Dummies of the Asus M930i smartphone has been demoed at various Asus press events. OK - we know the specs…but did you ever see the box in action? We recently managed to get our claws on such a box for approximately 10 minutes(a “dummy”…but a bit of charging revived it…until it was snatched out of our hands) - here are loads of pictures:
Before we get started, here’s a look at the official specs. The device is said to ship in Q2/2008, and will cost between 500 and 600€(depending on the amount of bundled hardware, e.g. if a memory card is included):
Essentially, the M930 is a knock-off of Nokia’s E90 and an old Psion Series 5 - you basically have a smartphone with two screens:
The device is about as big as a Treo 680:
Nokia’s N71 is significantly smaller:
For comparison reasons, here are images next to a hp ipaq rx4240 and an iPod Touch:
Here is an image of the back of the box and its battery:
First of all, here’s a shot of the home screen being displayed on the internal and the external displays:
Applications are rescaled as needed - this example shows the Preferences apps running on the internal screen:
The device’s 2MP camera can be used only when the device is closed - if it is open, the camera application displays a warning message:
After these images, Asus folks managed to coax the device out of my hands…and it was nowhere to be seen afterwards. However, I can confirm that the device is alive and well - Asus could IMHO release it whenever they feel like it.
From an usability standpoint, I dare to question the tradeoffs made in the M930i’s design. The internal QVGA screen is too small(and - according to their press release - has a smaller resolution than the 240×400 outer one) for my taste. The hinge - while flexible - lacks a “fixed point” where the device stays in an upright position…once the hinge loosens, the device can IMHO no longer be used “in laptop mode”.
Don’t get me wrong - the M930i is a great idea…but it still has a long way to the Zen of Windows Mobile Smartphone boxen….