Features:
- Web enabled
- Voice-activated dialing and voice memo recorder
- Large seven-line display
- Up to 210 minutes digital talk time and 200 hours digital standby time
- Weighs 4.5 ounces with standard battery; includes Lithium-ion battery and desktop charger
Description:
With wireless Internet access, a built-in voice memo recorder, voice-activated dialing, and easy-to-follow menus with screen prompts, the Touchpoint 2200 packs plenty of functionality into a moderately sized phone. Its dual-band, dual-mode CDMA technology will let you place and receive calls in most areas of the United States. At 4.8 by 2.0 by 0.8 inches and weighing a mere 4.5 ounces, the 2200 is well balanced and highly portable. Overall, this is a rugged and refreshingly simple phone with a standard 2.5-millimeter headset jack, 30 distinctive ringer types, including vibration mode, three recordable ringers and three custom ringer settings. The enhanced phone book offers 120 storage locations, and each entry can hold up to nine phone numbers. A call-history feature logs the last 10 each incoming, outgoing, and missed calls. A large navigation button, the Mouse key, provides four-way screen and menu navigation. Two additional navigation controls, marked OK and CLR, are positioned on the left and right of the Mouse key, respectively. The "1" key performs double duty as a message key: You hold it down to access your voice mail (assuming your carrier and plan provide this service). Rubberized volume control keys are located on the left side, and the large backlit screen has a generous display area with an eye-pleasing font. The 2200 provides good support for Sprint PCS's voice-activated control features. We easily set up voice tags for 30 friends and associates, all of whom we could dial by voice command. We never had trouble getting the phone to recognize names, and once we set up voice tags, all we needed to do was press the Voice Services key, speak the name of the person we wanted to call, and the 2200 handled the rest. The voice memo recorder was just as useful. Instead of scrambling for Post-its or hauling out our PDA, we saved our to-do lists, important numbers, and reminders in the 2200's memory. An added bonus: When playing messages back, you have the option of listening to them over the earpiece or the main speaker. You can even record and attach a voice ringer to any number in voice-dial memory. This was a little tricky to figure out, but we never had to crack the owner's manual for assistance. The Touchpoint 2200 supports such carrier-dependent services as caller ID, call waiting, voice-mail alerts, three-way calling, e-mail, SMS text messaging, and wireless Internet access. Web navigation was incredibly seamless, and the minibrowser has direct access to many popular sites as well as updates on the latest news, sports, weather, and financial information. While the Touchpoint 2200 won't replace your Palm Organizer or Pocket PC, it can store 100 appointments, 15 alarms, and 20 to-do items. If you buy an optional data kit, you can use the phone as a digital modem for PCs or download crucial PIM data from your computer. The minibrowser takes advantage of the generous screen space to display more menu items and text than most Web-enabled phones do. The phone also has a built-in calculator function and three games: Football, Dice, and Blackjack. Security features include phone locking, restricted incoming calls, restricted outgoing calls (with three special memory spots for exceptions), phone-book erase, and full reset mode, which erases personal information in all applications. During battery testing, we were happily surprised when the 2200's lithium-ion battery, which, though rated for a maximum 210 minutes of digital talk time, held a connection for 235 minutes. The rated 200 hours of digital standby time rating proved to be an impressive 205 in testing (see "How We Tested Battery Talk/Standby Time" below). While not the sleekest or fanciest digital Internet-enabled phone, the Touchpoint 2200 is, in many ways, one of the best designed. The combination of a great screen, simple keys and intelligent menus makes for a fast learning curve. --Testing and evaluation by Brown Consulting Associates, edited by Thom Arno Pros:
- Voice-activated dialing
- Voice memo recorder
- Incredible functionality
- Better-than-expected talk time
Cons:
How We Tested Battery Talk/Standby Time When reading our reviews, you should view the test results of mobile-phone battery talk time and standby time as relative information only. Many variables, including carrier signal strength at your location, signal consistency (including incoming and outgoing calls), display and ringer settings, and battery charging methods and history, will affect performance. When handset manufacturers and mobile phone carriers list talk-time and standby-time ratings, they usually include disclaimers about variable performance and often refer to the times they publish as maximum times. Some quote expected battery life ranges, and in this case you're probably safe to assume you'll experience at least the minimum rated range. Note that manufacturers of dual-mode digital and analog handsets publish battery-life rates for both digital and analog modes, because analog mode consumes much more power than digital mode. Our Tests: We tested digital mode talk and standby times with each phone. Prior to each test, we fully charged the phone's battery according to the manufacturer's directions. To test digital phone talk time, we turned the phone on, established a digital carrier signal, dialed a number in our test lab, and, when the call rang through, took the receiving phone's handset off the hook. When all went well, we didn't do anything else except record the time when the phone died. In a couple of cases, the phones lost the signal and dropped the calls. If we were right there and could redial, we did so immediately and continued running the test. Otherwise, we halted the test, recharged the battery, and started the test over. Assuming consistent carrier signal strength, this test should represent best-case talk time. And it's worth noting that several phones' talk-time performance significantly exceeded the manufacturers' ratings. To test digital phone standby time, we turned the phone on, established a carrier signal, and left the phone in standby mode. We checked the phone every few hours (for what was often days on end) until the phone finally cut out. Because no outgoing or incoming calls occurred during testing and because the phone was not moved, this method should represent best-case standby time, again assuming consistent carrier signal strength.
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