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Mio A701 GPS-enabled Windows Mobile smartphone reviewed
On paper, the Mio A701 smartphone sounds like almost the perfect convergence device, sporting a Windows Mobile 5.0-powered 520MHz Xscale processor, SiRF III GPS receiver, tri-band GSM radio, Bluetooth, and a 1.3 megapixel camera. Sadly, at least according to Reg Hardware, the A701 has so many little faults that the device is often barely usable, and sounds like a skip except for those folks who absolutely must have GPS and aren't into the square-screened iPaq hw6xxx series from HP. Some of the Reg's gripes with this model include its crappy camera (one of the worst they've ever seen, apparently), GPRS-only data connection, flimsy telescoping stylus, lack of dedicated buttons for WM5 softkey control, and buggy navigation software (luckily it's optional). Besides the full suite of accessories that come included in the box, there doesn't seem to be much good to say about the $660 to $790 A701, which is no doubt a big disappointment to those who may have been looking to import what appeared to be such a hot phone.
Vertu intros first 2 of 6 Racetrack Legends handsets
Ever since their Ascent Motorsport Edition withstood five rollovers by a Porsche Boxster, we've taken Nokia's Vertu luxury handset division much more seriously, and you'll never again hear us questioning the logic of spending $X on one of their products (where X = some obscenely large number). The company's newest designs, called the Racetrack Legends series, each pay tribute to one of six of the greatest circuits on Earth and are limited to 1000 units apiece, with outlines of Italy's Monza and Britain's Silverstone etched onto the back of the first two releases. When you're in the market for a Vertu phone, features are surely not your top priority, and the Legends series meets those expectations with nary a notable spec other than the inclusion of Bluetooth and tri-band GSM connectivity. Likewise, if you have to ask about pricing on these, you're probably not part of the target demographic.[Via Luxist]
