The reason this is probably one of only a handful of reviews of this product at this time is that I am lucky enough to have become one of the first forty people in the UK to own a fully-fledged, working PocketSurfer2.
This device has been in development for a number of years and trying to find out much about it’s predecessor (not launched in the UK) is fairly fruitless.
This newer incarnation of the PocketSurfer certainly boasts an impressive array of features. On-the-go, free* internet anywhere on a mobile-sized device, with GPS built in. Using a compression technology it claims it can load full-content web pages in 7-9 seconds, including Flash, Java and Ajax content as it was intended. This doesn’t sound like your standard mobile-web experience.
This isn’t a phone though. The PocketSurfer2 is a standalone unit which has a gloss-black and chrome clamshell design which inside sports a full, backlight QWERTY keyboard that will be familiar to anyone who has seen the keypad on a Motorola RZR.
The screen is an odd postbox size, but shows 640 true pixels in standard mode, or a full page using the nifty zoom button. Depending on how the site was constructed this can reduce the font-size below reading size, however that’s not really the point of the feature, which allows you to see a single full-width page at anytime.
The PocketSurfer isn’t 3G, or EDGE for that matter, but instead uses GPRS. GPRS? Isn’t that a bit 2001? Well it would be if Datawind, the company who manufacturers the product, wasn’t doing something interesting with it. By downloading the pages to their servers first, they repackage the full site (as seen in Internet Explorer 6) and send it to the device, very, very quickly. They claim that no other PDA or smartphone device is faster, and earlier in the year challenged anyone to prove them wrong. Apparently no one could contest it.
Unfortunately this still isn’t proper 3G and true streaming isn’t possible, so video or Skype calls are out of the question (there is no audio output anyway).
My usual upload/download speed benchmarking didn’t work because it measures the connection speed of the server, but suffice to say, I have been impressed with the general loading times, and yes most of what I’ve been accessing has arrived within a 9 second timeframe.
You are initially logged onto a homepage which you have no control over (it’s full of links to useful services, unfortunately you can’t customise this page; annoying as the useful services I use aren’t linked to). This isn’t a major issue, and you can see why they have done it (sponsored links), but thankfully as most of their software is based on the server and not actually on the PocketSurfer, meaning updates can be done at their end without having to go through the rigmarole of firmware updates.
The PocketSurfer essentially acts like Remote Desktop, in that you are pretty much in control of a remote virtual machine. After a little bit of playing I discovered I could get into the backend of the system and navigate around Windows on the Virtual Machine that is my user area, but most of it has been locked down, and I am assured by Datawind that is it not a security issue.
Because of this VM nature, you can open PDF, Word, Excel and other files using the native viewers installed on the server (Adobe Reader for example). Downloading other files is limited (don’t expect to install anything) but on the whole it does enough to make most normal internet-surfing tasks a possibility.
There are a few drawbacks however. The pre-release information regarding PocketSurfer2 described the inclusion of 25GB of free storage space, the ability to control your PC remotely and editing facilities for Office documents. Whilst this is true, it is all done through 3rd party online software which you have to create separate accounts with, and are not at all optimised for the device. With the more than obvious comparisons that will be made to the internet access aspects of the iPhone/iPod Touch, the lack of inclusive features (at least automatic account creation for each of these services) is a big omission. It makes the homepage links look like an old fashioned web portal from 1996, each one prompting you to sign up for their own service.
The additional apps which aren’t third party are for webmail (supporting POP3, IMAP and HTTP) and for multi IM use, and they are Java applications. Like all Java apps, a little clunky, but functional none the less.
Trying to access the facebook iPhone app wasn’t particularly successful, and I soon established that this is because the pages are not being rendered using the most up-to-date version of Internet Explorer (IE6 it transpires). Doing a little digging into the page code it’s quite clear that the current portal stuff hasn’t been ‘designed’ or put together by anyone who understands web standards, both of which are unfortunate because the device is capable of displaying it. With really great mini browsers like Opera Mini available for most phones, it seems silly to be using out of date software.
Some of the interface leaves something to be desired. Mobile web has always been patchy, but the implementation of bookmarks is just plain ugly – a concoction of firmware, web and windows backend. Support told me that they hadn’t quite worked out how to deploy user profiles without slowing the device down at boot, but to me the answer is simple. Ditch the bastardised Windows Favourites and create a fully web based system allowing users to store their list of links in with their user profiles and account information, cutting out the need to wait for windows user profiles to load.
GPS works well, but unfortunately is functionally limited at the moment, and currently their is no API to write your own apps (maybe a little optimistic). However it’s implementation with Google Maps makes me hopeful of what can be achieved, and I’m looking forward to the software update (hopefully a ‘find directions from here’ using postcode application…).
There is a slight hum when using the device, but it’s barely noticeable, and the keyboard/screen illuminates only while using the keys meaning better preservation of the battery which lasts a day on sleep. Charging unfortunately isn’t indicated as you might expect – a light does come on, but it’s internal, and you can only see it if you open the mysterious second rubber flap next to the charging slot (rumoured to accept memory cards in future models).
Functionally, I wish there was the ability to use left, right, up and down keys, because although tab is fine, sometimes I want to correct something I’ve typed without having to pick up the cursor to locate the error. Similarly, there is no use of standard browser/interface shortcuts (even though there are Ctrl and Shift keys for other tasks) so ticking boxes using spacebar, copy and pasting are all nos. The lack of right click doesn’t pose any practical problem really, so I haven’t been fussed about missing that.
Strangely and clumsily they have opted to leave a huge status bar across the top edge of the screen, which essentially only serves to display a logo and two or three indicators which are unnecessarily stacked on top of each other. Had they been placed linearly, they could have halved the size of it and increased screen real estate.
The keyboard is fantastic (apart from the space key on mine which doesn’t give any tactile response unlike the other keys) and the implementation of a 8-way mouse control (like on a SNES) is unfortunate, but I assume that might be remedied in a future model. Clearly it would have increased production costs though. That said, no WiFi seems an odd omission being as the Canadian makers admitted it would only cost them another $10 to include it.
Overall, the PocketSurfer is very handy and allows you to see more of the net, in more places, faster, for less money, in better quality than any other comparable device. However, they should have employed an interface architect and a proper HTML/CSS coder to put together their software, especially in a world where people expect as much from the software as they do from the hardware.
At the moment there is still some work to be done, but it appears that most of it can be done serverside if they are willing to do so. Hopefully this means in the next few weeks and months we will see the updates needed to make the system truly sound, and the addition of a touch of ‘user delight’ that it currently lacks. See these changes, and the rating could rise to 4/5 stars.
*Free means inclusive with the price of the unit, the �179.99 price tae includes 20hrs usage a month, or �5.99 p/m subscription to make your usage unlimited. It’s �40 for a second year with the same 20hr p/m dataplan.