An alternative way to surf. (Pocketsurfer2)

Member Name: yackers1

Product:	Pocketsurfer2
Date:	26/03/09 (360 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Looks sleek and stylish, large colour screen, full QWERTY keyboard

Disadvantages: Poor build quality, relies on old technology

I am a self confessed internet junkie and I can waste many, many hours surfing the web through basic browsing. An episode of the Gadget Show had, what I thought was, a fantastic 'new' device that enabled users to access the internet any time, any place. Despite having the ability to access the internet through my DS (through a specialplug in) and my Archos 605 (through a special plug in) I really wanted to try the Pocket Surfer 2 ("PS") since web browsing on my other two devices was so slow it was a real chore and not at all pleasurable. Besides, if Suzy Perry said it was a great product then it must be good and worth a purchase.

****What is it?****

Essentially the PS is a mobile web browser. "There are so many other ways of mobile web browsing, like mobiles, smart phones/PDAs, lap tops and notebooks" I hear you say but in my opinion none of these are as good as the PS.

The PS is sleek, compact and ultra-thin hand-held device. It's dimensions are 15.2cm x 7.5 cm x 1.5cm and weighs a meagre 174g. It's size means it is a bit bigger than a mobile and many smart phones but not quite as big as a lap top or notebook, hence making it a desirable device that can easily fit in a pocket or bag.

The size of the unit allows the PS to have a generously sized (when considering it's size) 640x420 LCD colour wide screen display.

The keyboard is a full QWERTY type and the buttons are large enough to enable the user to 'thumb' the keys rather than use the finger tips. This is a great feature since it makes it harder to mis-type than is the case with QWERTY keyboards on other devices that can be used for web browsing. The keyboard is robust and, being made of metal it is dirt resistant. It also has extrusion-grooved rubber to separate the keys. A useful feature of the keyboard is that the numerical values are lined along the top row, just like a 'proper' QWERTY keyboard.

In order to get on to the world wide web the PS has its own built-in GPRS antenna and SIM card.

****My experience of using the PS****

When the PS is closed it looks sleek and stylish and, in my opinion, is a desirable piece of kit. When the PS is opened things begin to rapidly go downhill. As you open the PS the hinges make an ear popping 'crack', which is quite alarming at first although as you realise this is going to happen every time it gets less worrying. I have tried greasing the hinges and 'tinkering' with them but nothing seems to work.

Once open the screen of the PS is unstable and wobbles, suggesting it is not made out of the best quality materials. Given the low price and modern technology of the PS I guess the inferior quality materials is expected but I don't think they should be this poor. I seriously question how long the PS is going to last before it breaks beyond repair.

The manufacturers description of the screen sounds impressive but in reality it is a big disappointment. It is very dim, faded and does not appear to have many colours, which is a massive let down. In addition, text is often difficult to read and since the mouse pointer doesn't change shape when you hover it over a link, it can be difficult to navigate around the screen.

The coverage is fantastic and I have never had any issues with the PS not being able to get a strong GPRS signal. From cities to rural areas, from Northern England to Southern England the PS can get on the internet any where, even in areas where my Blackberry (on the O2 network) struggles. I have not used the PS abroad, so therefore can't comment on how it would work in other countires.

I understand that 3G data connections are much faster than GPRS, but despite this the web pages on the PS load up fairly quickly, the manufacturers boast that a page should load up in under 7 seconds, although this is very optimistic in my experience and I find that around 15 seconds is the norm. This said it is much quicker than my Blackberry and I am pleasantly surprised by the speed the pages load up. It is a shame that the PS does not use 3G technology. Whilst I am impressed with the speed of load up I am not impressed with the quality of the web pages once they have loaded. The text is small, the images are compressed and it is difficult to read and the clarity is poor.

Whilst using my Blackberry I have noticed that there are some web pages that just will not load up. Many friends have experienced this issue with other smart phones and mobiles on many of the popular networks. I can honestly say that I have never had this problem with the PS and it has managed to load up every single web page I have requested of it.

****Cost of web browsing****

The manufacturers web site boasts that users can surf the web for free. At first glance this appears to be the case, however it is not strictly true.

There is no contract or activation fee to use the PS although you will only get 20 hours of surfing per month for the first year. This is not a great amount and even moderate users are likely to use this up in a very short space of time. Once you reach the 20 hours of surfing time the PS will automatically disconnect from the internet and you won't be able to access it again until the following month, or you put your hands in your pockets again. For a monthly fee of £5.99 you can enjoy unlimited usage, which whilst not that expensive it is another 'running' cost that you need to take in to consideration if you are thinking of buying one of these.

If 20 hours is enough for you then you will only get this "free of charge" for the first year. Once this has expired you will have to fork out another £40 for the second year, that is if the PS actually lasts that long (as previously stated I do question how long the PS will last based on the inferior materials used).

Despite the above, and after making a few calculations, it appears that the cost of running a PS is much lower than a comparable mobile internet devices, however, the quality is definitely not up to scratch.

****Price and availability****

I paid £179.99 for my PS, although at the time of writing it can be bought for as little as £108.91 (excluding P&P) from Handtec and as much as £139.00 (excluding P&P) from IWOOT.

As with most electrical items there are several offline and online retailers and it pays to shop around in order to get the best deal.

****Accessories****

As with most mobile devices I think that it is essential to protect the PS in order to keep it in tip top condition. In fact, thinking about the quality of the materials used I think it is even more important to have a sturdy case to protect it. After a lot of research and looking around I am still unable to locate a specific case for my PS and have had to make do with a an alternative case that is no specially built for the PS, hence the protection is limited.

I have not managed to find any accessories for the PS which surprises me since accessories are a great revenue stream and consumers of the main product are likely to purchase additional bolt on and custom accessories.

****Other****

It should be noted that the PS is purely for the internet. It cannot play MP3s, display Jpeg files, play DVD/AVI/MP4 or any other video files, or play games. It is not a multi media device, which is a shame because I think the manufacturers have missed a trick here.

****Conclusion****

The PS is a great idea but in practice it is a poor product. It relies on old style GPRS technology and whilst web pages load fairly quickly the quality is very poor due to the compression. Personally, I think the only reason the web pages load so quickly is as a result of this compression, and subsequent loss in quality.

Whilst the PS looks sleek and stylish once you get up close to it you soon realise that it is made out of inferior materials that results in an overall shoddy product. The screen hinge 'cracks' and the screen's stability is awful since it frequently wobbles. I seriously doubt this product will last a long time.

I think that the manufacturers falsely market this product. They claim "free access" to the internet, which is true but only for 20 hours per month for the first year. If you want to use the PS after a year then you have to stump up another £40. If you want to use the PS for more than 20 hours per month then you have to stump up £5.99 per month for unlimited usage. These additional costs have to be considered before buying a PS.

This is just another gadget that you will have to carry around and since many mobiles and smart phones have web browsing capabilities I would recommend getting a top of the range smart phone instead of a PS. Whilst you may have to wait a little longer for the pages to load up the quality is far better, and in addition you can use a smart phone to make/receive calls, send text messages etc. negating the need to carry multiple devices.

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Summary: A fantastic idea that does not really work in practice

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