Tuesday, January 28, 2014

NEC Medias W N-05E first look


Popped for an unlocked NEC Medias W N-05E on eBay... These came out in Japan in the first quarter of last year (2013) and haven't been a huge hit, the 2-screen form factor has never really caught on... Mostly this has been because the software hasn't really taken advantage of the two screens, often just giving one the ability to toggle the display across the two screens. This has invariably prompted "Waah, the join between the two screens is really disconcerting" reactions! Which is true in certain cases e.g. reading a book spread across the two screens, but not so much in others...

Anyway, it had been a while since my last gadget splurge, so I caved to the urge to get my hands on one!

The specs:
OS: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 Dual-core 1.5GHz
GPU: Adreno 225 RAM: 1GB ROM: 16GB
Dimensions: 136×64×12.2mm
Weight: 183g
Display: 4.3in, LED of TFT ×2, Multi-Touch Capacitance Resolution: 960×540 qHD
Camera: 8.1MP (Back-side CMOS) LED Flash
Connectivity: W-CDMA(800/850/2100MHz, GSM(850/900/1800/1900MHz), WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
Sensors: GPS, G-Sensors, Digitalcompass,Proximity Sensor, Light Sensor
Miscellaneous: microSIM, microSD(Max 32GB), microUSB, 3.5mm-Audio Jack
Battery: Li-Ion: 2100mAh

And then the pictures:

 
 
 

Comparisons are in order, so here (from left to right) are the Blackberry 9810 Torch 2, the Samsung Galaxy S4, an Apple iPhone 4S, and the Medias N-05E.


And from bottom to top - the Samsung Galaxy S4, the iPhone, the Torch 2, and the Medias N-05E:


The Medias N-05E next to the Galaxy S4, in single screen and double screen modes:

 

Sitting on an unlit Sony Tablet P:


And, finally, next to a Zaurus SL-C3200:


Some screen shots in single- and dual-screen modes (Note: when you take a screen shot you can take the main screen, the 'extension' screen, or both screens. When you do the latter the screen captures you see don't include the border between the two screen....)

 


 
 

 

And the very preliminary first impression? I like the look and feel! Of course, I'm a keyboard lover, which is why the Zaurus is still my computing mainstay, supplemented by a BB (also with a keyboard) for all the wireless functionality...  No good feel for battery life yet either, and not sure what to do for a case, since when folded both screens face outward! But for the first day this is as far as I've been able to go... Stay tuned more to come...

NEC Medias w N-05E reviews:
NEC N-05E page (in Japanese) 
User's Manual for docomo NEXT series MEDIAS W N-05E

Video Review: NEC Medias W N-05e 
NEC Medias W Docomo N-05E reviewed! (Many videos, in Russian) 
NEC's Medias W global prototype spotted: 4.3-inch Android phone or 5.6-inch tablet?

3 comments:

  1. Cases are available for the N05e. Just look on rakuten or ebay. They obviously dont provide perfect protection but they do help. Mine has already saved my phone's bacon twice when i dropped it. :p

    ReplyDelete
  2. For example
    http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/smart-hippos/item/bare-094-do-med-009-clear/
    It allows you to use both screens while still giving useful protection.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anon, thanx for the (case) pointers... I found a generic one that I use, http://www.ph2dot1.com/2014/02/yet-more-nec-medias-w-n-05e.html

    ReplyDelete