May 20, 2010 at 02:11Meizu M8
I have never had to write reviews and articles in my life, for this reason there may be various errors from the point of view of writing, please do not kick much =)
Until last summer I always used simple dialers, primarily from SE, but I wanted something inspiring the same time is not very expensive, the choice then stood between HTC and Nokia 5800, until one friend said about the existence of Meizu. I thought for a long time, but could not decide to take a Chinese phone, even from a player making company and selling them on the world market under the Meizu-Ritmix brand. So, having studied the forums and identifying all the pros and cons, I decided to buy.
The purchase was made from one person involved in the implementation of the M8 in Moscow (from hand to hand), as well as to the regions (through EMC).
Opening the box you will find: the device itself, the battery, the cover, a standard headset such as droplets with overlays for them, a CD with drivers, a USB cord (concurrently charging), a USB-to-AC adapter (the socket is worth noting the Chinese one), as well there may be an adapter from Chinese to our outlet, and Russian instructions (when buying from Russian sellers).
Officially announced specifications:
Processor - Samsung S3C6410 ARM11, 677 MHz (only 533 MHz in the nominal)
ROM - 256 MB
Internal memory - 8 GB (or 16 GB)
Display - 720 × 480, 16 million colors, 3.4 "(in reality color limited to 262k)
Communication standards - GSM 850/900/1800/1900, EDGE
Interfaces- Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g, USB
Battery - Li-Ion 1200 mAh (in newer devices 1300 mAh)
Camera - 3.2 Mpix with AF
Operating system - MyMoblie based on Windows CE 6.0R3
Sensors - G-sensor, light sensor, infrared
Dimensions - 108 mm (L) × 59 mm (W) × 12 mm (T)
Weight - 118 g (with battery)
The price in the Chinese market is 1780 yuan (~ 8t.r) for the 8GB version and 2080 yuan (~ 9.5t.r) for the 16GB version, there are both black and white devices. The price in the Russian market starts at ~ 12500r for 8GB and ~ 14500r for 16GB. Also in March of this year, a PCT certificate was received for the official sale of the second-generation Meizu M8 (SE) on the Russian market since the summer of 2010. The prices of certified devices are 13000 and 15000 for the 8 and 16 GB versions, respectively.
Now let's talk about the device itself.
Externally - an almost complete copy of the iPhone, not counting subtle changes. The assembly does not cause complaints, the gaps are even, it does not creak anything, everything is at the level of world brands (and sometimes even higher). The main drawback of the glossy case is its soiling, this is especially noticeable on the black device. The bezel around the screen is made of anodized aluminum, which makes it quite durable in case of impact. The durability of the case is at a high level, for several months of use on my device, the gloss at the corners has only wiped out.
Perhaps some of the readers have already read the reviews of this device, but over time they have lost all relevance, the shell has been completely rewritten for the firmware, and also, in connection with the upcoming entry to the Russian market, the Chinese, in collaboration with developers from the Russian community, make various fixes for the device’s entry into the Russian market.
By installing the latest firmware with add-ons on the device (0.9.9.1 dated May 16, 2010) and turning it on we will see the desktop:
As you can see, the resemblance to the iPhone is striking, with the exception of the details. Number of desktop pages limited to 16th. Gliding smooth, no complaints. The screen of the device is very bright and perfectly visible at large angles. The touchscreen is capacitive from the same manufacturer as the iPhone. The latest vehicles use wheelbarrows made using some PET technology.
Russification is completely done by the Russian community, in Russian firmware a change between Russian and English is implemented, in the basic firmware only Chinese and English are available.
All standard software is written on Meizu’s own SDK, compatibility with Windows software is rather weak, but still present. The multimedia capabilities of the device are worthy of praise, even with a processor speed reduced to 533 MHz, the device perfectly digests 700 MB rips without any tricks, if the native player does not have the necessary codecs, Core Player written for WM comes to the rescue.
I would call the Meizu audio player the best that I have seen on Windows systems. Functionality and sound are at their best, the interface is intuitive.
Also, the status and player controls are displayed on a locked screen:
Meizu has not forgotten about the beauty, the player has a very beautiful visualization:
The player’s settings even took into account such a trifle as the ability to amplify / cancel high or low frequencies, without using an equalizer:
When developing a new interface, Meizu engineers decided to create a widget system on the desktop.
The standard phone browser is Opera 9.5:
There is support for horizontal mode and multi-touch functions. The base firmware also has a download manager. Also among the native software you can find an email client, IM clients for QQ and MSN protocols, a weather application with a widget for your desktop (initially the weather is available only for China, but there is a patch for Russian cities).
With the advent of the new interface, Meizu decided to make its own software store under the name MyStore, everything would be fine, but for owners outside of China this became a problem, because you can only buy software as a Chinese citizen, of course, there is also free software, but this is not without problems , for the most part, this software is only in Chinese.
I won’t say much about the battery, but with active use it’s enough for a day, and the manufacturer claims 6 hours of talk time, 7 hours of continuous video viewing, almost a day listening to music.
To the heap - a couple of videos with our subject device:
Despite its origin, Meizu does not repeat the fate of all its brothers, the device turned out to be truly unique, with its own twist. Many flaws for owners outside of China have been eliminated, although the Chinese have not yet released the final firmware with an index of 1.0. Jack Wong (Meizu CEO) also announced support for Android 2.1 for the Meizu M8 before the release of the Meizu M9, an approximate release of which is scheduled for fall 2010, the device will support the 3G standard and have 2 OS - MyMobile and Android.
