Mitsubishi's Trium Mondo - launched this week - claims to be the first GPRS "always on" phone with integrated facilities for Word and Excel, not to mention downloading MP3 and video clips. In a (shortish) demo the Mondo, which uses Microsoft's PocketPC platform, gave speedy access to my Yahoo email in a way that no small screen Wap phone has been able to. That is a big plus. The downside is that it weighs 200g, more than twice as much as conventional mobiles. It costs £400 to £500 on contract plus telephone costs plus monthly charges ranging from £3.99 to £7.99, so it will appeal initially to business people who want to sync with their office while on the move.It also synchronises with your PC so you can instantly update Excel and Word files.
BT Cellnet, on whose network it runs, claims it will be cheaper than ordinary mobiles because you only pay for the data you upload or download, instead of being charged all the time you are on, as with current Wap models.
It accessed Wap sites such as Google within seconds rather than the minutes associated with GSM. You can receive a telephone call then continue from where you left off on your Wap site. MP3 worked reasonably well, as did the video clips (in 16 greyscale monochrome).
It is an impressive device in a world that is almost satiated with impressive devices. It works the way we thought Wap phones would 18 months ago but didn't - at about three times Wap speed. But it won't be easy for manufacturers to overcome the wapathy factor, especially as consumers know they will soon be bombarded with rival products.
One example is the Sagem WA 3050 which, like the Mondo, uses Microsoft's PocketPC software. It is available now as a GSM phone for Orange or Vodafone, and is software upgradable to GPRS (but not yet).
The WA 3050 uses a faster 206MHz Arm chip than the Mondo, weighs 198g, and also has an expansion port on the back. As well as the standard Microsoft Pocket Office software, features include a data/fax modem, Wap, and the ability to send a text file as a series of SMS messages.
It is expensive at £699, says Sagem's Jean-Paul Thierry, "but not compared with a phone plus an MP3 player plus a PDA, and here you have everything in one."
