The Windows Mobile Interface

Switch over to the Asus P320. This baby was awesome on paper, it was loaded to the core with features, GPS, WiFi, High Res Screen, Desktop Application, Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. This phone had it all and I was one of the 1st people in India to buy it. It had it all except reliability, the phone was very frail. The signal could never be received and every 3 months something would break off the phone.

The customer service was unreachable most of the time. In my 1.5 years of this phone , the GPS antenna cap broke, the stylus broke, the screen almost broke. The internal stylus lockin switch broke etc. Not only that the phone was terribly underpowered. All in all a super flop phone from Asus.

Then around 3 months ago, my brother got an extra Nokia E63. Before that I was looking to get one of those Chinese phones. These Chinese phones have a user interface very similar to Windows Mobile and also cost very little. But I thought if Asus being a branded Chinese Phone was so hopeless, that I can very well imagine the quality and service that seemingly anonymous brands would have. I decided to take the plunge and get the non touchscreen but Qwerty keyboard Nokia E63. It reminded me of my Imate JAQ except that it was 100 times lighter and a 1000 times sleeker than the bulky JAQ.

The switch

The switch from Windows Mobile to Symbian was surprisingly easy. Probably because the Windows mobile phones I had used were so underpowered that the Symbian phone seemed lightning fast in comparison. Even Chinese mobile phones (now banned mostly) were slower than my E63. Another interesting thing about my Nokia E63 is that its made in Finland while most Nokia E63s I see with people are made in China. I am hoping the Finnish pedigree makes it better in quality.

In Windows mobile even to receive bluetooth files or to send them to a folder of your choice, all this used to be hacking in itself. So I liked the intuitiveness of the Nokia E63 and its symbian interface. Its actually true that symbian is very regulated and not as versatile as the windows mobile. Infact a lot of software cannot even be thought to work in this Symbian interface, but I do not have many complaints. The speed and reliability of the Nokia E63 more than makes up for it.

I am a happy convert from the Windows Mobile franchisee to the Symbian Franchisee

But I am looking forward to Windows Mobile 7, Windows 7 was a gamechanger in the PC domain, lets see if Windows Mobile 7 can do the same in the mobile phone segment.

Most Tech Gurus would have doubted that the ultraportable market ever existed in India, so what did the Asus EEE PC do ? It created a whole new market segment for itself, it carved into the price sensitive, ultra geeky Indian market and took the nation by storm. These 7" beauties are now carried by college students, professionals and even salesmen. The laptops are functional and have the ability to install Windows Xp on them although that wouldnt leave much space to put other things. the best version available in India is the Aus EEE PC 4G, the 2G surf version is also available in India.

Enjoy this great phone with Windows Mobile professional 6.1 and GPS

Asus really loves India, thats why they release all their phones in India before many of the leading world markets. The latest to hit the shelves is the Asus ZX1. The phone is a special edition Lamborghini model and is priced at a whooping Rs.48000 or $1200. Now i can buy a good laptop with that amount, why would i buy this phone. But our job is to review the phone and here goes :

Asus claims that the phone has a ‘chassis-inspired aerodynamic flow’ and the ‘amazingly sharp profile’. Its made up of carbon fibre and stainless steel so that it may last a long time. Its looks are killer and we agree, amazingly thin and stylish at the same time. The Lamborghini logo looks fantabulous. The specs of the phone are :

Specifications – Our comments are in Italics

Networks
HSDPA 3.6Mbps, UMTS 850/1900/2100MHz, EDGE/GPRS/GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz; Class 10 - Awesome Quadband and HSDPA !

Operating System
Microsoft Windows® Mobile 6.1™ Professional – The latest and best mobile OS

Weight
119g (With Battery) – A little heavy

Standby Time
150 ~ 200 hours – Good and Decent

Talk Time
3G: 2~3 hours*; 2G: 4~5 hours  – A little on the lower side

Display
2.8´´ TFT LCD Screen, 65,000 colors, QVGA 240×320 pixels – Just 65k colours, pathetic for 48k bucks

Processor
TI OMAP™ 2431 450MHz + EMP U360 – Nice processor

GPS
Built-in GPS Sirfstar III - Always Handy

Memory
256 MB Flash + 128 MB SDRAM – Decent RAM, also the unit has expansion slot

Expansion Slots
Micro-SD; Supports SDHC – SDHC saves the day

The thing also comes with a large number of ASUS Applications

Anytime Launcher, EziMusic, EziPhoto, MultiHome, NewStation, Backup, ASUS Zip, Ur Time, Business Card Recognition, Auto Cleaner, Meeting Time Planner, Remote Presenter, Voice Commander, GPS Catcher, Call filter, ASUS Status, ClearVue PDF Viewer, Network Auto Configuration, Youtube / Flickr Uploader

Camera Resolution
3 Megapixels, 0.3 Megapixels for Video Telephony – Good, but at 48k 5MP would be better

Verdict:

The phone is a stylish looking, mean performance machine, the only worrying thing is the price tag, spending 48k just for the Lamborghini stamp is plain stupid. Not many people will buy it, and those who do will be better of buying HTC phones which cost 30k but offer similar and better features.

The video shows the Asus P320 mobile phone review, various features such as Asus Today Screen, Asus Launcher, Windows Mobile Professional 6.1 features, GPS, Google Calendar. Web browsing of the handset is also tested. The today screen features a weather icon like the HTC touch, a feed reader, a notes utility. Also worth noticing is the Asus status feature.

Essential buying guide for anyone looking to buy an Asus P320 mobile phone.

So Taiwanese company Asus plan to take a share of the pie from China’s HTC with their latest Mini PDA the Asus P320 phone. The phone features a great stylish shape with ultra features like GPS, A much Improved Today Screen and Wifi. All this for an Indian price of Rs.12000 (Street Price ) is quite a steal. The phone has the latest Windows Mobile professional with an all touch interface like the HTC Touch and IPhone.

The phone’s specifications are:

• Quad-band GSM )850/900/1800/1900), GPRS, EDGE connectivity
• Microsoft Windows Mobile Professional 6.1
• TI OMAP Processor 850 200 MHz CPU
• 128 MB ROM
• 64 MB RAM
• Windows Mobile Pro 6.1
• 2.8″ QVGA 320×240 px TFT LCD touchscreen
• Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0
• 2 Megapixel camera (Quality is yet to be Tested)
• Built-in  GPS  SIRF III
• MicroSD memory card slot   which supports SDHC

Let us discuss the Pros and Cons of this phone Asus P320:

Pros:

1. Built in GPS ensures you dont have to carry around an external receiver, this can easily become your navigator.
2. WLAN Wifi
3. Quadband – All continents are in your reach.
4. Supports upto 32 GB Micro SD SDHC cards
5. Improved Asus Today screen and Asus Launcher
6. Microsoft Windows Mobile Professional 6.1 (Latest)

Cons:

1. Very small, very very small, so using Windows Mobile Professional 6.1 can be pretty agonising
2. No external keyboard app, the default keyboard is very difficult to use
3. No FM , couldn’t they give FM :O
4. 64 MB RAM might be too small
5. TI OMAP 850 200 MHz is an ancient processor with very low processing power.

Verdict 

Dont buy the Asustek Asus P320 as of yet, the phone is a new phone and Asus being relatively new in the market , the phone may have some reliability issues, wait for 2 months so that you can see reviews pouring in and make a better call. The phone is too small for those with larger hand and plus the processor is slow and RAM is less. These might make the phone sluggish and useless.