Enjoy this great phone with Windows Mobile professional 6.1 and GPS

So all of you with your Hiphones, Ciphones and other Chinese clones with ofcourse be happy with the great and more importantly cheap phones you have. Some Chinese phones even come preloaded with Windows Mobile professional editions 6.1 and 6.0. They have learnt how to pirate even Microsoft’s other mobile applications and libraries, but what they cant do is give you a genuine IMEI code.

The International Mobile Equipment Identity or IMEI code is a unique code that every GSM and UMTS phone must have. The last digit of IMEI is a check digit :

The Check Digit is calculated according to Luhn formula (ISO/IEC 7812). See GSM 02.16 / 3GPP 22.016. The Check Digit shall not be transmitted to the network. The Check Digit is a function of all other digits in the IMEI. The Software Version Number (SVN) of a mobile is not included in the calculation. The purpose of the Check Digit is to help guard against the possibility of incorrect entries to the CEIR and EIR equipment. The presentation of Check Digit (CD) both electronically and in printed form on the label and packaging is very important. Logistics (using bar-code reader) and EIR/CEIR administration cannot use the CD unless it is printed outside of the packaging, and on the ME IMEI/Type Accreditation label. The check digit shall always be transmitted to the network as "0".

The check digit is validated in three steps:

1. Starting from the right, double a digit every 2 digits (e.g. 7 → 14)
2. Sum the digits (e.g. 14 → 1 + 4)
3. Check if the sum is divisible by 10

Now i must say i didnt come up with the following explanations, we came up with them while discussion on forums. How do Chinese generic phones and clones get IMEI codes ?

1. The manufacturer destroys and old phone and allots its number to new phone (highly unlikely)

2. The manufacturer uses the IMEI of stolen phones.

In both the cases it is not hard to see that the manufacturer will not be able to meet the IMEI demand by himself. Hence many Chinese generic phone makers have starting putting the same IMEI in thousands of phones, as a result a lot of people are facing problems.

Some networks ban the usage of the same IMEI by more than 2 phone, this may be banned on a first come first served basis or a straightforward ban all with same IMEI basis.

Another potential threat is the terrorist threat, law enforcement has often used the IMEI as a tool to trace locations of criminals and terrorists. This evidence is very important in terms of reconstructing events. Its not easy to pinpoint location using IMEI but you can get the area and tower the cell-phone is contacting.

The last and third problem is ignorance and theft, in that order. Supposedly i am a gullible customer. I buy the phone w/o realising that its IMEI may be the same as all the other phones by the company. Now my phone is picked from my pocket. I go to the police, being an influential person i am able to tell the operators to ban my phone. Operators will ban phones based on IMEI supplied. and in turn all Chinese phones by that manufacturer will be bricked and become useless for all.

Asus really loves India, thats why they release all their phones in India before many of the leading world markets. The latest to hit the shelves is the Asus ZX1. The phone is a special edition Lamborghini model and is priced at a whooping Rs.48000 or $1200. Now i can buy a good laptop with that amount, why would i buy this phone. But our job is to review the phone and here goes :

Asus claims that the phone has a ‘chassis-inspired aerodynamic flow’ and the ‘amazingly sharp profile’. Its made up of carbon fibre and stainless steel so that it may last a long time. Its looks are killer and we agree, amazingly thin and stylish at the same time. The Lamborghini logo looks fantabulous. The specs of the phone are :

Specifications – Our comments are in Italics

Networks
HSDPA 3.6Mbps, UMTS 850/1900/2100MHz, EDGE/GPRS/GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz; Class 10 - Awesome Quadband and HSDPA !

Operating System
Microsoft Windows® Mobile 6.1™ Professional – The latest and best mobile OS

Weight
119g (With Battery) – A little heavy

Standby Time
150 ~ 200 hours – Good and Decent

Talk Time
3G: 2~3 hours*; 2G: 4~5 hours  – A little on the lower side

Display
2.8´´ TFT LCD Screen, 65,000 colors, QVGA 240×320 pixels – Just 65k colours, pathetic for 48k bucks

Processor
TI OMAP™ 2431 450MHz + EMP U360 – Nice processor

GPS
Built-in GPS Sirfstar III - Always Handy

Memory
256 MB Flash + 128 MB SDRAM – Decent RAM, also the unit has expansion slot

Expansion Slots
Micro-SD; Supports SDHC – SDHC saves the day

The thing also comes with a large number of ASUS Applications

Anytime Launcher, EziMusic, EziPhoto, MultiHome, NewStation, Backup, ASUS Zip, Ur Time, Business Card Recognition, Auto Cleaner, Meeting Time Planner, Remote Presenter, Voice Commander, GPS Catcher, Call filter, ASUS Status, ClearVue PDF Viewer, Network Auto Configuration, Youtube / Flickr Uploader

Camera Resolution
3 Megapixels, 0.3 Megapixels for Video Telephony – Good, but at 48k 5MP would be better

Verdict:

The phone is a stylish looking, mean performance machine, the only worrying thing is the price tag, spending 48k just for the Lamborghini stamp is plain stupid. Not many people will buy it, and those who do will be better of buying HTC phones which cost 30k but offer similar and better features.

The video shows the Asus P320 mobile phone review, various features such as Asus Today Screen, Asus Launcher, Windows Mobile Professional 6.1 features, GPS, Google Calendar. Web browsing of the handset is also tested. The today screen features a weather icon like the HTC touch, a feed reader, a notes utility. Also worth noticing is the Asus status feature.

Essential buying guide for anyone looking to buy an Asus P320 mobile phone.

So Taiwanese company Asus plan to take a share of the pie from China’s HTC with their latest Mini PDA the Asus P320 phone. The phone features a great stylish shape with ultra features like GPS, A much Improved Today Screen and Wifi. All this for an Indian price of Rs.12000 (Street Price ) is quite a steal. The phone has the latest Windows Mobile professional with an all touch interface like the HTC Touch and IPhone.

The phone’s specifications are:

• Quad-band GSM )850/900/1800/1900), GPRS, EDGE connectivity
• Microsoft Windows Mobile Professional 6.1
• TI OMAP Processor 850 200 MHz CPU
• 128 MB ROM
• 64 MB RAM
• Windows Mobile Pro 6.1
• 2.8″ QVGA 320×240 px TFT LCD touchscreen
• Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0
• 2 Megapixel camera (Quality is yet to be Tested)
• Built-in  GPS  SIRF III
• MicroSD memory card slot   which supports SDHC

Let us discuss the Pros and Cons of this phone Asus P320:

Pros:

1. Built in GPS ensures you dont have to carry around an external receiver, this can easily become your navigator.
2. WLAN Wifi
3. Quadband – All continents are in your reach.
4. Supports upto 32 GB Micro SD SDHC cards
5. Improved Asus Today screen and Asus Launcher
6. Microsoft Windows Mobile Professional 6.1 (Latest)

Cons:

1. Very small, very very small, so using Windows Mobile Professional 6.1 can be pretty agonising
2. No external keyboard app, the default keyboard is very difficult to use
3. No FM , couldn’t they give FM :O
4. 64 MB RAM might be too small
5. TI OMAP 850 200 MHz is an ancient processor with very low processing power.

Verdict 

Dont buy the Asustek Asus P320 as of yet, the phone is a new phone and Asus being relatively new in the market , the phone may have some reliability issues, wait for 2 months so that you can see reviews pouring in and make a better call. The phone is too small for those with larger hand and plus the processor is slow and RAM is less. These might make the phone sluggish and useless.