Asus P835 Comprehensive Review of Features Pricing Pros & Cons

Design and Build Quality

The Asus P835 boasts a sleek and professional design, reflective of its release period in 2009. With dimensions of 115 x 59 x 13.8 mm, it fits comfortably in the hand while maintaining a solid build quality. Weighing in at 148 grams, the device offers a substantial feel without being overly heavy. The use of durable materials ensures longevity, and the black color finish provides a classic, timeless aesthetic. The phone uses a Mini-SIM, which was standard at the time of its release.

Display

The P835 features a 3.5-inch TFT resistive touchscreen display that supports up to 65K colors. Although not as vibrant or high-resolution as modern-day displays, with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels and a pixel density of approximately 267 ppi, it was quite competitive for its time. The 5:3 aspect ratio provided a decent canvas for viewing multimedia content and browsing the web, despite the screen-to-body ratio being approximately 51.4%.

Performance

Powered by the Qualcomm MSM7201A chipset and a 528 MHz ARM 11 CPU, the Asus P835 was built to handle various tasks of the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system. The 288MB of RAM was standard for smartphones of its era, enabling reasonable multitasking capabilities. The internal storage of 4GB, supplemented with a microSDHC slot, offered users flexibility to store additional data as needed.

Camera and Photography

Equipped with a single 5 MP rear camera, the P835 featured autofocus to enhance photographic quality. While not on par with today’s smartphone cameras, it allowed users to capture decent photos and videos. A secondary camera for selfies was also a part of the device, though its specifications aren't detailed, suggesting it might have been rudimentary in nature.

Battery Life

One of the critical components of any mobile phone is its battery life. The Asus P835 contains a removable Li-Ion 1100 mAh battery. This was adequate at the time for moderate usage, providing up to 350 hours of standby time and up to 6 hours of talk time. Users could replace the battery when needed, a feature that has become less common in modern smartphones.

Connectivity and Network

The Asus P835 supported GSM and HSPA network technologies, working on 2G bands (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) and 3G bands (HSDPA 900/1900/2100). It offered data speeds of up to HSPA 7.2/2 Mbps, which was quite satisfactory for its time. Connectivity features also included Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP for wireless audio streaming, and GPS with A-GPS support for navigation. However, the device did not include a radio or support for a 3.5mm audio jack, potentially limiting its audio connectivity.

Software and Features

The phone operated on Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, a platform that provided a comprehensive suite of productivity tools such as mobile versions of Microsoft Office, an HTML browser (Internet Explorer) with support for WAP 2.0/xHTML, and an RSS reader. The software environment catered well to business professionals, a target demographic of many Windows Mobile devices at the time.

Overall Experience and Conclusion

The Asus P835 was released during a time of rapid evolution in smartphone technology. Despite its subsequent discontinuation, the device offered many features that were considered advanced for 2009, aimed at users who desired a robust operating system combined with decent hardware specifications. The absence of certain modern amenities like high-speed internet and higher resolution displays reflects its age, yet underscores the progress in mobile technology since its release. Buying the Asus P835 would have set a consumer back approximately 400 EUR, affirming its status as a mid to high-tier device of its time.