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Hardware
The first thing that strikes you about this device when you get it out of the box is its size. When you see pictures of it, you'd be forgiven for thinking it's huge when in reality it's a pretty average size. Packed inside the G500 you can find an SiRF Star III GPS chipset (with TMC), 400Mhz Samsung CPU, 1.3MP camera, 2.8" QVGA TFT touchscreen, Bluetooth 2.0, Quadband GSM, 128MB of user memory (256MB on the G500+), FM radio (with RDS) and a miniSD slot.
GPS
Probably the most attractive feature of this device is its SiRF Star III GPS chipset. The GPS has the TMC module allowing traffic information to be displayed in compatible applications and the chipset also doubles as an FM tuner with RDS, allowing station names to be displayed. In an urban environment, the chipset performs very well and having GPS built into a device is extremely handy.
CPU
Samsung's 400Mhz CPU feels a lot more responsive than the equivalent Intel CPU. I even find the G500 performs a lot faster than the HTC Universal which has a 520Mhz Intel CPU.
Memory
The G500's 128MB is a very welcome addition considering the G500 has no Wi-Fi. With the extra memory in this device, you can install far more applications into the phone memory, leaving the miniSD slot free for a Wi-Fi card. Of course, if 128MB isn't enough for your needs, the G500+ offers a massive 256MB!
1.3MP Camera
The G500's 1.3MP camera also has a built-in flash. Unfortunately, as with most cameras in Pocket PC devices, the quality in low light is appalling, even with the flash. In fact, the flash makes things look worse. That being said, in normal light, the camera isn't too bad.
2.8" Touch Screen
2.8" is about average size for a Pocket PC touch screen these days. The quality of the screen isn't bad, but it isn't great either. What worries me more is that if you press the back of the device too hard, you can see it on the screen, meaning either things are very tightly packed into this device, or the screen has little protection behind it. Also and I'm not entirely sure if this is hardware or software related, when scrolling with the stylus, if you hold the scrollbar in the same position, the screen starts to shake, a lot. From what I can gather, it doesn't affect all G500's and it hasn't been fixed by any ROM updates. Apparently this problem is not limited to the G500, other devices out there suffer with the same problem but I have never seen it on a HTC device.
Connections
Unfortunately, Eten have decided to go down the proprietary route with this device for the data/charge connector. That type of thing I find very annoying as I always have mini USB cables everywhere. However, they have stuck with the standard 3.5mm headphone socket.
Buttons
Now, when it comes to buttons, the G500 is a bit strange. It's a WM5 device and yet it has no OK/Flag buttons. It does, however, have two extra buttons at the top of the screen for launching applications. Using a button mapper to change these is simple enough but their placement on the device makes it awkward to use a OK/Flag. Instead, I mapped (using AE Button Plus) a single press on the soft keys for OK/Flag and then a long press for the soft key functions and it works quite well. I would have done it to the call/end keys but the application couldn't map the call/end functions!
Build Quality
The front of the G500, with its gorgeous blue light running round it, looks and feels quite solid. However, the back of the device is a different story. It is obvious that cheap plastics have been used, it feels nasty and there is a horrible gap between the battery cover and the device itself (see pictures). Also, the volume slider and camera button are loose and rattley, as is the plastic that covers the camera lens. Overall, the build quality of this device isn't great. Notice too, the overspray on the inside of the battery cover, not good!
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