subject: Pinphone 3gs (x6): Chassing On Iphone Territory [print this page] Chinese OEM had for years trying to clone the iPhoneTM with more or less success. The more successful until now are the Sciphone i68+ and the CECT i9. But like their clones brothers, the i68+ and the i9 have chosen the economical approach by integrating traditional components; starting with a 3,2 inch 60.000 colors touch screen, that does the job but without coming close to the iPhoneTM performance. They have also a G-sensor to pass from one photo or song to the other, and they can play videos whether the phone is hold vertically or horizontally, the screen layout will automatically be adjusted. But when it comes to write SMS dont try to get the keyboard in landscape. Data transmission is also limited to GPRS so if you are a heavy user of data bandwidth, you might find the time a little long as waiting for your Internet pages. Video playback does a good job too, but is limited in definition and fps (frame per second) due to a pushy CPU.
Now there is a new kid on the block, launched in late 2009, the PinPhone 3Gs which is really chasing on iPhoneTM territory as it is a 1:1 copy. For better credibility it even uses the same capacitive touch screen from Sharp, a 3.5 inches 480*320 HVGA with 16 M colors. So like on its model, you can move two of your fingers in or out to produce a zoom in or zoom out effect.
The PinPhone also integrates the latest video codec for playback: FLV (Youtube and Dailymotion), RM (Real Motions) and 3GP, MP4.
Browsing will be a pleasant experience as it is equipped with a built-in Opera MiniTM browser, EDGE (2.75G) and even a fast WIFI connectivity. This means that you can now access to the Internet without any data subscription, you just need to be connected to any free hotpot around the world (shopping mall, restaurant, Mc Donalds).
The PinPhone 3Gs does also a great job on messaging: its keyboard is available in portrait or landscape layout, it supports manuscript and phonetic input methods as well as copy/paste functions. So you can for instance use text from a previous SMS and paste it into a new message.
As the PinPhone has a built-in 3.5 mm universal audio jack port, you will be able to upgrade it with any headphone on the market. It plays the most popular Codec MP3, WAV, AMR and MID. A very cool feature is the ability to scroll through album covers as for a photo album, to launch the song, you have just to tap on the picture and to change song, you just have to shake the phone. Of course the phone has Bluetooth A2DP support, to enable connection to wireless headphone.
The PinPhone 3Gs offers a 2.0 M pixels still camera. Unfortunately, it doesnt have an autofocus and a flash. It is also provided with digital camera functionality that can record video clips in MPEG4 and H263 formats.
On top of all these features, the Pinphone 3Gs integrates, a 400 MHz MTK 6235 CPU, 4Gb of internal memory for your data, a compass sensor, some games, JAVA 2.0, theme replacement (icons and colors)...and everything is packed in a thin body of a 12 mm thickness.
As you might have understood through the reading of this review, the PinPhone 3Gs has a lot of nice features, but dont forget that the Pinphone is a 1:1 copy of the iPhoneTM, the result is that it is a completely illegal cell phone.
Features as found on the Internet:
Information Network: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
SIM Card Slots: 1
CPU: MTK MT6235
Operating system:
GPS: no
Compass: Yes
Connectivity: GPRS / EDGE 2,5G / Bluetooth V2.0 Bluetooth + A2DP / USB
Messaging: Chat, SMS, EMS, MMS, with handwritten input, cut copy paste message function
Ringtones Type: Polyphonic (64 chords), support mp3 format ring
User Profiles: General, Meeting, Outdoor, Indoor
Vibration: Yes
Phonebook: 2000 groups of contacts
Memory: yes built-in 4Go
Card slot: no
U-disk: yes
Support Multi-Language interfaces: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Turkish, Russian, Arabic, Persian, and Thai.
Size: 115 x 62 x 12 mm
Weight: 133 g
Battery: Li-ion battery 3.7 V and 1100 mAh
Talk time: up to 180 minutes
Standby time: 100 hours
Play video120 minutes
Play MP3: 360 minutes
TV: no
Browser: Opera mini
Email POP3/IMAP4: no
Camera: 2 Megapixels and 1600*1200
Video recorder: yes
Radio: Stereo radio FM
Music: MP3, WMA, WAV, MID. Support background play, 3.5 mm universal earphone port output, Handshaking to switch to next song
Movie: AVI, 3GP, FLV, RMVB, auto rotate screen when watch movie or view picture
Voice recorder: Yes with build in MIC
E-book: TXT, DOC
Photo viewer: jpg, gif, png Etc
Games: 2
Java: yes
Color: black, white
Warranty: 1 year
Other Installed software:
Compass software, 3 build in theme
Additional Features:
Slide to unlock and power off, accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate, picture caller, ringtone caller video, hands free, calendar, alarm clock, calculator, currency converter, world clock, to do list...
