Jason Dunn
08-05-2008, 06:30 PM
<p>This is a review video of the <a href="http://www.mwg.com/zinc-ii.aspx" target="_blank">MWg Zinc II</a>, a GSM-based Windows Mobile Professional 6.1 smartphone. It has a 500 mhz Samsung CPU, 64 MB of RAM, a 2.8 inch 320 x 240 resolution touch screen, GPS, and a QWERTY slide-out keyboard. It's a quad-band GSM (850/ 900/1800/1900 Mhz) and tri-band HSDPA 3G phone (850/ 1900/ 2100 Mhz). The Zinc II is <a href="http://www.expansys-usa.com/p.aspx?i=161302&partner=pthoughts" target="_blank">available for purchase</a> from our affiliate partner, Expansys, for $599 USD (the price was originally $749 USD).</p><p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="349" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cep5dkwvWdA&hl=en&fs=1&border=1" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cep5dkwvWdA&hl=en&fs=1&border=1"></embed></object><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cep5dkwvWdA" target="_blank"><br />[click through to YouTube to see it in higher quality]</a></p><p>One of the negative points that I mentioned in the video was the price point - at $749, I questioned the value proposition of the device in comparison to other choices on the market (namely from HTC). The new $599 price point is much more reasonable for the hardware that you get, and the value for the dollar is much higher at that price point. Would I still like to see a VGA screen and 128 MB of RAM? Sure - but as the price gets lower, my expectations of the hardware also lessen. I should also note that I'm a bit concerned about the microSD card slot not having a cover of any sort - that seems like it might be trouble if you don't have a microSD card in there protecting the microSD slot from getting gunked up.</p><p>All in all, this is a pretty strong contender for the price if you're OK with the QVGA screen and don't mind customizing it with your own software to get an improved experience.</p><p>If you have a YouTube account, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cep5dkwvWdA" target="_blank">please rate the video</a>, comment, and <a href="http://ca.youtube.com/user/ThoughtsMedia" target="_blank">subscribe to our channel</a>. Thanks for your support!</p>