Smartphone Thoughts: Fast & Powerful: The Mio 8390 Smartphone Reviewed

Fasten Your Seatbelts
I'm currently using a Tanager which uses the ARM OMAP 710 processor running at about 130MHz. So you could say that I'm used to waiting a little when working on my phone. In picking up the 8390, I saw a huge difference in speed. The Intel X-Scale processor running at 200MHz gives the phone a very nice speed boost. All the menus appeared promptly and applications seemed to open with ease. On the odd occasion, I would noticed that the phone appeared very sluggish. However, once I launched the task manager that came bundled with the phone, and shut down any application that was still running in the background, everything would be fine. (I had a bad habit of starting up the camera to snap a couple pictures and then just flipping the phone shut without exiting. :) )


Figure 15: This is the memory reading after I installed all the bundled applications and snapped a number of pictures. Click on the image for a higher resolution image. (1.7MB).

The screen on the Mio 8390 is clear and bright. The colours seem much richer than the Tanager, which always has a washed out look to it. The Mio's screen was also a little longer and wider than the Tanagers, but it's nothing to write home about.


Figure 16: You can see the Mio 8390 on the right has a little larger and brighter screen. Click on the image for a higher resolution image. (1.59MB).

Here's a full listing of the 8390's specifications:

• 200MHz Intel X-Scale CPU;
  
• Windows Mobile for Smartphone 2003;
  
• 48MB ROM with 15MB usable space;
  
• 32MB SDRAM;
  
• 2.2-inch Transflective screen with 260K colors, 176x220 resolution;
  
• 750mAH Battery;
  
• 70 to 100 hours Battery life in Standby, 2 to 3 hours talk time;
  
• Supports GSM 900/1800/1900;
  
• Fixed CMOS 300K Pixel Camera, VGA;
  
• 51.5mm x 28.5mm x 97mm (W x H x L);
  
• Weight: 135g.