Guest kl1wdr Posted July 29, 2004 Report Posted July 29, 2004 Before you start to read this text, please consider that I might have made some writing-mistakes as english is not my mothertongue-language... Let us not waste any more time and start right away: My today's encounter with the MPx220 was not the first one and so I knew what was to come and to expect. I haven't been that overwhelmed when I first held it in my hands about 2 months ago....this might be because of a C500 laying right next to it which looks tiny compared to the MPx 220. Beside that the 220's firmware was somewhat buggy you could hardly use the device...it hung all the time and the cam was simply non-usable. The C500 was already in a perfect state (as far as I could tell) and this matter of fact made me think even worse about the MPx220. After this encounter full of emotions I was absolutely sure only to get the C500 once it's been released. It just looked and could be handled better....the screen is bigger and it is very fast... But enough written about the past, let us see what Motorola improved on the MPx 220 in the past few weeks / months. Housing / Quality Before we start I have to admit: This phone looks absolutely stunning!! It lays nicely in your hand and seems to be a bit thinner than the MPx 200 (without having measured the size). The mirrored frontface looks really nice and I do really like it….nevertheless I keep asking myself what they did it for....I suppose it should be used as a mirror when taking selfportraits what is pretty nice but absolutely unnecessary: Manufacturers like Samsung thought a bit further and integrated the viewer for the cam directly into the external LCD....so, why, dear Motorola, havent't you implemented this idea into the MPx 220?? The external display would easily be able to work like that....but I already accepted the matter of fact that the guys from the development-department are only thinking in limited ways!! If I would be really into details I would write that the yellow LED (which Motorola calls a "flash") does absolutely not fit to the rest of the phone....no matter if the phone is silver, black (brown actually) or any other color... ...why not simply implement a WHITE LED? It would look much better und I am pretty sure that it woul produce the same amount of light..or should I say "as less as the yellow LED"? But let us talk about some nicer aspects beside the above mentioned disadvantages: The QUAD-Emblem above the antenna looks very nice...not to mention the embossed MPx220 as well as the „Designed for Windows Mobile“ on the back of the phone.....VERY NICE!! But this is not the best to come....it definately is the Motorola-M-Logo which is placed on about 3 different spots on the phone.....all I write about them is: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWW!! Luckily the volume-buttons are not S/E-Look-And-Act-a-Like-Buttons anymore but normal up- and down-buttons again....FINALLY!! You can't imagine how much I hated the unprecise old button of the MPx 200…!! Right above the volume-button you will find the headset-slot which (I guess I will never understand it) again only works with special Motorola-Headsets.....how poor and such a stupid idea, to pull some more money out of our pockets...Shame on you, Motorola! At the bottom of the volume-button the Power-On-Button can be found. It looks very nice with its chrome finish and it works Flawlessly and not like the first SPV where one almost broke his finger while attempting to power the device up… At the very bottom of the phone Motorola implemented the data-port which is (once again NOT understandable) no MiniUSB-Port anymore.....why is that?? On the righthandside one will find the IrDA-Port and right above it the Shortcut-Button for the camera (which does not seem to work in the current ROM-Version)….. ….further above there is the MiniSD-Slot...I don't want to start a discussion about this, so all I am saying is: Motorola, WHY MiniSD?? There would have been far enought space for a normal SD-Slot and I could still use my 512 MB-SD....but no, you would not earn any money with it...is that the reason for using a MiniSD-Slot?? Well done, Motorola, that's very customer-friendly!! But now back to more important details: We open the device und hear a nice *click*, which can be heard once the clamshell-mechanism is fully opened. I have never been a friend of clamshells and I always thought that the clamshell-mechanism is the weakest point of clamshells...especially since I held a samsung which nearly fell apart...but luckily