Willcom W-Zero3 [es] in the garage: Part One

After a few months using a DoCoMo M1000 as our regular phone we started to get ticked off with the locked-up OS, bad camera, poor WiFi reception and lack of an all-you-can eat data plan. When Sharp's W-Zero3 [es] Windows Mobile smartphone was released, we knew we'd found something interesting enough to consider switching, and ultimately gadget lust overrode our general distrust of Windows enough to cave in and pick one up.

First off, we should note that this beast is big. To put it in context, the screen is the same 2.8 inches as an M1000, but with a numeric keypad tacked on below. It's also about a third again as thick. However, the bulk is offset by a surprisingly light weight -- without the battery or Willcom's fairly chunky W-SIM module in it's barely there, and even with all hands on board it comes out to 175g. That might prove tiring for long phone calls, but in two-handed use it's no bother at all.

For all our misgivings about the OS, Windows Mobile proves pleasingly snappy in operation, though unsurprisingly performance takes a hit if you run multiple applications at once. The usual suspects are represented in the software department - pocket versions of the Office suite, Windows Media Player, a PDF viewer, and so forth. We were able to install Skype and log on with no problems, though the phone's 128kbps connection speed doesn't appear to be up to making phone calls. For those, we're waiting on the late-August release of a miniSD WiFi adapter from IBS Japan.

Screen, keyboard and camera are all good, with the first of these the particular standout; the 2.8-inch, 640x480 screen is very clear, if a touch dark. The keyboard is all clicky plastic buttons, but perfectly adequate for thumbing your way through shortish mails or blog posts. The camera, too, belies its 1.31 megapixel spec and does well even in low light, though a little graininess creeps in in really dark settings.

Battery life and text input are our only concerns thus far, which we'll get to in subsequent posts.