Thanks to Pantech and AT&T for providing us, along with the 25 other websites, a Matrix Pro to giveaway, and thanks to everyone who entered the contest. For those that didn’t walk away with a new Matrix Pro, you can grab one from your local AT&T store for around $100 with a contract.

Enough talk about that, on to the winner! The randomly selected entry is from Maggie Bushway – Congratulations! Maggie gets a AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro smartphone along with a $100 gift card for AT&T.

Does everyone remember that giveaway we’ve talked about a couple times? Well, it’s now Mobile Jaw’s turn to giveaway a brand new Pantech Matrix Pro smartphone. The Matrix Pro is a Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard device (that means it doesn’t have a touch screen), that sports a regular 12-key slide-down number pad, as well as a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard. If you’re not familiar with the Matrix Pro, I would suggest you take a couple minutes to read my review of it as well as the reviews from other popular mobility websites.

What do you need to do to enter and have a chance at winning this device? With Mother’s Day fast approaching, I thought it would be nice to include our mother’s in this contest. So, to enter, you need to post a picture of you and your mother. Since we don’t have the ability for you to upload your images, you have 2 choices on how to do this:

• Share you picture here on MobileJaw
  1. Login here at MobileJaw (If you don’t have an account, you can register here for free).
  2. Reply to this post with a link to a picture of you and your mother hosted on Flickr, ImageShack, or some other free image hosting service.

Or,

• Tweet your picture on Twitter
  1. Login into Twitter (If you don’t have an account, you can register for a free account at Twitter.com).
  2. Follow @MobileJaw
  3. Tweet the following message along with a TwitPic of your Mom – “Happy Mother’s Day Mom and thanks for the chance to win a Matrix Pro @MobileJaw”

And that’s it. The contest will run until the end of day May 11th. The winner will be randomly selected from all the entries and announced first thing on the 12th. They will get a Matrix Pro of their very own along with a $100 AT&T Gift Card! Please note, the Matrix Pro and gift card are for AT&T, so in order to win, you must be a US resident with a valid US shipping address. Please, only 1 entry per person. Good Luck!

Hopefully you’ve been following along with the giveaway event and have entered for a chance to win on the other websites. If not, you still have a chance to enter on about 7 out of the 26 websites. Each day will see a contest end and another one start. For a full list of the sites involved, check out our earlier post about the event.

To enter, check out this post – The AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro Giveaway Event – to find out what site is currently running the promotion and who is up next.  And don’t forget, we’ll be kicking off our giveaway on May 7th. So stay tuned for the details.

The Matrix Pro offers a full QWERTY keyboard with a 12 key number pad in a unique dual slider format. Slide the phone up to expose the number pad, or slide it to the right to expose the QWERTY keyboard. And when closed, the Matrix Pro is an attractive and easily pocketable smartphone.

The Matrix Pro is the follow-up to last years Pantech Duo smartphone that featured the same unique design. This updated version has a much improved sliding mechanism – both sliders are spring loaded and easily pop open or close. The Matric Pro also boasts UMTS/HSDPA Tri-band (850, 1900, 2100 MHz), Quad-band GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz), 256MBROM, 128 MB RAM, support for MicroSD expansion card, 2.4 inch QVGA non-touch screen, 1300 mAh battery, 2 Megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and aGPS. All of which is packed into a 4.17 x 2 x 0.85 inch (L x W x D) footprint.

The device has a high-gloss finish to it with a mirror-like finish on the screen, which brings out the fingerprints on the device. I’ve found that I am always pulling out the micro-fibre cloth and cleaning it off. The top of the device is dark grey and the back of the device is a rich blue color.

When closed, the front of the device has a Home, Back, Call, Hang-up (power) and D-pad exposed. The d-pad looks like it should have scroll wheel functionality. Sadly, there is no scroll wheel on the device. Down the right side of the device you’ll find the sync/charge door and the camera button. The charge door can be difficult to open if you’re finger nails are trimmed. On the left side, there’s volume up/down buttons and a “Rec” button. A short press on the record button and a press and hold brings up the voice command software. The top is clean of any buttons or doors, and the bottom sports the MicroSD slot.

