Through the years, I’ve been fortunate to check out and review some wonderful smartphones. From today’s flagship Android devices, to the venerable iPhone, and even the handful of great Windows Phones out there, there’s a wealth of choice to pick and choose from to call your own. Despite the rich offerings, there are always some terrible ones that make us cringe in pain by their total package. However, the more I thought about it, the more I started thinking about some of the terrible smartphones from yesterday – the Windows Mobile days to be exact.
Below, I’ve complied some of the Windows Mobile smartphones we’ve collectively reviewed through the years, and uncovered some of the lowest scored devices. Some of them, I’ve personally reviewed several years ago, such as the abysmal LG Incite, but the handful of others were done by other fellow PhoneArena colleagues. Above all, it’s surprising to see that there was a rich mix between form factors with Windows Mobile devices – such as QWERTY devices, which are becoming rare occurrences nowadays. Anyway folks, here are 13 terrible Windows Mobile smartphones from yesterday.
13 terrible Windows Mobile smartphones from yesterday
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Acer M900
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Looking more like an MP3 player than anything else, especially with its cool neon backlighting for its buttons, the Gigabyte Smart t600 stood out for being the first Windows Mobile smartphone to allow us to watch digital TV (DVB-T), but its abysmal battery life and mediocre sound quality lessened its score dramatically.
Review rating – 6.5
Review rating – 6.5
GIGABYTE GSmart t600
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Donning the candybar form factor, a rarity in the Windows Mobile kingdom (even now), the HP iPAQ 500 came along with useful Wi-Fi connectivity in addition to cellular data, which is something we might take for granted now, but still regarded as a rare sighting in smartphones back in 2007. However, the ridiculously poor 176 x 220 resolution of its screen, combined with the few apps that supported the resolution, made the iPAQ 500 something we’d pass up on.
Review Rating – 6.5
Review Rating – 6.5
HP IPAQ 500
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When it comes to portrait style Windows Mobile smartphones, the original HTC Snap proved to be one of the best out there with its fantastic keyboard layout. However, with the CDMA variant of the same Window Mobile smartphone in question, was an entirely different handset – ditching the stylish trackball and awesome keyboard layout of the original, in favor of a boring 5-way directional pad and a less inviting keyboard.
Review rating – 6.5
Review rating – 6.5
HTC Snap CDMA
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Similar to the HTC Snap CDMA, the Samsung OmniaPRO B7330 seemed like a contender to the host of BlackBerries it faced during its time, thanks partly to its portrait QWERTY form factor. Ultimately, this Windows Mobile smartphone just felt inadequate, as if there could’ve been more to it. Sure, it targeted business professionals, but it faced stiff competition from devices similar to it, but priced significantly less.
Review rating – 6.5
Review rating – 6.5
Samsung OmniaPRO B7330
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Boasting a handy dandy dual-SIM card function, the Eten DX900, which was manufactured by Acer, seemed like a no-brainer option for the global traveler. Even though that unique feature seems like its saving grace, it actually wasn’t, considering that the dual-SIM aspect was “poorly implemented and feels like a nagging pain.” Overall, “carrying the Acer DX900 around in your pocket will certainly fail to make you happy.”
Review rating – 6.5
Review rating – 6.5
Eten DX900
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Taking us back to 2006, the Eten M600+ seemed like a hardware powerhouse with its then above average 256MB of integrated memory and 400MHz processor. As much as some would’ve drooled by this revelation back then, it floundered miserably in basic phone functions. Specifically, “the ringtone volume is not high enough and the sound quality during conversation in both directions is low, distorted and annoying. Design-wise it's pretty ordinary and does not catch the eye, while a bad impression comes also because of the fact that the buttons are not lit and are inconvenient to use.”
Review rating – 6.3
Review rating – 6.3
Eten M600+
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Unique for being Acer’s first smartphone to feature a 1GHz processor, the Acer neoTouch S200 seemed like a promising figure. However, its software was poorly optimized, which resulted in some serious lagging with its performance. To top it off, it failed to deliver the goods in the social networking side of things, aside from Facebook integration of course. In fact, we weren’t presented with the basic function of uploading videos to YouTube.
Review rating – 6
Review rating – 6
Acer neoTouch S200
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At the time of its release, the GIGABYTE GSmart MS820 found itself in the mid-range portion of the Windows Mobile world with its 520MHz Marvel PXA270 processor, but despite that, its 128MB of RAM hindered its performance tremendously. Eventually, it was marred by a ton of performance issues. Adding insult, its back-then higher-than-normal 5-megapixel camera had a lot of potential, but it panned out poorly in real life situations. Frankly, it goes to show that beauty is only skin deep.
