Full Review and Specification for the Asus P320 Review Review

If you want a Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone with everything thrown in, but those devices are just too large for your pocket, this little dynamo could be exactly what you need. There are a few niggles but the Asus P320 is tiny, and has some impressive features.

Asus P320 - Small and perfectly formed

The size instantly grabs you with this smartphone. Not even 10cm tall, the Asus P320 is thin and only weighs just over 100g. It feels like an ordinary phone in the hand, and it doesn't look too different to some of the large display touch phones that are becoming quite popular.

On the front of the device are the Windows Mobile Home and OK keys, but these, along with the Call, End and two softmenu buttons, are rather played down. That, along with the black and silver fascia design make this a neat-looking smartphone.

Asus P320 - Small screen

One of the negatives with a small Windows Mobile smartphone is that their screens have to convey a lot of information, so benefit from being large. The P320's screen, at just 2.6-inches across the diagonal, is a bit squeezed. If your eyesight isn't great you might find it a bit squint inducing at times.

Asus P320 - What's missing?

Despite the P320's small frame, feature wise, not much has been left out. There is no FM radio, and measuring 13.35mm thick, it's no surprise that it lacks a mechanical keyboard. 3G is missing too, which could be a deal breaker for some.

The P320 is crammed with goodies, including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and even a GPS antenna. There is a microSD card slot on the left edge so you can boost the internal memory, and even a lock and unlock slider on the right side. We don't often see these on Windows Mobile smartphones, which usually rely on screen taps to lock and unlock features.

Asus P320 - Software

Asus has gone to town on the bundled software. The P320 has its own Today Screen add-ins, which can give you a weather update, and it has a scroller showing recently received emails, SMS messages, RSS feeds and upcoming calendar appointments. There is also a huge clock complete with an alarm function.

If you don't fancy this you can pop right out to Asus' own launcher, which looks rather like the icon-based menu of any ordinary mobile phone. You get a couple of themes for the device too, which you can even set to auto-switch for workday and weekend use.

Asus P320 - The Verdict

The processor is slow and the lack of built-in memory are annoying, with the former being responsible for some slow running, and the latter for the need to buy microSD cards fairly pronto. But despite its little faults, we do like this device a lot.