When people first see the Matrix Pro, their reaction starts off with a “Wow” and then after a little more examination they usually mention that it’s thicker than they would like. The truth is that the phone is no different than the HTC Tilt or the Touch Pro. And the Matrix Pro offers 2 slide out keyboards compared to the single slider of the Tilt and Touch Pro. After showing the device along side these devices, the thickness issue tends to be forgotten about.

The QWERTY keyboard is well spaced and has a good solid feel to the keys. The keys are flush with the surface, but there’s a hard plastic edge separating each key. The keyboard is a typically 3 row design with the number keys set off to the right side and access by using the function key. The left and right soft keys are located on the top corners of the keyboard. At first, I found these hard to use locate while working on the device because they are not located under the screen as they are on other devices. Further, when you have the keyboard extended, the left and right soft keys on the face of the device no longer function. I find this really breaks the user experience as I often want to triage email with the keyboard open so I can quickly reply or purge the emails. However, you’ll have some issues navigating or purging old emails if you’ve used your left hand to grab your soda or coffee. The buttons on the face of the device are there and I don’t see any reason to de-activate them just because the keyboard is open.

Sliding the top up on the phone will expose the 12 key number pad. These keys are fairly large and easy to press. At first, it appears that the top row of keys are going to be too close to the upper part of the phone, making them hard to press. This is not the case. They may appear close, but since the keys are a fair size, I had no problems pressing any key on the phone.

There’s one thing on this phone that caused me problems every time I attempted to use it – the camera. More often than not, I would find myself typing an email or tweet and jumping into the camera to snap a quick picture of something. Because of where the camera is located on the backside of the device and with the keyboard open, you’re left hand will almost always be in the way. Countless pictures were taken with part of my fingers covering the lens. I’m sure that with time, you will grow accustom to this and instinctively know to keep their fingers back.

The camera quality was better than I expected. I took these two images on an over-cast day at a park near my house. The colors are pretty good for a 2 mega pixel camera. As with most any camera phone, it’s not fast in the capture, but I didn’t have any issues with blurry pictures, so it was quicker than some of the other camera phones out there.

In terms of network availability and speed, I never noticed any problems. When I was in Seattle and using this phone, the 3G speeds were notability faster and more reliable than the Fido network I use in Canada. Also, the external speaker volume is not as loud as I expected, but it should be enough for most people. The headphone jack is not the standard 2.5 or 3.5 mm that most media phones are using. Instead, you need to carry the Pantech proprietary connector around with you, just in case.

Inside the phone, you’ll find the familiar Windows Mobile Standard 6.1. When you browse the start menu on the device, you will find a large number of AT&T branded applications. These include their own GPS tool, an IM /email tool, Cellular Video, AT&T Music, MEdia Net, MEdia Mall, and more. There are also a number of pre-loaded games on the device – Brain Challenge 2, Guitar Hero 3, Jewel Quest II, Midnight Pool, Ms. PAc-Man, Scrabble, and Tetris. These games are just short trial versions but you can buy the full version if you find that you enjoy the game.

Among the programs pre-loaded on the device is Voice Commander from Cyberon. Voice Commander does not require you to train or tag your contacts prior to using it. You can simply say a command and Voice Commander will do the rest. I’ve been using Microsoft’s Voice Command program prior to switching to the Matrix Pro. Cyberon’s version is good, but the voice can be a little unclear at times when prompting you. I found myself having to look at the screen to try and see what the phone was saying in order to know if I should agree or not. I’m sure this is something that you would get a custom to over time. In terms of accuracy, Cyberon’s application was as good as Microsoft’s app. There is the odd mistake, but those could be more environmental noise than something you said or didn’t say when using the application.

Pantech has included Microsoft’s Remote Desktop utility. This is popular on some of the more enterprise focused touch screen devices. While the tool works fine on non-touch screen devices, it’s very hard to navigate the remote computer without the touch element. So it might not be something you want to do on a regular basis. However, it would be ideal in an emergency situation. It’s great to see Pantech provide you the option to use the utility if you need it. Other manufacturers have been removing it from the non-touch devices.

By default, you can slide the phone open to answer a call, but sliding the phone down does not hang up that call. To change this, you need to browse to Start / Settings / Phone / Slide Options. Here you can set the action of closing the handset to hang up on the current call. I like that they provided this ability for you to customize the functionality for this. I’m sure the users will be split on which configuration they prefer.

