As one would expect of products labelled “Made in Taiwan,” the mobile phones offer a host of innovations from the original. They’re super-slim, but they’re packed with desirable extras like mini-SD card slots; they don’t just take pictures, you can do a lot of  customizations as well; plus the built-in MP3/ Media Players  make sure that you don’t get bored wherever you go. Too good to be true? Then at least be secure with the fact that the phones are made by ASUS which has established a name for itself as a world leader in graphic cards, motherboards, and notebooks.

Technews was once again glad to be one of the first to preview the new ASUS phones which will be exclusively distributed in the Philippines by FoneTech International. We found the mobiles to have a very user-friendly interface, the perfect companion for consumers who not only seek functionality in their phones but entertainment value as well. Here they go:

ASUS V66: STAR IN YOUR OWN MTV

Ultra-light at only 80 grams, the ASUS V66’s main selling point  is the MV Director software which allows you to make your own animated MTV. How to do this? Just choose from the library of still images and videos you’ve captured with your phone, select the desired special effects, insert some background music, get instant preview then click on the ‘Make MV button.” Cool!  Why didn’t they think of this before? We found out that you can do the same personalizations as well with photos taken from this handy unit’s VGA camera. One can choose from an array of 17 effects to change how your pic looks like then design them on a number of frames. For instance, you can select from a cast of cutesy cartoon characters and beautiful nature scenes as background for your photos. The cam is also equipped with the 4/6/9 multi-shot function which means  it can take 4, 6 or 9 consecutive shots of an object or image. With the 64 MB internal memory plus the option for a mini-SD card slot, one shouldn’t have a problem storing all those still shots,  MP3 and MPEG 4 files. The other useful features we found on this tri-band phone were the 262K color screen, voice recorder, FM radio, WAP and USB to PC synchronization. With a host of other power features built in and at a retail price of only P9,900, we can say that  ASUS is not short-changing their market on what is supposed to be their basic, entry-level phone. Go ahead, check it out (and one more order of dimsum please!)

ASUS M303: ONE-TOUCH MP3 ENJOYMENT

Reviewed here in Technews as early as June 27 of this year, the ASUS M303 is a pretty fold phone which improves on the features of the V66 model using the same slim design.  Undoubtedly its best asset is its MP3 player which is equipped with one-touch buttons on the external panel, no need to flip open the whole phone in order to play music or select tracks. It is also fitted with other sought-after entertainment features such as stereo speakers for state-of-the-art audio enjoyment, earphone control for easy switching between MP3 and phone modes, as well as a  song list editor  for organizing your MP3 files according to your personal preferences. The M303’s 1.3 megapixel camera assures one of high resolution images with functions you can play around with. For instance, one can do a “self capture,”  take photos for up to 16 consecutive shots as well as display them in a choice of 20 different photo frames or 15 editing special effects. Videos can also be recorded with no time limit, more so when you use the phone’s mini-SD memory card slot. The  built-in user memory can accommodate approximately 300 entries in the phonebook and 300 messages with a host of neat organizer features such as  a world clock, currency converter, stopwatch, voice recorder and voice recognition. The downside is that the M303 has no Bluetooth and IR connectivity  but one can plug and play files from the mobile to a compatible PC via the USB cable that comes with the package, all a mid-level price of P14,800.

ASUS P505: FULL MOBILITY

Positioning itself as a mobile phone and mini-laptop in one, the P505 operates on Windows Mobile 2003 and is dual-powered by the Intel PXA 270 microprocessor/Infineon base stand processor memory, considered one of the fastest in the market today. Like other PDAs, this smartphone provides for no-hassle synchronization of files from one’s mobile to PC while enabling you to access with one click Internet Explorer, Microsoft Excel, Word, Powerpoint and Pocket MSN. Through a unique data backup tool, the P505 automatically saves data when the battery is low or has conked out. It also an electronic dictionary with a 35,000-word database, engineering calculator function, e-book and PDF reader. Moreover,the built in Bluetooth support  enables the phone to connect to the ASUS GPS-BT100 GPS (global positioning system) wirelessly so users can locate and reach their destinations with ease.

In the looks department, the P505 can be considered more handy than its pricier PDA smartphone counterparts at only 145 g. One can choose to use the stylus or the hand script recognition feature or the retractable ergonomic keypad when texting or making calls. There is also an easy five-way joystick located on the side for one-hand navigation as well as a smart voice command. In terms of  entertainment, the P505 is fitted with a 1.3 megapixel camera which is capable of  going into six photography modes, depending on the situation and lighting. Rounding up the phone’s multimedia features are the photo album/slide show functions, unlimIted MPEG4 video recording as well as a host of pocket PC and Java games.