Toshiba TG01 Smartphone

The Toshiba TG01, the latest offering among Toshiba mobile phones, seems to have aspirations and ambitions to be a contender among smartphones. The problem is that it lacks the real ammunition to make the Premier League.

Full credit goes to Toshiba for the screen, though. At 4.1 inches it’s one of the biggest on the market, and the clarity and resolution is stunning, as good as most television sets. It is at its best when used for web browsing (the phone comes equipped with Wi-Fi and HSDPA), since sites are displayed in full, and scrolling and moving around within a site is simple. The battery life is also a very impressive feature, since even a fairly short charge can offer a full day’s use. The screen size also makes it excellent as a satnav unit.

With all that, it’s unfortunate that Toshiba opted to use the Windows 6.1 operating system, which stands as a dinosaur these days, clunky and slow. Even the menu system Toshiba overlays it with doesn’t help that much, which really shouldn’t be the case. In an age where touchscreen is the norm, why Toshiba opted for a stylus instead is baffling, and makes the handset seem outdated, as several mobile phone reviews have pointed out.

It’s as if the designers assembled all the ingredients for a truly excellent smartphone, then backed away from it at the last minute. The Toshiba TG01 could have been superb with just a little more thought and daring. Instead, the result is little better than average, except for the remarkable screen, and users will need something more than that as an incentive to buy.