Our impression

We originally intended this Product Evaluation to review Microsoft's Windows for Smartphones software, but soon realised that separating its features from the usability of the actual smartphone itself was going to be difficult as well as artificial. This is especially true with the Motorola MPx 200, which is the first device to emerge from a new collaboration between Microsoft and Motorola to develop a range of smartphone and Pocket PC wireless devices.

Like other smartphones, the MPx200 combines mobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), email messenger and Web browser in one compact device. However, the operating system is Microsoft Windows Mobile for Smartphones software, rather than the more established Symbian OS.

Motorola was in fact one of the original shareholders in Symbian (see feature on smartphones on page 14), but has changed its strategy in favour of multi-choice OS and closer co-operation with network operators. In the UK, for example, the phone is only available on the Orange network. This exclusivity is a recognition by Motorola and Microsoft that maximising the potential of smartphones also relies on the services the network operator is prepared to offer.

 

I'm already a fan of Motorola's clamshell phones: in a 9cm x 5cm package you get a decent-sized screen and a keypad that someone with fingers bigger than a five-year-old's can use comfortably. The MPx200 is a sleeker black-and-silver version of my current Motorola phone and a bit chunkier; all that extra functionality including a SD memory card has to be accommodated somewhere, after all. However, unless you're trying to squeeze it into a skin-tight jeans pocket, it's not unwieldy, and the extra features more than compensate.

Unlike PDA operating systems, Windows Mobile software for Smartphone does not have a touch-screen interface - all of its commands and functions are accessed via the keypad. Microsoft has designed Smartphone OS to provide easy one-handed access to the most popular PIM functions.

I was a bit sceptical at first about this apparent simplicity because I've not had much success with multi-function keys - due to the fact that I can never remember the correct procedure to get a specific key to do something different. That's no problem with Smartphone OS: it recognises which mode you are in, so the keys perform the correct job for that task. The "back" button, for example, may return you to the previous menu, act as an editing tool (when you're writing email messages), or return to the previous Internet page.

If you get completely disorientated, there is a dedicated button which returns you to the home screen. As with other top-of-the-range Motorola phones, the MPx200 has a centre soft key, surrounded by a flexible collar for scrolling through menus.

So, although the Home screen looks quite busy, it is easy to navigate. It immediately shows network status, new messages received and appointment reminders. At the top is a taskbar for accessing applications. You can personalise the home screen as you would your PC desktop, with different sounds for task reminders, message-received notification and so on. The software includes the multimedia features and applications that now seem to be standard on top-of-the-range mobiles, including messaging, digital imaging capability and Windows Media Player.

There are some practical business features, too. You can preselect settings for different environments including offices and train stations, and there is a useful suspend/resume feature for data transmissions. When a voice call is placed or answered during an active data session, the data connection is paused, then resumed once the voice call ends. The phone can also automatically mute your phone during meetings, using data extracted from Calendar.

You browse through email messages without opening and closing them, and there are several built-in message responses. The software supports T9, a predictive text-input system. The more use it gets, the larger the T9 dictionary becomes, saving text-entry time.

The Outlook Inbox stores email, SMS messages, meeting requests and voice-mail notifications in one place and can be configured to support several email accounts. You can synchronise email, Calendar and Contacts folders remotely, so the data you see on the phone is the most up-to-date. The functions are integrated, so during the course of a phone conversation, the user can schedule a meeting and record it in the Calendar, as well as browse for new messages.

Our verdict

I liked the Motorola MPx200 so much I didn't want to give it back. I only spend part of my working life away from the office, and if the smartphone combination is attractive enough to convert me, it should prove an absolute winner for those who spend most of their working lives out on the road. It depends on the inventiveness of application developers, of course, but many tasks such as job scheduling should run perfectly happily on smartphones instead of PDAs.

Microsoft Mobile 2003 For Smartphones

Key features

Phone Smartdial, conference dialling; device lock and SIM lock

Interfaces Bluetooth; infrared; synchronisation with desktop Outlook

Text T9 predictive text input; voice messages as email attachments

Pocket Outlook Unified Inbox for emails, SMS messages and voice-mail. Supports POP3 and other email protocols and up to 8 message accounts. Hot-links from contact book.

Calendar and appointments reminder. Voice memo recording

Pocket Internet Explorer

Supports XML, HTML, cHTML, xHTML and WAP

Security Secure Sockets Layer and Wireless Transport Layer Security

ActiveSync Configures wireless synchronisation schedules for peak and off-peak hours, and roaming.

CE .NET Support for .NET Compact Framework in ROM

Motorola MPx200

Specification

Processor Texas Instruments 120mHz processor; 32MB RAM; 32MB ROM

Operating system Microsoft Windows Mobile for Smartphones

Storage Integrated slot for multi-media or SD card

Size 5cm x 9cm x 3cm deep

Weight 100 grams

Display 65k colour TFT; hard keypad; navigation pad

Battery type Lithium-ion 860 mAh.

204-316 minutes in talk mode and 70 to 112 hours standby

Communications GSM/GPRS; Infra-red port; hands-free socket; Bluetooth; Internet IPv6

Price: £239.99 plus Orange monthly contract