By Chris Dalby

I have been given this phone for review, and quite honestly I don't want to give it back.

Its got a great screen. Although kinda resembling the classic Nokia, this phone is sleeker and more stylish. With Windows Mobile 5 for Smartphone, it got a great operating system.

When you think Windows, you think nice wallpaper, icons and screensavers. Well this phone is exactly the same. The main functions of the phone are available to scroll over on the desktop. This allows you to get an instant snapshot of missed calls, text messages, outlook calendar etc. So in real terms, when synchronised with your desktop computer, this phone can tell you what your schedule is for the next day and keep you in-communicado 24/7.

Accessories in the Box

There's nothing outstanding about the accessories in the box for the C600. Pretty standard stuff really and nothing special. Handsfree kit (wired variety), USB cable, mains charger and CD for installing the software on your PC.

There are a whole host of accessories that can be used with this device, because it has Bluetooth connectivity.

Windows Mobile 5

Initially Windows Mobile 5 was a bit clunky and hard to get used to. It has its own quirks like any OS. But after a couple of days, as usual, you find your way around. It's a nice system, but seems a bit buggy and doesn't always respond the way you expect it to. Roll on SP1! That said, I still think Windows Mobile 5 is the best system on a phone.

Synchronisation

Active Sync 4 is used to synchronise the majority of office documents between the phone and pc/laptop. This is great when you have 1 phone and a pc, but if you try and synchronise between a Smartphone, pda, home pc, laptop and office pc, you got a lot of synchronising going on! So plan your mobile communication policy.

Windows Mobile 5 and Messaging

When Microsoft released Service Pack 2 for Exchange 2003, they unleashed a whole host of features designed specially for Windows Mobile 5 Users. This allows easy connection to mail and security features like being able to remotely delete data if you loose your phone.

Negative Points

Having used this phone for the last few weeks, there are quite a few annoying things that irritate you about this phone.  The most annoying thing about this phone is the centre joystick used to control scrolling around the menu functions. This has a multi-directional and click action which is about as useful as a handbrake on a canoe. I hear this is an ill advised hang-up from the C550.  What this means is that when you scroll through the menu options and then try to select an option, you jump up and down the menu options randomly and can't actually select anything that you want. This is really annoying and I can't believe they've stuck with this system.

As with all new Operating Systems, it takes time for both the end user and manufacturer to get used to the phone.  The are quite a few bugs with the smartphone version of Windows Mobile 5.  However, you can work round the bugs. 

I look forward to Microsoft updating Windows Mobile 5 for smartphone.  I hope they do it quickly.  Apart from that, please let me keep this phone!