Acer neoTouch P300 deals & review

In a word or two

The Acer neoTouch P300 is a touchscreen smartphone which lets you enjoy business and social mobile communication.

The Design

The Acer neoTouch P300 is a good looking phone with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a black exterior. The design is simple, with 3 touch-sensitive keys beneath the 3.2 inch screen.

When you slide the keyboard out, you can confidently type messages and emails on the P300 thanks to the four rows of keys. The layout is straightforward and each key is a good size. When you type, the inbuilt accelerometer ensures the display automatically rotates to landscape. A nice touch is that the keyboard is backlit so you can type in any lighting conditions.

The phone is a good size for a touchscreen smartphone with physical QWERTY – it is shorter, narrower and slightly thicker than the Motorola Milestone, for example. The round corners of the Acer neoTouch P300 mean you can comfortably hold the handset as you communicate, interact online or take a photo.

Specifications

As part of the range of new handsets recently launched by Acer – which includes the neoTouch P400, and the beTouch E110 and E400 – the Acer neoTouch P300 is the only one with a full, physical keyboard. Like the P400 handset, the P300 runs on the Windows Mobile 6.5.3 platform which means there are a number of apps onboard for entertainment and practical purposes.

The Acer neoTouch P300 has support for the Microsoft Exchange Server so you can keep track of your Outlook emails on the move. The web browser is Internet Explorer 6 Mobile which supports Flash. Accessing the internet is quick and enjoyable thanks to features including multi-touch, and you can easily stream videos from sites like YouTube – there is even a dedicated app for YouTube pre-installed on the phone.

When it comes to apps, Acer has added a few to the P300. There is one which inserts social networking support to your contacts. You can link your friends’ Facebook, Flickr and Blogger accounts to their contact details, and whenever they post a status update, upload a photo or write a blog, you’ll see the details within their page in your address book.

The Acer neoTouch P300 comes with support for Wi-Fi, 3G and Bluetooth, so staying in touch with friends is effortless. And when you don’t feel like chatting on social networking sites, alternative options include email, MMS, and instant messaging with Windows Live Messenger.

The inbuilt 3.2-megapixel with autofocus lets you take snaps on the move and the media player can be enjoyed in public using the speakers or in private using the 3.5mm audio jack.

Considerations

It’s still early days with the Acer neoTouch P300 and we will update you in greater detail when extra information including cost has been confirmed.

Verdict

The Acer neoTouch P300 looks set to be a decent addition to the smartphone market and will appeal especially if you like a full-sized touchscreen mobile with a full QWERTY keyboard.