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Asus P552w

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By John Chan
Nov 4, 2008

Though it canceled quite a number of products earlier this year, Asus went on to show that it's not out of the handset market by announcing the P552w soon after. Commercially available in Asia Pacific starting this month, the P552w will retail for S$669.

Design

At 102 x 60.5 x 14.5mm, the P552w is a compact handheld. Compared to the HTC Touch, it is larger in all dimensions. But to be fair, the Asus is a much more feature-packed device compared to the Touch. A fairer comparison is the upcoming Touch 3G, and comparatively, the HTC is narrower and lighter though all other dimensions are similar. While it is not as small as its competitor's device, the P552w is sufficiently light (105g) and handy and shouldn't cause much of a bulge in pockets or handbags. Overall, its dimensions make it look a little pudgy and it's unlikely to turn many heads due to looks.

Like the HTC Touch, the screen of this handheld is flush with the chassis. This makes it easier to execute commands on the display using finger swipes and taps. There's quite a wide black border around the LCD and we are left wondering if Asus could have actually made the P552w more compact. Just a few buttons and a directional pad are found below the screen. These include the regular Call and Hang up keys, a shortcut to the device's custom AnyTime launcher and an OK key. The front facade, already small to begin with, means there isn't too much space for buttons. So we're glad Asus has kept it to a minimum. The keypad is large enough to be useful and the keys are easy to access.

Along the left side are volume controls and a port for connecting an external GPS antenna. The right side has a shutter for activating the camera and taking a shot. On that same side is a Hold key similar to what you find on MP3 players. Activating it disables all buttons and turns off the screen, while switching it the other way turns it back on. It's a convenient solution which lets you turn off the device and keylock in one step. We've seen this in the Asus P320 as well and it's something we won't mind having in more handsets.

As in many of HTC's devices, there's only one port on the Asus P552w, a mini-USB one for charging, syncing and connecting a wired headset. The stylus slot is found in the top right corner and the provided plastic pointer is light but long and thick enough to be comfortable in the hand.



Tags: HTC Touch, headset, High Tech Computer Corp., mini-USB, handheld
 
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