The P565 is the first of its kind handset with regard to one and only one feature its - Marvell TavorP 800 MHz processor. This should make it the fastest handset in the West... or East or North even South for that matter. But is it really 'all dat' or just another Windows Mobile handset? That's what I'm here to tell you, so let me get right to it.
Form Factor
To be totally blunt on the subject of the P565's styling and design, I am not fan. It's not entirely a bad looking handset. However, with it's squared off top and curved bottom, it's a little off balance in a certain aesthetic sense in my opinion. However I will admit that the leather rear panel and cool steel nav-pad do give it a certain Je ne c'est quoi look. The camera looks rather in-consequential and almost something you might miss. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. A secondary camera is located just above the 2.8 inch touchscreen that has a 480 x 640 pixel (64K colors) display.
On one side is flap marked GPS that stores a connector for attaching an external GPS unit. Just below that, very neatly molded into the chrome are a set of Zoom/Volume keys. At the bottom is a standard mini USB port that is universal for charging, USB connectivity as well as the handsfree. On the other side at the top is screen lock switch just near the slot for the stylus and on the same side at the bottom is a camera key. A power key located on the top, like most Windows mobile handsets can also be used to go to stand-by mode if pressed once, thereby rendering the Screen lock quite unnecessary really.
What I was extremely disappointed in was the lack of a hot swap slot for the microSD card and the lack of one with the packaging. It's not like the handset is loaded with memory. All it has is 256MB of on-board memory. The card slot is located under the SIM slot. The battery will have to be removed in order to access either.
On the whole I'd have to say, irrespective of my opinion on its looks, the P565 does exude a rather cold business-like look and I feel the bad placement of the memory card slot is what threw me though.
Running on a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS, coupled with Asus' Glide UI, the P565 does have easy access to features via the Any Time Launcher menu. Under the large digital clock display is also a shortcut feature to gain quick access to various features like the weather, RSS feeds, notifications etc. A small icon just above the clock allows you to switch between desktops for a more personal feel. The cold business like feel is once again quite evident with the absence of any kind of pizzazz or basic color implementation on the desktop. Glide is no TouchFLO 3D, but it does get the job done.
This set up will possibly suit the business-person who's not interested in any fancy colorization and wishes to be as basic as possible. A Theme manager is however present to help add a little color to the system should you be interested in a more casual rendering. Menus do appear sharp and easy to view considering the screen resolution.
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