Motorola MPx220

It's been more than a year since the first Microsoft Windows Mobile Smartphones hit shelves in North America, and Motorola is back with a followup, the MPx220. Although the MPx220 offers several key improvements over its predecessor, the MPx200, it stumbles badly in other areas, particularly on the data side.

One of the strengths of Windows Mobile is tight integration with Outlook and support for IMAP4 and POP3 e-mail. (Our review unit didn't include support for BlackBerry e-mail, which is supposed to be available as an option by early 2005.) But, like most Windows Mobile handsets, the MPx220 lacks a QWERTY keyboard, so if composing e-mail is just as important as being able to read it, the MPx220 isn't worth considering.

The MPx220's styling is boxy and underwhelming, unlike the slim and sleek Audiovox SMT5600. But the Motorola has a better camera, with 1.2-megapixel resolution and a flash. On the MPx220's screen, photos looked razor-sharp, as they did when e-mailed to a PC. In fact, the MPx220 is one of the best camera phones we've tested lately.

The MPx220 is also a good fit for globetrotters, thanks to its use of GSM/GPRS technology and support of the four most popular cellular bands worldwide. Our biggest gripe is the same one we've had with every GPRS smart phone that's hit the market in the past 6 months: Why not add support for EDGE, which is already available in most North American cities? EDGE offers average data rates at least twice as fast as GPRS, and it's a better match both for the MPx220's Pocket Internet Explorer browser and the bigger image files that it's capable of sharing.

Thanks to a snowstorm that knocked out our power, the MPx220 was our sole source of Internet access for nearly 2 days. Data performance was abysmal, and despite Motorola's claim of "harnessing the power of a desktop," we couldn't wait to get back to our PC. Simple, low-graphics Web pages typically took nearly a minute to download. On the plus side, voice quality was good on both ends of calls.

Other noteworthy additions include twice as much ROM, 64MB, the 2003 version of Windows Mobile, and Bluetooth, which is great for adding a wireless headset. The MPx220 also has keys that are butted up against one another, and although they're not small, some users may yearn for the MPx200, where each key had plenty of breathing room. Few will grumble about the MPx220's five-way navigation button, which is bigger and much more user-friendly.

The MPx220 is a major improvement over the MPx200, but is that enough? Not as far as we're concerned. If you're looking for a full QWERTY keyboard, the Sierra Wireless Voq has a decisive edge over the MPx220. And we like the Audiovox SMT5600 better because of its sheer compactness. But, if a megapixel camera is on your list of must-have features, this Motorola is worth considering.