A first look at the surprisingly handsome AnexTEK SP230 reveals a top-notch design that makes few compromises to either phone or PDA functions.

If you are looking for an all-in-one device this unit might serve you well.  It features a Tri-band phone with video transmission, GPRS as well as fairly standard PPC specs but with a generous 64 MB of user-accessible RAM.

AnexTEK is a newcomer in the hotly contested arena of our mobile companions but they’ve got a good many things right.

The most notable feature of the SP230 is its numeric flip cover that sits neatly over three quarters of the display. It is not there for protection but for folks who like the big numeric buttons of a normal cell phone. In fact, these buttons are quite large compared to my Nokia 7210. The cover flips down to about 150 degrees if you need access to the full screen or you can take it off completely and replace it with a small panel (the “call pad”) that contains just the Send & End buttons with the microphone. Smart.

Let’s look at the other physical features before we discuss the box of tricks it comes with and how well it performs its magic.

The core unit is about the size of an iPAQ 2210, but thicker. It also feels heavier but not by much (158 gms vs. 144 but adding the numeric keypad notches it up to 170 gms and adds a few more mms in thickness). What makes the unit larger than the iPAQ is its protruding antenna. It sticks out by about 20 mms but, cleverly, also incorporates a full-size stylus (and comes also with a spare one!). Sometimes it’s the little things that count.

The large capacity 1480mAh battery clips on securely and bulges just slightly, aiding the grip on the unit. I would have liked a bit more non-slip texture on the sides of the SP230, particularly because when used as a phone, you don’t want to let it slip out of your hands. 

The top houses the SDIO slot next to the antenna as well as the earphone jack. This is a 2.5mm jack for the handsfree set and is covered with a rubber cap.

The left side has a jog wheel (love those things!) a volume switch and a hold key.

A power adaptor with an unusual plug that looked rather fragile. Wonder why a standard plug wasn’t used until I discovered that this plug could also be inserted into the left portion of the universal connector. This means you can leave the cradle behind on your travels. I still feel a better plug design will make the connection stronger and more secure. A USB sync/charge cable would be handy as well.

The cradle is a bit lightweight but has secure footing and sports an extra slot for a spare battery.

There is a trick to getting the PDA out though: you have to tilt the SP230 slightly forward to make it easily come out. You can even do it with one hand.

We already mentioned the hands-free headphone set, the replaceable numeric keypad and the spare stylus.

The goodies are complemented by a practical leather-look pouch that can be worn on a belt (no clip) or would be equally at home in a ladies’ purse.

Mmmm…no software CD? The manual does make mention of the Companion CD but it did not come in this sealed box. Perhaps I got a pre-production model. Anyway, all the programs are already on the SP230, including some handy phone applets. We’ll talk more about software later.

A Quick Guide and an excellent manual rounds off this section.

This is not a phone with some or most PDA features. It is a fully-featured, albeit basic, PocketPC. It might lack Bluetooth or WiFi capability but it scores really high on that more important form of connectivity: the phone.

Of course, it also has infra-red, SDIO, a full and brilliant 3.5” TFT screen with no yellowing.

On bluetooth: the software has the BT functionality already built-in so the unit is BT-ready so to speak and can handle BT devices.

With a 400 MHz Cotulla XScale engine and 64MB memory the SP230 is no slouch either.

We have some Spb benchmark test results for you below.

Our summary findings are that the SP230’s graphics engine is top notch and many times faster than that of the iPAQ 2210. In other areas the PDA functions are quite decent but certainly do not take it to the top of its class. Most users would not really notice much difference in day-to-day use between the various modern PPCs that run WM2003.

It’s nice to see a password protection applet on this PDA which allows you to put in a simple 4 digit password or a more secure alphanumeric one.

Windows Media Player 9 is one of the standard programs and the SP230 also has a good Backup facility, called WiBackup.

In case you wonder why it’s called Wi, it has nothing to do with WiFi but rather with AnexTEK’s parent company: Wistron.

AnexTEK provide mainly storage networking solutions but may find that there’s quite a demand for convergence products like this PocketPCPhone.

The manual says that the 1480mAh battery will last some 12 hours when playing MP3s with the screen off.

That sounds like a good endurance and with downgrading the computer speed to 200MHz, backlight on a low setting and the phone function off you may expect decent run times.

See also the Battery Life graphic below for our standard PDA test (opening applications all the time with backlight on full bright). For this test we also left the phone function on but did not make any calls.

If you use the SP230 mainly as a phone you may expect between 3 to 5 hours talk time and a standby time of around 100 to 150 hours.

It will take some 8 hours to fully recharge the battery.

There is also a backup battery built in which gives you 30 minutes to exchange the main battery without losing any data.

In our testing the SP230 ran at full bore for 5 hours and 40 mins until coming to the 10% mark! That's pretty good in my books!

Every PDA has 4 or 5 hardware buttons with which you can instantly launch programs. Not so the SP230. In fact, the hardware button screen does show 1 (one) hardware button available for program launch but where is that key located??

I spent a good hour, going through the manual, examining the unit very closely and trying out every possibility and combination. It’s not the action key on the jog dial. It’s not any of the keys on the keypad…

I can’t tell you how useful these hardware buttons are until you’re missing them.

For starters, I could not use ScreenSnap because that depends on a hardware button to take screen images. I had to resort to Resco’s Picture Viewer which has a screenshot mode.

The SIM card is located under the battery and a short green flash every 3 seconds from one of the two LEDs will indicate that the phone is switched on. Reception was on a par with my Nokia 7210 in the marginal area where I have my office.

The numeric keypad, which is an optional extra, makes the SP230 look distinctively but is certainly not necessary as the built in dialler also has sufficiently large keys to use them without a stylus. Also, the keypad only has numbers and as such makes it hard to be used for text messages. I would predict that most users will just opt for the standard dialler instead. Now, if the numbers on that keypad could be used as hardware buttons that can launch programs it would be a different matter….

The phone functions are quite easy to operate, even intuitive, and if you really would get stuck the excellent manual will get you going again.

One of the software applets is the SIM manager through which you can make calls and manage your contacts.

In addition to 3-way calling, the SP230 also supports multi-conferencing calls.

The quality of sound, both from the speaker and the headset, is quite good.

The Good, the Excellent and the Beautiful

• good battery life
• no concessions to either PDA or phone functions
• top marks for design

 And the Things that can be Improved…

• cradle connections for power and syncing rather weak
• ability to launch programs via hardware buttons missing

For further info: www.anextek.com