The New Loox T830: Most powerful Pocket PC Phone for Phojo

I`d like to introduce the new T830 from Fujitsu Siemens, the most powerful phone on the market for running Pocket Phojo. Like a few other high end Pocket PC Phones, the T830 has 3G (UMTS) support, WiFi, Bluetooth, and an SD Card slot, but the unique feature that makes it perfect for Phojo is the USB Host support.

USB Host support means you now plug your mobile phone directly into your camera. This is the biggest leap forward in high speed news gathering since the first version of Pocket Phojo was released back in 2002. In the simplest scenario, you can use it in place of the Canon WFT-E1 WiFi transmitter to transmit all of your images as you take them. Even WiFi networks can’t transmit as fast as a photographer can shoot though, so Pocket Phojo solves the backlog problem by using the Protect function on the camera to rapidly select which images are to be transmitted. In addition, you can configure Phojo to recompress your images for faster transmission, add a caption, or send via email if the recipient does not have an FTP server. Most noteworthy though is that unlike the Canon WFT-E1, this setup is not restricted to areas with WiFi coverage, you can use it anywhere you have a mobile phone signal!

 

 

 

The real jaw dropping fun begins though when you use a new feature currently in beta testing, called Remote Editing. This allows your editor to see exactly what you are shooting, in real time, just by plugging the T830 into your camera. Thumbnails appear in the editor’s web browser within two seconds of you taking the shots, and they can download full size versions of the images they like, all while you keep shooting. Due to only the thumbnails being transmitted at first, your editor can be on the other side of the world, and you can be connected by WiFi or 3G, and still have great performance. This is also a great solution for remote cameras. If you already have Pocket Phojo 4.0 and would like to beta test this new feature, sign up for the forums at idruna.com, and email me your user name.

Another neat trick built-in to the T830 is a GPS receiver. Not only can you use it to get to and from jobs without getting lost, you can also use it to embed your GPS coordinates in images as you shoot.

Apparently you can even use this thing to make phone calls! 😉

 

 

 

 

Pros:

• The first phone that can plug directly into your camera!
• Has built-in 3G (UMTS), WiFi 802.11g, and Bluetooth
• Speed – despite a 412Mhz CPU, this phone can download and transmit images from the camera 2-3 times faster than a Dell Axim X51V using a Ratoc USB Host card
• Built-in GPS for navigation and geo-tagging your images
• Built-in thumb keyboard
• Full size SD-Slot, not a Micro or Mini SD slot
• Fits in the Otterbox 1900 case for use in extreme weather conditions

Cons

• Only available in Europe, as the UMTS part of the phone doesn’t support the frequency used by US carriers 😦
• Small 240×240 screen best suited to people who want an automated workflow. Check out the Loox N560 if you like to manually dodge and burn each image and don’t mind needing a separate phone

Links

Fujistu-Siemens T830 Site

FirstLoox.org – Fujitsu-Siemens News and Forums

Review at 4WinMobile

Where to Buy

The T830/T810 (same as the T830 but minus the camera) can be purchased from Expansys and Clove, priced from free to 349 pounds depending on mobile phone contract.

Clove.co.uk T810 Page

Clove.co.uk T830 Page

Expansys.com

(search the aboe site for the T830 to get a list of available plans)