Sleek and sexy smart phones with big brains
By CNET and CNET Asia staff
23/10/2006
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/mobilephones/0,39050603,39302577,00.htm
Smart phones--they're a great concept. Combined are the powers of a cell phone and a PDA in one unit, letting you make calls, send e-mail, and work on documents without myriad gadgets; yet, these devices haven't exactly taken off. Why? Form factor may be one of the main reasons. To date, smart phones typically have been clunky and heavy, making them unattractive substitutes for your primary cell phone. However, things are looking up. Take these five smart phones, which are compact and pocketable yet don't sacrifice important features, such as wireless connectivity and PIM functionality. Read our reviews to see if one of these compact and light smart phones is right for you.
Click here for a feature comparison table.
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Sony Ericsson M600i
First take Sony Ericsson today unveiled what it claims is the world's slimmest business UMTS device, the M600i. Measuring just 15mm thick, the new touchscreen-enabled offering is the second handset in the company's upcoming lineup to feature Symbian OS 9.1 and UIQ 3.0 (after the earlier-announced P990i). It is also the first device from the Swedish-Japanese joint venture to support Memory Stick Micro (M2), the new ultra-small flash memory card addition to the Memory Stick family. Is this Sony Ericsson's answer to the Moto Q?
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Samsung SGH-i320N
First take The Korean phone maker showed off its latest Windows Mobile smart phone, the SGH-i320N, at a recent press event held in Singapore. Touted as Samsung's answer to the much-anticipated Moto Q, the i320N sports a chassis that is just 11.5mm thin, making it one of the lightest and slimmest smart phones in the market today. Based on specifications, the Moto Q is 0.5mm thicker than the Samsung handheld. Like the Moto Q, the i320N is equipped with a 1.3-megapixel CMOS camera, QWERTY keypad, Windows Mobile 5.0 OS, speakerphone, Bluetooth as well as a QVGA screen.
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Nokia N73
CNET Asia rating: 7 out of 10
The good: The Nokia N73 boasts a 3.2-megapixel camera with video-recording capabilities, an integrated music player, a vibrant screen, Bluetooth, and a speakerphone. The phone also had extra-long talktime, battery life, and decent call quality.
The bad: The Nokia N73's keypad is a bit cramped. Also, it lacks Wi-Fi and runs slowly when switching between apps or performing multimedia functions.
The bottom line: The Nokia N73 offers a high-quality camera phone plus some nice extras in a stylish package, but its sluggish performance keeps us from giving it higher praises.
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Motorola MING
| Phone type | Quadband |
| Display | 2.4-inch 320x240-pixel touchscreen TFT display |
| Connectivity options | GPRS, Java, Bluetooth, USB |
| Dimensions | 95.7 x 51.7 x 21.5 mm; 122 g |
| Memory expansion | microSD/TransFlash card |
| Additional functions | High performance PIM; speaker-independent voice dial; cursive handwriting recognition (Chinese only); email support ;instant messaging via IM Wireless Village;
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5. |
Dopod S300
First take The Dopod S300, also known as the HTC StrTrk, has been hovering around the Internet like a lost starship for months now and everyone has tried to guess when it's going to land in Asia. This Razr-like clamshell phone has been creating quite a buzz due to its tech-friendly Star Trek name and thin form factor, but its specs leave us wondering whether it deserves such a stellar title.
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