We check out AT&T's curvy new update to the Pantech Duo in our Pantech Matrix Pro review. Did Windows Mobile 6.1 make all the difference?
Review summary of the Pantech Matrix Pro:
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 With its unique, dual-sliding design and solid performance, the Pantech Matrix Pro is a fine smartphone. We don't mind the lack of a touchscreen, in fact, with Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard edition, we even prefer it, as WinMo Standard is the best-looking, easiest version of the business smartphone OS. Unfortunately, the Pantech Matrix Pro doesn't offer much of an improvement over the older Pantech Duo. There's GPS, to be sure, and navigation was top-notch on this phone. But the keyboard is still troublesome, and some of the sticking points we had with the older phone, like the proprietary connectors or the disappointing battery life, are still problems. Even with these issues, though, the Pantech Matrix Pro is a phone we can recommend, as its improved looks, better camera and overall zippier performance make this a welcome update to an already interesting device. Release: February 2009. Price: $180.
Pros: Unique design. Great GPS performance. Good call quality with solid calling features.
Cons: Few improvements for Windows Mobile Standard, and fewer improvements over the Pantech Duo.
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Full Pantech Matrix Pro Review:
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Design – Very Good
The Pantech Matrix Pro looks less like the recently released Pantech Matrix, a standard multimedia dumbphone also on AT&T, and more like a smaller, boardroom-friendly version of the Helio Ocean, the first Pantech phone with this unique dual-sliding design. The Matrix Pro, unlike the Pantech Duo that it will presumably replace, sports rounded curves and a sleek design. The dual-slide idea is certainly unique, and we like the concept, but in practice the Matrix Pro can be difficult to use, especially when we tried typing on the cramped QWERTY keyboard. The phone would benefit from more navigation options.
That doesn't mean that we wish this phone had a touchscreen. Honestly, we're getting a little tired of touchscreens, and the Pantech Matrix Pro is a great example of how a phone can benefit from relying on a normal screen, instead of a touchable one. Windows Mobile 6.1 is much better in its "Standard" iteration, the non-touch version, because it has a better, more versatile Today screen. It's much easier to navigate when you don't have to peck at tiny icons or wield a stylus. That said, we wish the Pantech Matrix Pro had a scroll wheel, or a thumbwheel, or anything to help us speed through long lists in our e-mail inbox, or scroll through dense Web pages.
Calling – Very Good
Call quality on the Pantech Matrix Pro was very good. Voices sounded clean, though a bit deep. There was a slightly metallic tinge to sounds on our caller's end, but everything sounded clear through the Matrix Pro's earpiece. Reception was solid, with a full 4 bars of service everywhere we checked. Is the phone just being optimistic? Strangely, battery life seems about the same on the Matrix Pro compared to the Pantech Duo, even though the company is claiming twice the talk time. This makes sense, since both phones use a 1320 mAh battery, and while we appreciated the 5.5 hours of talking time, we wish the phone could exceed the 6 hours that Pantech promises.
For calling options, all of our favorites are present in their Microsoft Windows Mobile flavors. Conference calling was easy enough, but required some menu digging. Speaker-independent voice dialing comes courtesy of the standard WinMo Voice Commands app, though we prefer Nuance's nearly-flawless voice dialer. The address book is standard Windows Mobile, but this is actually one of the strong suits of the mobile OS. Just flip open the QWERTY keyboard, start typing a name and the Pantech Matrix Pro will jump to the address book and start searching.
Messaging – Good
The Pantech Matrix Pro doesn't deviate from the standard AT&T e-mail and messaging options. Of course, there are plenty of third-party options for instant messaging, but we wish the Matrix Pro came with some more options for keeping in touch. SMS worked fine, though we were disappointed that we couldn't type a contact's name directly into the recipient field. For instant messaging, there is a very basic-looking client for AOL, MSN and Yahoo, but we'd like to see some social networking services represented here, and the Gtalk service that we use often.
For e-mail, Outlook works best if you have an Exchange account, but if not, AT&T's Xpress E-mail client works nicely and has plenty of presets built in. We prefer Outlook because it can handle html e-mail, though on the Matrix Pro it simply sent the e-mail message to Internet Explorer to render as a Web page. This looked good, but the process was time-consuming, with too many steps.
Unfortunately, the worst aspect of the messaging experience on the Pantech Matrix Pro is the full QWERTY keyboard. We complained (loudly) about the flat, cramped keys on the Pantech Duo, and we're sad to say that the keyboard is almost completely unchanged from the previous model. The Function key and Caps key have switched place, and that's all. This becomes a pattern on the Pantech Matrix Pro. While Pantech has definitely updated this phone with a newer OS and some new hardware tricks (GPS, mostly), our biggest complaints about the Pantech Duo have gone unaddressed.
