The HTC 3100 is a 3G slide phone that is the successor to the Wizard and builds on the Wizard's design (itself an off-shoot of the HTC Magician for phone anoraks) with a sliding landscape keyboard in a small-screen Pocket PC form factor but a significant boost in specification. Visually the M3100 is attractive - its dark greys contrast with the light grey and silver insert surrounding three of the four sides of the screen works. The handset is made mostly of plastics with the metal insert accenting the plastic and portraying a strong build quality matched by its feel. It measures 58 x 112.5 x 21 mm and at 176g the M3100 is no lightweight but feels - and is - solid. It comes with a 400MHz Samsung processor 3G and quadband support for global connectivity HSDPA network-ready and a 2 megapixel camera with flash and macro mode plus a secondary camera for video calling. The left side of the M3100 houses not only a MicroSD slot voice dial/notes button and OK button but also a scroll wheel - the first to appear on any device manufactured by HTC. The wheel is an instant success the second you use it scrolling in two directions making navigating Web sites and emails - anything demanding a lot of vertical scrolling - effortless. The wheel also depresses acting as an action key for the selected item. The movement is tactile and offers just the right amount of "feel".
A big feature is its 2.8-inch (43 x 57 mm) 240 x 320 pixels QVGA 65K colours TFT main screen that changes orientation based on whether you have the keyboard open or not. The screen is clear and bright above a dedicated video call button and a forward facing "video cam" set into the chrome insert - used if you have a connection that supports 3G and video calls and you like the idea of seeing the person you are talking with. Apply some pressure to the right side of the device at the back and you reveal a full QWERTY slide out keyboard. The keys offer a nice click when depressed which makes two thumbed typing quick and reliable. On a device that is clearly smaller than the more traditional Pocket PC this keyboard utilises its space well - only users with the biggest of fingers will have a problem. The 2 megapixel camera comes with LED flash self-portrait mirror and macro switch to alter the lens for close-up photographs. The headphones bundled with the M3100 double as a hands-free headset with in-line microphone and volume control. The M3100 includes WiFi as an alternative to a laptop for quick Web enquiries or MSN chat. - Large 2.8-inch screen - 3G for video calling - Quadband for global connectivity - Stylish look n feel
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