Review rating – 6
Review rating – 6
GIGABYTE GSmart MS820
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You’re probably scratching your head as to why the Toshiba TG01 is on this list, especially when it was the first smartphone ever to be graced by Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon CPU. No doubt a powerhouse in every way, it didn’t deliver anything new in the Windows Mobile experience. Rather, its outright bad in-call quality combined with its bulky size and superficial personalization made it a lesser appealing option than other things released at its time. Still, we can’t forget that it was the first to feature that Snapdragon chip.
Review rating – 6
Review rating – 6
Toshiba TG01
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You’d think that a portrait style QWERTY Windows Mobile smartphone would be easy on the pockets, but the i-mate JAQ3 was far from it, as it was nearly as chunky in size versus other landscape QWERTY Windows Mobile smartphones during its time. Making matters worse, its landscape display didn’t help to work with the platform, which was optimized more for portrait – thus, adding some extra dead space and additional scrolling when accessing the main menu. Just awkward when it comes to using it.
Review rating – 5.5
Review rating – 5.5
i-mate JAQ3
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Oh the LG Incite. I personally remember this one, since I reviewed it back in early 2009. This was just a bucket of mess everywhere I looked! Not only did it flaunt a cheap and lackluster design, but its performance was downright abysmal. Making the experience more infuriating, its touchscreen was extremely unresponsive. Come to think about it, this was one of the worst smartphones I’ve reviewed…EVER!
Review rating – 5
Review rating – 5
LG Incite
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And that leads us to the lowest scoring Windows Mobile smartphone we reviewed, the Eten M810! Sure, it sported a useful landscape keyboard, but seeing that buttons were flush to the surface, it didn’t particularly help us to maintain a steady rate of input. Overall, the design was actually favorable. However, it didn’t win brownie points with its awful performance – especially in the web browsing department! And finally, its GPS performance was also lackluster, which made the entire package extremely unpleasant to accept! Forgettable? Not really. Especially when we remember it most for being, you know, just bad.
Review rating – 3
Review rating – 3
Eten M810
13 terrible Windows Mobile smartphones from yesterday
Just like how it is now, Acer’s presence in the smartphone world wasn’t profound back in 2009 when we reviewed the Acer M900. Sure, it packed several cool things, like a landscape keyboard and the rare finger print sensor, but the low amount of memory and lack of free RAM hindered essential tasks, such as multi-tasking and surfing the web.
Review rating – 6.5
Review rating – 6.5
13 terrible Windows Mobile smartphones from yesterday
1. Acer M900
Just like how it is now, Acer’s presence in the smartphone world wasn’t profound back in 2009 when we reviewed the Acer M900. Sure, it packed several cool things, like a landscape keyboard and the rare finger print sensor, but the low amount of memory and lack of free RAM hindered essential tasks, such as multi-tasking and surfing the web.
Review rating – 6.5
Review rating – 6.5
2. GIGABYTE GSmart t600
Looking more like an MP3 player than anything else, especially with its cool neon backlighting for its buttons, the Gigabyte Smart t600 stood out for being the first Windows Mobile smartphone to allow us to watch digital TV (DVB-T), but its abysmal battery life and mediocre sound quality lessened its score dramatically.
Review rating – 6.5
Review rating – 6.5
3. HP IPAQ 500
Donning the candybar form factor, a rarity in the Windows Mobile kingdom (even now), the HP iPAQ 500 came along with useful Wi-Fi connectivity in addition to cellular data, which is something we might take for granted now, but still regarded as a rare sighting in smartphones back in 2007. However, the ridiculously poor 176 x 220 resolution of its screen, combined with the few apps that supported the resolution, made the iPAQ 500 something we’d pass up on.
Review Rating – 6.5
Review Rating – 6.5
4. HTC Snap CDMA
When it comes to portrait style Windows Mobile smartphones, the original HTC Snap proved to be one of the best out there with its fantastic keyboard layout. However, with the CDMA variant of the same Window Mobile smartphone in question, was an entirely different handset – ditching the stylish trackball and awesome keyboard layout of the original, in favor of a boring 5-way directional pad and a less inviting keyboard.
