Pros: Sleek, Flip Phone, Outlook, Internet Explorer, Instant Messenger, Windows Media Player, All in One Device
Cons: No Bluetooth, Bad Signal Strength, Poor Battery Life, No Longer Supported
The Bottom Line: I wouldn't recommend this phone because of the poor battery life and signal strength, and since it is now unsupported by AT&T due to new technology.
I have had the the Motorola MPx200 since the first day it hit the United States, and had thoroughly researched the phone several months before acquiring it. I knew it was going to be the first US Smartphone and would have some quirks to it, but I'm more interested in having the most up to date gadgets instead of something that's going to last me for a long time. The MPx200 has definately met my expectations, but has in no way exceeded them.
The Motorola MPx200 is available only through AT&T Wireless, which has been my carrier for 6 years and I haven't had a problem with them yet. It is available for use on GSM 1800/1900 MHz GPRS networks, which means if you are on AT&T's latest network, phone switching is a breeze, you just take your SIM card out of one phone and put it in this one. I bought the phone because my Ericsson T68i (one of the first phones in the US with a color screen) was on it's last leg, and I was looking for something that I could show off but at the same time had some functionality, and the MPx200 has proven to do both. It is a flip phone with a glossy black finish and blue accents (blue is my favorite color) that when closed fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. It has an easy to use interface - numerous control buttons, 4-way navigation key, soft keys and jog dial, which allow for easy programming and navigation. It also uses Microsoft Smartphone 2002, which allows you to syncronize information from Microsoft Outlook with the MPx200 and do even more.
Microsoft Pocket Outlook (which is already installed on the MPx200) allows you to control your email, contacts, calendar, and tasks from the palm of your hand while Microsoft ActiveSync (which will need to be installed to your computer) synchronizes your Pocket Outlook email, calendar, contacts and tasks between PC and phone so your PIM system is always synched up. It also comes with pocket internet explorer for browsing the web for news, business and entertainment - even paying bills securely with SSL support. Instant messaging can be achieved with built-in IM / MSN Messenger which helps you keep in touch with friends and associates. Windows Media Player delivers high-impact audio and video files in a familiar format. Supports WMA and MP3 audio files and WMV video files, including streaming media. Games can be downloaded directly to the phone through wireless connection or installed via the cradle and most of the phone can be customized, including the wallpaper, menus, etc.
This phone uses digital memory, which allows you to take files with you with 32MB Flash ROM or 32MB SD RAM + SD MMC card (expandable up to 1GB). The phone also allows multiple connectivity options via the mini-USB, IrDA port or wireless Internet Service. The phone has built-in speech recognition and allows you to speak a stored name, number or function and your phone calls it up for you.
The MPx200 has a 176 x 220 pixel internal vivid color TFT display which provides an enormous viewing area and also sports a 96 x 32 pixel two line external display which shows caller ID, date & time, plus status icons at a glance.
The phone has many calling features, including: call forwarding, multiple call timers, multiple key answer, quick access menu, ringer/vibrate suppress, turbo dial® keys 2-9, call hold, call waiting, alternate line/dual name, and VibraCall® alert. It also has memory features like last numbers dialed, last calls received, and up to 500 entries in the phonebook.
Since I already had a HP iPAQ 5555 Pocket PC which requires ActiveSync, getting this phone ready was a snap. The phone contains a cradle and a mini USB cord that connects one end to the USB port of your computer and the other end to the charging/syncing cradle. All I had to do next was place the phone on the cradle and after telling ActiveSync that I wanted it to always sync with my computer it promptly downloaded all my email, contacts, tasks, and appointments to my phone. I was very happy with this feature because in all my previous cell phones I had to manually enter my contact information. After syncing the phone I decided to test it out, and as others have mentioned, signal quality was not as good as my Ericsson, but the phone still performs well in most areas of coverage.
One of my favorite features of the phone is the ability to customize it. I recently downloaded a MSN theme that changes not only the background but the entire layout of the main screen, and changes the background of all screens and even replaces some of the default ones. This creates a unique environment which makes the phone look like a mini-computer. Since I also like to impress, I went ahead and edited some of my favorite songs and saved them to WAVs and easily transferred them to my phone using ActiveSync, and a few short minutes later had my phone programmed to play Weezer - Islands in the Sun when my friends called, Blackstreet - No Diggity when work called, Fastball - Out of My Head when my wife called, and then Blues Traveler - The Hook when anyone else called. But I didn't stop there. I soon edited an episode of SouthPark I have and was able to mess with some settings until I got a 25 minute episode down to 30 megs and again easily transferred it through ActiveSync. Windows Media Player had no problems playing it, and the episode looked so great with no dropped frames and surprising sound quality out of a monophonic speaker. If there was a phone that impressed, this would be the one.
So although it seems this phone has been perfect so far, there are many shortcomings. First off is the horrible battery life. Even with minimal use (meaning the phone just stays in standby mode and no calls are made or received) I am lucky to get 3 days on a single charge. With normal use you better make sure to charge this phone at least once every 2 days, and that is cutting it close. It also seems this phone suffers from the same thing that all my other devices with Microsoft operating systems do when multiple programs are installed, and that is performance. But even with a few (I mean 3) third party software installed on the phone it seemed to take forever just to load up contacts and finally would start locking up. With my other devices I have always been able to reset and this takes care of the problem, but with this phone after powering down and even removing the battery nothing seemed to fix this problem. I finally decided to just hard reset my phone (clear the entire memory and all my programs) and everything seems to be working great now. I even reinstalled my cool MSN theme and haven't experienced a slowdown, but I will probably not install any more programs as the phone just can't handle it.
The phone also lacks bluetooth, which is almost a must with wireless data access. Since there are no cords that can connect this phone to my Pocket PC I must rely on infrared to transfer data, and trying to align the devices long enough to transfer data just isn't worth it. The phone supports SD memory, but doesn't support SDIO (which means add-ons like bluetooth, WiFi, cameras, etc.) and since AT&T isn't going to support the Windows Mobile 2003 upgrade (which could allow this phone to be SDIO) this phone is a sitting duck.
I would like to say that I have enjoyed my purchase and still love my phone. It allows me to keep my Outlook information on the go and also allows me to have some eye candy which I can show to others. I have fallen in love with Smartphones but as I expected this device has several problems, including signal strength, battery life, and processor and/or software limitations and has already become unsupported by AT&T. I will continue to use this device until AT&T releases a newer smartphone that has a better processor and supports Bluetooth and has an upgraded operating system.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 300 Recommended for: Professionals On-the-Go - Internet and Email is a Must!
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