Really gadget feeling ...!
Although it looks like a pen, it is a multifunctional mobile phone, Zini Mobiles' Zanco Smart Pen (abbreviated as S-Pen). I'm attracted to the gadget-like appearance, but what about its true value as a gadget? Reporter Sam Rutherford of Gizmodo tried it.
The Zanco S-Pen isn't really a pen, it's just a bare-bones phone (not so smart). But if Kevin from Home Alone wants to protect his home from thieves in this era, not in the 90's, this pen-shaped device will definitely be the main force in his possession ...! And the funny gimmick of S-Pen is worth the price of only $ 60 (Japanese price is about 6,500 yen).
The S-Pen is smaller and much lighter than a nickel coin. For that matter, the list of functions is overwhelming just by looking at it. It has a rear camera and front camera, a 1-inch screen, a SIM with a microSD card slot, and Bluetooth for pairing with a smartphone. Especially Bluetooth is absolutely indispensable. It's stupid to pull out a SIM card from your smartphone for a $ 60 S-Pen.
Although the Zanco S-Pen supports GSM, it does not provide anything close to typical 4G / LTE speeds and connectivity. However, since it can be linked with a smartphone via Bluetooth, you can make calls via the smartphone with a decent sound quality. So the S-Pen may be the perfect device for anyone who wants to play James Bond (or Mr. Bean) at a reasonable price.
Without other hidden features, the Zanco S-Pen wouldn't be the right gadget for the MI6 Q. Rest assured, if you need a laser pointer, you can press the 0 key to illuminate the red dot. When you want to record a conversation, S-Pen comes into play. However, you need to take some time to get used to the S-Pen UI. The interface of this product is like a time slip from a long time ago when touch screens appeared.
It's strange to see a preview on the S-Pen's 1-inch screen when taking a picture, but I'm kind of impressed that it's working. The Zanco S-Pen has a built-in laser pointer for when you want to make fun of your cat or teach. Despite careful handling, the Zanco S-Pen's stylus nib is extremely easy to come off and drop. For this cheapness, the buttons on the Zanco S-Pen are reasonably comfortable to press. The speaker on the back can be used as a handset for playing music or making a call. After all, the best use of Zanco S-Pen is to use it as a companion terminal for your smartphone.
The Zanco S-Pen's 1-inch screen has a sadly 80 x 160 resolution, so the settings screen only displays one or two words per line, and you can relax until the rest of the text gradually appears on the screen. And have to wait for scrolling. There are options for setting alarms, Magic Voice, a function that you can't even imagine what it is (maybe a voice changer), email, etc., but with the T9 character input method, it seems to be troublesome to type even a single word.
What really makes me laugh is when I try to take a picture with a 300,000-pixel camera. Perhaps you're trying to get the most out of the small screen of the Zanco S-Pen, the default setting is to take 80 x 160 pictures. However, the image size can be increased to a resolution of 640 x 480, so this setting is essential. Alas, the S-Pen doesn't have enough free space to store images, and the microSD card I tried didn't recognize all three, so I couldn't retrieve the photos from the S-Pen. I asked the manufacturer what the problem was, but I suspect that all the microSD cards I tried were relatively new 64GB models.
It's funny, but I can't write Zanco S-Pen even though the name says "pen". The tip of the S-Pen has a small rubber pen tip, so it can be used as a stylus for iPads. However, during the first 10 minutes I spent showing off to my colleagues, the nib fell about 25 times. I was frustrated because the S-Pen box did not come with a replacement nib. The S-Pen will last less than a day as a stylus.
You might read this far and say that the Zanco S-Pen is a junk. That's true. But it's a cheap, fun, and relatively wallet-friendly junk, and the 6-inch tubular housing packed with rare things has plenty of quirky and secret features to match the asking price. In this era of brilliant and elaborately crafted smartphones and tablets, items like the S-Pen remind me of the low-quality gadgets I've put up with a while ago.
Zanco S-Pen has already raised funds on Kickstarter and is currently accepting pre-orders with a shipping schedule starting in April. There is a possibility that such a project will not be invested, but since this is not the first time that the manufacturer Zini mobile has put a different type of mobile phone on the market, it seems to be more secure than other projects in that respect. is.
Source: Kickstarter, YouTube, worldssmallestphone
