A regular WWJ reader who requested anonymity (for obvious reasons) send me a blast panning the new Toshiba BREW-enabled CDMA 1X handset. “Just thought you might be interested. I bought a A5304T with BREW last week, and it is crap! Actually, the BREW part and the camera are all right, and the phone design itself is nice; but the user interface and display suck.”

The display is the biggest out there but the pixels are really large. Resolution is not that great; looks kind of like the display on a Palm. I wouldn’t have bought one if I had seen a working model beforehand, but I figured that since Toshiba put out that quarter VGA-resolution model on J-Phone, the display [on this one] must be nice. Also, the icons stink and you can’t customize anything.

The BREW applications are nice, although I’ve only played with a few. The GPS maps load fairly fast so that’s good. The camera and the photos are excellent though, and there are some functions on this phone that I do like, but the interface is awful. I already traded it in for an A5302CA, which is much better.

Pictures, screenshots of display, review (Japanese) Here.

Related posts:

1. KDDI 3Q Rock’in Results and BREW Comes to a Boil
2. Toshiba Intros Latest VGA Module
3. Panasonic vs. Sharp vs. Toshiba: Handset Showdown
4. BREW Developers Japan Seminar
5. QUALCOMM Showcases BREW‚ Solution for WCDMA Market at 3G World Congress

Some sage advise when entering new turf; Stop, Look and Listen.. it’s also good to secure a local guide. Japan is the cradle of mobile civilization – we have been dedicated to this space since 2001 – trust our archives here offer some useful material.

Domestic activities continue to set the pace, and sharp players are looking at global markets. We have hard-earned industry expertise and trusted network of contacts with access to advanced intell. and potential deal flow. Need a lift.. Ok, buckle-up!