The Ericsson R380 Smart Phone may just be the smartest purchase you make this year. It not only offers voice recognition dialing and answering plus all of the other features you love on your current cell phone, but it also sports a full graphic display touch screen with backlight, PIM tools with handwriting recognition software, and full mobile Internet functionality based on Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). Ericsson, in the R380, gives the mobile world a gadget that is equally at home being a smart phone, a mobile network computer, and a PDA.

To power this little device, Ericsson chose the EPOC operating system from Symbian that is tailored for palmtop and wireless applications. They added WAP, a transmission standard they co-developed for browsing the Web, and then piled on the software to make this phone as useful as any basic PDA out there.

At first glance the R380 looks like an everyday cell phone, but the top flips up to reveal a computer screen beneath. The large landscape display enables users to read and write notes, check email, and manage a calander and address book. Other PDA-like functions include a calculator, an alarm clock, PC synchronization via a built-in infrared port and a voice note recorder. Plus, if you ever lose power, the R380 will restore all of your information, no sweat.

As a phone, the R380 can be used as a standard cell phone or a speaker phone. It also has SilentVibe, a vibrating call alert system that is much like pager. In addition to all of this, Ericsson made the R380 Internet ready with a built-in modem, WAP browser that uses your own ISP address, email and SMS functionality, and Ericsson Mobile Internet software.

The R380 is about the size of an ordinary cell phone at 5.2 x 1.96 x 1.02 inches and it weighs only 5.6 oz.

Pricing and Availability

The Ericsson R380 is available from service providers and retailers in the US and abroad. It will cost you around $500.

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