UBiQUiO 401 Pocket PC Phone - €181.95 [Expansys.ie]

Basq

Designed to have the look and feel of a phone but with the power of a feature packed Pocket PC this unit solves the problem of most combined phone / pda devices (the lack of a keypad for one handed dialing) with a neat slide out design reminiscent of the Samsung D500 etc.

Its a very stylish device with good build quality and a pack of features, it has WiFi, Bluetooth and it runs Skype really well, although if you plan on using Skype with WiFi a lot you should consider a second battery.

Features:
Operating System Windows Mobile 5
Processor 416 MHz Intel processor
Memory Slot Mini-SD
GSM/GPRS Tri-band 900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS
Bluetooth Yes
Camera Yes
FM Radio Yes
Wi-Fi Yes


The UBIQUiO 401 Pocket PC is a feature packed device. Interestingly its design focuses on easy phone use. The numerical keyboard makes dialling and texting fast and efficient. With a smart matt black finish and glossy sides, the sturdy unit has a professional feel.

Emails can be sent and received in real time. The UBIQUiO 401 has direct push E-mail (Microsoft's Messaging and Security Pack) and A2DP out of the box! This means users connected to their corporate email and the latest version of Exchange 2003, can receive emails on their mobile as soon as they land in their outlook on their PC. There is no need to manually pull emails to our mobile. They will be pushed there instantly.

This unit has so many unique features. Notably the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) for streaming stereo audio to your compatible Bluetooth headset is a great feature. We also really like Smart Dial, which brings up a list of possible contacts when you start dialling a number, and the numerical keyboard that works like a standard phone keypad. Another great feature is the answering machine software that records incoming messages to an audio file. You can save them forever and there is no need to call your network to get messages.

In the box-
UBIQUiO 401 Pocket PC
840 mAh Lithium Ion battery
AC charger
USB data cable
Wired stereo headset with built-in TV/FM antenna
Headset adaptor
256MB mini SD card
Quick Start Guide
Manual (on mini SD card)
ActiveSync CD
Warranty Card

Seems like a decent price for it... been going on Adverts for 200 euro upwards second hand recently though.

Ruu_Old

Posted it a few weeks ago, there wasn't too much interest. I like the look of it anyway.

Basq

Thought you might have alright... but didn't bother searching.

Probably not a whole interest alright.. but the FM and TV tuner is a nice little addition to it.

AnCatDubh

I'm not surprised that this phone has hit bargain bin status. I own one since last December and don't get me wrong - the concept, the idea is wonderful. But the delivery does not lead to satisfy the promise. If you check out the user reviews on expansys you will get a very mixed bag err'ing towards how poor this phone performs.

Main problems that i've had with it are; poor battery life - its hard to get a 8 hour day with a reasonable amount of use, bad gprs which works fine initially but if left idle won't restart and you have to power down and back on to resolve, problems connecting to network - same as GPRS. unstable - it turns itself off irrationally - no apparent reason. i might have it checking for email or browse the web or make a call. Don't be fooled by having a TV on board - it certainly does but reception can be very poor. You need an extremely good signal in the area to be anyway successful. The camera is only average - poor color reproduction, bad lighting, etc... (i know, i know, its only a phone camera after all). Also, it is the nearest thing to a brick that i've seen in recent times - really, really, big.

in fairness i've had no problems synching it with either xp or vista. this is one of the few good features. one other in fairness is the screen quality is clear and generally bright but it does suffer outdoors on sunny days (if we ever get any this would be a worry ;o)

this really is the all in one device that you could do without.

I love windows mobile (only if its not locked down by some freaky network operator). I've used SP3, and SP5 but this is a general disappointment for me which fails at the hardware level.

Anyhow, buyer beware - these are only a personal experience. Perhaps others could post if they've had good experiences.

pm me if you've any queries.

Cheers.

Basq

Thanks for that AnCatDubh.

We do need more of these sorta reviews round these parts. In fact, a 'Consumer Electronics Review' forum is not a bad idea on Boards.