The Ideos U8150 is a capable and affordable device, and is a good fit for those looking for their first Android smartphone, writes ANA KORG
THE cheerful canary yellow colour of the Ideos U8150 makes me wonder if it is indeed a serious smartphone.
The model is light and seems like a perfect candidate for a teenager´s first handphone. Its ergonomic design makes it easy to hold and store in your pocket.
The Ideos U8150 runs on Android 2.2 (Froyo) and is pre-installed with Google. It also comes with Google Maps, Navigation and other applications.
As with other Android phones, you can get more applications through Android Market. All you need to do is plonk yourself at a WiFi hotspot and this smartphone can get you online.
Its touchscreen is of standard quality. You can navigate through menu items, or flick through homescreens comfortably and the movement feels fluid. As usual, typing messages need a little practice at first, as it is quite sensitive to touch.
The phone´s four homescreens can be further customised. At default setting, you get one screen ready for the weather channel, another for news while the third caters to your personal information management tool. The last screen is yours to play with.
In situations where you can´t touch to interact with the Ideos, try its voice command feature. Again, it needs a bit of practice before the feature can be fully effective.
Given that most smartphones today have bigger cameras, the 3.2 mega-pixel camera built into the Ideos U8150 seems a bit inferior.
Still, it is capable of taking photos meant for Facebook posting, MySpace and other Internet sites. The cool thing is shortcuts to those sites and Twitter comes preloaded with the firmware. The not-so-cool part is that the Ideos U8150´s 256MB memory is not sufficient for storing photos. You need to expand the capacity to fully utilise the camera, as well as complete other tasks such as recording movies and storing MP3.
So, expect to fork out a bit more for a microSD card. Go for maximum storage to fully enjoy these features. Otherwise, you will miss out on enjoying great audio off the Ideos U8150´s built-in speakers. In the meantime there is the FM Radio application that you can rely on for your music dose.
Another feature on board the Ideos U8150 is global positioning system. Tested during short trips around Kuala Lumpur, its navigation assistance is quite effective. The only issue about using this phone as a navigation aid on longer trips is battery life, which is not the Ideos U8150´s strong point.
That said, this phone is ideal for those who want to start using Android smartphone. It covers the basic features of a smartphone and performs well enough for you to experience the full Android offerings. Get it if you are a post-paid user as its automatic capability of getting its network hooked on data services will guzzle away your credits.
The Ideos U8150 is also available in blue and pink.
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