subject: Garmin-Asus Nuvifone M10 Mobile Phone Review - A Snazzy Navigation Oriented Smartphone [print this page] One of the first things people notice about the Garmin-Asus Nuvifone M10, aside from its wacky name, is its unusually robust GPS navigation system. However, that's not all it has"it has a design that will definitely turn heads, as well as large and lovely 3.5 inch WVGA TFT touchscreen. Alas, it's not perfect, and its flaws include a few known dealbreakers.
Appearance:
The Nuvifone M10 is definitely easy on the eyes, what with its chrome accents, rubberized back, and glossy plastic. Its touchscreen is big and bright, but its big downside is that its resistive qualities make it a royal pain to use. If you don't mind using a stylus, however, you may be able to ignore this design flaw.
Gadget enthusiasts will be decidedly disappointed in its Windows 6.5 OS, for the simple fact that it's a convoluted, complex system, full of strange, confusing steps that make it difficult to navigate the phone quickly. That aside, in a year or two, this version will be utterly useless. This might be fine if you prefer this version and this version only, but if you plan on purchasing any new features or widgets, you'll rapidly find that this OS is too obsolete to accommodate them.
Sound:
While the Nuvifone comes with a 3.5 mm headphone jack, combination headset and microphone, and a nicely designed music player, its sound quality is less than stellar. Even simply talking on the phone results in voices sounding tinny and strange.
Camera:
Its 5 megapixel camera may initially look impressive, but without a flash and an image stabiliser, you're doomed to pictures that come out dark, grainy, and blurred, which makes taking pictures during an evening pubcrawl an exercise in futility. However, if you stick to well lit areas, you may get pictures of decent quality. You also have the option of sending your pictures to Flickr or Piasa while on the road.
Internet Connectivity:
The Nuvifone M10 gives you everything you need when it comes to keeping connected. Not only does it have Internet Explorer 6, Windows Market, Facebook, Youtube, and many other goodies to play with, but it comes with Bluetooth, 3G HDSPA, and wi-fi, among many others, allowing you to do all of this on the go with little to no effort as far as connection goes. Its aforementioned GPS navigation system is also packed with fun features such as Where's My Car Parked, Route Planning, and other convenient little navigation features. Its only real drawback is that its resistive screen makes texting and emailing a difficult endeavor indeed.
Memory and Talk Time:
Alas, the Nuvifone's battery life is pretty pathetic, with 480 minutes of talk time and 600 hours of standby, which means you'll likely be chained to your charger for this one. Its large screen, wealth of features, and complicated OS are all enormous drains on the battery. However its 512 MB, plus an addition 8GB via a microSD card means you'll have more than enough space for everything you have in mind.
Verdict:
The Garmin-Asus Nuvifone M10 has a mixture of delights and disappointments. While it's awesome internet connectivity, 3.5 mm headphone jack, lovely exterior, and bright, crisp screen are all amazing, its outdated OS, poor sound quality, resistive screen and disappointing camera may be too much for some users.
Garmin-Asus Nuvifone M10 Mobile Phone Review - A Snazzy Navigation Oriented Smartphone
