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Seeing that was forecast they would, Garmin has proclaim its grand entry into the mobile phone market with the “ne” that they explain as “an all-in-one, sleek and slim, touch screen device that unite a premium phone, mobile web-browser, and cutting-edge personal navigator”. The ne, an all touch screen device, is the first of its kind to integrate 3.5G phone ability with an internet browser, data connectivity, personal messaging, and full personal direction-finding functions in one device.

The 3.5-inch touch screen show has three main icons “Call”, “Search”, and “View Map”. When the ne is docked into its vehicle mount, it mechanically turns on the GPS, and enables hands-free calling. The GPS side of things has preloaded maps of North America or Eastern and Western Europe, or both, and contains all that you’d wait for from a full-featured PND, as well as a few sugary extras.

The ne is Garmin’s first machine to comprise Google local search capability, which means users can search for locations like “coffee shops” and Google will sort the results based on the user’s current location and significance. For the forgetful, the phone has Garmin’s “Where am I?” feature as well as the ability to help drivers find their car by mechanically marking the position in which it was last detached from the vehicle mount.

Borrowing from Navman’s Navpix feature, the built-in camera allows users to take a picture that will mechanically be tagged with the precise lat and long orientation of where the image was taken, which means the user can save the image so they can find the way back to the location, or email the image to someone else.

The ne also offer direct access to millions of geo-located landmark and sightseeing photographs available through Google’s panoramic picture sharing site that can be used similarly. Other multimedia functions of the ne include a built-in video camera, MP3 and MPEG4/AAC player. Garmin “anticipates” that the ne will be obtainable in the third quarter of 2008 when specific details about pricing and sales partners will be proclaim. The ne is going to be on show at 3GSM in February, Pocket-lint will be attending this event, so will bring you more info - and with any luck a hands-on - with the thrilling new device from the show floor.

This is the Vodafone v1605 - a little but feature-rich handset. Push email, 2 megapixel camera, fantastic connectivity, videotape calling, Bluetooth 2.0, 400Mhz CPU and a host of shortcut buttons. Running Windows Mobile 5.0 (Pocket PC) you’ve got masses of software available to download too. Just when you thought that was good enough it comes up with a slide-out keyboard too !

