Windows Phone Thoughts: Total Convergence: The E-TEN M600 Reviewed

Product Category: Pocket PC Phone Edition
Manufacturer: E-TEN
Where to Buy: Authorised E-TEN Dealers or Expansys
Price: Around €557 (without VAT) or ~$657 USD
System Requirements: N/A

Pros:

• Excellent screen, thanks to its LTPS TFT-LCD;
  
• Solid performance all-round;
  
• Support for quad-band GSM;
  
• Retains an SD slot (unlike some of the newer HTC devices);
  
• Good battery life.

Cons:

• Removal of USB-Host (the M500 supported USB-Host);
  
• No infrared;
  
• No dedicated soft key buttons;
  
• Keys are not backlit.

Summary: Back when Windows Mobile 5.0 was hot off the press, E-TEN demonstrated a pre-production M600 at Computex. It was designed as an upgrade to its predecessor, the M500, and also to compete against some of HTC's well-known Phone Edition devices. Over the months, the hype started building up - with quad-band GSM, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, would it meet expectations as an all-in-one device? Eager to answer that question, I put it to the test!