Measuring 112.4 by 49 by 14.8 mm and weighing in at just 115g, the Dopod 595 is easily one of the smallest Windows Mobile 5.0 smartphones we've come across. It's similar in size to the O2 Xda Stealth, but the 595 gets a slight leg-up on the Stealth because in addition to tri-band GSM, it also supports 3G.
Complementing the tri-band GSM and 3G connectivity options, the 595 also offers Bluetooth 2.0 (with A2DP support for stereo headsets), Infrared and USB 1.1 for charging and data transfer. Conspicuously absent is 802.11b/g Wi-Fi support.
Complementing the tri-band GSM and 3G connectivity options, the 595 also offers Bluetooth 2.0 (with A2DP support for stereo headsets), Infrared and USB 1.1 for charging and data transfer. Conspicuously absent is 802.11b/g Wi-Fi support.
Design
The 595 sports a distinctly uncluttered European look which stands in stark contrast to its busier smartphone siblings in any of the popular 'candybar', PDA or sliding keyboard forms. It's tall, slim and stylish in an understated way. That first impression is underscored by the gently tapered gunmetal-colored chassis and its darker rubberized fairings and keypad. In fact, the 595 seems much more like a regular mobile than a smartphone.
The alphabet overlay on the keys uses a standard ABC layout rather than QWERTY, while the 1.3-megapixel camera and large 2.2-inch (5.6cm) screen are a common sight on multimedia-enhanced 3G phones. Only a single button wearing the stylised 'e' of the Internet Explorer logo gives any hint that there's more to the 595 than just talking and texting. The keyboard is somewhat cramped by the phone's compact shape but the keys are easy to use, although the backlighting created by blue lights at each side favors the outermost columns of keys while leaving the middle with a dim underglow. Navigating around the screen and menus is effortlessly achieved with the rubber-tipped four-way controller, the rocker switch atop the phone's left side or a combination of both.
Features
Once you get over the initial surprise that this modest-looking mobile is a fully featured smartphone, there's not much left under the covers to give you that little 'Ooh!' of delight. At least everything is covered in an exceptional manual that's clearly written, packed with illustrations and i we kid you not some 370 pages long. If only there was an index to help find what you're looking for.
The 595 does all that you'd expect from a smartphone running Windows Mobile 5.0. Organizing, emailing, basic browsing and media playback are par for the course, along with synchronization to a desktop or laptop PC. That process is hampered by the USB interface being restricted to the slower USB 1.1 spec rather than USB 2.0 a severe oversight for a device of this type.
That said, its email capabilities are noteworthy for hitting the trifecta of ISP-based POP3, Exchange 2003 and 2007 push and Webmail, with automatic configuration of Hotmail, Yahoo and Gmail. If you can't get a message through on the 595, you're really not trying.
A microSD slot thoughtfully located on the side panel rather than under the rear cover, and protected by a small rubber cap allows for beefing up the phone's 64MB of RAM, primarily so you can load the 595 up with music or video clips.
We found Dopod's standalone MP3 player superior to the bundled Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, although like many phones, the 595 channels audio through the mini USB port so you're forced to use the supplied headphones rather than a superior pair of third-party earbuds.
Performance
The advanced data capabilities of the 3G network, with its maximum 384Kbps downlink, gives the 595 a clear edge when it comes to dealing with email en masse. Browsing sees less of a benefit--connecting and switching between sites is faster, but their usability suffers due to the limited capabilities of the cut-down Pocket Internet Explorer browser and the 2.2-inch screen.
However, users can always pipe the 3G signal to their laptop over the 595's Bluetooth 2.0 beam and turn the phone into a mobile modem. This would be an even greater advantage if the 595 supported the high-speed HSDPA protocol which M1 has recently deployed in Singapore.
The 1,190mAh battery is rated for a decent five hours of talk time and 220 hours on standby, with the capability of charging the phone through the mini-USB jack once it's connected to a PC.
The 300MHz Samsung processor drives the productivity applications with a degree of lag, although this is only noticeable if you've had experience with PDAs powered by the faster Intel Xscale chips. The most significant drawback stems from the 595's classic phone-centric design with no QWERTY keypad, touchscreen or stylus, entering data is almost a write-off (no pun intended). This makes the 595 more a device intended for 'viewing', rather than 'doing'.
Specification of Dopod 595
Datasheet Views:
1434 views since upload of datasheet (July 20, 2006)
Release Date:
July, 2006
Dimensions:
49 x 112.4 x 14.8 millimetres
Mass:
115 grams (battery included)
Software Environment
Operating System:
Windows Mobile 5.0 for Smartphone
Microprocessor
CPU:
32bit Samsung SC32442
CPU Clock
300 MHz
Memory, Storage capacity:
ROM capacity
128 MB (accessible: 80MB)
RAM capacity:
64 MB
Hard Disk capacity
Not supported
Memory, Storage capacity
ROM capacity:
128 MB (accessible: 80MB)
RAM capacity
64 MB
Hard Disk capacity
Not supported
Display
Display Type
color transflective TFT , 65536 scales
Display Resolution
240 x 320
Display Diagonal
2.2 "
Sound
Microphone:
mono
Speaker:
mono
Audio Output:
Proprietary jack
Cellular Phone
Cellular Networks:
GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900, UMTS2100
Cellular Data Standards:
CSD, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA
Call Alert:
40 -chord melody
Vibrating Alert:
Supported
Control Peripherals
Positioning Device:
Not supported
Keyboard:
Built-in numeric phone keyboard, 12 keys
Directional Pad:
5 -way block
Jog / Scroll Wheel:
Pressable non-rotary scroll wheel (Jog Dial)
Interfaces
Expansion Slots:
SDIO, microSD, TransFlash
Serial:
RS-232 , 115200bit/s
USB:
USB 1.1 client, 12Mbit/s , USB Series Mini-B (mini-USB) connector
Infrared Gate:
115200bit/s (SIR/CIR)
Bluetooth:
Bluetooth 2.0
Wireless LAN:
Not supported
Multimedia Telecommunication
Analog TV:
Not supported
Analog Radio:
Not supported
Built-in Digital Camera
Main Camera:
CMOS sensor, 1.3MP
Macro Mode:
Supported
Built-in Flash:
Not supported
Secondary Camera:
CMOS sensor, 352x288 pixel
Power Supply
Battery:
Lithium-ion polymer , removable
Battery Capacity:
1190 mAh
