CES 2010
Phone Scoop had a few moments to spend with the new Windows Mobile phone from HP, called the Glisten.
The Glisten resembles today's current crop of BlackBerries in that it is a monoblock device with a full QWERTY keyboard stretched across the bottom half of the phone. It's a pretty decent looking phone circa 2007, and feels pretty good in the hand. The weight and bulk aren't too much to put anyone off, and it's not going to be a problem to stuff into most jeans' pockets (though a briefcase is the more likely home for the Glisten). Some might call it a little chubby, though. Many other smartphones — such as the HTC Imagio — are thinner.
The navigation controls are placed below the screen and are easily found with your thumb. The send/end keys and home/OK keys felt pretty good and had a decent click to them. I liked the d-pad which is circular (bigger than a dime, but smaller than a nickel). The action of the d-pad was just right.
The QWERTY keyboard has a good feel to it. I thought the keys had just enough definition to make them easy to find, but not so much that they felt pointy. The travel and feedback was acceptable, though we've definitely typed on better keyboards.
The display was a little bit of a disappointment. It measures 240 x 320 pixels, which is the bare minimum for a device such as this. Unfortunately for the Glisten, the display simply doesn't measure up to what the competition is offering.
In all, the Glisten is one of the best efforts we've seen from HP, but it is still sadly lacking when held up to similar devices from Samsung, HTC and others. The Glisten will work on AT&T's network, but I'd be surprised if anyone voluntarily buys this device. It's more for road warriors than for prosumers or consumers.
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