Acer neoTouch P300 review

The Acer neoTouch P300 is a budget Windows Mobile 6.5.3 slider device that was announced at MWC. It’s got a Qualcomm 528MHz CPU with 256MB of RAM and 512MB of ROM. The screen is 3.2″ and is low resolution at WQVGA. Slashgear has put the £269 (that’s about $400) device through its paces, concluding:

Not much consumer attraction, then, but as a solid business device the P300 doesn’t break the bank or let you down in day to day functionality. It’s easy to become blinkered when faced with the latest and greatest cellphones day in, day out, and lose track of the fact that, for many buyers, basic features are all that’s really needed. Still, we’d probably look to budget Android devices ourselves; the HTC Hero may not have a hardware keyboard, but it’s only £20 (pre-tax) more. Our lasting concern is the longevity of Windows Mobile 6.5.3 – or, more accurately, the lack of it – since there’s no chance that the neoTouch P300 would see an upgrade to Windows Phone 7 later in the year. Nevertheless, even if superseded, the software will still do everything you asked of the P300 on the day you bought it, and there’s a considerable catalog of third-party apps available through the Windows Marketplace for Mobile that won’t run on a WP7 handset. We’d be happier if the P300 had a little more shaved off the price – a sub-£200 SIM-free smartphone would make for a decent argument – but if your ambitions are merely moderate and you’re dedicated to Exchange then the Acer is a reasonable no-frills budget buy.