Review: Acer neoTouch S200

Acer has been busy lately releasing a slew of Windows Mobile devices all sporting the new Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional. These ‘Windows Phone’ devices are topped by the high end neoTouch, a smartphone with specifications to salivate over.

Specs & info
Price: £326
Supplied by: www.clove.co.uk
Operating system: Windows Mobile 6.5
Processor: Qualcomm 8250 1GHz plus 3D graphics engine
Memory: 512MB ROM, 256MB RAM
Dimensions: 118.6mm x 63mm x 12mm
Weight: 130g
Display size: 3.8 diagonal inches
Display resolution: 480 x 800
Expansion slot: 1 x microSD

A headline feature of this device is its 1GHz Snapdragon processor coupled with a 3D graphics engine. This combination should mean it absolutely flies and we found that to be true. Minimal waiting for applications to load and for the device to move between information screens is a real boon to fast, efficient use.

This matters because there’s little doubt that the neoTouch is aimed at multimedia use. The screen is the other major clue to this. It measures 3.8-inches across diagonal corners and delivers 480 x 800 pixels.

When used for looking at Web pages it is a delight.

An accelerometer pushes the screen into wide view as you turn the neoTouch in your hand, and there is an Acer designed QWERTY keyboard which, thanks to the large screen, is even quite comfy to use with the display in tall view.

Acer has added lots of little extras to the neoTouch. When Web browsing, for example, there is a zoom bar you can call up from a menu, and as you scroll down a page a progress bar shows how far you’ve gone and how far remains.

It is a pity that Acer relies on Internet Explorer for the Web though. Others who pre-install Opera give us a better stab at high quality browsing.

Acer is pushing at the social media front and it includes a ‘social media’ group in the applications list. Tap that icon and you can then choose from Blogger, Flickr, YouTube and Facebook apps. Thanks to Acer’s customisable front screen you can put a link to Facebook right on the home screen too.

The technical specs are impressive. The neoTouch is HSDPA with download speeds to 7.2Mbps. Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth are also all here. Google Maps has Latitude and Street View support.

There’s a 5 megapixel camera which is let down a bit by a rather low-grade flash. Image quality is average rather than great, but we’ve come to expect that from Windows Mobile devices in general, and at least all the controls are easily accessible as they are ranged down the edges of the viewfinder.

Acer has got the physical design right too. The black shell is shiny and the back in particular attracts smears from greasy fingers, but in general the look is pleasing. We like the use of touch buttons on the front casing rather than physical ones as this means the lines are sleek.

The buttons are barely discernable until you tap at one, at which point they are backlit white. There are four – two softkeys, one to take you back to Acer’s front screen, and a back button. We do wonder how Acer got away without having the Windows button that Microsoft has previously said would be a feature of all its Window Mobile 6.5 handsets.

Side buttons run to a camera shortcut and volume rocker on the right and on/off switch on the left. The microSD card slot, which can be used to boost the 512MB of ROM memory, sits inside the device and you have to remove the battery cover to get to it – but you don’t need to remove the battery itself.

The bottom edge houses a mini USB connector for charging the battery and connecting to your PC.

On the top edge is a 3.5mm headset connector. Acer’s provided one-piece headset is average rather than great, but at least you easily have the freedom to use a preferred headset of your own for music playback.

This isn’t a low cost device, but Acer has built it around top-notch specifications. If you need a big screen or multimedia is your thing, it could be worth considering.

Essential Verdict
Performance: 8/10
Design: 8/10
Features: 8/10
Value for Money: 7/10
Overall score: 8/10

Written by Sandra Vogel.

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