Scheduling and Productivity – Good
The Pantech Matrix Pro doesn't deviate from the Windows Mobile norm in the scheduling and productivity apps, and again this isn't necessarily a bad thing. The Outlook calendar on Windows Mobile is the most robust in the business, and though it isn't especially pretty, neither is the calendar on the BlackBerry or other smartphones, and WinMo can definitely go feature-to-feature against the best of them.
Considering the Pantech Matrix Pro's full QWERTY keyboard, we were upset that Microsoft still chooses to treat non-touchscreen phones as second-class citizens when it comes to Office Mobile. While WinMo Professional (read: touchscreen) gets a full version of Office Mobile, good for creating new documents from scratch, this capability is inexplicably absent from Windows Mobile Standard, so you won't be able to create a new Word document on the Pantech Matrix Pro, though you can edit Word, Excel and even some basic PowerPoint slides.
As a laptop sidekick, the Pantech Matrix Pro would be a better choice with a few changes. First, Pantech wisely included the easy-to-use Internet Sharing app, which requires little-to-no setup to use the phone as a tethered modem with a Windows PC. Unfortunately, on our test unit the device was never able to finalize the connection to the network, so we couldn't test network speeds, but with 3G HSDPA networking at 3.6Mbps potential speeds, it should be a satisfying experience, if it works right. Worse than our connection trouble, Pantech has again chosen to use a proprietary USB cable instead of a standard microUSB. How proprietary? We called around to all of our local AT&T stores and none of them had a USB cable or even a wall charger in stock that would fit the Pantech Matrix Pro. So, if you lose your charger on the road, say goodbye to your phone for a while.
Multimedia – Good
The Pantech Matrix pro managed to play all of the MP3 files we loaded onto a microSD card, but getting them to play was something of a chore. When you insert a card, the phone isn't smart enough to search for new songs. You have to select the card from the Library menu, then choose to Update Library. This should be an automated task. We were disappointed that our album artwork didn't come through, either, but at least our songs sounded good on our Bluetooth stereo speakers.
For video, the Pantech Matrix Pro has access to streaming video from MobiTV. The service now includes full episodes of some popular TV shows, like CSI (and CSI: NY), but even so, we don't think its worth the cost of upgrading your service plan. If this were included free, we'd be more enthusiastic. The phone also includes an XM satellite radio for streaming music, but we think SiriusXM is missing an opportunity here. None of the most popular channels, like the sports broadcasts or Howard Stern, are offered on the streaming XM radio app.
Camera – Mediocre
Even saying that the Pantech Matrix Pro has a mediocre camera is still a step up from the Pantech Duo, which had one of the worst lenses we've seen on a phone. The Matrix Pro takes lousy shots, but under the best conditions they can be passable. With bright sunlight and a clear sky, shots even look good. Indoors, however, things start to fall apart.
One-room Schoolhouse
Antique glass
These two shots are the best we took, thanks to the bright outdoor light. There's still some contrast issues, and a combined blurriness / oversharpening that creates an artificial effect. Still, they get the point across nicely.
Brick
eBay shot
In these two shots we can see the problems with the lack of detail in the lens. In the bricks, the fine details, which are the point of the image, are completely fuzzed out. In the eBay shot of Snake Eyes, the important details, like the Asst. numbers up top, are lost.
Self portrait
Not only is this self portrait too blurry, there's also plenty of noise, especially in the maroon shirt, even though the room was well-lit. Worse, though, is the color. That wall behind your editor is actually grape purple.
Web browsing – Mediocre
The Pantech Matrix Pro uses Internet Explorer for Web browsing, which seems like a lazy (or thrifty) choice, considering the best Windows Mobile phones have all abandoned the aging, insipid browser for Opera's dramatically superior choice. Internet Explorer is, hands down, the worst Web browser currently shipping on a smartphone. It's good for bare bones reading, but almost every page we tried, especially our own homepage, had serious layout issues that made browsing unpleasant.
GPS Navigation – Very Good
GPS is one of the few enhancements that the Pantech Matrix Pro has over the older Pantech Duo, and we're pleased to say that AT&T Navigator on this device performed like a champ. The phone's GPS sensor found us very quickly in the hills of northern New Jersey, and it tracked us quite accurately. Thanks to the speedy networking, maps updated themselves in a snap, and the phone seemed to know right away when we missed an essential turn, offering a new route or turnaround solution. An impressive showing, and folks who use their phones for turn-by-turn directions will be pleased.
Price and availability
The Pantech Matrix Pro will be available from AT&T on February 24th for $180 with a contract agreement.
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