Another setting that I was surprise to see disabled by default is the automatic locking of the keys. Under Start / Settings / Phone / Auto Lock you can tell the device to automatically lock the keys once the slider has been closed and the screen has timed out. This should be enabled by default in my opinion.

The fast processor makes scrolling through contacts or web pages a breeze. It’s refreshing to see smartphones starting to ship with more powerful CPU’s. With the faster CPU comes greater consumption of power. During my usage, the phone was able to last about the same as my BlackJack II. It may have been a little shorter, but it’s hard to say. When you have a new phone you’re always playing with it and that tends to eat through the battery faster than normal.

In the end, the Matrix Pro is a great phone – it’s fast processor combined with 3G network speeds and dual sliding keyboards make it a powerful device to carry. I’ve been using this phone for the better part of the last month and I have been very pleased with how it’s performed.

See what others are saying about the Pantech Matrix Pro:

Review of Pantech Matrix Pro – ClintonFitch.com

First Impressions and My Experiences with the Matrix Pro – MobilityMinded.com

QuickLook: Pantech Matrix Pro – JustAnotherMobileModay.com

Unboxing the Pantech Matrix Pro – SmartphoneThoughts.com

Pantech C820 Matrix Pro Review – ChipChick.com

2 Weeks with the Pantech Matrix Pro – AbsoluteVista.com

Pantech Matrix Pro Review Part I – GeeksRoom.com (Spanish)

Pantech Matrix Pro Review Part II – GeeksRoom.com (Spanish)

First Impressions of the AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro – GearDiary.com

Jueves Jugete: Pantech Matrix Pro – Vivirlatino.com

AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro C820 Smartphone Review – The-Gadgeteer.com

Review: AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro – ExperienceMobility.net

AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro – MobilitySite.com

]]> http://www.mobilejaw.com/reviews/2009/04/enter-the-matrix-pro-from-pantech/feed/ 7 http://www.mobilejaw.com/thoughts/2009/04/the-att-pantech-matrix-pro-giveaway-event/ http://www.mobilejaw.com/thoughts/2009/04/the-att-pantech-matrix-pro-giveaway-event/#comments Wed, 15 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0000 Mike Temporale http://www.mobilejaw.com/thoughts/2009/04/the-att-pantech-matrix-pro-giveaway-event/ Starting tomorrow, MobileJaw, along with 25 other websites, will be participating in giving away a Matrix Pro smartphone. Each site will run their own competition with their own rules. You can enter as many of the giveaways at each individual sites as you want.

What can you win? You’ll get a brand new AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro smartphone and a $100 gift card that can be used towards your account or to purchase accessories from AT&T. Plus the admiration of your family, friends, co-workers, and online communities.

Check the list below for the complete details about when each site will be starting their contest and links to the respective sites. Subscribe to their RSS and Twitter feeds so you can keep on top of the contest details and know as soon as the contest goes live.

I’ll have my review of this device posted soon, so keep your browser pointed at MobileJaw for all there is to know about this cool new smartphone.

Since the Matrix Pro is locked to AT&T’s network, this promotion will only be open to our U.S. based readers. Good luck to everyone and keep trying, you may just end up the lucky winner of a Matrix Pro!

Tools for Thought (15-Apr 19-Apr)
ChipChick (16-Apr 20-Apr)
VivirLatino (17-Apr 21-Apr)
slashgear.com (18-Apr 22-Apr)
www.modaco.com (19-Apr 23-Apr)
Gadgetell (20-Apr 24-Apr)
GeeksRoom (21-Apr 25-Apr)
OSNN (22-Apr 26-Apr)
Techmamas (23-Apr 27-Apr)
Clintonfitch (24-Apr 28-Apr)
Justanothermobilemonday (25-Apr 29-Apr)
Geek.com (26-Apr 30-Apr)
MediaBlab (27-Apr 01-May)
Smartphonethoughts (28-Apr 02-May)
Mobilityminded (29-Apr 03-May)
The Gadgeteer (30-Apr 04-May)
Geekzone (01-May 05-May)
Techie Diva (02-May 06-May)
Bostonpocketpc (03-May 07-May)
GearDiary (04-May 08-May)
MobilitySite (05-May 09-May)
AbsoluteWindows (06-May 10-May)
Mobilejaw (07-May 11-May)
Experiencemobility (08-May 12-May)
HackCollege (09-May 13-May)
Gear Live (10-May 14-May)

The Matrix Pro is scheduled to be available on February 24th at AT&T stores for $179 after a rebate and with a 2 year contract.

