This is Mitacs’ Mio 8380, which will be running the MS Smartphone 2002 Operating System. It was officially released in Taiwan on June 10th 2003. This press release alone gives you a lot of good information about the product. Although I haven’t actually had the chance to fiddle with this handset yet (unless I can find some cash for a flight to Taiwan, or someone wants to send me a review handset!)
It looks very good – check out their product page for a 3D image. The first thing that I see is the size – it does seem big – if you look at the pictures of the pretty Taiwanese ladies holding the phone below..
…the girl at the front has the actual microphone lower down than her chin – that’s one long phone. It took me a while to spot this, as the girl on the left does have quite a short skirt.. 🙂 However, the length of the phone – it has to be said, is really my only gripe! The Mio is one hell of a good product – but the most striking thing is the similarity with the Samsung SGH-V200 below…
Very similar indeed – blue preview screen, rear-pointing aerial (which, although aerial / antennae are not that popular in the EU, may help to reduce microwave emissions into your head!), camera (although the Samsung model has a swivel-cam), similar keypad, microphone position and .. well design! 🙂 I must mention here that the Mitac’s camera should have a zoom function too, which could be interesting.
The layout of the phone compared to the existing Smartphones, is simlar too – in that the SD card slot is on the left, and the connector socket appears – at least – to be the same as the HTC Canary (Orange SPV) and the HTC Tanager models. The headset socket is also positioned on the lower-right of the handset. All this gives a sense of similarity – and may be pointing towards an intended plan by MS to make each MS Smartphone familiar to the user. This reduces confusion, and keeps MS Smartphone users buying MS Smartphones. All good!
The similarities in connectors and slots can be seen below…
The Mio 8380 has the TFT 65,000 colour display with an amazing 176 x 220 pixels. It can apparently produce up to 40 polyphonic sounds. The built in camera, as previously mentioned, has a digital zoom and can take pictures up to 352 x 200 pixels.
The CPU is different to any other SmartPhone – It’s an Intel Xscale 200MHz – which is more Pocket PC than Smartphone! Oh and check out the funky futuristic cradle ! We like… 🙂
Mitacs’ Mio 8380 also comes with some added bits. The power adaptor, which is pretty essential, a USB cable (we can again see the similarity in connection between this and the HTC models), case, personal hands-free and cradle. Other accessories are no doubt planned.
I’ve been hearing rumours and mumblings about this handset for a while now. I am yet to actually “touch” one – but put it this way, it looks like one kick-ass mobile phone!
As for the specs.. well, here’s the specs I’ve been given. I’m not sure whether these are all true (MP3 ringtones and 40 polyphonic internal ringtones etc), but I haven’t tested the phone. I’ve read some news reports saying that there isn’t a backlight, but I’ve been informed that there IS!
Click here for full specs in PDF format.
Model – MiTAC Mio 8380
System – GSM 900 / 1800 /1900 MHz
Dimension – 51.5 x 29.6 x 97 mm
Weight -143g
Standby time -100 hrs
Talk Time -120 – 180 mins
Display – Transflective TFT 65 k colours
Screen Resolution – 175 x 220 pixels
Backlight – Yes
Battery – Li-polymer 1050 mAh
Handset Colour – Silver
Games
GPRS – Class 10 (4+2)
CSD – 14.4kbps
WAP – WAP 2.0, HTML
MMS – Version 1.0
EMS
JAVA – IDP 2.0
Smart Messaging
Internal Ringtones – 40 polyphonic ring tones
Ring tone format – MIDI, MP3, WAV….etc
Email – send and receive Email
IrDA – supported
Bluetooth – Not supported
Other Features
CPU – Intel X-Scale 200 MHz
OS – Microsoft Smartphone 2002
Second Display – EL 64 x 48 pixels
Memory – 32MB ROM / 16 MB SD RAM
Audio – 40 Polyphonic Ringtones
I/O – 4bit SD / MMC Slot x1
Microphone – Built-in Speaker x 1 for Audio output
Infrared – IrDA
Camera – 110k Pixel, CIF with digital zoom
Applications:
Picture Viewer and Album
Voice Recorder and Playback (Mono)
Speaker Phone
Pocket IE (HTML , WML, WAP 2.0)
SMS / MMS
Email Inbox, Notes, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks
MP3, WAV, WMA playback
Messenger, Active Sync, Call History,
JAVA MIDP 2.0 KVM
MPEG4 Encode / Decode
The IrDA (Infra Red) is located at the back of the phone (see below)…
And what’s that on the left ? Well, I’ll tell you – it’s a little wrist-strap hole, so you can keep the phone hanging on your wrist. Who is this targetting ? Funky kids ? Teenagers ? Business people ? Managers ? Women ? Men ? Well, I’ll tell you – it’s all of them. This phone should suit anyone, and looks like a very study well-made machine. MiTac already prodices many Pocket PC PDAs. In fact, the wafer-thin Mio 388 is a splendid product.
So yes, it’s good – I can tell you that without even having one really. But what else ? Do you want more ? Well, what if I told you that the Mio 8380 has succeeded in breaking not one but two world records ? Impressed now? The first record to be broken is the clamshell design – not one of MS’s prototypes were “clamshell” – but MiTAC has done it. This is the first MS Clamshell SmartPhone. The second world record? Well, this is also the first MS Smartphone with a camera built-in. No more plug-in camera! 🙂
Put simply, the sooner we see this phone the better! Although we are still big fans of the HTC Tanager (Orange SPV E100) and Canary (Orange SPV) models, this really does add extra and important elements to the SmartPhone field. It’s downfall ? Still no Bluetooth… yet. However, you’d be crazy not to at least like this phone. It has great design, looks, and – of course – a splendid Operating System! 🙂
may I know how much selling price for mio 8380, last time 2003