This author remembers very well that the first ever Motorola phone he reviewed was the MPx, which unfortunately, was discontinued by Motorola. As we all know, the US-based company has been aggressively pursuing its goal of beating the competition. Motorola has lately been releasing new designs. Recently, I had the chance to take a peek at their newest design baby: the Motorola MPx220 SmartPhone.
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| The Motorola MPX220 | |
Lovingly nicknamed “Quasimodo”, due to its bulging, quad-band (GSM 850 / GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900) "intenna", the MPx220's clamshell exterior is sleeker and more svelte than its predecessors. Being a quad-band phone may be considered a rarity among mobile phones, but for the jet-setting, on-the-go traveler, and the business-minded, this phone is certainly a performer.
The MPx220 is a GSM wonder that packs lots of SmartPhone power in a small package. It has MS SmartPhone software (Microsoft Windows Mobile for SmartPhones 2003 Second Edition OS), including Pocket Outlook (sending and receiving of text (SMS), multimedia (MMS), and Internet e-mail (IMAP4/POP3/SMTP) messages), Pocket IE (for web surfing), Windows Media Player (for MP3s and other multimedia), MSN messenger (for instant messaging addicts), and WAP.
The 2.0-inch, 176 x 220 pixel, 65,536-color, TFT, primary screen dominates the inside of the cover. It also has a smaller, 4,096-color STN, secondary screen that displays incoming calls, current time, battery life, and signal strength. The latter screen is located on the outside of the cover.
In comparison to other, popular smart phones, the Motorola MPx220 measures a pocket-friendly 100 x 48 x 24.3 millimeters and weighs only 110 grams. The navigation and select buttons are all much larger, so people with huge fingers should cope well, especially the members of the Textus Addictus species.
The MPx220’s camera does well and the phone gets high marks for its ability to upload unedited or non-enhanced pictures on the Internet, such as posting your pictures taken from the phone in MySpace and Friendster. The integrated 1.3-megapixel camera on the MPx220 is equipped with an LED-type flash unit and a self timer, and has the ability to take pictures with resolutions of up to 1280 x 960 pixels, and videos with resolutions of up to 176 x 144 pixels (QCIF resolution).
But don't get too excited about decommissioning your dedicated digital camera. Just as with all camera-phones, you still need a proper digital camera for serious - and even semi-serious - photography.
As for memory, the MPx220 provides a total capacity of 64 MB for other applications and data. What’s more, the MPx220 supports mini SD cards that are only a fraction of the size of a typical SD card. Apart from providing additional memory to the phone, the SD card can also be used to quickly move files in to or out of the phone whenever necessary.
The MPx220 has multiple connectivity options for linking with other electronic devices. A plug at the phone’s base port allows connections to PCs or notebooks. The MPx220 also has Bluetooth and Infrared (IR) for data transfers, such as the phone’s multi-media and organizer-based files, and the phone can link with compatible phones and PDAs.
For PIM (personal information management) applications, the phone includes a voice note/recorder feature, a tasks/to-do list, a day/week/month calendar, a calculator, a detailed phone book, and an Outlook-compatible phonebook. Also, the unit's ActiveSync feature keeps data shared between your PC and MPx220 synchronized. Other software applications include two Java games, Billiards and Skipping Stones, and two Windows Mobile games (Solitaire and Jawbreaker).
The MPx220 is also packed with some very useful applications (including File Manager and Resource Manager) that show how much memory you have left; and, allow you to read files in a range of different formats including PDF, Microsoft Word and Excel. But do not expect to see the accounts of a large corporation on the 2-inch screen, or the complete works of Shakespeare all at the same time.
The MPx220 is powered by a standard 1000 mAh Li-Ion battery, and has about 3-4 hours of continuous talk time. It has a stand-by life of up to 4-5 days, and full charging takes about 3 hours. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the MPx220 has a digital Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) rating of 0.75 watt per kilogram.
In comparison with Series 60 Smartphones, the MPx220 seems best suited for web browsing while Series 60 phones excel at imaging and messaging. Both types of phones seem to be about the same when it comes to phone related functions. But more importantly, the MPx220 takes on a more down-to-earth look-and-feel, with its improved size and shape – which, by the way, suits the human hand rather well.
