December 21, 2003

MPx200: My next phone?

Well, I think I found the next phone I want. It is the MPx200. It is a Windows Smartphone in a slick clamshell, capable of also acting as a modem for my laptop through USB. This has some serious potential.

Things I like about this:

  1. I would no longer have to carry around my Handspring Prism PDA (which is almost dead)
  2. I get rid of my current PATHETIC phone that has almost no juice. (I have to charge it atleast once a day... even when I DON'T use it)
  3. It integrates directly with my Outlook, Address book etc
  4. It has a real browser, not just WAP. (well real being kinda a misnomer... its IE. Wonder if Firebird could be ported)
  5. Can easily check email on the road through my phone. As I said earlier, it syncs well with Outlook... making it more interesting.
  6. Always on IM. You can always find me if I am in range.
  7. Can act as a modem so I can VPN to the office servers in a pinch, when 802.11 hotspots aren't available.

This I DON'T like about it:
  1. No keyboard.... you gotta do the "keypad" typing.
  2. Running older version of the OS, and I don't think I can upgrade it.
  3. A bit bulky/thick
  4. Not the fastest thing (from what I saw while in Seattle playing with the thing)
  5. Always on IM. You can always find me if I am in range if I am signed in. (Oh wait, was this a positive or negative thing???)

There currently isn't any availability in Canada, but I seem to find a lot of people selling "unlock" codes to take care of that on Ebay. Apparently I can buy a locked phone and then get it uinlocked, but I am not sure how that works. Since its GSM, I just need to move my SIM card over and it should all work if its unlocked. Not entirely sure if thats true or not. Wish I knew. *sigh*

Of course, if I lived in the States I would snap this up. Especially since I can get the phone for free on Amazon.com if I get a plan with AT&T. Apparently Rogers AT&T in Canada has no affiliation with AT&T US, so I can't take advantage of that offer. Oh well.

So, if you happen to be looking in a cell store and see one of these things, check it out. You might be suprised how far cells have been coming lately.

Posted by SilverStr at December 21, 2003 08:51 AM | TrackBack
Comments

I've been using the mpx-200 for a couple months now. I really like the phone, it's pretty well thought out.

However, my biggest gripe is battery life. While certainly better than your current handset, the Smartphones seem to be plagued by high power consumption. My mpx-200 is lucky to last a weekend without a recharge, even if I don't talk on it.

With that said, I still use the mpx-200 over the 10 or so other phones I have at my disposal.

Kindest regards
Beau

Posted by: Beau Monday at December 21, 2003 01:00 PM

Hmm, thats an interesting comment Beau. I will have to consider that. I have also been looking at the Sieman SX56, which atleast has a half decent charger, but is much bigger/bulkier. Its got the same problem.

Thanks for the feedback!

Posted by: SilverStr at December 21, 2003 01:05 PM

If you want one, you should get the triband from Europe. I go to dubai and can get it unlocked from a real dealer for 750 canadian.

Interested?

Posted by: The Doc at March 22, 2004 07:51 PM

If you want one, you should get the triband from Europe. I go to dubai and can get it unlocked from a real dealer for 750 canadian.

Interested?

Posted by: The Doc at March 22, 2004 07:51 PM