Introduction
After a year of delays (initial release was supposed to be January 2021), the Mudita Pure arrived at my P.O. Box. The device I hold in my hands is not even mine. A subscriber from the channel sent it to me and I am still waiting for my unit to arrive. Yet, the device is real, its tangible, it exists after all.
Hardware (External)
Receiving it and unboxing it was a joy. The packaging is well made and the device itself does seem to hold up to its bill of materials. The hardware of the phone does feel like it is $180 as suggested by the link. The buttons are responsive, the e-ink screen ample, and the side keys sturdy. The material is a bit slippery. Thus, I would not want to use it without a case. But overall the external hardware is good on the promises made by Mudita.
Software
Turning on the Mudita Pure and setting it up was relatively easy (without a SIM card). The e-ink screen is responsive, the font albeit small is serviceable, and the tools loaded on the phone open up without issues. Here is some quick feedback on the software tools.
1. Tools
- Notes: The tool itself is very good. It has the ability to create a note and search them as well. Composing notes, however, is a bit difficult due to the keyboard input method. There is no automatic Abc mode or automatic capitalization after a period. Rather, you only have options for ABC, abc, or 123. Moreover, many useful symbols like a dash - are not available. The only symbols available are the following: . , _ : ; ( ) ? * ! # +. While useful, dash is way more common than underscore, so adding it or replacing it would be better. The search functionality is good and bringing T9 to the mix will make composing notes very useful.
- Calculator: Very basic. It is able to do all of the first degree operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) with relative ease. I can see it being useful calculating the tip at a restaurant or something of the sort.
2. Alarms: Multiple alarms are available and setting them up with different tunes and times as well. The tool works as intended. However, the speaker configuration on version 1.1.6 is very quiet. I am not sure if it can be amplified further via software or not. While the phone can get close to -20db to -15db at its peak, an alarm is supposed to be a good way to wake up or get a reminder. If the phone is in a pocket, a loud environment like outdoors, or far away, it will not be heard.
3. Calendar: It’s nice to know the date, but without the ability to add events or reminders, it’s there for show. I know this can be fixed in a software update so it’s going to be a matter of just waiting for it.
4. Calls: Alright, here we go. Keep in mind this applies to the United States only and it may not reflect the usage in other parts of the world. The tool itself is well designed and has good information of who called you, when your received the call, and quick access to send a message to your contact.
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Carrier Compatibility
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- AT&T: Phone calls do not work. Text messages send sometimes and sometimes do not. Group MMS does not work. Pure does not have the certification even though its technically compatible with the network. Bar Signal shows up.
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- Verizon: Phone calls work. SMS outbound gets sent in untranslated software (ASCII or UTF-8), so texting “hi” will be received as “00120234”. SMS is not received at all. Verizon compatibility will depend on your region (confirmed via Tier 2) and you will probably not get any service in certain areas of the country (USA) due to the Pure not having the proper certification. Bar signals do not show up even though you are able to make call with “zero” coverage.
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- T-mobile: SMS works. Group MMS and text do not work. Calls work. This is your best bet of making the Pure function in the US. Make sure you have a new SIM card as it the device may crash with an older SIM. R15 or newer model of T-mobile SIM is what you need to be looking for.
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Call Quality: Can you make phone calls? Yes. Do they sound good? It depends. Here are the scenarios that I have done while testing the Pure for a day and a half:
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- If you call someone while outdoors and are using the earpiece speaker, they will sound muffled and a interference sound will come sometimes. It sounds like they are talking inside of a box and some paper foil is over their mouth. If they are using headphones, you will hear them pretty ok. Rating: 2.5/5
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- If you call while using headphones (Bluetooth or wired), you will hear the phone call just fine. However, the receiver of your phone call will hear you very softly. I tried with 3 different pairs of wired headphones and 2 Bluetooth and the result was the same. I could hear them well, but they heard me very quietly. Rating 3/5.
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- If you call while indoors, it will be good enough most of the time. The boxy sound is still there, but since there is no extra ambience noise, you will get through your phone call. Rating 3.75/5
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- If you both use headphones and the conversation is indoors, the phone call will be good. Not perfect, but good enough to not want to hang up. Rating 4.25/5
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Overall thoughts on Calls: I believe the main issue is the antenna. The modification to the modem may be causing either interference or not playing well with the bands in the US. The phone will make calls and work, but are you willing to tolerate poor to decent phone call quality for the foreseeable future? I know some of it can probably be fixed with software. However, the tiny speaker on both the earpiece and loudspeaker are concerning from a hardware perspective.
