E-TEN Glofiish X650

Discontinued
12th January 2008

E-TEN have been making "Glofiish" branded handsets for a little while now, and the latest addition to the range is the E-TEN Glofiish X650 Windows Mobile smartphone.

One key thing that differentiates the X650 from most Windows smartphones is the display - in common with some of the other Glofiish range, the X650 comes with a VGA resolution (480 x 640 pixel) touchscreen display with four times the pixel count of almost all the competition.

Other notable features on the Glofiish X650 are the inclusion of GPS, a 2 megapixel camera with autofocus, WiFi, microSD expandable memory and the Windows Mobile 6 Professional operating system.

Somewhat surprisingly, given the VGA display and inclusion of GPS, E-TEN are marketing this at the value end of the PDA-style smartphone market. As far as we can tell, the only notable thing missing from the Glofiish X650 is 3G support, although the inclusion of WiFi and EDGE data help somewhat.

Another unusual feature is the inclusion of an FM transmitter. This means that the Glofiish X650 can play internally stored MP3s and other media over a nearby FM radio.. this won't be available in all regions (in some countries it would be illegal), but it's a clever feature that we haven't seen in any other phone. If this is important to you, then check that the Glofiish X650 you are ordering actually includes it. On top of that, the X650 also has its own built-in FM radio as well as Windows Media Player.

Users of the previous Glofiish X600 will be pleased to note that the X650 now has a 500 MHz processor rather than the 400 MHz one found in the previous model which was criticised for being a bit sluggish at times.

It's quite an attractive device, at not too bulky at 136 grams. E-TEN have not specified the battery life on the X650, but around 4-5 hours of talktime is typical for this class of device.

E-TEN gave no indication of pricing - our guess is that the SIM-free Glofiish X650 will come in at around £300 / €450 / $600 at launch. E-TEN say that the X650 should be available in two to three weeks time in black or purple colour schemes. Unfortunately, E-TEN have not have much luck with getting their handsets picked up by carriers, so it is likely that you will have to pay the full price if you want one.