ASUS Asus P527

Asus has tacked its own homegrown operating system on top of Windows Mobile--hardly the most efficient and intuitive mobile OS to start with. What you end up with is two interfaces running on top of each other: Standard Windows Mobile is there, but the "Asus Launcher" offers its own entry to the usual collection of WM applications, plus a selection of Asus-built programs. You can switch between both interfaces at will--and, in fact, to get anything done you often have to switch, whether you want to or not.

Finding your way around the haphazardly organized Asus Launcher isn't too hard, and because the phone is so terribly slow you'll have plenty of time to ponder what you're going to do next while you wait for a screen refresh. Try to avoid pressing buttons more than once in an attempt to hurry it along: The P527 is just thinking, and multiple taps often result in opening something you didn't really want, slowing things even further. Wi-Fi is helpful for Web surfing, but the lack of a 3G radio means using the P527 on the Internet is equally frustrating when you're away from a hotspot.