This post is intended to share my impressions after the first week of using the Mudita Kompakt - NA version - in Canada, service provider: Rogers
To start, the decision to purchase the phone came upon growing frustration over the use of Android phones, overwhelmingly pushing total surveillance and advertising, so the idea of getting a phone that doesn’t need to be charged twice a day, works outside under a bright sun, and enables basic functionality (and acts as a hotspot when and where I need Internet connection) seems very appealing.
Now to the reality.
The phone design is fine, handles good in my hand, fits into a pocket, battery lasts a few days.
- Basic functionality (4 of 10)
1a) Phone. Clarity of calls is fine, there were no complaints of me speaking, I didn’t have dropped calls. Still, this essential part of every phone is not complete without a convenience of working with the voicemail.
- For the last twenty+ years I got very used to long-pressing “1” for an easy access to my voicemail, yet this doesn’t work on Mudita. Based on this Forum feedback, phone developers themselves do not seem to use voicemail at all (or only occasionally), yet for me dialing my own number, then entering it again, listening to myself, pressing more buttons to get to the voicemail is a big inconvenience.
- Call history only shows time of the call for today’s call. So getting to “Let me call back to that dude who called me on Tuesday around lunch” with Mudita Kompakt is challenging if number of calls received on Tuesday is more than a few.
- I wish the speaker to be more loud for a hands-free use in a room with just a little noise around. I mean, when I seat outside enjoying nature and having a phone call, I have to hold Kompakt because I don’t quite hear the caller in a quiet nature setting.
1b) SMS. I randomly encountered that I do not receive text messages sent as a part of two-steps verification. Can’t replicate a condition. With each and every service now requiring a code delivered via SMS, the issue, if persists, is becoming a show-stopper for my use of Mudita Kompakt as a primary phone.
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Screen. (2 of 10)
I was hoping the e-ink screen would enable to use the Kompakt, if not a substitute, as a complement to my e-reader (Kindle Paperwhite). Unfortunately, quality of the Kompakt screen is mediocre when compared to that of Kindle. Low refresh rate leaves messy artifacts from previously displayed text, with the text itself not crisp and low resolution. Quality of graphics on the screen can only be compared to the cheapest newspaper-type from 1970s. Even the applications / sites advertised as e-ink optimised look sub-par at best. Using the screen to take the photos, or review a photo taken? Good luck with that.
Screen doesn’t rotate if phone is in landscape mode: a bit inconvenient for reading
In the lock mode, the screen shows “Mudita Kompakt” sign. One needs to unlock the screen to see time, and go to controls to see the weather. No way to change.
2 points of 10 for good performance under the direct sun. -
Build-in applications.
3a) Alarm (8 of 10) – enables multiple alarms, with repetition by days. Slightly difficult to set outside of preset steps (like 6:02, not 6:00 or 6:10), and the sound isn’t loud enough for a sound sleeper (see above about the speaker).
3b) Calculator (5 of 10) – very basic. I used some apps that show advanced functionality when screen rotates, yet screen doesn’t rotate on Mudita Kompakt
3c) Calendar (3 of 10) – only shows day or month view. No week or year view. The calendar may get actually useful if synchronized with Outlook
3d) Camera (3 of 10) – take a shot, view photos, turn the flash on/off. Quality of photos is mediocre. Shooting is a challenge, especially of a moving object, giving the screen quality (see above). No video recording.
3e) Chess (8 of 10) – decent and useful. Can’t play against another human. Opponent’s move are fast to grasp, so need to refer to the records to see the actual moves
3f) E-reader (2 of 10) – limited support of file formats (can’t even see .txt); doesn’t save the reading location upon exit; no groupings of books
3g) Maps (0 of 10) – incomplete (no POI at all), unfunctional (no direction, no navigation), incorrect (house numbers mostly missing, city parts names incorrect for my city)
3h) Meditation – not sure, cant tell anything
3i) Music (0 of 10) – just a list of musical files, no grouping, no playlists, no playing by a folder
3j) Notes (3 of 10) – can only type text notes, can’t draw or attach a photo, no synchronization
3k) Recording (3 of 10) – can record audio or play – no groupings, no integration with notes or synchronization, can’t record a phone call.
3l) Weather (5 of 10) – half of the time unable to determine my location to show location-based forecast. When showing rain doesn’t show what’s the chance of rain
3m) Contacts (5 of 10) – missing some important fields (for instance, Birthday), lacks synchronization with Outlook -
Wifi hotspot (9 of 10). Giving the above shortcoming, at least for now I have to carry another smartphone with me, to use when I need to check emails, or weather, or for navigation. With the hotspot on, it seems battery is draining fast
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App sideloading
There’s a video and a post on how to sideload apps. So far I managed to overcome some of the above weaknesses:
- EinkBro (browser) – works ok, enables browsing
- Contacts from FDroid– have some fields I use (see 3m)
- KOReader – better for reading (see 3f)
- HERE WeGo maps – more accurate map with navigation functionality (see 3g) – voice prompts do not work due to no text-to-speech
- FeedFlow – to reed news from RSS feeds
- CBC Listen – to listen to some sound (see 3i), and radio
- Other
- Unable to tune up the interface to my liking (like bring icons of my favourite apps to front)
- Unable to remove preinstalled apps (maps the phone comes with is totally useless)
- No way to close running app
SUMMARY
Nicely build device that fits into a pocket, works under the sun, and doesn’t need a powerbank all the time, yet still a far way before becoming a decent substitute for a primary phone / productivity tool.
The phone doesn’t do the core functionality quite well (cumbersome support of voicemail, no recording of phone calls), preinstalled apps are mostly useless, and productivity use is limited by the poor quality of text and graphics on the display.