I ask you to pay attention that the author of the topic is not me, but hieros , which at the time of publication of the review did not yet have an account on Habré, therefore it is completely optional to send me the advantages :)
Until last summer I always used simple dialers, primarily from SE, but I wanted something inspiring the same time is not very expensive, the choice then stood between HTC and Nokia 5800, until one friend said about the existence of Meizu. I thought for a long time, but could not decide to take a Chinese phone, even from a player making company and selling them on the world market under the Meizu-Ritmix brand. So, having studied the forums and identifying all the pros and cons, I decided to buy.
The purchase was made from one person involved in the implementation of the M8 in Moscow (from hand to hand), as well as to the regions (through EMC).
Opening the box you will find: the device itself, the battery, the cover, a standard headset such as droplets with overlays for them, a CD with drivers, a USB cord (concurrently charging), a USB-to-AC adapter (the socket is worth noting the Chinese one), as well there may be an adapter from Chinese to our outlet, and Russian instructions (when buying from Russian sellers).
Officially announced specifications:
Processor - Samsung S3C6410 ARM11, 677 MHz (only 533 MHz in the nominal)
ROM - 256 MB
Internal memory - 8 GB (or 16 GB)
Display - 720 × 480, 16 million colors, 3.4 "(in reality color limited to 262k)
Communication standards - GSM 850/900/1800/1900, EDGE
Interfaces- Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g, USB
Battery - Li-Ion 1200 mAh (in newer devices 1300 mAh)
Camera - 3.2 Mpix with AF
Operating system - MyMoblie based on Windows CE 6.0R3
Sensors - G-sensor, light sensor, infrared
Dimensions - 108 mm (L) × 59 mm (W) × 12 mm (T)
Weight - 118 g (with battery)
The price in the Chinese market is 1780 yuan (~ 8t.r) for the 8GB version and 2080 yuan (~ 9.5t.r) for the 16GB version, there are both black and white devices. The price in the Russian market starts at ~ 12500r for 8GB and ~ 14500r for 16GB. Also in March of this year, a PCT certificate was received for the official sale of the second-generation Meizu M8 (SE) on the Russian market since the summer of 2010. The prices of certified devices are 13000 and 15000 for the 8 and 16 GB versions, respectively.
Now let's talk about the device itself.
Externally - an almost complete copy of the iPhone, not counting subtle changes. The assembly does not cause complaints, the gaps are even, it does not creak anything, everything is at the level of world brands (and sometimes even higher). The main drawback of the glossy case is its soiling, this is especially noticeable on the black device. The bezel around the screen is made of anodized aluminum, which makes it quite durable in case of impact. The durability of the case is at a high level, for several months of use on my device, the gloss at the corners has only wiped out.
Perhaps some of the readers have already read the reviews of this device, but over time they have lost all relevance, the shell has been completely rewritten for the firmware, and also, in connection with the upcoming entry to the Russian market, the Chinese, in collaboration with developers from the Russian community, make various fixes for the device’s entry into the Russian market.
By installing the latest firmware with add-ons on the device (0.9.9.1 dated May 16, 2010) and turning it on we will see the desktop:
As you can see, the resemblance to the iPhone is striking, with the exception of the details. Number of desktop pages limited to 16th. Gliding smooth, no complaints. The screen of the device is very bright and perfectly visible at large angles. The touchscreen is capacitive from the same manufacturer as the iPhone. The latest vehicles use wheelbarrows made using some PET technology.
Russification is completely done by the Russian community, in Russian firmware a change between Russian and English is implemented, in the basic firmware only Chinese and English are available.
All standard software is written on Meizu’s own SDK, compatibility with Windows software is rather weak, but still present. The multimedia capabilities of the device are worthy of praise, even with a processor speed reduced to 533 MHz, the device perfectly digests 700 MB rips without any tricks, if the native player does not have the necessary codecs, Core Player written for WM comes to the rescue.
I would call the Meizu audio player the best that I have seen on Windows systems. Functionality and sound are at their best, the interface is intuitive.
Also, the status and player controls are displayed on a locked screen:
Meizu has not forgotten about the beauty, the player has a very beautiful visualization:
The player’s settings even took into account such a trifle as the ability to amplify / cancel high or low frequencies, without using an equalizer:
When developing a new interface, Meizu engineers decided to create a widget system on the desktop.
The standard phone browser is Opera 9.5:
There is support for horizontal mode and multi-touch functions. The base firmware also has a download manager. Also among the native software you can find an email client, IM clients for QQ and MSN protocols, a weather application with a widget for your desktop (initially the weather is available only for China, but there is a patch for Russian cities).
With the advent of the new interface, Meizu decided to make its own software store under the name MyStore, everything would be fine, but for owners outside of China this became a problem, because you can only buy software as a Chinese citizen, of course, there is also free software, but this is not without problems , for the most part, this software is only in Chinese.
I won’t say much about the battery, but with active use it’s enough for a day, and the manufacturer claims 6 hours of talk time, 7 hours of continuous video viewing, almost a day listening to music.
To the heap - a couple of videos with our subject device:
Despite its origin, Meizu does not repeat the fate of all its brothers, the device turned out to be truly unique, with its own twist. Many flaws for owners outside of China have been eliminated, although the Chinese have not yet released the final firmware with an index of 1.0. Jack Wong (Meizu CEO) also announced support for Android 2.1 for the Meizu M8 before the release of the Meizu M9, an approximate release of which is scheduled for fall 2010, the device will support the 3G standard and have 2 OS - MyMobile and Android.
I ask you to pay attention that the author of the topic is not me, but hieros , which at the time of publication of the review did not yet have an account on Habré, therefore it is completely optional to send me the advantages :)