The best smartphone you may never see

Effortless switch from phone to PDA
On the outside, the A780 looks like many other handsets. Lift the keypad, however, and you’re greeted by a terrific 240 by 320 pixel color touch-screen which supports handwriting recognition.

When closed, the A780 looks and acts just like a cell phone, which is always welcome relief from other phones where you waste time trying to figure out where the number and function buttons might be hiding.  No surprises here.

When the keypad is open, you can use your fingers if you like to get the screen all smudgy — or you can navigate everything with the included stylus. There are two other pointing/navigation devices: a rocker switch on the left side and the 5-way key (like a clickable joystick) on the front.

The interface is somewhat familiar looking, uncluttered and easy to understand.  It resembles a Microsoft-based smartphone’s home screen more than a Palm Treo or Nokia’s Symbian OS.  Icons on top and bottom are neat and easy to navigate.

Overall, using the A780 was a terrific experience. The smartphone did everything I asked it to — including the ability to handle my MSNBC e-mail. Normally, I’d mention that in passing because it’s no big deal. But in this case it is.

That’s because the A780 runs on the Linux operating system, not usually very compatible with anything Microsoft. But Motorola has also licensed Microsoft’s Exchange Server ActiveSync software. That means this phone can synchronize over-the-air with my MSNBC e-mail, calendar and phone book entries.

Motorola Side view of the A780, with the keypad flipped open.

It’s not perfect — one or two settings aren't 100 percent compatible with the MSNBC e-mail system — but for the most part, the A780 syncs when I ask it to.

Motorola planned for this model to be marketed in the Far East, not here in North America. That's too bad, we deserve the chance to have such a good product. I figure, if word gets out, U.S. cellular carriers will be fighting over the right to sell it here.

The A780 is not totally unavailable here. You can go online and spend a lot of money ($580) for an unlocked handset. Then you're on your own trying to figure out how to get it to work with your SIM card and your U.S. carrier’s network. It would be a lot easier — and cheaper — if a carrier would market it here.

Competition is a good thing.  So is the A780.  I hope the right people are listening.

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