SmartPhones

You don't hear much about Asus smartphones, nor about Asus, maker of the EEE netbook, for that matter. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't.

Their latest, the Asus P552w is powered by Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional with an impressive 624 MHz processor. It's a tri-band GSM with UMTS and 3.5G HSDPA support. It comes with 128 MB of RAM and 256 MB of storage onboard, expandable with a microSD memory card slot.

It has built-in 2 megapixel digital camera, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 with ADP connectivity and GPS navigation compatible with GoogleMaps (even in some locales outside the U.S., Canada, and Mexico). The screen is 2.8" and has 240 x 320 pixel resolution.

What stands out most about this latest from them, perhaps, is the innovative (and proprietary) Glide 3D-like user interface. Quite similarly to HTC TouchFLO, touch-responsive Glide technology allows you to browse, scroll, select, zoom in, and flip through menus displayed as pages, all by doing nothing more than tapping the screen or sliding your finger across it.

As one cynical fellow reviewer noted – you'd better have your screen cleaning cloth handy for all the smudge marks you're going to have to constantly wipe off. But I say that's the nature of touchscreen – you don't like it, don't get it.

Other useful features included with this smartphone (which Asus prefers to dub a "PDA phone") are video capture, an MP3 player, and social networking support for Web 2.0 sites like YouTube, Flickr, RSS news feeds, and blogs. The device also comes bundled with a couple of particularly novel and nifty functions new to our ears, including:
•    SMS Location Link - allows you and your friends to track each other's locations through using text messages. Just send a friend a text message (or vice-versa) and the built-in program automatically sends the text message recipient a link containing directions on how to reach the sender's location.
•    EziPhoto – allows you to rifle through and manage photo collections with a swipe of the fingertips. It includes a Calendar tool that automatically sorts the photos by date taken.

Along the same "Ezi" lines, digital music management on the Asus P552w is made simple through use of the EziMusic application bundled in. All these "Ezi" features (and many others) are conveniently grouped together in what Asus calls a "Multi-Home" screen, for the easiest of access.

The Asus P552w is small (at 4.1" x 2.4" x 0.57" and weighing 3.7 oz.)), fitting virtually in the palm of your hand. Imagine a shrunk down iPhone with rounded corners and a slightly tapered design – top to bottom. It will come in two color options: a white casing and a black one.

So new is this device that Asus has not yet even announced the price point or in what countries (or when) it will first be made available to the buying public.