Image Gallery: A look at the MWg Zinc II Windows Mobile device
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MWg Zinc II retail box
MWg Zinc II retail box
MWg is a new player in the mobile market, but they have years of experience as they were previously known as O2 Asia. Expansys purchased O2 Asia and is launching a new brand of Windows Mobile device. The Zinc II runs WM 6.1 Professional, has quad-band GSM, and tri-band HSDPA/UMTS, but it is priced around US$750 so that may price it out of contention with some other new devices.
Back of the MWg retail box
Back of the MWg retail box
MWg did an amazing job with the packaging of the Zinc II. The box is attractive and extremely durable.
Opening up the box, first flap
Opening up the box, first flap
After opening up the top flap you see an attractive red inner covering that is made of durable paper material. The Zinc II sits nestled in a secure spot in the box.
Here is the Zinc II
Here is the Zinc II
The Zinc II appears in the center with the detailed specs off to the left of the device.
Specs list
Specs list
Here you can see the major specifications of the device and know it is close to a top-of-the line device, with a couple of exceptions.
Upper part of the inner box
Upper part of the inner box
The upper tray contains an A/C adapter with a number of different plug adapters for usage around the world.
A/C adapter and plug fittings
A/C adapter and plug fittings
There are 3 different fittings for using the A/C adapter as you travel around the world.
Two small boxes in the bottom
Two small boxes in the bottom
There are two attractive and well-designed boxes in the bottom of the retail packaging.
Small box labels
Small box labels
The two small boxes are clearly labeled with white fonts detailing the contents inside.
Small box contents
Small box contents
The smaller of the two boxes contains the battery, stylus, stereo headset, and mini USB cable. I like the use of mini USB for syncing and charging, but dislike the usage for the headset.
Decent sized battery
Decent sized battery
The MWg Zinc II comes with a rather large 1530 mAh Lithium Ion Polymer battery for hours of usage.
Larger box
Larger box
The larger of the two inner boxes contains the Quick Start Guide, User Manual, Getting Started CD and warranty statement.
MWg Zinc II
MWg Zinc II
The Zinc II is thinner than the AT&T Tilt/HTC TYTN II and actually has a good form factor for a device with a QWERTY keyboard. The casing is all soft touch rubber and feels great in your hand.
Left side of the Zinc II
Left side of the Zinc II
Along the left side you can find the lanyard loop, volume up/down buttons, Zinc Quick Menu button, and microSD card slot.
Top of the Zinc II
Top of the Zinc II
There is nothing along the top, except for one part of the lanyard opening.
Right side of the Zinc II
Right side of the Zinc II
The power button, reset opening, camera button and stylus silo are on the right side of the device.
Power button on right side
Power button on right side
The power button is indented just a bit so you won’t accidentally press it when in use.
Bottom of the MWg Zinc II
Bottom of the MWg Zinc II
A standard mini USB port is found along the bottom of the device and is used for syncing, charging, and for the wired headset.
Back of the Zinc II
Back of the Zinc II
The battery cover takes up most of the Zinc II back with the camera and speaker located on the upper part of the back.
Front of the MWg Zinc II
Front of the MWg Zinc II
As you can see the Zinc II is a slider QWERTY device that lets you enter text in landscape mode.
Closer look at the keyboard
Closer look at the keyboard
The keyboard is quite flat with a thin border outlining each key in blue.
See how flat the keyboard is
See how flat the keyboard is
The keyboard is quite flat and has little tactile feel to it. It also has a different offset than seen on other QWERTY keyboards.
Another look at the keyboard
Another look at the keyboard
The keyboard can be used for minimal text entry, but requires lots of extra key presses to perform some basic functions.
HTC Wizard and MWg Zinc II
HTC Wizard and MWg Zinc II
The HTC Wizard/QTEK 9100 is an older Windows Mobile QWERTY device that is thicker than the Zinc II.
HTC Wizard and MWg Zinc II side-by-side
HTC Wizard and MWg Zinc II side-by-side
This comparison shows the global differences in the keyboard design.
Zinc II on HTC Wizard
Zinc II on HTC Wizard
Here you can see the keyboard design differences between a couple of QWERTY devices.
MWg Zinc II home screen
MWg Zinc II home screen
The Zinc II is a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional device and comes with a custom background from MWg.
Available memory on the Zinc II
Available memory on the Zinc II
One feature that may deter power users from the device is the usage of only 64MB of RAM, with only just over 30 MB remaining after a reset to run applications.
Zinc II hardware
Zinc II hardware
You can see that the Zinc II uses a Samsung 500 MHz processor that is actually very snappy. 256 MB ROM is also available.
Zinc II Quick Menu
Zinc II Quick Menu
Pressing the Quick Menu button takes you to a smooth launcher that lets you quickly access Windows Media Player, Pictures & Videos, Camera, and Games.
More shortcuts in the Quick Menu
More shortcuts in the Quick Menu
Some default shortcuts include Messaging, Internet Explorer, Connection Manager, Calendar, File Manager, Notes, Calculator, and Settings.
Quick access to settings
Quick access to settings
You can access your settings without diving into Windows Mobile using the MWg Quick Menu.
MWg connection manager
MWg connection manager
You can quickly access and manage your phone, Bluetooth, and WiFi connections on your Zinc II.
Selecting an application for the shortcut
Selecting an application for the shortcut
You are presented with a simple selection screen after tapping the empty tile.
36 available speed dial tiles
36 available speed dial tiles
There are 36 available tiles in the speed dial utility with 12 for three different categories.
GPS Viewer utility
GPS Viewer utility
This utility gives you an interesting graphical view of the satellites, longitude, latitude, altitude, speed, and satellite status.
Headset volume limit utility
Headset volume limit utility
You can set a limit on the volume of the headset using this MWg utility.
MWg Zinc II thumbnail 1
MWg Zinc II thumbnail 1
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MWg Zinc II thumbnail 2
MWg Zinc II thumbnail 2
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