Acer Tempo M900

Acer's last and best Windows Smartphone?

Beyond the usual WinMo software package, Acer bundles the same RDS FM radio and music player that it does with the F900. You also get a media streamer, business card photo manager, and voice command software. Sadly one thing they don't give you is a 3.5mm headphones socket so you are stuck with the all-in-one miniUSB headset. Again, as with the F900, video playback is handled by Windows Media Player Mobile.

End of the line? Still, the best Tempo yet

When it comes to battery life and call performance it's hard to slide a cigarette paper between the M and the F, so you can still expect crisp, clear calls, a decent speaker-phone and a solid two days of average intensity use from a full charge of the 1530mAh battery.

Like the F900 the M has price in its favour, being available unlocked for around the £450 mark. That's a good £40 cheaper than we generally found HTC's Touch Pro2. The price gap is not as great as that between the F900 and HTC Touch HD but, on the other hand, the M900 is closer to the Pro2 than the F900 is to the Touch HD.

Verdict

Acer's final Windows Mobile 6.1 handset is its most compelling smartphone product to date. Yes, the basic failings are the same as we noted on the F900, and yes, we would recommend swapping Acer's own Shell UI for Spb's. Nevertheless, the combination of a fine slide out Qwerty keyboard, a 5Mp camera and some subtle additions like the 3-way jog wheel and assisted GPS keep those failings from coming so far to the fore. Despite being something of a chunky monkey, it’s also a better-looking device than the F900 in our book. ®

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