Cherry Mobile G1 Review (Conclusion)

So after a week of using the G1, I have a few things to say about the unit that I got which (most of them) were because the unit was buggy.

Some issues with the G1 I noticed:

1.) I cant seem to delete some messages (received recently, sent and located in the phone - not in the sim), even resetting the phone did not help and I would get "Failed" whenever I was deleting the persistent message. They were not locked, locking/unlocking the message did not help, moving them only created a duplicate.

2.)  The the radio is not working since it's asking me to insert a headset (but there isnt a headset plug on the unit) - there is no helping this unless Cherry Mobile issues an update (one that the software would bypass the plug requirement as I've seen other phones work their radio without a headset)

3.) When I change the wallpaper, the image reverts to the original wallpaper after awhile, it happens also when I shut down the unit and turn it on again and when I connect it to the pc.

4.) The supplied bluetooth headset disconnects at random when used, like for one call, it lets me finish the then disconnects after the call ends. Also the unit does not always automatically pair when turned on (always happened), I'll have to pair the bluetooth device again to connect. Just selecting "Activate" does not connect the phone and headset (happens most times).

Please note: 1, 3 and 4 were fixed when I got a replacement unit (I took the 1 week replacement option) and if you are experiencing 3 (an easy to test feature, just bring an sd card with a small picture and place it as your wallpaper. shut down the device and turn it on) number 1 and 4 might be present and your unit could be a candidate for replacement. You can't always test the deleting of text messages not the bluetooth feature for calls.

Pros:
1.) It's small and lightweight, the material is comfortable to wear (soft rubber)
2.) For calls it's reliable (specially when using the bluetooth headset) signals were strong even inside the house and can of course handle two sims.
3.) It's cheap for the package it brings to the table!
4.) Screen is legible, usable even in light sunlight (and easily shaded due to it's size), touch screen is accurate even for a resistive screen.
5.) Battery life is surprisingly usable (for a 400mah battery), it can last you a day with some calls, text, bluetooth open all the time andsome music (please note that even if there are no bars, the phone will still function for around half a bar's worth of time.)

Cons:
1.) Using the watch without the bluetooth headset for calls can be hard as the volume even at max (15/15) is not that loud and placing it to your ear can be a lesson in flexibility.
2.) The camera is more of a gimmick as the resolution is not good, it would have been better if it was omitted to maybe make the phone smaller and cheaper.
3.) Maximum micro SD size is 8gb. If Cherry Mobile had packaged the unit with a micro USB cable and bigger micro SD capacities, it might make for a really good portable flashdisk drive for most people. As it is, it's just an OK thing with me, some may not see this as a con, aside from trying to find an appropriate micro USB cable to use with the unit.
4.) The phone keyboard is pretty small, large fingers will have issues typing, not so big ones will have a challenge, small ones will find it a bit slow. This might have been helped if the keys were not flat and instead had rounded tops.
5.) The battery cover will not protect the insides from sweaty arms as it has no sealing whatsoever. Granted it's not water proof even by a bit, basic watch protection should take into account sweat from the wearers arms. This can be solved by using some cling wrap (doubled over), put it on the back of the phone, and just use a scalpel or a small thin scissor to cut away at the excess plastic, this should at least prevent some of the sweat from entering the device.

Overall, I'd say that the G1 is very usable (as a backup and in a pinch as your main) as long as you're not a heavy texter as the calling function works very well and lasts long enough. You can definitely have your kids use this for their school phone as it's cheap enough to let them have one, you wont have to worry about them wasting too much times on games (it only has sokoban and tetris) or other inappropriate content and their little hands can easily handle texting. For adults, I'd say its still good, I plan on keeping mine for my backup number which I use mainly for calls.

I hope you enjoyed this review, if you want to read the whole review, just click Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Cherry Mobile G1 Review (Part 3)

Hi, 2nd to the last installment here. The last should contain real world use of the watchphone and conclusions.Now aside from being a watch and phone, you can use your watch phone as an impromptu flashdisk IF you have a long terminal micro usb cable. The charging port is recessed so normal length plugs will not work. Luckily I have one that fits just right.

Just below is my long micro usb cable plug

Connecting to a pc will show 3 options. Charging (only), mass storage (charging and flash disk mode) and com port (for using the phone as a modem (gprs? Can you say the equivalent of dial up?)

At least it gives us options

Charging by pc is faster as the supplied adaptor is rated at 400 mA. So it'll be pretty quick using a power bank for those low to dead batt moments.

Music on the phone is alright. Good enough to put you to sleep in a quiet room.

