IT Pro Verdict
The Acer neoTouch P400 is an average rather than outstanding smartphone. And the physical design has a definite whiff of the iPhone about it. The Windows Mobile 6.5.3 operating system is more finger-friendly than Microsoft’s predecessors, and Acer has chosen not to ‘skin’ it. For those who find the current trend towards ‘skinning’ Microsoft’s smartphone operating system a bit annoying, it could be a good choice, but bear in mind that there is an all new version of Windows Mobile not far around the corner.
Acer's current crop of smartphones include two running Android and two running Windows Mobile. Of the latter pair one has a slide-out keyboard and the other, which we are reviewing here, is the neoTouch P400, a classic tablet' style smartphone.
There is no getting away from the design inspiration for this handset. Homage is paid to the iPhone in several ways. The rounded corners, the sliver trim around the edges, even the wide, narrow speaker sitting above the screen are very reminiscent of Apple's iconic smartphone.
The illusion is broken by a large Acer branding logo beneath the screen and a bank of four touch sensitive buttons beneath that. The buttons perform classic smartphone functions.
There are Call and End buttons, a Windows Start button for getting to the main application menu and a button for taking you to the Home screen. A very neat touch is a circular frame round the Home button which lights up red when you are charging the handset, green when it is charged, and white to provide various alerts.
Turn the neoTouch P400 over and you find that the backplate has a rubberised finish for easy grip as opposed to the iPhone's more shiny, slippery finish. We prefer the rubber, to be honest.
The neoTouch P400 runs Windows Mobile 6.5.3, which is the most recent version of Microsoft's operating system for smartphones. With just a .3' added to the name over its previous incarnation you might think that there are few differences between the two OS versions and that they are fairly meaningless, but in fact they do make a whole lot of difference to finger-friendly operation.
