Toshiba TG01 review

The built in applications on the Toshiba TG01 are of a decent quality, with the usual Windows Mobile suspects all present and correct.

Orange Maps is included on the phone, and after a few times of trying to install it we finally managed to get it up and running. While we liked some of the features on it (such as being able to save our location and search for specific things nearby like restaurants) the graphical layout of the maps was a bit basic, and within a few minutes we were downloading Google Maps, which ran like a dream.

There's nothing wrong with Orange Maps, we just prefer the familiarity of the Google's effort.

There's an interesting way to view your photos in PhotoBase, which basically tiles them all out for you, and makes good use of the processor by allowing you to flick through with minimal lag, which makes us wonder why other parts of the TG01 aren't similarly enabled.

ActiveSync was also a nice touch (apart from the problems connecting to the Google server, which was more Google's fault than the TG01's) and our calendar, contacts and mail was quickly populated by our online Google information.

Video Editing is also possible on the TG01 too, which is a nice thing to see when you've got 1GHz of grunt to work with.

While we've yet to be convinced of the point of onboard video editing suites for mobile phones, this is one of the better efforts once you've poked around the screens to see what you're able to do. Outputting video and saving it to the memory card was quick, and the effects were pretty good too, with video storyboards and photo interpolation fun to play with.

The application set can also be well supplemented with the plethora of WinMo applications available online, so there's also a lot of scope for the future to increase the power of the TG01.