Smartphone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

Our Pantech Matrix Pro giveaway contest is completed, and the randomly selected winner is arm. Here's what he wrote in response to my question of how the Matrix Pro is better than his current mobile phone:

"I am with At&T and have old Cingular 8125. My contract has expired but I do not want to sign up for new 2yr contract: cutting my expenses ever since i was laid off. My phone is barely breathing and my girlfriend threatened to dump me since she can barely hear me. The phone is really old and I NEED replacement. I need a phone that can have decent call quality, have syncing with my Outlook calendar and contacts, has a keyboard and can play music. That is all I need from a phone, nothing very fancy. This phone is just perfect."

He also wins a $100 AT&T gift card. Thanks to everyone that entered, and thanks to AT&T and Pantech for sponsoring this contest. There are still a bunch of sites giving away this same package, so be sure to enter their contests while you can!

Remember that Pantech Matrix Pro mega-giveaway that Rocco announced a bit over a week ago? We're it's now our turn: Smartphone Thoughts is giving away a brand new Pantech Matrix Pro, and a $100 AT&T Wireless gift card, to one lucky winner. Because this device is carrier-locked to AT&T, the $100 gift card is for AT&T, this contest will be limited residents of the USA.

Our contests starts today and runs until May the 2nd, midnight (GMT -7). All you have to do to enter is post a response to this post, telling me which mobile phone you're using now, and how the Pantech Matrix Pro would improve your daily smartphone experience. Does it have a feature that your current mobile phone lacks? If so, what is it? That's it! I'll selecft a winner the morning of May 4th, with entries counting as long as they were posted before midnight on the 2nd.

UPDATE: Please only post once. Multiple posts will disqualify you. If it's your first post in our forums, it will be held for moderation, so it may take up to 48 hours for you to see it.

"The Matrix Pro by Pantech has a new home online: pantechmatrixpro.com, the first place to go for all you need to know about this exciting new smartphone. See the Matrix Pro's unique dual-keyboard design in action; get the lowdown on all of the Matrix Pro's great features; read blog entries highlighting the latest Matrix Pro news and reviews; get information about the upcoming Tweetstakes featuring a grand prize of $25,000; and follow handy links to purchase your very own Matrix Pro online. Visit pantechmatrixpro.com to experience the site for yourself."

Raise your hand if you like winning free stuff. Exactly! Everybody loves free stuff. Head on over to the official Pantech Matrix Pro Web site and have a look-see at their Tweetstakes page. All the info is there - once they start (they haven't yet - no date is announced) they'll be giving away a Matrix Pro smartphone every day, and at the end of it all, they'll do the $25,000 grand prize giveaway. Sweet!

This is my unboxing and first impressions of the Pantech Matrix Pro, a Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard smartphone offered by AT&T for $179 USD on a two-year contract. This phone has the distinctive feature of having two keyboards (12 key and QWERTY), both hidden away via a slider. It weighs 4.3 ounces, has a 2.4 inch display at 240 x 320, comes with 256 MB of ROM, and 128 MB of RAM. It also features a microSDHC card slot for expandability up to 32 GB. It's a GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA phone, functioning on the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz bands for GSM/GPRS/EDGE and 850/1900/2100 MHz for 3G data. The battery is 1320 mAh, giving 3 hours of talk time and 10.4 days of stand-by time. More details about the Pantech Matrix Pro can be found on the AT&T Web site. Have any questions about this phone? Post 'em! I'll be following up with a video review once I've had a chance to use it for a bit longer.

Jason Dunn owns and operates Thoughts Media Inc., a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys photography, mobile devices, blogging, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog. He sure dislikes it when phones use proprietary power/connection plugs.

Do you enjoy using new hardware, software and accessories, then sharing your experience with others? Then join us on the Thoughts Media Review Team! We're looking for individuals who find it fun to test new gear and give their honest opinions about the experience. It's a volunteer role with some great perks. Interested? Then click here for more information.

"The Pantech Matrix Pro is a Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard Edition smartphone with a 262,000 color QVGA non-touch screen that works in portrait and landscape modes. It has 3G HSDPA, quad band GSM with EDGE, aGPS, a 2 megapixel camera and Bluetooth 2.0. The Qualcomm 528MHz CPU is responsive and the phone has 128 megs of RAM and 256 megs of flash ROM. Like the Pantech Duo and Helio Ocean, it features a 2-way slider, one for the number pad and the other for the full QWERTY keyboard. Heavy Hotspot hitters: this smartphone does not have WiFi."

Mobile Tech Review has a review of the Pantech Matrix Pro. According to their website, the phone goes on sale today. The processor speed and network speed are fine as well has having bluetooth 2.0, but I really wish it had WiFi. I find that 3G speeds can really vary and when I'm at home I just use my WiFi. What do you all think of this one? Will the lack of WiFi be a deterrent for you? One could only hope there will be a 6.5 update when its out.