Tiny phone for a big Tug
Nov. 6th, 2003 06:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tugrikAfter a solid 6 years or so using MegaHugeGiant phones (namely, the Nokia 9000, Nokia 9290 and then the T-Mobile PPC) I'm finally back to the small form-factor. My office bought me the last one as part of a pilot project to roll "Activesync over the web" out to all our mobile users. They just upgraded me to the new Motorola MPx200 smartphone so I could now test those out instead. It looks like we're going to be giving these to all our field engineers. As phones go, the MPx is a very nifty little device.
As a straight phone -- voice quality, signal, physical size -- it does very well. I've not personally used many flip-phones so I can't rate it vs. others, but I can say it beats out the quality of any other phone I've had outside of the 9290. (The 9290 is known for some of the best antenna reception and audio quality among GSM phones, but it was huuuuge).
As a PocketPC data device, the "smartphone" OS feels a little cramped but is quite functional. Instead of a touch-screen like a PDA would have, all functions are done with the 4-way rocker, center button and home/back keys. Text entry is via T9 though there's a good chance of an add-on mini-USB keyboard in the future like the PDAs use. Since I've found that my primary use of a PDA-like device is for reading data and not generating it, T9 will suffice for now. The custom software out there is decent but in no way as common as the full PocketPC versions. Since Smartphone is only just now hitting the US shores I'm not too surprised. The software will show up over time.
Data access is quick and painless. The GPRS is as fast, if not faster than the T-Mobile PPC. The installed version of Pocket-IE is a very capable one, letting me browse LJ, web-email, comics and even buy movie tickets just fine. It even handles the frames problem decently, though huge cuts have to be made due to the screen size. Lastly it also functions well as a USB modem for the laptop to dial outbound from. Bluetooth would have been good here, but since the USB cable to the phone is a standard one and can be bought as a tiny reel-up, that's not so bad.
The Good: As I said before, it's a great phone for phoning's sake. Solidly built, too; feels like it can take a good amount of abuse. Excellent screen in both resolution and color. Uses standard USB(mini) cabling instead of fiddly custom connectors. Can hold up to a 1GB SD chip. Plays MP3s and movie files just fine, as long as within storage capacities. Tons of fun features like photo-callerID. It does wonderful syncing with my Exchange-server back end, giving me near-live email/contacts/calendaring.
The so-so: the battery life is decent but not stellar. 4-6hr talk, 300-400 hours standby. Modern phones have slightly to notably better times. To blame is the well-lit, high-rez display and the 'processor always doing something' nature of SmartphoneOS. It does constant little email checks in the background, for instance. The speakerphone, while far better than the T-Mo' PPC is still very 'enh...' compared to the 9290 I loved. It has no bluetooth and no camera. I put those two in the 'so-so' because they're features I've not had and therefore really don't yet miss.
The bleah: It's AT&T only. I had to play the part of EvilDirtyUnlockerBeast and enlist some overseas help in shattering the SIM-lock on the phone. This means buying it without service and paying the extra $150 or so (well, okay, my office paid for it, not me). After a few hours of reconfiguration and fussing around in the low-levels of the OS I've removed everything related to AT&T save for one very annoying splash-screen that only shows during boot-time. Also, being brand-spankin'-new, there's flat-thunk-zero for accessories out there. It'll be a little bit before I can get a proper belt-pouch or car-kit for it. The last niggle is that it's Smartphone 2002. I'd much prefer 2003 and its better connectivity features. Eventually it may get upgraded by Motorola, though it'll always be without bluetooth. I'm fine with that.
As long as my office keeps payin' for these toys I'll happily surf up the upgrade chain. I'm also going to nab the SDK and see what I can fuss with. With luck I can cobble together an LJ client for when the portable keyboards come out. The only one out there right now is based off the suck-ness known as "AvantGo", for devices that don't have realtime connectivity like this does.
As a straight phone -- voice quality, signal, physical size -- it does very well. I've not personally used many flip-phones so I can't rate it vs. others, but I can say it beats out the quality of any other phone I've had outside of the 9290. (The 9290 is known for some of the best antenna reception and audio quality among GSM phones, but it was huuuuge).
As a PocketPC data device, the "smartphone" OS feels a little cramped but is quite functional. Instead of a touch-screen like a PDA would have, all functions are done with the 4-way rocker, center button and home/back keys. Text entry is via T9 though there's a good chance of an add-on mini-USB keyboard in the future like the PDAs use. Since I've found that my primary use of a PDA-like device is for reading data and not generating it, T9 will suffice for now. The custom software out there is decent but in no way as common as the full PocketPC versions. Since Smartphone is only just now hitting the US shores I'm not too surprised. The software will show up over time.
