Garmin ASUS M10

I’ll be honest with you, the first time I saw Garmin’s Nuvifone G60 with its super smooth Linux based UI, I was tickled pink. But after actually reviewing it, I realized that it really wasn’t much of a mobile handset as it was a GPS device. I’m willing to concede that it was one of their initial designs, being new to the mobile field and all, so it wasn’t perfect, and now they’ve launched the M10 into the Indian market. This is their third model here and I had no preconceived notions about it so here’s what I think after putting it through its paces.

Form Factor
The first impression you’ll have bout the M10 is that it’s a large, slightly heavy but not altogether a bad looking handset. The large 3.5-inch touchscreen (480 x 800 pixel) is unfortunately of the ‘resistive’ nature making the use of a stylus quite mandatory in certain circumstances. This was their first mistake as far as I’m concerned. It has volume/zoom keys on one side and a micro USB port above the cradle docking port on the other side. A 3.5mm handsfree socket is at the top. Even though the M10 comes with 4GB of internal memory, it should have had a hot swap slot for the microSD card which, as a matter of fact, it doesn’t. Other than the volume keys, there are no other tactile buttons.

The bundled handsfree kit is very comfortable to use for long durations and Garmin-ASUS has also included an additional stylus and a very handsome carry case for the device. What I didn’t like was the overly large box it came and that had no car kit or cradle included. Disappointing.

Features and Performance
Interface
The M10 runs on a Windows Mobile 6.5.3 Professional edition with negligible amount of customization in terms of the UI. All it offers are options to create shortcuts on multiple desktops just like Apple. It’s finger friendly but only to a small extent. The Qualcomm 7227 600 MHz processor helps runs things quite smoothly and multi-task without a hassle. Aside from the regular WinMob virtual keypads, larger QWERTY option is also available, however I found the layout to be a little too small to use easily with my stubby fingers forcing me to whip out the stylus. In landscape mode it was easier however it was still not as good as many of the other handsets out there. One of the biggest issues I had with was with reception.

It seemed like my iPhone was able to get full strength in the same areas that the M10 showed no more than three bars. This is serious cause for concern. I double checked this with other handsets in other locations as it was quite the same. I could make and take calls with no issues of voice clarity from my end or those on the other side with other handsets, but the M10 didn’t fare as well on a consistent basis.

Media
The handset’s media capabilities are strictly basic. The music player is anything but loud, although in a purely silent environment I did notice that audio quality was not bad at all. Via the speakerphone the decibel level was as obnoxious as the Java mobile handsets, but that’s a good thing as the louder it is the easier it is to hear voice guided directions over the din of Mumbai’s traffic. There’s no radio and the only video player is very unfortunately the native Windows Media player. Surprisingly though, it read all my test files including those in DivX and XviD formats. Audio was still to low to hear clearly though. Under the games option the M10 comes with just the WinMob Solitaire and nothing else.