The full press release along with more images can be found after the jump.

THE PANTECH MATRIX GOES PRO AT AT&T

The Matrix Pro Debuts as the Powerful Next Evolution of the Dual Slider

DALLAS, Feb. 18, 2009 — AT&T* and Pantech Wireless, Inc. today introduced the Pantech Matrix Pro^TM, available exclusively from AT&T on Feb. 24. The next generation in Pantech’s line of successful dual-sliding, double-keyboard mobile phones, the Matrix Pro includes a host of updated features including a compact new premium design with a larger and more brilliant LCD screen, a chat-style view of text messages, tri-band 3G for the best global coverage possible, an upgraded camera, more memory, a faster processor and AT&T Video Share^SM calling. Customers can learn more by visiting www.att.com/matrixpro.

Beneath the dual-sliding keyboards and refined steel-blue exterior, the Matrix Pro connects Windows Mobile 6.1 to the nation’s fastest 3G network to provide a full range of entertainment and business features. Additionally, with AT&T’s wireless network, you can listen to a conference call on a headset while sending and receiving e-mail attachments, picture messages or Web pages at the same time¹. The compact and elegant design of the Matrix Pro fits snugly in your hand for optimum comfort when typing e-mails with the QWERTY keyboard or dialing phone calls with the numeric pad.

“The Matrix Pro is a fantastic-looking device and a significant evolution in this dual-sliding family of phones,” said Michael Woodward, vice president-Smart Devices for AT&T Mobility. “We’ve seen the Matrix become a hit with consumers, and the Matrix Pro will appeal to anyone who wants a powerful smartphone with a great design.”

Patrick Beattie, vice president, Sales and Marketing at Pantech Wireless, Inc., said: “By offering users an exciting alternative to smartphones with traditional QWERTY keyboard constructions, the Matrix Pro emphasizes efficiency without sacrificing style or functionality. With a large and vibrant LCD screen, two full keyboards, enhanced multimedia functionality, and the ability to edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, the Matrix Pro appeals to both business users and trend-conscious consumers.”

Customers in 3G coverage can also use AT&T Video Share to send live video during a phone call to a user with a compatible phone. With aGPS support for location-based services such as AT&T Navigator, the Matrix Pro can help you find your way with turn-by-turn directions. AT&T Navigator is available for a free 30-day trial².

A messaging and multimedia powerhouse, the Matrix Pro has smartphone-class memory and processing power to go beyond simple text messaging and voice and allows customers to run the thousands of applications available to Windows Mobile users. It supports threaded chat-style text messaging, corporate and personal e-mail and also provides access to a host of AT&T services such as MobiTV, Napster Mobile, eMusic Mobile, AT&T Mobile Banking and CV on-demand video.

The Matrix Pro operates on the fastest 3G network at home and the best global coverage outside the U.S. — even in Japan and South Korea — because the Matrix Pro supports all three 3G frequencies used worldwide. AT&T customers can use their mobile phones to make calls in more than 200 countries, access data in more than 160 and even use 3G data in more than 65. AT&T offers 3G service in nearly 350 U.S. major metropolitan areas and many other smaller cities and towns across the U.S.

Pricing and Availability

The Matrix Pro will be available Feb. 24 in a steel-blue metallic finish at AT&T company-owned stores and online at www.wireless.att.com for $179.99 after a two-year service agreement and a $50 mail-in rebate³.

For the complete array of AT&T offerings, visit www.att.com.

¹ Standard data charges apply, depending on your plan.

² Users must cancel free trial of AT&T Navigator within 30 days or be automatically subscribed at a cost of $9.99 per month for unlimited routes. You can cancel from the “My Accounts” portal on your handset or call AT&T customer care. Standard data charges apply, depending on your plan.

³ For the Pantech Matrix Pro pay $229.99, and after mail-in rebate, receive $50 AT&T promotion card. A two-year service agreement is also required. AT&T promotion card valid wherever major credit cards are accepted and for 120 days after issue date. May be used to pay wireless bill. Not redeemable for cash and cannot be used for cash withdrawal at ATMs or at automated gas pumps.