Yesterday, Walter Mossberg reviewed the Motorola MPx200 and the Samsung i600-- phones that are based on the Windows Mobile smartphone operating system. Mossberg is a big Handspring Treo fan, as am I, so it is not surprising that he said of these phones, "Neither phone is anywhere near as good as the Treo 600. Unlike the Treo, they lack keyboards for entering large amounts of text, so I can't recommend them for serious e-mail users."

Later in the article, he reflected on who the potential audience for these phone is, and why some people might prefer them to phones like the Treo: "They're really not even in the Treo's category. They're smart phones for people still interested primarily in making voice calls, but want a few extras. These extras include the ability to synchronize easily with PC-based calendars and address books, and to do light e-mail and a little Web browsing." This is a similar perspective to the one that I articulated in my comments in a recent Operation Gadget article called Washington Post Reviews Motorola MPx200.

There's nothing wrong with the MPx200 or the i600 if you are someone who primarily wants a mobile phone for voice calls, but would also like to be able to refer to calendar and contact info from your desktop version of Microsoft Outlook from time to time. But, if you are looking for an uber-communicator device that lets you robustly use Email, SMS, and the web, Walter Mossberg thinks you'd be better off with the Treo 600, and I agree with him.