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Torq-p100 by Samsung
In the box
The specs of the TORQ P100 is quad-band (850/900/1800/1900) GSM/GPRS, about 40 MB usable RAM, 82.73 MB usable ROM, Samsung S3C2440A 400MHz processor, integrated Bluetooth 1.2 with modified Microsoft stack, and 240x320 QVGA display. The device is perfectly configured for an upgrade to Windows Mobile 5.0, . The RAM should increase while the ROM may decrease with a WM 5.0 upgrade, but both are more than adequate--too much RAM just decreases the battery life anyway. TORQ is 6.1 x 11.2 x 2.2 cm and weighs in at 170 grams. It is very similar in size to the Sony Ericsson P910a device.
By default TORQ is put on the 900/1800 band, and with T-Mobile you are on the 1900 band.
Hardware and accessories
The display is the smaller 2.8-inch type seen on the JAM with a 240x320 QVGA resolution. It looks awesome and is very bright, with crisp fonts and rich colors. There is no yellow tint like that seen on some HTC devices in the past.
There is nothing at all on the right side (looking at the front of the device), but on the left side you will find quite a collection of things, including (from left to right) a camera hardware button, volume slider, Voice Commander activation button, a recessed reset button, and a 2.5 mm headset jack. Buttons 1 (Voice Commander) and 4 (camera) can be reassigned to other applications if you desire. You can also program the press and hold function of button 1 (set to Record by default).
The microphone, cradle/cable connector, and end of the stylus silo are found along the bottom. Yes, that's right, the stylus comes out of the bottom of this device.
The top contains the Secure Digital slot, infrared port, and power button. It is nice to see SD still being used, and putting the slot at the top makes it convenient for using an SD Wi-Fi card. The power button is a bit recessed on the right side.
On the top right side of the back in the black plastic zone, you will find the 1.3-megapixel camera with a self-portrait mirror under it and a very poor flash above the camera. The camera does well in good lighting. Below the camera mirror is the speaker that plays onboard sounds and music as well as serving as the speakerphone for calls. The bottom half is silver plastic with bumps for better gripping, and below that is a button to release the back cover. Under the cover is where you will find the 1440 mAh Li-Ion battery with a lock/unlock button to secure it in place. You have to remove the battery (removing the stylus helps) to access the area on the left for your SIM card. Spb Benchmark testing showed a battery life of 4 hours, 32 minutes for maximum backlight with regular usage. This is quite good considering you rarely will need the backlight at maximum since the display is so bright; my tests of an extended life 2200 mAh battery for the Axim X50v resulted in about the same benchmark result.
The included carrying case is a fabric and leather horizontal slip case design with a metal loop for attaching the included lanyard. The case top flips closed and stays securely closed with two strong round magnets. It offers minimal protection around the sides of the device, though, and is primarily useful for carrying the TORQ on your belt with the snap belt closure.
While the TORQ uses a Microsoft Bluetooth stack to manage the radio, it has been modified and customized to be much more useful. A Today screen icon gets you into the Bluetooth manager, where you will find 5 tabs to navigate through. Pairing with devices is quick and easy after setting the device to discoverable. GPS users and other Bluetooth fans will find a nice serial port setup utility in the Bluetooth manager, and you can also designate a Bluetooth headset. You are able to quickly connect to the headsets and GPs without any issues. While the TORQ does not include the A2DP profile, it does have an audio gateway that allows you to have the sound from the device play through a Bluetooth headset. The most powerful Bluetooth feature is the ability to control the device through the Bluetooth headset using the included Voice Commander software, which talks about the software section below.
The 1.3-megapixel camera takes decent photos in good lighting, but will definitely not replace your dedicated digital camera. Software Like the Smart Dial utility that was preinstalled on the JAM, the TORQ comes with its own Speed Dial utility to assist with dialing functionality on the Phone Edition device. There are two modes: Frequency dial and Index dial. Frequency dial shows your most recent calls in a grid three squares wide and four squares tall. The bottom two right squares are arrows to move through different screens. The grid is designed so you can easily use this dialing method with only a finger. Index dial shows a grid four squares wide and 6 squares tall, with each letter of the alphabet. Tapping on a letter takes you to another filtered grid like Frequency dialing, with the first and last names starting with the letter you tapped. You can change the text type and size along with the background color.