5. Contacts: The tool works well. It has contacts, you can add multiple fields and notes, and search them. You can even forward the contact to another friend via SMS (provided that you are using T-mobile). No complaints here.
6. Messages: One to one sms works well on T-mobile. The issue here is not sending one to one sms, but the input method. I’ll reiterate and add some things in bold: There is no automatic Abc mode or automatic capitalization after a period. Rather, you only have options for ABC, abc, or 123 that you have to switch around manually every so often. Moreover, many useful symbols like a dash - are not available. The only symbols available are the following: . , _ : ; ( ) ? * ! # +. While useful, dash is way more common than underscore, so adding it or replacing it would be better. Also, the backspace key is very unintuitive. Having the backspace key on the # key leads to a lot of drafts/uncompleted messages. While you are typing, you may make a mistake and then hit the top right key to delete something and end up back on your messages instead of deleting. It’s a matter of getting used to it, but it is not intuitive. Bringing T9 to the mix will make composing messages fast and useful. If you are able to get some sort of MMS support, it will be a plus. However, I understand that this is not only about MMS, but allowing the phone to have internet connectivity to download attachments/group texts.
7. Music: The tool does what it says. It plays music. MP3, FLAC, WAV works as far as I’ve been testing. The speaker is not good for listening to music due to it being very quiet. Headphones would be my recommendation. There are no extra features like advancing or rewinding 30 seconds. It’s a simple next or go back. The fatal flaw for the music player is that you cannot use the phone for anything else while you listen to music, mp3’s, or anything else. The music player does not work in the background, so its either I listen to music or I do other things. It may work for some, but be advised that as of version 1.1.6 you either listen to music or you use the phone for other things.
8. Meditation: The tool is there. It’s essentially a timer that gongs every 2, 5, or 10 minutes. I can see if being useful for pomodoro techniques or for actual meditation. It works and this one I think makes sense for it to not allow you to do anything else on the phone since the whole point is to be in the moment.
9. Settings:
- Bluetooth: It works and connects to all gadgets I’ve tested.
- Network: You can swap between SIM 1 and SIM 2. Never can be used simultaneously and also edit APN’s. Good.
- Display and Keypad: Good options to change the keypad light, input language, dark mode, and front light for the device.
- Phone Modes: This refers to the side key that allows you to be “Connected”, “Do Not Disturb”, or “Offline.” Do not disturb allows for calls from favorites and offline mode is either airplane or messages only in intervals of 15, 30, 45, 60 minutes. Good features and a promise kept from the development stages.
- Apps: Here you can edit the vibration modes for calls, texts, and alarms. and ringtones for calls, texts. Pick a loud one, trust me.
- Security: Autolock timer and screen passcode.
- System: Stuff about the pure. Certifications, factory reset, language change, about your Pure, etc.
- Battery Life: I was expecting more. After 24 hours with the device, I am through 75% of the battery. This includes about 6 hours of idle time where the device depletes about 10-20% of its battery every 3 or so hours. Phone calls make the biggest dent and well I’ve been power using it. I see it being a device for 2-3 days battery life at its peak. I doubt it will ever be 7 days on a single charge. Even if all things are worked out, 3-4 days is the max with average use. Which is great by the way, just not so great when you have an OS based on FreeRTOS and a 1600 mAh battery. The Punkt is based on Android with a smaller battery and it does 2-3 days easy. Nokia’s ThreadX will last equally to the Mudita. Maybe some optimizations can be done.
11. Tethering: It does work on MacOS, not so great on Windows. I’ll update this as I test more soon .
12. Speaker: Just to reiterate. It is not loud. It’s very quiet. It sounds nice, but it is quiet.
Conclusion
This is an early conclusion for me. The Mudita Pure is a decent device so far. I can see growing pains and hope the team listens to the feedback I have given and others have done before. It is a good piece of hardware that works for its main purpose: keeping you offline. However, it does so by sacrificing the main functionalities of a phone: calls and texts. The phone in its current state, at least in the United States, is not very usable. The issues with carrier compatibility, call quality, lack of group mms and sms, and no T9 available make the Mudita Pure a nice offline phone. By that I mean, a phone without a SIM card.
I am confident the phone will evolve. As of now, if you have not pre-ordered the device, it is best you save your $$ until these issues are resolved.