Ray T65

Ray Mobiles. Ever heard the name? I doubt it, but The Mobile Store, now that’s a name we all know. With plenty of outlets nation wide and some pretty darn good deals on the mobile front, the franchise has gone into the mobile making business for themselves and have launched a few handsets of their own under the Ray brand name. For starters here’s one - their Touchscreen T65 mobile. This is how it fared.

Form Factor
The T65 is, to be blunt, a block of a phone. It has lined black metal on the front with a metal strip running around the sides. The rear has a bit of a rubber like feel although it’s plastic. It has a large 2.8-inch touchscreen display that is very appealing because of the responsiveness it offers. The display resolution is a bit of a mystery. I presumed it to be 240 x 320 pixels, but wallpapers of that size didn’t seem to fit the desktop and I ended up with white bars. Not that this is a problem as the screen is quite clear and easy to read even in daylight. It does support 256k colors though. The control system is quite simple with a five way nav-pad to accentuate the touchscreen.

On one side of the handset is a slider switch for the camera’s functions - Still, Gallery and video. Below that is a port flap for the all-in-one mini USB port. For the charger and USB connector it’s all good however the problem arises when you try attaching the handsfree. The flap opens top one side and the handsfree’s connector is turned in the same direction. This makes it very difficult to... stick in. The handsfree earphones are quite comfortable and provide pretty clear sound. A camera shutter release is the last button on the same side. A stylus is located at the bottom in one corner of the rear. The lack of a hot swap slot for the microSD memory card is another minor issue to contend with.

On the whole the T65 is a decent looking device. Thankfully it’s not too heavy even though it looks it.

Features and Performance
Interface
What’s truly remarkable is the brilliantly smooth OS that has a sliding feature which gives a 3D like feel. There are two drawbacks to the entire OS and colorful UI. The onscreen QWERTY keypad is too small thereby making the use of the stylus absolutely necessary. The other is the annoying options that pop up every time you try to access a file. I expect a file to play if I select it and not to have a bunch of options show up every time I try.

Other than that the large icons and fonts make for easy usage without the stylus. If you prefer, though, the handset does support handwriting recognition as well. But the fluidity of the UI and smooth animations are very very appealing. Oddly though, I wasn’t able to lock the screen. There didn’t seem to be any help with that. I was also unable to change the time format to 12 hours.

Media
When it comes to the T65’s media angle, it fares quite well. The music player’s interface is a little ‘loud’, metaphorically speaking, but that’s ok. Audio quality is not bad at all but the decibel level is just a mite low, but on the whole there’s not much to complain about. It’s a pity the player’s settings only have an Off and a Reverse option. That’s rather odd but I recommend you just keep it off.

The video player has codecs for 3GP and MPEG4 video files which looks pretty good on the large display. Playback was smooth and worked without a hitch. Other media features include an FM radio that also comes with a recording function and a stand alone sound recorder. The T65 also has a photo editor with limited options but hey, it’s fun to use. The melody composer will allow you to create your own midi ringtone and also quite fun to play around with when you’re bored. Of course there are a few games thrown in as well, an E-Book reader for reading. .TXT files are also available and clear enough to read depending on the theme background. Suffice to say the T65 is well equipped with media functionality that also manages to deliver on the goods.

Connectivity
The T65 is equipped to handle basic WAP and GPRS connectivity. The browser is simple but not very effective. I found that most of the sites with images didn’t seem to render. In fact all I saw were blocks even for links. It was quite strange. For most part you can use your fingers or the nav-pad to navigate but entering information will require you to once again whip out the stylus. POP3 and IMAP email accounts can be set up though you may need to get the settings from Google. If you prefer, since the handset has support for Java, you can simply download the Gmail for mobile app and you’re good to go if you’re a Gmail user of course. Incidentally Google Maps V2.3.2 works just fine as well.

Other modes of connectivity include Bluetooth with an A2DP profile no less and connectivity to a printer with support. If a printer also supports PictBridge the T65 is good to go. A video Streaming feature is also available for sites like YouTube etc. Via USB, aside from the regular Mass Storage mode, you can also use the handset’s camera as a webcam for your PC. Very handy.

Misc. Features
There are plenty of regular features available with the T65 so you won’t want for anything. From the Calculator, World Clock, To Do List, Alarm and Calendar, to a Currency Converter and Stop watch, it’s all there.

Camera
The Ray T65 is equipped with a 3 megapixel autofocus camera and an LED flash to complement it for low light conditions. The camera comes loaded with plenty of features that include White Balance, Exposure and a few color options as well.

Image quality is not great but it’s not altogether bad either. In low light conditions the pictures do seem a little dull but in normal conditions with enough light I’d compare them to the LG Cookie’s.

Battery
On a single charge, the T65 will rake in about 2 days of usage, which would easily include music, messages, internet activity and a few calls as well. On an average, stand alone talk time was about 3 hours 40 minutes which is decent.

The Bottom Line
What should make this handset sell is the fact that its price tag is just Rs. 6,549 (MOP). There are no other touchscreen handsets that are as fluid and easy to use as this in this price range. It’ large display, good sound quality and media features together with pretty decent camera and battery life make it a good handset for the price. Hoo Ray!