Qtek 9100 review: Cheaper than expected

Phone calls lack just a bit to perfection

Qtek supports GSM 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz. Calls are managed through an application called Phone, which resembles a common keypad with huge number keys. Qtek has been praised in many reviews because of the high quality of its earphones. Unfortunately, I have not been able to get them plugged in and functioning. When a call is being received, the speaker starts to vibrate, giving out a loud buzz, which can also be heard during conversation. Perhaps it is only this single piece that has such a defect, perhaps not. I have no critical remarks about the built-in handsfree. It is loud, indeed.

Calls applications • dialing numbers • calling

Calls are recorded by holding the button on the right side of the device. During the recording process you can also take notes. To do so, simply click on the Note icon and insert a text note into the prepared form, which already includes details such as relevant phone number and name taken directly from the phone book as well as the date and the time of the call. The call records include a full list of all calls and filter options.

Call detail • call records

The phone alerts are standard. There is a vibration option; MP3 files can be used as ringtones. Qtek 9100 is not equipped with ring profiles. Yet, you can switch to a silent mode with vibration by pressing and holding the button on the upper left corner.

Improved phonebook

Certain modifications in the phonebook are obvious at first sight as there is a phone number appearing below each contact. Horizontal cursor buttons facilitate the shifts between saved numbers or email views. By pressing one of these buttons you can open an all-details view, make a direct call, send a message or download a web page. Picture synchronization with Outlook is new. Each contact entry can be assigned a separate ringtone.

Phonebook (with filter) • contact details

Each contact can fit in up to 40 different fields, including the name and the phone number of one's assistant. The database structure is not subject to modification. This does not seem to make any difference though. The communicator offers plenty of saving data options. What's more, details can also be saved in the form of a note. The latter - unlike the independent Notes application - can only consist of text. Version 5.0 does not attach voice notes to contacts (while former versions did so).

Editing contacts

To search the phonebook write characters one by one or click on the icon of the initial letter. The whole process is possible to manage with one hand too. When you press the button the related contacts get displayed. Select the one you are interested in and then you can make a call or look at all the details.

In case that you need to make just a simple phone call, it is better to press the green receiver and open the Phone application. Writing with the pen is similar to using a T9 dictionary - the communicator offers related numbers straight away. For some inexplicable reason, the keypad is impossible to use in this particular case.

Searching with T9

Messages

Work with messages in the new Windows Mobile does not differ a lot from the older versions. It offers one bulk application for everything- from SMS and MMS to emails. Individual branches of the directory tree respond to the individual types of messages. In other words, SMS do not get mixed with emails.

Folders with messages

The hardware keypad makes SMS writing really comfortable. The editor counts down written characters. Once you outreach 160 it starts to also display the number of written sub messages. The phone also offers advice of delivery - either general, or related to each separate message. Incoming messages first pop up in a window on the main display for a moment and then back away to the legend line on the active screen. MMS are viewed in a very similar way, but their setup is so complicated that I trailed by. I just did not manage to send a single MMS.

Writing messages with the help of the on-screen keyboard

The email client works with POP3 and IMAP4 protocols. Its characteristics have not been changed much. You can create several email accounts. You can download entire messages or limit your selection to their headers only. Automatic downloading is available as well. One of the greatest conveniences Qtek 9100 offers is the usage of various office formats, Word, Excel and PDF documents in particular.

Email • attachment in Word • attachment in PDF

Emails synchronize with Outlook too. They are displayed in a separate folder, just like if they were downloaded from the POP3/SMTP server.

Time organizer

Time-organizing functions in Windows Mobile 5.0 have not undergone significant modifications either. There is direct access to the watch and the alarm clock applications from the main display. Both of them work well. You can also set the watch to appear in the bar of each individual program. The communicator has three alarm clocks, including an option for setting the exact days of activity.

Watch and alarm clock

The calendar has not undergone any modifications. Events can be displayed in a bulk, day, week, month or year view. The calendar synchronizes perfectly with Outlook, including repetitions, alerts and details on the meeting place as well as text notes. The task manager is even simpler.

Various calendar views

I was quite surprised by the synchronization in the notes application, which combines texts, drawings and records, as it managed to even transfer records from the voice recorder. It is possible that the beta version of the MS Office 12 application, which I am currently testing, helps here, but I am not entirely positive.

The voice recorder is easy to access - you need to only press and hold the button situated on the right side of the communicator. The length of the record is limited by the free capacity of the shared memory.

Simple calculator