Software and utilities on the TORQ are one of the strongest aspects of the device. In addition to the standard Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition software and Speed Dial, you will find Image Maker, Image Wizard, Multimedia Manager, Call Filter, SIM Manager, Wireless Modem, Backup Utility, Configuration Wizard, Format FlashDisk, M-Desk, Self Test, Scenarios, and Voice Commander. Image Maker, Image Wizard, Multimedia Manager, and Camera can all be found in the default Multimedia folder in the Programs section of the device. Image Maker is a painting-type application with several tools and options that lets you either modify an existing photo or create your own drawing from scratch. The Image Wizard takes you through a 5-step process with an image and lets you modify it with little cartoons, sketches, and more. The Multimedia Manager allows you to manage your photos, videos, and music in a single interface. The Camera software controls the onboard 1.3-megapixel camera and offers quite a large assortment of options for taking photos.
The Call Filter, SIM Manager, Wireless Modem, MMS Composer, Send SMS, and Speed Dial utilities can be found in the Phone folder in the Programs section of the device. Call Filter allows you to set up block and allow lists, as well as setting how to handle those calls. SIM Manager is a handy way to manage all your SIM contacts. You can use your TORQ as a wireless modem either via IR or Bluetooth using the handy Wireless Modem utility. There are MMS Composer and Send SMS applications that you may find quite useful, and they should save you having to install another third-party application.
There is still more provided with the TORQ in the Utilities folder, where you will find the Backup Utility, Configuration Wizard, Format FlashDisk, M-Desk, and Self Test. The Backup Utility has a nicer user interface and includes plenty of options, including auto backup on low battery warning and scheduled backups. The Configuration Wizard helps you set up your Phone settings (e.g., ring type, volume), button assignment, text size, and backlight and carrier connection settings. Your TORQ should start up with the Configuration Wizard the first time it is turned on. The Format FlashDisk simply allows you to scan or reformat the 84 MB or so of usable ROM called Flash Disk. M-Desk is mapped to the Home hardware button by default; it's a launcher application with tabbed structure. You cannot alter the four tabs (Phone, PDA, Fun, and System), but you can select which applications appear on each tab and the background image on each tab. You can also quickly switch profiles, turn the speakerphone on or off, and connect to your Bluetooth headset. Self Test allows you to run diagnostic testing on your device, and it's a cool, geeky option.
One weakness in the Phone Edition devices compared to their Smartphone cousins is the lack of profiles. Well, the TORQ comes with a Scenarios utility that lets you set up four different profiles (General, Meeting, Outdoor, and Silent), accessed via a handy icon on the bottom of the Today screen and also on the M-Desk launcher. You can choose your phone and PDA volumes, vibration on/off, Smart Voice (where the device announces whom is calling through the earphone or earphone and speaker), and backlight settings. I had to do this on the JAM with a third-party application, and it is great to see it integrated into the TORQ. I hope to see this on future Phone Edition devices as well.
The final application, and one of the most powerful, included in the TORQ as an addition to the OS is called Voice Commander. This is different than the Voice Command application from Microsoft that may be included in Windows Mobile 5.0 Phone Edition devices. Voice Commander comes from Cyberon Corporation, and it lets you use voice commands to call contacts, find contacts, dial digits, start applications, have your appointments read to you, and have your e-mail or SMS messages read to you. While you liked Voice Command from Microsoft, you need the ability to have your e-mails read to you while driving, and that is missing in Voice Command. Another feature that you have not seen on any Windows Mobile device is the ability to control and use Voice Commander from a Bluetooth headset. You can use it like a champ from my Cardo Scala 500 headset, but the GN Netcom 6210 would not activate Voice Commander for some reason. This functionality alone is very important to people and may push them to try the TORQ P100. Recognition works well, and you only need to repeat yourself a few times.
There are also a couple of utilities on the device that don't tie to specific applications. The first noticeable one is the small battery level indicator that appears just under the clock in the top bar of the device. The other is the Quick Link item that appears on the Today screen. You can add applications to the quick launcher, change the size and number of lines, and change the order in which the icons appear on your Today screen. It isn't as full featured as Spb Pocket Plus, but it is handy for quickly launching applications and is part of the installed ROM package.
Daily usage experiences Battery life has been great, all call volumes and speakerphone volumes are clear and loud. |
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