Acer Tempo F900 Windows Mobile smartphone

Screen gem let down by supporting cast?

Acer ships the F900 with a 1530mAh battery. As long as you are careful with the WiFi and Bluetooth radios it should be possible to eek out two full days of use before you end up standing around with a power adapter in your hand and a worried look on your face. Even with heavy use of all the bells and whistles, a full charge should see you through a busy working day.

Not bad for the price, although perkier with Spb installed

In the absence of network-subsidised deals on the high street, the one advantage the F900 does have over the Touch HD is price. We found the unlocked F900 for a shade under £400 from a number of suppliers, a good £100 less than the Touch HD.

Reg Hardware spoke to Acer and it confirmed that it is talking to several UK mobile telecos about carrying the Tempo range, but it wouldn't confirm which ones or when they will become available. So, in the meantime, if you want one you'll just have to go to one of the specialist suppliers.

Verdict

If cost was not an option and we had to choose between the F900 and HTC's HD we would have to pick the latter. It’s better looking, the screen is more reactive and the OS runs faster due to it having more available system memory. That's not to say the F900 is hopeless though – if you install Spb's latest Windows Mobile UI you will have a perfectly decent and usable phone on your hands and its a fair bit cheaper than the obvious competition. ®

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