this does not seem the case with the MPx 220…everything looks and feels nicely done...VERY GOOD! We start right at the top....and we see the somewhat beautiful loudspeaker... I have NEVER seen such nice loudspeakers....the looks sooo nice!! On the loudspeaker itself is a Motorola-M which looks just cool... A bit further down there is the display. So, one matter of fact, before I go on:: YES, the screen IS SMALLER....but it does not affect the usage of the phone and everything looks still fine...it even looks a bit nicer because of its strong color...compared to the MPx 220-Screen even the SPV e200 looks poor... Nevertheless I do not understand why Motorola minimize everythin (MiniSD, Display etc.)...maybe someone can explain this to us... Keyboard Guys, I tell you, you have never seen such a wonderfull keyboard...!!! The illumination is perfectly integrated and parts of the keys are in chrome finish....this make the whole keyboard look GENIUS!! I am impressed! Even the pressure point is top...BRAVO Motorola!! So, enough said about the device....let us talk about the software: OS / Features etc. As hopefully everyone knows in the meantime, all new devices will be delievered with Windows Mobile 2003 SE (Second Edition). The changes for the enduser seem to be close to none….beside a small windows-flag on the startbutton, a new (still ugly looking) waiting-animation and a new face for solitaire (looks ugly to me as well)… The only real advantage about the Second Edition seems to be its possibility to be optimized for several CPU's (OMAP, XSCALE etc.)...I personally expect a bit more speed out of that...speaking of speed: Speed Bye bye Mio..welcome Motorola… The MPx220 works like a rocket….browsing the menu's is a real pleasure....that's what I expect of a smartphone....VERY NICE! We FINALLY seem to have a nice fast smartphone....*juhui*…:D Even the Drag-and-Drop of files from the phone to the computer (and the other way round) works like a charm and very fast... Cam The MPx 220 brings a 1.2 MegaPixel-Cam (or was it 1.3 MegaPixel?) and a so called "Flash", which is a simple LED… The max. resolution is 1280 x 960 Pixel. The flash seems pretty unusable...except if you hold the phone about 2 cm away from the person's face...then it might work....*lol* Sadly the Cam has not been much improved yet....but I guess it won't take long for Motorola to improve this... Structure of the startmenu / Installed Software: http://www.kleinweder.ch/220/Startmen
Guest idavid Posted July 29, 2004 Report Posted July 29, 2004 great review! very informative. looks like a pretty nice phone. the only bad thing is that they have increased the size of the thing over the mpx200 even though they are opting for a smaller display (those black borders round the screen look terrible) and miniSD! oh well, only time will tell. you cant really tell what the phones are like until you have one in your hand. how stable have you found the OS?
Guest zeta101 Posted July 29, 2004 Report Posted July 29, 2004 have you tried installing a bunch of applications (ones that you normally use on your current phone, which i assume is an mpx200)? Out of the box, smartphones are fast (menuwise) but seem to slow down once things are installed. Are the two softkeys, D-pad and action button placed nicely? does it feel right for your thumb? nice review btw :P
Guest kl1wdr Posted July 29, 2004 Report Posted July 29, 2004 how stable have you found the OS?VERY stable....absolutely no problems and very fast... have you tried installing a bunch of applications (ones that you normally use on your current phone, which i assume is an mpx200)? Yep, of course....I am currently running the following apps and games on the device: - Done in 50 Seconds - SmartSS - SmartPong - Orneta Notepad 2003 - PHM Registry Editor - PocketKai MP3-Alarm - Rikisoft Theme Changer And the phone does still run absolutely smoothly... Are the two softkeys, D-pad and action button placed nicely? does it feel right for your thumb? Yes, perfect for me....
Guest Cybertronic Posted July 29, 2004 Report Posted July 29, 2004 Very nice review! :P What kind of homescreen do you have on your E200? :?
Guest kl1wdr Posted July 29, 2004 Report Posted July 29, 2004 What kind of homescreen do you have on your E200? :? My "kl1wdr-Longhorn-2"-Screen.....can be found on my website --> www.kleinweder.ch :P
Guest kyrkesmith Posted July 30, 2004 Report Posted July 30, 2004 Is the reception alright? Better than MPx200? Looks in one of those pics like the MPx220's got three bars where the E200's got four. Hmm....
