3GSM 2004
Although some leaked photos last week ruined the surprise, one of the most dramatic announcements at 3GSM this year was still the new MPx and MPx100 from Motorola. Together, they mark the expansion of Motorola's smartphone efforts to a whole lineup, as well as a serious commitment to the Microsoft Windows Mobile platform.
The MPx is a ground-breaking device on several levels. First and most obvious is the unique dual-hinge design. This allows the phone to be opened like a typical clamshell phone for voice use, but also opened "sideways" to use the QWERTY thumb-board, which also puts the display in landscape mode. A special release button on the hinge allows the phone to open sideways. The button is positioned such that the hinge can easily be released and opened in one quick motion.
The MPx runs the Pocket PC variant of Windows Mobile, and operates as a full Pocket PC device regardless of which way the hinge has been opened. The current 2003 version of the OS does not support landscape mode natively, which prompted me to ask a Motorola spokesperson how the MPx supports this feature. I was told that the MPx "takes advantage of future capabilities" of the OS, implying that it uses the new, as-yet-unannounced 2004 version.
Another ground-breaking feature of the MPx is the inclusion of "triple radios" - GSM, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. This is something that CEOs have been predicting and talking about in keynote speeches for over a year, and now the first products have finally been announced. The Nokia 9500 also has triple radios. Of course, it's not quite here yet - both the 9500 and the MPx are not expected to be available until the 2nd half of the year, which, in marketing-speak, often means the end of the year.
As with all Windows Mobile for Pocket PC devices, a touchscreen and stylus permit enable handwriting recognition, and an SD/MMC card slot provides generous memory expansion capability.
A 1.3 megapixel camera and color display grace the outside of the device. The camera also has a flash, and the display is accompanied by three soft keys, which enable functions such as navigating MP3 playlists.
The MPx100 is the other Windows Mobile device introduced by Motorola at 3GSM this week. Like the MPx200 already on the market, the MPx100 runs the Smartphone variant of Windows Mobile. Despite the model number, the MPx100 is hardly a "lower" model compared to the MPx200 - in fact, quite the opposite.
A common complaint about the MPx200 was the lack of Bluetooth and a camera. The MPx100 not only adds both, but sports an impressive 1.3 megapixel camera with flash.
The MPx100 also has a miniSD card slot, allowing ample memory expansion for megapixel photos, videos, and MP3s. The Pansonic X700 is another smartphone announced at the show with such a slot. The miniSD format is already becoming common in Japan. Combine that fact with the news of these two models, plus the significant momentum behind the backward-compatible SD format, and it seems likely that miniSD will soon become the dominant memory card format for advanced phones.
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