Cellphone slowdown (Windows Mobile 2003)

[Ledgem]

I use a Motorola MPx220, and within the past three or so weeks I've been having some troubling issues with it. Whenever someone calls, the phone has a massive delay in bringing up the "accept/reject" screen. On many occasions, the screen comes up and receives my input for "accept" only to tell me that there was an error in receiving the call - the phone was too slow and the caller already shifted to voicemail. I tried overclocking it (just slightly, didn't want to burn through my battery) and didn't notice a performance difference. The delay is present whether I am answering from the phone or through a bluetooth headset.

I love my phone for the versatility it offers me - I have many programs on there, from timing programs to unit conversions, advanced calculators to Gameboy and NES emulators - but when it stops being able to act as a phone, that's a big problem. I haven't added or removed any programs in months. I cleaned out my text messages, but it had no effect. I tried moving some files over to my expansion SD card, but it also had no effect. This is behavior that is usual of the phone being on for a month straight, or having had many programs run, but rebooting the phone doesn't fix the issue as it usually does.

Does Windows Mobile behave like regular Windows, and require reformat (flashing) to run properly? I've never heard of it, and it'd be a big pain to do... or does this sound like something else? I've updated the firmware on the phone a year or so ago, and I've been using it for almost three years now. 2-3 months ago I changed the battery.

Separately, does anyone have any recommendations for a modern smartphone? Data plans are still too expensive for me so I just want it to be able to interface with a computer (synchronization purposes: calendar and backup contacts) and be able to load custom programs. I've been eying the Motorola A1200, but in truth, the battery life is worse than the MPx220 and the hardware isn't much better; the only benefit is that it runs Linux. Clamshell form factor preferred; candybars are for people who don't mind getting their screens scratched.

[Syaoran]

I've read similar reactions on a Dutch forum complaining about exact the same problem. The users don't have anything in common on their phone, except the OS. One tried reflashing the phone and killed it doing so.

I've a PDA running Windows Mobile 2003 SE and don't have any kind of slowdown with the OS. The only difference in performance I noticed was upgrading Navigon from version 2 to version 3, but that's fixed with memory allocation.

There aren't many clamshell phones running Windows. Motorola has the biggest offer. I-Mate has a few models. Mitac also and HTC has one. They already are a few years around.

Personally I don't mind a candybar phone. I went from a Samsung clamshell to a Sony Ericsson candybar and I don't scratch my screen
It's just a matter of being careful.

If you don't mind having a slightly bigger format, consider Samsung or HTC. They even come with HSPDA and wifi.

[Ledgem]

Curses, I wonder if that means that there's something within the phone itself that's failing? I've been looking into the HTCs but it seems nearly impossible to get one that isn't a T-Mobile thing.

I'll check the Samsungs, and maybe a few Sony's as well (Symbian, bleh). My only experience with higher-end phones has been with Motorola, so I've developed a bit of fanboy-ism with them.

I've also been looking into getting an unlocked phone from Vodafone, but most of them are only tri-band. If it were cheap enough I wouldn't mind, but I don't want to pay $100+ for a phone that may not give me full coverage here in the US. Now that KDDI is offering service in the US I was hoping that they'd start offering some of the nicer phones, but the only two or three phones that they currently offer aren't that great...

[Syaoran]

Some people reported problems with the sound of the phone (mic & speaker) before their phone kinda died or didn't even boot at all.

You being a Motorola fan, maybe this one is something for you :3
mpx300



$100+ is that all you people pay for a cell phone O_o !?
There must be a catch somewhere? A service plan or simlocked?

It's just that smart phones tend to cost more than 600€ for recent ones. The MPx220 switches owner for around 230€

I paid my SE K810i 359€

[Ledgem]

The MPx300 was originally just a rumor, and now apparently it's been discovered that a thousand or so of the units were produced before all were discontinued. I considered going after one on eBay, but given that the Motorola A1200 "Ming" (linux-based) is pretty widely available, I'd probably opt for that instead.

My statement about the $100 only refers to triband phones from Japan or Europe. You probably already know, but in the US AT&T's network employs both the 1900 and 850 MHz bands. Triband phones from Europe/Asia typically only support the 1900 MHz band, which is likely the band that most GSM providers in the US use. However, GSM providers do occasionally share cell towers (T-Mobile and AT&T), and that aside, I am an AT&T customer. I refuse to pay $200+ for a phone that won't give me as full a support as I'd get from a quad-band or native tri-band phone, no matter how cool it is. If I remember right, my MPx220 was close to $400 (either that or it was close to $300) when I bought it, but the cost was relatively justified.

I'm back in Los Angeles and my cellphone seems to be behaving better, but I'll keep an eye on it. Either way, I'm waiting for what Motorola has planned after the A1200. Unfortunately, they seem obsessed with the RAZR and RAZR-knockoffs (such as the RIZR and KRZR). Their next project seems to be the RAZR 2, much to my sorrow... it may be time to move over to a Symbian-based phone from Nokia or Sony if a suitable replacement isn't in the works in another year or so.