Guest haso0on Posted July 30, 2004 Report Posted July 30, 2004 wooow great review juss one question, how were u able to get ur hands on the MPx220 ? and can u post pictures taken with its camera
Guest winterdude Posted July 30, 2004 Report Posted July 30, 2004 cool good, review dude do you have any idea of the bluetooth profiles it exposes
Guest mnbv Posted July 30, 2004 Report Posted July 30, 2004 what do you think compared to the c500 now?
Guest MaximilianWeisheit Posted July 30, 2004 Report Posted July 30, 2004 you think you can do a comparision to the C500
Guest liquid-core Posted July 31, 2004 Report Posted July 31, 2004 Does it have an alloy shell, or is it plastic like the MPX200?
Guest Toad Posted July 31, 2004 Report Posted July 31, 2004 What? the external display of the Mpx220 can't be used as a viewfinder... That's one of the major points of having a color external display... the flash & camera sucks? it takes miniSD cards rather than regular SD ones? the screen is smaller than the mpx200's? The phone looks good on paper, but all these things seem to be making the phone significantly less attractive.
Guest deoranje15 Posted July 31, 2004 Report Posted July 31, 2004 Just became a modaco member. I have a v600 now, its my 2nd one, and i keep having problems with it freezing so i plan on getting an mpx 220 when it drops. My big question is whether or not the external color screen displays pictures as caller id of some sort. Is the resolution decent enough to even attempt displaying pictures. And if you could, post a picture with an example of its quality. Thanks.
Guest zeta101 Posted July 31, 2004 Report Posted July 31, 2004 you cant cound miniSD as a bad point for a certain phone, all new phones will be adopting it soon enough.
Guest live4life Posted July 31, 2004 Report Posted July 31, 2004 Hi Kl1nweder, Doesn't the diminished size of the screen influence the viewing of highly graphical applications? (Like watching movies and highly detailed homescreens) Or is the size-difference small enough to forget about that?... Ps This IS going to be my next phone!
Guest Connor00 Posted July 31, 2004 Report Posted July 31, 2004 Yo, nice review. Curious about a few things though... Does the camera do video??? (is that a software thing) and if so at what frame rate? Also, the SPV I'm using now doesn't let me use voice dial...The phenetic input that the mpx 220 has is sweet, but would be really limited if you couldn't use it, and activate it through a blue tooth headset!!! Oh and
Guest iJITSU Posted July 31, 2004 Report Posted July 31, 2004 I would think you could use the voice commands via a bluetooth headset. I know someone else that has a 220. I'll ask.
Guest Connor00 Posted July 31, 2004 Report Posted July 31, 2004 That be great because you really should be able to use any number of voice commands activated through bluetooth.
Guest live4life Posted August 1, 2004 Report Posted August 1, 2004 I don't think the missing option of being able to use the external screen as a viewfinder is a disadvantage, afterall; howmany pictures of yourself are you planning to take...
Guest jmrecanize Posted August 1, 2004 Report Posted August 1, 2004 Are you sure the final release won't have an external viewfinder for the camera. The instruction manual says it has this feature enabled.
Guest kyrkesmith Posted August 1, 2004 Report Posted August 1, 2004 Makes you wonder why they made the outside so mirrorey though, if the small screen can be used.
Guest Connor00 Posted August 2, 2004 Report Posted August 2, 2004 Yo has anyone tried talking to the guys at www.tekntoys.com...They have the 220 in their Pre-release section...wondering if they have at least limited access to the pre-retail models...I heard the software (like Win2k3) was buggy in the show models?
Guest qwiki Posted August 3, 2004 Report Posted August 3, 2004 Looking at this page, it says the external screen can be used with the camera:- http://www.ppcw.net/?itemid=2005 ...and mentions a light sensor which turns off the keyboard backlight. Cool 8)
Guest haso0on Posted August 6, 2004 Report Posted August 6, 2004 hey u guys check this out.... the phone has a 262K color display http://www.motorola.com/mdirect/hellomoto/...ull_specs.shtml?
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