Pocket PC Dubai - i-Mate JASJAR Review

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Page 3: Hardware (Swivel Mechanism), Camera and Telephony

Hardware - Swivel Mechanism

This is perhaps the most controversial while at the same time intriguing part of the whole device. Even before the device came out, there were plenty of critics that said that it wouldn’t last and that it was a wrong decision yada yada yada yada (including me ). I only have 3 words for them (and me) “WRONG WRONG AND WRONG”. Ok that’s 4 words, but who’s counting

I would be lying if I said that I too wasn’t apprehensive about the stability of the mechanism before I purchased it. But for the first (ok hundredth) time, I am glad that I proved myself wrong. The swivelling mechanism is surprisingly strong and has a very smooth yet sturdy feel to it. It clicks into place (without the sound) after the full 180 degrees rotation. The only quirk I would probably have would be that it should have been allowed a full 360 degrees rotation. The reason for that I suppose is rather obvious. In a hurry, if a person accidentally tries to swivel it counter-clockwise and damages it, all the tissues in the world are not going to be enough to dry the tears Ok, I agree it is not funny and personally it is heart-wrenching as far as I am concerned which is why I am going to be extra careful and I suggest you do too. Please also note that a swivel should be performed only when the device is clicked into place, a pre-click swivel will cause the upper edge of the screen to scrape against the keyboard which really isn’t a good thing in the long run.

Therefore, to summarise, whatever apprehensions you have had about the swivelling mechanism, please pull them out of your head, put them in a bag along with a piece of meat and throw it to the lions and if you don’t have lions as pets ( I do because I am George of the Jungle ) the civilised alternative to that would be ermmm well you decide.

An interesting an perhaps rather practical fact about the swivel mechanism is that when working with colleagues in a group, you don’t necessarily have to pick the device off the table and hold it in your hand to show them your work, all you need to do is use the swivel mechanism to twist the screen around at different angles so that everyone can get a look. Really practical in daily use IMO.

Keep a napkin handy (to wipe the drool off your face)

NOTE: Swivel mechanism is 180 degrees in CLOCKWISE fashion. Please refrain from trying to twist it in an anti-clockwise fashion as this can damage your device.

If I was reading this review right now, I would only be saying “Gimme Gimme Gimme” It truly is an amazing device.

Camera

Being primarily targeted at the corporate users, I am still wondering why a camera was incorporated in the first place. With laws becoming more and more stringent each day in regards to camera phones in office environments, this might be a reason for many people to overlook the device. I sincerely, hope that a device without the camera is there somewhere along the roadmap. Such a wonderful device should be accessible to all the strata’s.

The JASJAR’s camera is capable of taking 1.3MP shots which are of much better quality in comparison to its predecessors. The main reason for this would be the fact that instead of using a CMOS sensor, a CCD was used. That’s right, the JASJAR has a single CCD and along with an LED flash, this makes it the first WM device to finally take good quality images. It is also marketed as a device capable of taking 2MP photos, but in reality, the images taken at 2MP are just interpolated. To me and you this basically means that the device itself is zooming into the subject; what we normally could have done on our desktop. As far as I am concerned, they could have just zoomed in 5 times more and marketed the device as being capable of taking 5MP pictures….ultimately it is zoom (digital). For those of you who don’t know, digital zoom is what you normally do on your desktop PC to when magnifying an image. The only zoom that really matters is “Optical Zoom” which right now is apparently available on camera phones only in Japan and Korea. Ok before I start crying, lets quickly move on…

Genuine interest was taken in the development of the camera application of the JASJAR. Plenty of new modes were added to the camera applet. All in all, they are:

1) Camera mode

2) Video mode

3) MMS Video

4) Contacts picture : This is basically to snap a picture and directly be able to use it for Caller ID.

5) Theme : Basically captures pictures and places them in themed frames, similar to what we had seen in its predecessors. New themes can be downloaded and added in the future. Something cool to make your 5 year old girl go wowww. Apart from that, I don’t see any practical sense in it.

6) Panorama : I am particularly fond of this option. It is best used for taking pictures of landscape. What it basically does is, it takes pictures in rapid succession which can be later stitched together to create a collage.

7) Burst mode: This is similar to what we see in digital cameras. It takes pictures with split second intervals, maximum up to 30 images at a time. Just keep the camera button or the D-Pad button continuously pressed and it will continue taking pictures (maximum 30).

8) Sport mode: Similar to burst mode, can take pictures at split second intervals for a pre-defined time or frequency.

The camera also boasts of 2.0x Digital Zoom and a self-timer both of which I would probably use once in my whole life.

Overall, the camera is quite useful, takes good quality pictures preferably in good light. Surprisingly, pictures taken in night mode are also of good quality. Since it has a LED flash, close range shots up to 3m are quite nice.

Some examples of pictures taken with the camera in different modes:

Day time 1MP

Click on the images below to view original size:

Creek view (2MP Interpolated)

Click on the images below to view original size:

Night mode

Night mode (with flash at 3m distance)

Click on the images below to view original size:

Telephony

The only relevant thing here to mention is the modes of answering/making a call. This is perhaps one of the most asked questions regarding the device. By default, the methods of answering an incoming call are:

1) In Notebook mode (closed): The moment you hear the phone ring, all you need to do is open the flip, see the caller, close the flip and press the answer button. All this hardly takes about 3-4 seconds. Now unless, you are like Bill Gates who doesn’t have a second to pick up a $100 note when dropped, this should not be a problem for you at all. If you don’t want to see who’s calling, you can just press the “answer” button and save yourself those extra 2 seconds.

There is an external speaker located on the outside of the flip in the form 3 serrations which is evident below:

In regular phone mode (like you hold it in your hand), shown below:

All you need to do is press on the green/red hardware buttons placed on the swivel to answer or reject calls.

2) In Notebook mode (open): Since there are dedicated hardware buttons on the keyboard to answer/end calls, all you need to do is press the green “answer” button and the call gets activated. If you are using a BT headset, the call gets diverted to it and if you are not, then all you need to do is hold the “answer” button for a second, and the speakerphone will get activated. It is very loud and clear at the same time, so all those of you hoping it is not as crappy as its predecessors, your prayers have just been answered.

3) In PDA mode: Similar to its predecessors.

4) Update September 21, 2005:

The final way of answering a call would be with the help of a Bluetooth headset supporting CLI (caller ID). This would be extremely convenient as one can screen calls without even touching the device and thus save yourself some trouble especially while driving which in the first place is not advised. (Talking on the phone while driving is a Big NO NO and illegal in most countries including the UAE) and more importantly battery life. Currently, 2 headsets are available in the market supporting CLI, one being the rather famous Jabra BT800 that supports advanced functions such as DSP (digital signal processing) which basically means the cancellation of background noise for use in noisy environments. It also supports vibra function and individualised ringtones. The 2^nd headset would be the Sonyericsson HBH-660/662. The HBH-662 supports DSP and CLI but has a smaller LCD screen in comparison to the BT800 and hence shows the number in a horizontally scrolling fashion. I have used the BT800 in the past and really liked it overall although the only thing that annoyed me was that, it was a bit of a wrestle to put it on my ear, but I guess practice makes perfect or so they say

Observations and comments regarding the BT headset compatibility will be published very soon by Mohd