Asus P535 (PDA)

Asus is one of the top-rated motherboard and graphic card manufacturers in the world. They manufacture and distribute various computer peripherals, which includes a decent range of phones that they have recently launched in India. The first handset that we received from them is P535, a PDA with GPS, and a full touch screen interface. Let's see how it compares to the likes of O2s and i-mates that are widely available and accepted by the public.

Bundle

Asus P535

Accessories

Magnetic Pouch

Stereo Headset

USB Cable

Standard Charger

Car Charger

Car Holder
Desk Stand

Manuals & CDs

User Manual

Quick Start Guide

Microsoft Windows Mobile v5.0

Skype for Pocket PC

P535 Bonus Software CD

Specifications

Band: GSM 900/ 1800/ 1900 MHz

Dimension: 109mm x 59mm x 19mm

Weight: 145 grams

Operating System: Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0

Processor: Intel XScale 520 MHz

Battery: 1300 mAh

Design

Asus P535 looks like an elegant rectangular metal-block. Available in two colors - white and silver, the phone has a large 65K 2.8-inch screen that supports resolution up to 320 x 240 pixels.

There is a 5-way D-pad below the screen, and menu keys are placed on its either side. The calling buttons are large and easy to access. Just above the screen towards the left side, there is a small LED which blinks green most of the time. In case of a missed call, SMS, or Wi-Fi disconnection, it blinks red. While when Bluetooth or WLAN is connected, it blinks blue. The phone has a standard set of buttons on the sides, except for one.

On the left side of the phone are the Volume Control and the Camera hotkey. There is also a Reset fissure which requires a pin for access, just one hit and the phone will go back to defaults.

The right side has the Voice Recording button and a hold switch. The Hold switch is something similar to what we see in MP3 players. This is the default way to lock the phone. This neat option makes it easy to lock the keypad, instead of a couple of taps on the touch screen.

At the top of the phone is the power button; the space is also shared with a miniSD memory card slot that doesn't have a dust cover (it comes with a dummy card in the slot).

The bottom of the phone consists of 3 ports - a stereo jack, a miniUSB, and a Mic. The miniUSB port also doubles as a charging port. The back of the phone has a 2.0 MP camera and the phone speaker. Also, there is a neatly covered GPS port in the corner. The remaining space in the back is used up by the phone's battery.

Camera

The Asus P535 has a 2 MP camera with auto-focus. It is one of the best I've seen in a PDA. The auto-focus camera does a neat job of capturing images, where the maximum image resolution can be set to 1600 x 1200 pixels. It has a single LED flash which works well at night. The flash isn't very powerful and doesn't reach long distance, so it is recommended to click images at a closer range. The video recorder of the phone plays videos at 30 fps. Standard set of image and flash options such as red-eye elimination are also provided. This camera does a more than satisfactory job to fulfill basic photo skills.

Interface

The Asus P535 comes loaded with Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0. It was quite stable almost all the time that I used it. The phone hung only a few times while starting (probably you can expect a BSOD on Windows Mobile as well?). An Intel Xscale processor 520MHz takes care of crunching the numbers in the background. The processor is supported by 64 MB of RAM and has 256 MB of NAND memory. From the 256 MB, only around 180 MB is usable for storing data. The miniSD card slot arranges for additional storage capacity. The Windows mobile interface isn't any tougher than the desktop version, anyone can figure his way out and accomplish the tasks easily.

Under business tasks, the phone has a couple of extras to help out. There is a Business Card Recognition feature similar to the one seen in the Motorola ROKR E6. Also, the Remote Presenter for Powerpoint presentations via Bluetooth is possible. The PocketOffice pack also comes preloaded; therefore you can work with Word and Excel documents when on the move.
The standout feature of the Asus P535 is the GPS receiver with SiRF Star III chipset. You can connect it to the car adaptor and use it for directions, though we don't have full fledged GPS service in India yet. For media playback, you have the evergreen Windows Media player v10. The provided stereo headset is decent enough but if you are looking for more then you can always connect your own headphones via the 3.5mm jack.

The phone has Java J2ME loaded, so you can install loads of Java applications that you download from the net on to this phone. Also, the phone has advanced contacts with support for photo-call. It has other features like Notes, Calendar, Alarm, Calculator, File Manager, IE for browsing, MSN, Skype clients for chatting, and VoIP calls are the standard tools as seen in most phones. Asus has its own set of tools called the Asus Status which gives information about the running applications, system, battery, etc. There is an Spb Backup to maintain backup of the system and other trial software that comes bundled in the phone.

Connectivity

Asus P535 has most of the connectivity options, except for EDGE and 3G. List of connectivity options include GPRS Class 10, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.0, and USB 1.1. The missing 3G support will call for concern in the international markets, while no EDGE would create sales troubles for it in India. The phone has USB 1.1 and file transfers happen through Microsoft's ActiveSync.

Battery Life

The Asus P535 has a decent battery life. Its 1300 mAh battery provided backup of over 2 days. The phone did well for 2 days with a lot of WLAN usage. I did put the phone into power-save mode for the two days. The screen brightness and the back light on time were kept dropped to the minimum. Even then the display was readable, though not under sunlight. Even if you keep it at the defaults of power-save, it will still give you two days of backup.

Conclusion

The Asus P535 sells in the market for around Rs. 32,500 with a one year warranty. The contents of the package are a lot more than what other phones in this price range come bundled with. To add to that, Asus is now offering a 1 GB card as well as a free upgrade to Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 which makes the package complete. It's got all going for it - a good package, good looks, power, and also GPS. All in all, Compared to the likes of the O2s and the i-mates, this phone is really good.