing is now under 500 Euro for an unlocked version and 02 in Germany are selling it for 150 Euro with a 25 Euro / month contract. Add 15 Euro on top for Internet and you’ve got an interesting option that you I could walk out and buy tomorrow. Chris over at SlashGear has just finished his review and although he wasn’t impressed with the UI and predicts that the WM operating system could be an issue, I still think that the device represents great value for mobile internet fans. When Windows Mobile 6.5 comes along it could make it even more interesting, especially if Opera 9.7 works on it. I’m looking forward to seeing some browsing speed tests on this one. Note: No keyboard!
As I was finishing up reading Chris’ article a news item about an HTC Leo popped up. The Ai.rs blog has posted what they say are the specifications for this new HTC device. I don’t know who Ai.rs are but everyone seems to be following up the story. WMPowerUser (a blog I frequent more and more these days) says that the device is the HTC Firestone. All I know is that it’s rumored to have a 4.3” screen and run a Snapdragon platform at 1Ghz. This is definitely another one to add to the MID list. Again, it looks like there’s no keyboard.
Only a few minutes later I read the news that the Samsung Mondi is launching. The Mondi is an even bigger device with a slider form factor and a 4.3” screen. Samsung are dropping a WiMax module inside and handing it over to Clearwire for a launch in Las Vegas. It’s an ARM11-powered device running Windows Mobile again. No pricing, No availability details. Style and feature-wise it’s not too exciting and in fact it doesn’t even support voice so this is really focused at mobile internet activities.
The Mondi’s compact design provides the user with a more mobile form factor and ease-of-use than the typical laptop or netbook. While it is small enough to fit into the user’s hand or pocket, the Mondi packs an impressive Web browser, powered by Opera 9.5, which takes full advantage of the device’s 4.3-inch touch screen.
I’d like to see this with HSPA, Android, a high-end CPU and a big fat battery for all-day mobile internet use!
Finally, in addition to all that, there’s news about a Sony Xperia X3 which had previously been known at ‘Rachael.’ Dutch blog ‘All About Phones’ found the information in an Expansys we page and it’s quite the interesting read, largely because it’s going to be running Android and will have a 4” 800×480 screen. As yet, the CPU information is unknown. If you’re thinking about an HTC Hero, you might want to wait for final specs and pricing on this one.
None of these devices represent the ultimate MID yet but you can see where things are going. The 4” to 5” space is getting very busy already. I’ll beadding some of these (if not all!) to the database very soon.
Sad news (at least for me) has just come in via Jenn at Pocketables.
The Mondi is confirmed (reliable source Jenn tells me) that the Mondi [product details] will be powered by an ARM11 CPU at 800Mhz.
Its a good clock-rate and if Samsung have linked the software nicely into all the DSP’s and 3D capability on the device, it should be a good improvement over something like the N810 and better than most smartphones out there but it’s not quite the step to ARMv7 core that I was looking for.
Turning the tables on you this morning, I’m trying to find out what CPU/chipset Samsung are using in the Mondi. I’ve spent a lot of time searching but it seems that no-one at CTIA, so far, has popped the obvious question – “Hi Samsung. Is it correct that the Mondi is running an ARMv7 (E.g. Cortex) CPU and not the ARMv6 (E.g. ARM11) core that’s too under-powered for Internet browsing?” If Samsung won’t say, just dive into the settings, please someone.
At the moment, all I can find is something that Qualcom leaked last year. At WITA, they said that Samsung would be producing a MID that would be based on ARM v7. I covered it in this article and I really hope it’s true because ‘10 times the processing power of a Nokia N810’ would put this in a very special place on my wishlist.
There are a couple of new videos of the Mondi on YouTube this morning. I’ve linked them in at the bottom of the product page.
Looking like a set-play organised by Clearwire to promote WiMax is the official Samsung announcement of the Samsung Mondi Mobile Internet Device. The Mondi is the SWD-M100 mobile Internet device that we’ve reported on a few times. Despite the fact that it might be commissioned to promote WiMax, it’s looking very interesting indeed.
Specifications:
CPU type – Unknown
OS – Windows Mobile 6.1
Display Size – 4.3″ 800 X 480 (resolution not confirmed)
The SWD-M100 Mondi [product page] is the WiMax device that was spotted at MWC in Feb. There in Barcelona it was seen running Windows Mobile 6.1 which didn’t really get too many people excited. It looks like we might find out more soon though. Phone Scoop have found a new image on a Samsung RSS feed.
The device is potentially very interesting. If it uses a fast, Cortex-core processor, Windows Mobile 6.5 and the new Opera Mobile 9.7 browser then it will meet a lot of wish-lists, spot-on. Until we get further info though, we’re still left with the same specs as we had before:
