Robert Levy
07-22-2003, 02:45 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.jenneth.info/archives/000272.html' target='_blank'>http://www.jenneth.info/archives/000272.html</a><br /><br /></div>"Last night I was dining with a friend from Microsoft who's here in Australia for a few days, and he had a gadget bag filled to the brim with goodies that would make any geek go weak at the knees. Not expecting to see such wonderful marvels, I didn't bring a proper camera with me - only the low-res one in my Zire 71. Meeting at a bar seemed to be strategic, as the low-lighting conditions prevented me from getting any decent shots.<br /><br />My impressions of the Mio are that it's quite large, though not ridiculously so - it still passes as a phone thank goodness. The weight is good - though heavier than many Pocket PCs out there, it feels solid. The construction is good, and the hinge of the clamshell feels pretty sturdy. My first thought though was that it felt very "plasticky" - this impression was quickly superseded by a feeling of absolute wonder when I opened the clamshell and saw the luminous screen within. Seriously, the screen has to be seen to be believed - from memory I would say that it was superior to the screen on the Tanager. The buttons are also large and easy to press - not stupidly curved like the ones on the SPV, but flat. The blue backlight is also very sexy. I watched a video clip taken using the Mio's integrated camera - a bit jerky but still very impressive for a phone camera. <br /><br />Dude - this is definitely my future phone. I was able to see a few other gadgets, though these weren't as exciting as the Mio IMO. The Samsung SGH-i700, the iPAQ 2210, iPAQ 1940, iPAQ 5550, Hitachi G1000, Legend ET180, and the Samsung SCH-i600. Unfortunately many of the devices weren't charged."<br /><br />Click the link above to check out her low res photos.