The Sharp GX10 is Vodafone's flagship handset for its Vodafone Live service. But is it up to the task of delivering the Live service to customers? Read our Australian review.
The Sharp GX10 is a reasonably good looking mobile, with the flip format making it slightly thicker than you expect mobiles to be these days. It measures 24 x 94 x 49 mm, and weighs 110 grams. That may not be a bad thing, considering some people are complaining about mobile phones being too small.
The button layout is comprehensive and easy to use, with the keypad joined by separate answer and reject calls keys, two softkeys and a four-way arrow system with a blue centre button labelled "M", presumably because it takes you to the menu. There are also two volume buttons on the side of the phone.
The 65K colour screen looks great, and generally shows the photos taken with the phone in a reasonably good light. While photos don't come up as well as you would expect to find on a computer, other features that use images -- such as games -- come up amazingly well. A small LCD screen on the front of the phone displays basic information.
The all-important SMS function is easy to use, with predictive text that allows you to shift between alternative words using the arrow keys. However, the technique used to change the text entry isn't easy, and takes some getting used to. Each SMS can be up to 1024 characters long, which is the longest we've seen available.
Likewise, the multimedia messaging service (MMS) function is simple, allowing you to set up a slideshow with three slides, each containing up to one picture, a sound file and --naturally-- text. An MMS, which Vodafone refer to as PXT, costs 75 cents to send.
The messaging section also has access to Vodafone Messenger, which is effectively a couple of chat sites. You have a choice between Oz Chat and World Chat, both containing several chat rooms. As with any chat room, it will take you a while to get used to the lingo, which is made even more esoteric by people typing words in through the keypad. Also included is Vodafone Mail, which allows you to check your voicemail and e-mail.
The GX10 has an embedded camera, which takes pictures that are about 5 Kb in size. The camera can take some pretty good pictures, with some provisos. It has a 2x digital zoom, which doesn't improve the resolution, just increases the size of picture. You need a lot of light to get a decent picture - if the environment is dim the picture will be blurry. In addition, the camera takes a while to focus, and unless you hold it steady for a couple of seconds the image will be blurry.
However, Sharp has made it easier to take a picture of yourself by attaching a small mirror next to the lens, so you can aim the camera more accurately. A simple idea, but effective. Assuming you have enough light and hold the camera still, you will get good photos.
The menu navigation on the phone has an attractive layout, with each folder represented by an image which fills the screen. There are nine different folders which can be scrolled through or accessed by typing in the corresponding number.
Our one complaint with the system is the location of features or functions -- for example changing the wallpaper or using the phonebook -- which aren't always in the places you'd expect them to be.
One thing we think is sensible is the way Vodafone has integrated Vodafone Live into the menu of the GX10, rather than having just one button to take you into the Live service. In the 'My Phone', which includes Java Games, Pictures, Sounds, Bookmarks, Text Templates and Memory status, the appropriate submenus have links to download games, pictures and sounds from the relevant place at Vodafone Live.
In fact, this philosophy carries through with all the features. If a user would want to access a particular function from more than one folder, Sharp was more likely to include the option in both folders than not. For example, the Java games you've downloaded to the phone can be accessed from My Phone and Fun & Games.
The phonebook allows you to store up to 500 entries on the phone, plus whatever SIM card storage you might have. As well as the name and number, the GX10 has room on the phone for email addresses, personal information and a photo. The photo can be set to show on the screen when someone rings, which is a great feature. If a mobile includes a camera and a decent screen, this feature should be considered a normal addition, in our opinion.
The melody creator is reasonably easy to use, but not the best we've seen. You can change a note up or down a semitone after you've keyed it in, and change the length of the notes, but the notes are not displayed on a stave, making them hard to read. With such a great screen, it seems a shame that a more graphic method of displaying the notes was not utilised.
However, there are a large number of tones available, and the polyphonic nature of the phone means some really nice sounds can be created. The phone gives you the ability to edit your own tones, but this is a highly technical procedure that will take some time to master.
The Vodafone Live service is probably the best feature of this phone. There are hundreds of backgrounds and sound files that can be downloaded to the phone, and used to personalise it. The Java games available from Vodafone Live are also a good addition -- we've been waiting for Puzzle Bobble to come out on a phone for ages.
Aside from the games available on Vodafone Live, which cost between AU$3-10 to download, there are three games that come with the phone. One is a soccer goal-shoot, one a Breakout clone, and the other is Air Hockey. The games are reasonable, although the soccer one seems based on luck and the other two are very similar in playing style.
We found the battery to be very good, lasting several days without charging. Sharp advertise the standby time as up to 250 hours, with a talk time up to 255 minutes.
We found the Sharp GX10 to be a good phone that delivers the Vodafone Live service in a way that is sure to please.
Sharp GX10
Company: Sharp
Price: AU$999
Distributor: Vodafone Stores
3%
2%
how to download the pics from the mobile to a pc. is there any data suites like those for nokia phones? i dont like the fact that it is difficult to download pics. any help?