Motorola MPx220 review: Perfect for business

Setting the MMS is hard

Let's approach messaging functions. New version of Windows Mobile comes up with a radical innovation: now it's not necessary to use only one email box and select whether you'd rather synchronize with Outlook or access via POP3/IMAP4. Text messages are not mixed with emails in one folder.

Messages menu: SMS, MMS and email accounts

Firstly, let's talk about the normal text messages. I have already written that the application for messages handling starts slowly and you have to wait a few seconds until you can start using the editor. To send an SMS you can just enter a phone number of recipient or select it from the phone book, like if you make calls. During typing the phone counts down written characters and displays on how many parts the text will be split. There can be more than fifty of them; at the fiftieth, I stopped counting.

Writing a text message • select a recipient as it works with calls

Motorola uses iTap dictionary for fast typing in the messages editor. The dictionary seems to me better than at normal Motorola phones but the work with it is very difficult if it does not know some word. I could not find how to add a new word to the dictionary. It is quite probable that you will leave the iTap and type without it. The phone keeps in memory the last setting of the way of typing, so it is not necessary to turn off the dictionary every time you want to type.

Delivered messages overview

Motorola supports delivery reports that you can set either permanently or individually at each single message. In the delivery report, you can see a phone number, which successfully received your message. Regrettably it is displayed in an incorrect form without a "+" character in the start of the international prefix, so it is not possible to dial it shortly and find out from the phone book to whom it belongs.

Individual delivery report request •
phone number in a delivery report is not in a correct form

I was fighting for some time with MMS settings. Finally, I succeeded and also admit that I haven't seen such a chaotic setting of data profiles for a long long time. However the MMS editor is pleasant and fast; besides the text it is also possible to send pictures, video and sound files. The editor supports pagination; you can set timing to every picture.

Much better email

Email client in older Motorola MPx200 disappointed a bit. Mainly due to a fact that it was possible to use only one account and with that you were short of synchronization of emails with Outlook. Windows Mobile version 2003 solves this problem; besides the synchronization with Outlook it supports up to five POP3 or IMAP4 accounts.

Email messages in the mailbox

Setting of remote email box parameters is more sophisticated than before. Now it's possible to use SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) connection, SMTP server verification or you can select how old messages will be downloaded. Emails can be downloaded complete, just a header or something between: first 500, 1000 or 5000 characters. Email client can also regularly check the mailbox content - every 15 min, 30 min, every hour, two, six or once a day. Email client is really usable. If it cannot read an email in HTML format exactly as it would be displayed on a PC, it picks important text information. It can handle attachments: pictures, video, sounds or text files. Current smartphones version of Windows Mobile OS doesn't contain office applications. You have to install necessary program to read Word documents or look at Excel sheets.

Email in HTML format • it's possible to open a MID attachment •
Motorola can't handle office formats

You can reply to an email straight from the mobile, forward it or move it to other folder. Also you can use the iTap dictionary, like at the text messages. If you want to attach pictures, video or other objects to the message you have to do it with a file manager and select a choice Send as email. Another standard component of Windows Mobile system is a program MSN Messenger for instant messaging. If you'd like to connect to ICQ, try for example Agile Messenger.

Title screen of MSN messenger • after login • Agile Messenger