When seasoned Palm OS freaks see an M70 for the first time, they usually react with an age old question:”and you can actually use this thing”? Indeed, GSPDA’s candybar phone is very small..but I dare to say that it can be used very well. Follow us along for Part 3 of this review to find out why…

The front of the GSPDA M70 is dominated by three things – its screen, the hardware buttons and the truly gigantic multitap keyboard:
The GSPDA M70 review physical

While a multitap keyboard never is as fast as a QWERTY one, this is one of the best keypads I have ever used. Keys are very big and have a clear and clacky pressure point…if every phone would have such a keypad, the world would be a much better place. Unfortunately, this doesn’t hold true for the joystick:
The GSPDA M70 review physical

The back of the phone is dominated by the camera, loudspeaker and battery compartment:
The GSPDA M70 review physical

The top of the device contains the power button(on level with the housing, which is great as it reduces the probability of erroneous touching), a wrist strap dock and the multicolor signal LED(also visible from the front):
The GSPDA M70 review physical

Like most other Asian manufacturers, GSPDA is very fond of plastic covers to protect ports. The headphone jack(2′5 inch) at the right side and the sync port at the bottom both are covered with plastic lids – the one at the bottom can be removed easily, while the headphone cover seems to be fixed to the device for real:
The GSPDA M70 review physical The GSPDA M70 review physical

The IR window is located on the right side, the left side contains three buttons, the reset hole(can be operated with the stylus tip) and the memory card slot(protected with a dummy card):
The GSPDA M70 review physical The GSPDA M70 review physical

GSPDA’s stylus can be considered an engineering masterpiece – it fits into the bottom of the M70 and can be pulled out to full length like some replacement styli for the TT series. When fully retracted, the back is extremely thin and the stylus is unstable…here is an image showing it next to a few others:
The GSPDA M70 review physical

In the end, the M70 is a great candybar phone with few, minor flaws. Of course, the joystick and the stylus could be overhauled – on the other hand, the Treo 680 has that anti-power-user recommended breaking point and the awkward reset procedure…

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  5. The GSPDA M70 review – size