Qtek 8310 review: An elf outruns the giants

Qtek 8310's display is able to show only 65K colors. They may not seem enough, given the fact that competitive smartphones are able to show 262K colors, but in reality you will not tell the difference, even if you had both displays placed one next to another. The important factor here is the resolution. The display of Qtek 8310 is 34 × 55 mm big. It is active, of the TFT type.

The display is very good. It is bright and clearly visible from any point of view. Some energy could have been saved, if it was possible to adjust the brightness level, but it is not. Instead, you can set the time, in which the backlight is to go out or switch the display off completely.

 
Display under strong daylight • and in the dark

The display is really high-class one and fits in plenty of information. If you switch back to a display of resolution of 176 × 220 pixels, once you have worked with the Qtek 8310's display, the former looks rough and dull. High resolution does not slow down Qtek 8310's application speed. A little bit further down we will be talking about certain delays, which are however caused by the OS, not by the display.

Energy save setup

Keypad: you will get used to it

The keypad is divided into three parts. Just below the display you will see a narrow bar with four functional keys. It took me some time before I got used to their size, as they are quite tiny, but now I find them fine. These keys are glossy, just like the display and the black surface around it.

 
General view at the keypad • tiny buttons below the display

On the contrary, the functional section and the number keys are matt and a little bit brownish. I cannot help myself and share a particular feeling of mine with you - when I touch this type of material with my nails, I shiver all over. The sound is similar to the swish a felt-tip pen gives out when in touch with paper. Apart from this, the keys are brilliant; they are solid and precise, their reaction is soft, accompanied by a low sound.

Keypad is "just fine"

Functional keys are to be found not only in the narrow bar below the display, but also around the joystick. The latter is surrounded by the red and the green receivers, and by two other keys for quick access to the phonebook and the message box. Unfortunately, their functions are not possible to change directly from the main menu. Instead, Windows Mobile provides various "hacks" to help you solve this problem. The phonebook itself does not need any helping tools as it works fast and smoothly.

The joystick is good too. Even though I would have appreciated a four-way navigating button instead, the joystick is precise and easy to manage. A press on the joystick confirms user's choice. As for the number keys, they are comfortable enough.

The advantage of the joystick: it does not need a lot of space

The keypad backlighting is white and relatively even. A long press on the red button locks the keypad. When you press a random key when the keypad is locked, the display lights up showing a huge clock and the date. Comfortable, indeed.

Keypad backlighting

Once again

There are several slots above the display. The speaker is hidden under the outer indicating LEDs, behind the middle slots. The LEDs blink when the phone is connected to GSM, when it is in a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth mode, when it is being charged etc. The switch-off button is located on the top side. When you short-press it, the context menu with the relevant profiles appear on the display. In the context menu you will also find an option for locking the entire smartphone as well as an airplane mode. The infrared port is located next to the switch-off button.

Infrared port and switch-off button (the speaker is located under the narrow slot)

The swing key that is to be found on the left side of the phone controls the volume of the earphones and turns down the ringtone. A short press on the button located above the swing key opens the Comm Manager program, which quickly switches on and off the transmitting units: the GSM module, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. A long-press on the same button starts the voice recorder.

Comm Manager

The button on the right side of the phone controls the camera application. Unfortunately, pictures taken in a landscape mode are displayed vertically. What's worse, the location of the camera control button requires using your left hand and is therefore quite inconvenient.

  
Buttons located on the sides of the phone

Right next to the camera lens on the rear side of the phone there is a tiny mirror for making self-portraits. A bit further you will see a rubber cover, which protects the connector for the external antenna. The miniUSB system connector, through which you can also charge Qtek 8310 from the computer, is located on the bottom side of the device. Next to it is the 2.5mm jack for the earphones.

 
Back cover is easy to remove • connectors on the bottom side • eyelet for the strip

Qtek 8310 is powered by a Li-Ion battery of capacity of 1150 mAh. According to the official information provided by the manufacturer this smartphone has a stand-by of up to 250 hours and 5 hours of phone calls. As usual, do not expect me to give you precise battery life estimation, for it is a subjective matter, which depends fully on the way the phone is used (well: various users around the world speak about approximately three days). Qtek 8310 gets charged in about three hours.

Under the battery

The space under the battery is appropriated for the SIM card and (unfortunately) for the miniSD memory card. For this reason it is necessary to switch off the smartphone every time you need to exchange the memory card. What a pity, isn't it... Besides, no memory card is included in the original package of the phone.