Review rating – 6.5
Review rating – 6.5
5. Samsung OmniaPRO B7330
Similar to the HTC Snap CDMA, the Samsung OmniaPRO B7330 seemed like a contender to the host of BlackBerries it faced during its time, thanks partly to its portrait QWERTY form factor. Ultimately, this Windows Mobile smartphone just felt inadequate, as if there could’ve been more to it. Sure, it targeted business professionals, but it faced stiff competition from devices similar to it, but priced significantly less.
Review rating – 6.5
Review rating – 6.5
6. Eten DX900
Boasting a handy dandy dual-SIM card function, the Eten DX900, which was manufactured by Acer, seemed like a no-brainer option for the global traveler. Even though that unique feature seems like its saving grace, it actually wasn’t, considering that the dual-SIM aspect was “poorly implemented and feels like a nagging pain.” Overall, “carrying the Acer DX900 around in your pocket will certainly fail to make you happy.”
Review rating – 6.5
Review rating – 6.5
7. Eten M600+
Taking us back to 2006, the Eten M600+ seemed like a hardware powerhouse with its then above average 256MB of integrated memory and 400MHz processor. As much as some would’ve drooled by this revelation back then, it floundered miserably in basic phone functions. Specifically, “the ringtone volume is not high enough and the sound quality during conversation in both directions is low, distorted and annoying. Design-wise it's pretty ordinary and does not catch the eye, while a bad impression comes also because of the fact that the buttons are not lit and are inconvenient to use.”
Review rating – 6.3
Review rating – 6.3
8. Acer neoTouch S200
Unique for being Acer’s first smartphone to feature a 1GHz processor, the Acer neoTouch S200 seemed like a promising figure. However, its software was poorly optimized, which resulted in some serious lagging with its performance. To top it off, it failed to deliver the goods in the social networking side of things, aside from Facebook integration of course. In fact, we weren’t presented with the basic function of uploading videos to YouTube.
Review rating – 6
Review rating – 6
9. GIGABYTE GSmart MS820
At the time of its release, the GIGABYTE GSmart MS820 found itself in the mid-range portion of the Windows Mobile world with its 520MHz Marvel PXA270 processor, but despite that, its 128MB of RAM hindered its performance tremendously. Eventually, it was marred by a ton of performance issues. Adding insult, its back-then higher-than-normal 5-megapixel camera had a lot of potential, but it panned out poorly in real life situations. Frankly, it goes to show that beauty is only skin deep.
Review rating – 6
Review rating – 6
10. Toshiba TG01
You’re probably scratching your head as to why the Toshiba TG01 is on this list, especially when it was the first smartphone ever to be graced by Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon CPU. No doubt a powerhouse in every way, it didn’t deliver anything new in the Windows Mobile experience. Rather, its outright bad in-call quality combined with its bulky size and superficial personalization made it a lesser appealing option than other things released at its time. Still, we can’t forget that it was the first to feature that Snapdragon chip.
Review rating – 6
Review rating – 6
11. i-mate JAQ3
You’d think that a portrait style QWERTY Windows Mobile smartphone would be easy on the pockets, but the i-mate JAQ3 was far from it, as it was nearly as chunky in size versus other landscape QWERTY Windows Mobile smartphones during its time. Making matters worse, its landscape display didn’t help to work with the platform, which was optimized more for portrait – thus, adding some extra dead space and additional scrolling when accessing the main menu. Just awkward when it comes to using it.
Review rating – 5.5
Review rating – 5.5
12. LG Incite
Oh the LG Incite. I personally remember this one, since I reviewed it back in early 2009. This was just a bucket of mess everywhere I looked! Not only did it flaunt a cheap and lackluster design, but its performance was downright abysmal. Making the experience more infuriating, its touchscreen was extremely unresponsive. Come to think about it, this was one of the worst smartphones I’ve reviewed…EVER!
Review rating – 5
Review rating – 5
13. Eten M810
And that leads us to the lowest scoring Windows Mobile smartphone we reviewed, the Eten M810! Sure, it sported a useful landscape keyboard, but seeing that buttons were flush to the surface, it didn’t particularly help us to maintain a steady rate of input. Overall, the design was actually favorable. However, it didn’t win brownie points with its awful performance – especially in the web browsing department! And finally, its GPS performance was also lackluster, which made the entire package extremely unpleasant to accept! Forgettable? Not really. Especially when we remember it most for being, you know, just bad.
Review rating – 3
Review rating – 3
Review rating – 6.5