GSmart MS820

Discontinued
18th February 2009

Another Windows Mobile device showcased at this year's Mobile World Congress, with yet another custom interface on the top. The GSmart MS820 is a high-end smartphone enhanced with the "Smart Touch III" interface, which surprisingly is not the same as the one found in the GSmart S1200 announced at the same time.

This somewhat chunky design has been a feature of GSmart M-series devices for some time. Perhaps this isn't the most attractive phone on the market, but at least it isn't pretending to be an iPhone.

The display is surprisingly small for this type of device, although at 2.8" it is bigger than most non-touchscreen phones. It is a very high resolution display for its size, with 480 x 640 pixels giving it a full VGA resolution.

On the back is a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, and there's a secondary video calling camera on the front.

The GSmart MS820 pretty much ticks all the boxes with the rest of its feature list. GPS? Yes. WiFi? Yes. HSDPA? Yes. FM radio? Yes. Bluetooth? No. Just kidding, of course it has Bluetooth!

Despite the unfamiliar custom interface, the MS820 does everything that a Windows Mobile phone should do. The problem is that it really doesn't seem to have much to offer that is unique. For example, why would you choose this phone over the HTC Touch Diamond2?

Gigabyte's GSmart range of phones are worth keeping an eye on during 2009, but we feel that the MS820 isn't quite distinctive enough to make a breakthrough. However, if they can price this phone competitively then it might have a chance.