Smart it may be, but no one could accuse the Toshiba G500 Portégé of being skinny. Portly, certainly, since this chunky smartphone bulges noticeably in the trouser pocket. Somehow it seems a fat phone should at least offer a qwerty keyboard.
Still, what the G500 lacks in the size zero stakes, it makes up for in the goodies department, with the Windows Mobile 5 OS, Windows Media Player, fingerprint security to discourage magpies, as well as WiFi, Bluetooth and HSDPA (3.5G) connectivity. The media player handles MP3, AAC, MPEG4 and WMV files.
Also compensating for the G500’s chubbiness is its tidiness, an effect achieved through a 12-button alphanumeric keypad that slides neatly out of view at one end, leaving just seven buttons exposed for accessing basic functions.
The 2-megapixel camera lacks autofocus, and the sensor’s low resolution seems sure to leave budding photographers in the shade. As if to compensate for this, the phone features a secondary camera in the form of a 0.3-megapixel (VGA) video job to pander to those who like to be seen and heard.
Such extras are all very well but any mobile phone’s primary function is surely as a voice communicator, and in this department the Tosh simply does not cut the mustard. The microphone is inadequately shielded, and thus picks up vibrations from the phone’s casing. This, combined with sporadic feedback noise, adds up to an unsatisfying and at times irritating aural experience.
Another, admittedly minor, gripe is the SIM card; this slips easily and securely into a bracket beneath the battery, but extracting it requires fingernails the length of long-nose pliers and a grip that would be the envy of a great white shark. This may prove an annoyance for any user who frequently swaps the card between phones.
Verdict: Neat but boring appearance marred by mediocre sound quality. Other brands offer more bang for your bucks.
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