Some cons and annoyances: it has a radio app and its displayed on the box but you wont be able to use it since it will ask for a headset (as an antenna I suppose) so its pretty useless. Another is that when the screen times out to the standby (time, date and sim info) there is no way to get back to the phone menu until you close the phone and slide it open again. Considering the pad is small. You may need time to enter info. In connection to this. There is a display option for what happens when you close the phone. The default is it closes the current activity (bye bye whatever you were doing) and another is to contine. One more thing, if you turn off the phone and take out the battery, time and date resets. So there is no battery back up in there and if your phone dies from low power and isnt connected to a power source it will likely reset ss well. As I earlier mentioned, the manual is useless, so you're stuck guessing what each button does.

On the right side from top to bottom is the camera, the volume rocker and the start switch. This wakes the watch when the display is off (to conserve power.) On the right is the micro usb port covered by a rubber cap and the microphone hole.

The bluetooth headset turns on with a long press. When on and with another long press, you'll activate its pairing mode to pair it with your phone (also works with other phones.) Pressing the button on the headset when on and idle will call the last number.  Pressing it while someone is calling will answer the call.

For now. I'd rate the phone as usable with its semi rugged non water resistant build (beware sweat as the rear cover is NOT sealed with any proofing), mostly for calls and not so much for text or music. Even less for imaging as I think it was mostly placed there as a gimmick.  It will suffice as a flash disk but is limited to only 8 gig. (I may try a larger capacity if I can get my hands on one.) I'll update the review with part 4 after a few days of testing as I'll be using it everyday.

In case you missed it, part 1 is HERE and part is is over HERE.

Thank you for reading :)

Cherry Mobile G1 Review (Part 2)

From the internal shot of the watch phone, you should be able to see it does have 2 sim slots and the micro SD expansion slot. Its ntc registered and shows the imei in the back. The battery is a solid 400mh one. So tiny it hurts :D so far playing music for around 10 minutes and using the bluetooth for file transfers and headset calls around 10 minutes and tinkering with the settings all the while yeilded a loss for around 25% (The phone has 4 bars, it lost 1) its not very encouraging but the phone IS small and the battery smaller still. I can guage it should last a day of moderate phone use. Power bank umbilical cord may be necessary. 

The wallpaper is user changable and brightness looks good. It sounds alright but take note at max volume, the alert tones are not loud. Using a sound meter, it only registers 55 to 60 decibels. Around the same loudness of talking in a low tone in a quiet room. Better set it to vibrate and ring.

Texting with fat stubby fingers will be a problem with the tiny keyboard. Its usable though and accurate. The touch screen is resistive. Its probably why its cheap. Its ok enough but I find myself touching a selection twice or more at the times before it registers.

Contacts are a bit easy to deal with by exporting you current contacts and sending via bluetooth. You can only make use of yhis if you have a memory card installed as the phone does not have extra memory.

Speaking of memory cards. You're gonna need it if you want to use the camera (or custom tones) as the phone watch will complain if you try to shoot without a card. Also though the box specs say vga camera. The max resolution of the camera is 960x1280 (might be interpolated) 480x640, 240x320 and 128x160 are also available. There are also some effects and 3 levels of quality. Sample Images below.

Up close it's almost passable

Not so close... ugh...

One undocumented feature is that it can capture video. But to reach it requires a bit of pressing and max resolution is 240x320 only. 144x176, 128x160 and 96x128 are also available. File format is 3gp and its pretty decent overall for whats offered.

More review points and pics with part 3 HERE or if you got here by mistake, HERE is part 1. 

Cherry Mobile G1 Review

Hi and welcome back. It's been awhile but today I'm going to review and hopefully answer questions about this product that haunted me till I  decided to buy this Cherry Mobile G1.

Originally slated for release around December,  the limited availability made it tough to get my hands on one though I've been lusting over this device since I got wind of this watch phone that was mistakenly thought of as a smart watch.

Not bad looking

First off I would like to mention this is something I bought and not some review unit CM lent/gave me. Secondly, The manual in the box is NOT helpful at all! It doesn't show any images of what button does what, no instructions on how to pair or use the devices inside or what to expect. Thirdly the box does not give a lot of info as well, like how much is the capacity of the phone or battery or how long the battery will last in either headset or phone.

On the box, you can read the ff:
Dial sim/dual standby
Dual band (900/1800)
1.44" TFT LCD (128x128 pixels)
VGA camera
FM radio
Music player (MP3, AMR, WAV)
Video player (3GP, MP4, AVI)
BT V2.1 +EDR
GPRS Class 12/WAP 2.0
Micro USB/Mass storage function
MMS supported
Micro SD up to 8GB

The unit I got was red but would really have preferred yellow (or green).  No matter, from the box they come in red, yellow, light blue, purple and dark blue.

What's in the box? It should contain the watch phone, battery, bluetooth headset, headset clip, headset charging cable (usb powered but no charger unit), phone charging adaptor (micro usb so people can use their android power bank cables and data cables for transferring to the watch phone), warranty card, instructions manual (extremely useless) and lots of plastic packaging.

More images and the continuation of the review in part 2 HERE or if you wish to skip to part 3 and my summary, click HERE.