E200 vs. MPX 200

[Guest jalm1]

Hello:

I currently own a MPX200, and really enjoy using the device; however there are a few things that are begging to annoy me. Primarily the speed of the device. It seems to run really slow, and all the time there is a little thinking circle and the response time to any navigation is delayed by many seconds, this is really annoying. Additionally, when this happens it becomes very hard to make or receive call, they often will not dial out or ring in. however, this happens at wired times for different durations. One of the big issues I bought the smart phone is to compliment my pocketpc phone when I didn’t want to carry to bulk of the device or my blackberry but still wanted access to the majority of the same data. What I am wondering is if it is worth It to me to upgrade to one of the WM2003 device like the e200 smart phone. I have read that WM2003 for smart phone is significantly better. But I am wondering to those that have this device how is the response time, signal strength, and does it lag? it would be more helpful if anyone using the device to do a wireless sync with exchange can comment on the responsiveness of the device. Also, I am wondering about the size of the device. The primary reason why I went with the mpx was that it was small when all I wanted was to carry a phone. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[Guest shanitee]

I was in the same boat as you - I was reasonably happy with the MPx200, and didn't really have anything to compare it against as it was the first SmartPhone I had. I love the look of it and, overall, using it was OK, even with the persistent hanging between menu screens and slow load times.

Then, last Friday it suddenly stopped recognising my SIM card. Having diagnosed that it was a handset problem, Orange offered me a free replacment with the E200 as part of my Orange Care policy. Wasn't too keen on this as I've never really liked the look of the SPV. I think (and still do) that the Motorola handset is a very nice looking phone and the general layout and design of it is one of the best I've seen (ignoring of course the wholly idiotic design of the volume jog dial on the side of the handset which truly beggars belief).

However, having now used the E200 for a week I would never go back to the MPx200. The E200 is so much smoother and faster at everything it does. I use it in much the same way as the old handset, but I've yet to once see the dreaded Microsoft spinning 'hourglass' thingy that would come up on the MPx200 almost everytime you changed from one menu to another. Its very responsive to use and everything you do on it seems to happen so much more smoothly than on the MPx200. As I understand, the hardware of both handsets is quite similar, although the E200 has double the memory (or so I believe). If this is the case, then its clearly evident in the general performance of the handset (and some if the performance increase may be attributable to Windows Mobile 2003).

Bettery life of the E200 isn't too great but is similar to the MPx200. As I discovered from this forum, removing the SD card does boost battery life considerably. But, if like me you charge your handset every evening while you sleep, then you can pretty much use the handset fairly actively (with the SD card in) throughout the day without too much fear of it dying on you.

Other nice features of the E200:

The screen does seem to be brighter and more 'defined' than on the Motorola, and generally seems clearer. Not being able to directly compare the two side by side, this is a little subjective on my part. The buttons on the handset are also nice to use (although I did prefer the more flush buttons on the MPx200 to the 'nobbly' buttons on the E200). The joystick is a little tricky to get used to at first, particulary if you're used to the seperate joystick and action button on the MPx200. But, you soon get used to it and I for one have no problem quickly navigating the (instantly loading!) menus and options screens.

The other big features are BlueTooth (BT) and the camera. As I have never used BT, and probably never will, I can't really comment on it, other than to say it's there if you need it. Having a camera on a phone is, in my opnion, a fairly superfluous feature, and one of the reasons I originally went for the MPx200 (I used to have a Pansonic GD87, so I have played with these toys before). However, I have been quite impressed with the camera on the E200. The resolution goes up to 640x480 which is enough to get a decent picture out of it, and it can record video (the length of which is determined by how much room you have available on your phone or memory card). Both taking stills and videos is very easy and is always quite fun (especially on a night out!).

What surpised me the most about the E200, however, was the build quility. The MPx200 is a nice looking phone, but I always thought it was quite shoddily built. The metal pin that ran through the hinge could be moved from side to side, and the two halves of the clam could be twisted a little when the phone was between the two extremes of opening and closing. In addition, the battery cover seemed quite loose. The E200 has a much better quality finish to it (although I do like the black shiny finish of the MPx200). Nothing on the E200 rattle or feels loose. The battery's cover is also the back cover of the phone (if you see where I'm coming from), so there's no problems with that coming off too easily. All the plugs and covers seem solid, and even the screen cover seems well made (and very well fused to the main casing on of the phone - so little chance of dust getting though).

In conclusion, I say go for the E200! You definitely won't regret it and you'll wonder how you ever managed with the sloooooow MPx200!

If you need any more info I'll be glad to help.

[Guest kelv23]

This is a very common topic and you'll find a mirror of this post saying that the MPX200 has far better build quality,runs faster etc,etc.

I'd like to hear your views on the E200 after using it for a couple of months.Neither of the phones are perfect,both have good points and bad points, the jury hasn't yet returned the verdict, its a topic thats being constantly debated.

[Guest jalm1]

Thank you guys for your imput. i think i might try out the E200 (see if i cant get my company to buy me another phone). I do really love the look and layout of te mpx, and a perfer a clamshell phone to a candy bar. but i also have an imate pocketpc phone and love it. and find myself carrying it when i dont want to (b/c of the size) since i am fed up with the slowness of the MPX. i think the biggest thing that takes up the processes is the contineous wireless activesync with our exchange sever. i would hope that with the 2003 they made additional improvments in proformance along with the new features for exchange sync. Thank you again.

[Guest shanitee]

I agree with the second reply - making a judgement about the handset after 1 week is a little hasty. All I can say is that so far I've been very impressed with the E200 over the MPx200. Whether I can give it such a recommendation after a month or two will have to be seen. But, I'll update in the future about this.