Asus M930i: In the Flesh

Not that we'll see this device in the U.S. officially anytime soon but here are some of the first live shots of the Nokia-esque Asus M930i, an interesting entry into the competitive WM6 Standard world. The features on the device aren't too shabby and while the design is certainly...interesting. Well, at least Asus is trying something different from the likes of HTC and Palm.

Check out the specs, a first opinion and some comparison shots (Treo 680 + iPod Touch) after the jump...

Of note is the bump to a quad-band for this fella as it was earlier reported to only be tri-band, so if you wants it here in the States, feel free to import. Also, looks like the camera, processor and memory were bumped downward. Dream high, shoot low.

• Dual Display (2.6' & 2.0")
• HSDPA (3.6 Mbps)/EDGE
• 450mhz
• WM6 Standard
• 256mb Storage + 64mb RAM + microSD
• Wifi
• BT 2.0
• Full KB
• 2MP camera

But what is up with the 64mb of DDR RAM? Sure, reports on the DDR update to WM RAM has been positive (it's faster) but 64mb for WM6, even the Standard, is quite weak. And how does the device fair? Well according to Tam who had a hands-on:

From an usability standpoint, I dare to question the tradeoffs made in the M930i’s design. The internal QVGA screen is too small(and - according to their press release - has a smaller resolution than the 240×400 outer one) for my taste. The hinge - while flexible - lacks a “fixed point” where the device stays in an upright position…once the hinge loosens, the device can IMHO no longer be used “in laptop mode”. Don’t get me wrong - the M930i is a great idea…but it still has a long way to the Zen of Windows Mobile Smartphone boxen….

Well Asus, love your laptops, you have a nice design aesthetic and you are new to the WM Smartphone world, so maybe we'll let this one slide...for now. But hey, if slabs are ya thing...

Source: TamsWMS