Motorola Ming

By Reuben Lee and Calvin Chia, CNET Asia
Nov 14, 2006

Even with improved designs and smaller form factors, smart phones generally tend to be bulkier and less attractive than mobile phones. However, the Motorola MING (a.k.a. A1200) seems to buck this trend. Its stylish 95.7 x 51.7 x 21.5mm frame is comparable to many clamshell offerings out there, and it comes in a smart-looking case. Amazingly, there is more to the MING than just its attractive appearance. Beneath the transparent LCD cover lies a plethora of goodies, from a 2-megapixel camera to a nifty business card reader and a touchscreen display that recognizes Chinese handwriting. The MING is currently retailing at S$698 for the handset alone and S$528 when bundled with a two-year mobile contract.

Design
Besides the Moto Q which is expected to make its debut soon in Asia, the MING is by far one of the smallest and best-looking smart phone we've seen from the US mobile handset company. Though it is a little hefty at 122g, mobile users will most definitely appreciate the compact design which occupies a footprint slightly longer if narrower than a credit card.

We like the rubbery-like material around the sides and back of the phone, which provides better grip while giving a solid feel to the cellular. On both sides of the MING, users will find two silver strips with volume control, voice dial and camera buttons as well as a mini-USB port and 2.5mm audio jack. If you are planning to use your own earphones with 3.5mm jacks, you will have to purchase a separate 2.5mm-to-3.mm audio jack adapter.

One of the unique features of the MING is its sleek transparent cover which adds to the whole aesthetics of the phone while protecting the touchscreen display. It also has a slight magnifying effect, so users can better view of the contents on the display without having to flip open the cover. The phone's earpiece is embedded into the Motorola logo on the transparent panel and connected to the main phone unit via two thin wires.

Much as we like the transparent cover, it does take some effort to flip it open, even with two little grooves that Motorola has added on both sides of the handset. But once you get the hang of it, the phone can be a joy to use. In fact, you will need to only flip the cover to the halfway point and the rest of it is assisted by a mechanical spring action in the hinge.

Besides the buttons on the sides and bottom of the display, all other inputs on the MING will have to be done via the 2.4-inch QVGA (320 x 240-pixel) touchscreen LCD. Combined with support for up to 262,000 colors, images on the screen appear bright and sharp with excellent color reproduction. The MING comes with a stylus slot at the back of the LCD on the right.

The rear face of this smart phone houses a 2-megapixel camera with macro controls and a tiny reflecting mirror for self-portraits. Users will have to remove the battery from its slot to access the SIM card and microSD card. This is not so much a hassle for the SIM card since it's traditionally not something that one would remove often from the phone, but it definitely is for the microSD memory card. The arrangement effectively disables the ability to hot-swap the expansion card while the phone is in use.

We noticed that unlike most phones, the MING does not come with any LED lights to indicate missed calls or low battery. Users will have to occasionally check back on the main display for such information.

User Discussion

 

• Most Popular

• Upcoming

What's Hot