Reviews and tests / Top Windows Mobile QWERTY PDA phones: arms race

SMAPE  Reviews and tests    Top Windows Mobile QWERTY PDA phones: arms race

The Windows Mobile platform is rapidly increasing its market share, yet it’s too early to talk about Microsoft’s victory given Symbian’s way more impressive achievements of lately. Nokia N95 sells much better than whole WM product lines summed together, e.g. the much discussed Touch series, let alone Apple iPhone and others. Even the wide use of the platform by various developers doesn’t do anything to improve the situation, the total share of WM products is still keeping on a very modest level, risking to remain this way for a big while from now on because of the formation of Symbian Foundation which is predicted to popularize Symbian products even further. On the other hand, Samsung have been increasing their activity on the WM front (the i740 and i900 models look especially promising) while Sony Ericsson are preparing to invade the market segment with their new products. SE have even invented the pretentious XPERIA brand, its first bearer (codenamed X1) being ODM-developed by HTC, the leading WM developer group.

HTC Touch Pro / Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1

Here we are about to touch on the most interesting thing – the highest-ranking, most powerful and expensive Windows Mobile gadgets by the two rivaling manufacturers are based off the same platform, making very close competitors. The market experts have been recently discussing the possibility of HTC having performed the unfair feat of presenting the fresh hardware platform a in Spring in Italy (originally promoted as the lodestone of HTC’s upcoming XPERIA X1) and subsequently launching a cheaper Touch Pro at an earlier date. Indeed, the top-ranking keyboard-equipped PDA by the Taiwan manufacturer is already available in Europe, and the price is actually as low as predicted. Sony Ericsson still retains a few trumps which were all discussed in the preview of XPERIA X1.

Model	Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1	HTС Touch Pro
Suppored Networks:	GSM 900/1800/1900 и UMTS 900/2100, HSDPA	GSM 900/1800/1900 и UMTS 900/2100, HSDPA
GPRS / EDGE:	+/+	+/+
Operating system:	Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional	Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
CPU:	Qualcomm MSM7201А 528 MHz	Qualcomm MSM7201А 528 MHz
ROM / RAM:	256 / 512 Mb	256 / 512 Mb
Screen:	3”, TFT WVGA 800x480, 65k, touchscreen	2.8”, TFT VGA 640x480, 65k, touchscreen
Camera:	3.2 Mp, Auto-focusing	3.2 Mp, Auto-focusing
Memory extension slot:	microSD	microSD
Connectivity:	miniUSB, Bt 2.0, Wi-Fi	extUSB, Bt 2.0, Wi-Fi
GPS:	+	+
FM:	+	+
QWERTY:	+	+
3.5 mm:	+	-
Battery:	1500 mAh	1340 mAh
Measurements	110.5 x 52.6 x 17 mm	102 x 51 x 18.05 mm
Weight	158 g	165 g
Cost	770 euros	915 euros

Both PDAs have already been through our test labs, so it’s time to draw the first conclusions. The product by HTC bears pronounced resemblances to Diamond and is slightly thicker because of the keyboard. At the same time, X1 looks quite posh and unusual, the use of metal and an exquisitely curved opening mechanism imbue the gadget with a particular kind of charisma. Touch Pro loses to the competitor when it comes down to the pure practical advantages – it’s thicker and more exposed to grease and fingerprints at the front panel. However this doesn’t go to the keyboard, here HTC did their best. Despite a better button segmentation, the button feedback and other qualities seem to be worse in XPERIA. Meanwhile Pro offers whole five rows of comfortably designed buttons. This kind of solution ranks among the best among WM products.

HTC Touch Pro / Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1

Nokia E61 and its i-branded variation in particular have long served as a kind of golden standard for QWERTY smartphones as far as the comfort of text input goes. That’s why we saw it a logical step to compare the ergonomics of the top-ranking keyboard-equipped PDAs by SE and HTC to the ergonomics of the keyboards installed on Nokia E61 and E71. Despite a relatively larger button size in Touch Pro and XPERIA X1, they feel worse in operation because their buttons aren’t as responsive and you can’t instantly feel if a button was pressed or not, this thing is much better with E61i. In X1, the spaces between the buttons are rather big, in Touch Pro the keys are tightly packed against each other, yet the overall level of ergonomics is the same for both. HTC Touch Pro also sports an extra row of buttons, which wasn’t previously seen in PDAs and smartphones. This fifth button row doesn’t really contribute to the ergonomics to any perceptible extent, it seems to us that E61i is still better for quick and comfortable text input. In all the cases the worst thing is the crowdedness of the buttons and their low feedback. Larger buttons coming in a bigger number ought to stand for better ergonomics in theory. In practice, this is not the case. Nokia E61i keeps its first place in the competition, sporting the best keyboard ergonomics among the contestants. Nokia E71 is the outsider: not only are its buttons small and crowded, but fewer in number as well.

The keyboard is an element of utmost importance in either of the two PDAs, so Touch Pro scores a huge win by offering a handier keyboard than its competitor could ever offer. The brand TouchFLO 3D graphical shell is another strong side which earns Touch Pro a few extra points, beating Sony Ericsson Panels both in functionality and comfort of operation. As for the rest of the features, the Taiwan-manufactured handset seems to possess less prominent qualities than its counterpart. X1 possesses the strengths of a metal casing, more compact measurements and a lesser weight, a large screen, a 3.5 mm audio jack, a high capacity battery, a better cam after all. Pro could possibly respond to this with a better software compatibility (due to a standard screen resolution), a TV-out and hardware 3D acceleration but that’s just not enough to outweigh the virtues of X1 completely.

HTC Touch Pro / Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1

The question of cost and affordability is pretty transparent – HTC firmly holds a leadership, and will even strengthen their positions further by the release day of Sony Ericsson’s brainchild.

HTC TouchFLO 3D / Sony Ericsson XPERIA Panels

During the next year, we shall see a sequel to XPERIA made in a candy bar form factor and coming with a new version of the Panels application launcher shell, posing a challenge to HTC Touch Diamond and Samsung i900 Omnia/WiTu. Keeping in mind that the competitive models will have been present on the market for more than a year by its release date, SE seriously risks losing a firm ground on the Windows Mobile market. Sony Ericsson XPERIA will become available on most markets in October, coming at a price of 800 euros. In Russia, first shipments are only scheduled for February 2009. HTC Touch Pro is already available, priced about 700 euros. In Russia, Touch Pro will start selling in September.

HTC Touch Pro / Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1

The market outlook for HTC Touch Pro seems to be more optimistic - regardless of a premium product status and the multitude of powerful which characterize Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 and the high brand loyalty of its target audience. The latter itself is a wonderful handset, yet its merits are seriously outweighed (in the saddest way possible) by the long delay on its way to the store shelves.

P.S. This article isn’t a proper review but rather a collection of random thoughts on an actual matter, shedding some very personal light on the things that are happening in the QWERTY segment of the Windows Mobile market, in its hi-end niche, to be more precise. A number of full-blown reviews are currently in the works, to be published on the site shortly.

Author: Dmitry Ryabinin

SMAPE.com

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