It's slimmer and lighter than any other UIQ-based WAN handheld to date: Jørgen Sundgot offers a first take on the BenQ P30, primed to give Sony Ericsson some competition.
A brand not particularly known in western parts of the world for its mobile phones, but rather for entertainment devices such as DVD players and high-end TVs, BenQ has garnered a fair amount of success in its home market of Taiwan for mobile electronics. For some time, the company has had its very first device based on the UIQ platform in the works, and at Cannes it was finally possible to get to play with a pre-release version of the much-anticipated P30.
The most striking aspect of the P30 is its small size and weight, as compared to other UIQ devices: in direct comparison with Motorola's A925, the latter suddenly looks like a behemoth (oh alright, so we all agreed on that before the P30 came along). Sleek and outright sexy, the P30 offers an excellent 16-bit touch screen display, which despite its small size is surprisingly usable.
 | | BenQ P30 |
Further of positive note, the keypad of the P30 offers buttons which have much in common with the excellent keypad of the Sony Ericsson P900, but they're even better. Tactile feedback is clear and distinct, and although the click which occurs on pressing a key could be somewhat more muted it's certainly one of the best keypads out there regardless of device category. Two other nifty details include the SDIO capable SD/MMC Card expansion slot
The user interface of the P30 appears not to have been customized at all, although this is by no means a drawback: although lacking in style as compared to the Sony Ericsson P900, the UI is neat and clean, and comes with the full compliment of PIM and other applications as found in UIQ devices from Motorola and Sony Ericsson. Also, the P30 - despite its pre-release status - offered snappy performance, which bodes well for the final product.
Sadly, one minor detail hampers the product somewhat, which is its ridiculously short telescopic stylus. Located in the bottom right corner of the device, it's not only difficult to retrieve, but also somewhat uncomfortable to use. Since BenQ has not included a one-handed interface similar to Sony Ericsson's concept for its devices, future owners could be in for a surprise - so be sure to check whether you're comfortable with this if you plan on purchasing one.
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