The v1605 is ready for HSPDA - this is the “3G on steroids” protocol that’s coming to Vodafone and other networks. There is, of course regular 3G capability, then EDGE if you need it in addition to even GPRS too. If that’s not adequate for you then you exist able to always use WiFi (802.11b/g) intended for hooking up to a local hotspot or browsing the internet at home or in your local coffee shop. Quad-band capability also means that the v1605 can not only keep you entertained on flights abroad but as well keep you in touch when you land. The usual IR port is also here, since is the mini USB plug designed for hooking into your PC. Bluetooth 2.0 also comes as part of the deal and will allow your funky Bluetooth headsets and car-kits to function as they did with your previous device.
In the box is your stylus, power adaptor, mini USB “sync” cable (for connection to your PC), carry case, lithium ion polymer battery (1300mAh), manuals, CD’s (containing ActiveSync software etc) and a stereo wired headset with microphone. There’s also a leather carry pouch to avoid those nasty scratches.
On the right side of the unit is the power button. You’ll be pressing it a lot, believe me. Why? Well, with the power saving switching the screen off after 2 minutes you have to tap the power button to wake it up again. Sure you can change this, but I’m going to concentrate on the “out of the box” experience. Hitting this button can be a little tricky at times. There’s no “nipple” on it for quick location and it’s actually recessed into the device. Even stranger is the fact that the comm manager button next to it DOES have a “nipple” and ISN’T recessed into the unit. Look!
Thankfully there is a way of changing this - just go into Settings->System->Key lock. Within this screen there’s an option to make all buttons “pressable” even when the device is off. Of course, the trouble with this is that you could accidentally launch Internet Explorer, make a phone call or do something else that’ll cost you money. Though after a short while I almost prefer the latter option rather than having to find that recessed power button each time I want to use the unit.
Also on the right of the unit is the camera button - you may also be able to see the stylus here too. It’s home is at the bottom of the unit on the v1605 and the stylus itself is one of those extending jobbies
Right on the base of the unit we’ve got the IR port, a little flappy switch for opening the battery cover and a standard miniUSB port. Although this miniUSB port may look a little different I can confirm it’s the same one that a lot of Smartphone / Pocket PC users are used to, which is good news for your cable and charger collection. You can also find the reset switch here too - this is activated using the stylus to reset / reboot the device.. I’m sure you’ll never have to use it though.
Here’s the inside of the unit with the battery removed. The battery lasts quite a bit if you leave the power-saving features alone, however if you dare to set the screen to “always on” you’ll soon find a fairly flat v1605 in your pocket - especially if you’re on the WiFi a lot.
Camera
The 2 megapixel camera comes with the newer HTC crossing point and includes some sneaky photographer-tricks to help you get a better shot. Here’s a shot of the preview screen with the options around the edge. There’s plenty to play with here. The -/+ manage at the bottom sets your brightness, the arrow thing on the top-left switches between camera, video, MMS video, contact picture, picture theme, panorama, sports mode and much more.
You can also change where the pictures are stores (internal memory or that MicroSD card) and the size of each representation - you’ll know how many you’ve got by the number on the top left. Then, on the bottom left there’s access into settings and the Pictures & Videos.
Oh, and see that little box next to the “Auto”? Well this is quite a clever tool. If you’re taking a snap of something with lots of light in the centre of the image it can make the outside of the image dark. I’ve used these two pictures previous to within other reviews but it’s a great example - the first shot shows the stairs appearing to be dark because the centre of the image has day bouncing off the wall. The camera have used the light in the centre to judge the beam balance. but, if we change the setting (shown above right) it’ll use the light from the whole image and balance it out like so..
The camera is much better and the 2 megapixel quality really shows through. The flash works well if you’re around half-a-metre from the person you’re snapping and the macro-lens will turn you into a close-up genius! Check out these two close-up shots - click them to get the bigger versions. It takes a little bit of practice to get the distance correct, but once you do it’ll bring some great results. Notice the dust on my dashboard on the second shot!
Here are some more images taken with the camera. Overall it’s a good quality camera but won’t replace your Canon digital camera at house Pictures taken outside are great, inside they’re OK and in low-light you can just about get by with the flash but don’t expect too much if you’re in a dark room.

Settings
In the settings we’ve got pretty much everything you’ll need for changing your out-of-the-box v1605 into your own custom mechanism Here’s the “Buttons” choice - this will let you reconfigure the various buttons on the phone to do other things. If, for example, you’ve installed an application for your business then this could be launched by simply vital one button.
On the next tab you’ve got settings allowing you to set the backlight, alarm, device info, clear the on-board storage, key lock and memory usage - this option be always useful if you’re trying to “kill” a running program. There’s also authority setting, local settings, screen orientation / text size / clear type settings and you can remove your installed programs here too.
The Connections tab is pretty self-explanatory. It’s got everything you’ll need to connecting your device to something else. The Comm. Manager on the top right is accessed here or you could just press that shortcut-key we mention previous which is located next to the power button.
This is the Comm. Manager itself. You can quickly turn various aspects of the handset on or off. Bluetooth, WiFi, Push Email, Active sync, the Ringer or the phone itself.

Overall
The Vodafone v1605 is an extremely powerful device. Sure, without the power-saving turned on you’ll be needing toward recharge it a couple of times a day. There’s a couple of other little foibles that I found (such as the “busy” sound coming out of the main rear speaker), however they’re not enough to detract from the power of the device. It’s rapid, it’s supple and it’ll acquire the occupation done. The capability and connectivity obtainable in this device is astounding in addition to the shortcut keys, keyboard in addition to scroll-wheel make tasks quicker and easier to achieve tasks.
This device has appeared under various names with many different networks - you can buy it on Vodafone, Orange, o2 and others - it’s available widely because it’s a triumphant device. Yes, the Pocket PC has reached another level - zilch else I’ve hand-me-down combines the cool exterior and power so well.