Data access is quick and painless. The GPRS is as fast, if not faster than the T-Mobile PPC. The installed version of Pocket-IE is a very capable one, letting me browse LJ, web-email, comics and even buy movie tickets just fine. It even handles the frames problem decently, though huge cuts have to be made due to the screen size. Lastly it also functions well as a USB modem for the laptop to dial outbound from. Bluetooth would have been good here, but since the USB cable to the phone is a standard one and can be bought as a tiny reel-up, that's not so bad.
The Good: As I said before, it's a great phone for phoning's sake. Solidly built, too; feels like it can take a good amount of abuse. Excellent screen in both resolution and color. Uses standard USB(mini) cabling instead of fiddly custom connectors. Can hold up to a 1GB SD chip. Plays MP3s and movie files just fine, as long as within storage capacities. Tons of fun features like photo-callerID. It does wonderful syncing with my Exchange-server back end, giving me near-live email/contacts/calendaring.
The so-so: the battery life is decent but not stellar. 4-6hr talk, 300-400 hours standby. Modern phones have slightly to notably better times. To blame is the well-lit, high-rez display and the 'processor always doing something' nature of SmartphoneOS. It does constant little email checks in the background, for instance. The speakerphone, while far better than the T-Mo' PPC is still very 'enh...' compared to the 9290 I loved. It has no bluetooth and no camera. I put those two in the 'so-so' because they're features I've not had and therefore really don't yet miss.
The bleah: It's AT&T only. I had to play the part of EvilDirtyUnlockerBeast and enlist some overseas help in shattering the SIM-lock on the phone. This means buying it without service and paying the extra $150 or so (well, okay, my office paid for it, not me). After a few hours of reconfiguration and fussing around in the low-levels of the OS I've removed everything related to AT&T save for one very annoying splash-screen that only shows during boot-time. Also, being brand-spankin'-new, there's flat-thunk-zero for accessories out there. It'll be a little bit before I can get a proper belt-pouch or car-kit for it. The last niggle is that it's Smartphone 2002. I'd much prefer 2003 and its better connectivity features. Eventually it may get upgraded by Motorola, though it'll always be without bluetooth. I'm fine with that.
As long as my office keeps payin' for these toys I'll happily surf up the upgrade chain. I'm also going to nab the SDK and see what I can fuss with. With luck I can cobble together an LJ client for when the portable keyboards come out. The only one out there right now is based off the suck-ness known as "AvantGo", for devices that don't have realtime connectivity like this does.
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no subject
Date: 2003-11-06 06:38 pm (UTC)Looks nice from the outside! But ewww, so windows-like! SymbianOS f'rall :P Or QNX, wonder if a specialised version of that could be fitted into a cellphone somehow :D
no subject
Date: 2003-11-06 07:09 pm (UTC)http://gryphonguild.org/gryphonpages/luxpics/tugriksketch.jpg
Beautiful!
Date: 2003-11-07 12:00 am (UTC)*tilts head and looks it over, grinning*
no subject
Date: 2003-11-06 07:28 pm (UTC)But very cool indeed! and having werk pay for it is an added bonus! yaay!
no subject
Date: 2003-11-07 08:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-11-07 10:13 am (UTC)-Traveller
I got mine yesterday
Date: 2003-11-07 10:47 am (UTC)Must be nice having a job that buys this stuff FOR you. But then, it must be even nicer knowing you are valuable enough to them for them to do that.
Anyway, I've been perusing the new www.mpx200.org site and looking for goodies. I have not tried installing any of my pocketPC software on it yet, but at least the phone and the PC are running 2002. Still, the phone and PC software may be different. I'm going to try first with Pocket Quicken and see if I can get that to work.
P.S. Since I see a new Icon, I assume you got 50 now as well?
Re: I got mine yesterday
Date: 2003-11-07 01:10 pm (UTC)They want a crash-test dummy before they get them for the execs, so there are at least a few alterior motives on the company's part. :)
The perfect carrying case for my use is one that has a permanently-attached belt loop (not a clip, and definitely not a swivel either) so I can put it on my belt when I get dressed and leave the case there. The one I found that fits the phone exactly and has a nice zip-closure is the case for the Pentax Optio S camera. It's about $20 but you need to order it through a camera store. If you want a velcro or magnetic closure, however, you'll have to wait for the Motorola-sanctioned ones to come out in a few weeks.
As for software, I'm just trying a smattering of the free stuff that's out there. Be sure to go to www.smartphone.net and get the free ones you want to try -- and definitely get the free-for-now Traffic monitor from Pharos (www.pharosgps.com).