Microsoft’s latest version of its mobile OS, Windows Mobile 6.5, might not have received raving reviews but we were made to rethink about it after using Acer’s latest smartphone – the neoTouch S200.

Initially unveiled as the Acer F1 earlier this year, the S200 brings back fond memories of the HTC Touch HD with its massive 3.8 inch WVGA display and the absence of any physical buttons on its face. Even with its massive dimensions, the designers have done a good job at restricting it to a thickness of just 12 mm. Considering that it is armed to its teeth with all possible connectivity options and a 5.0 MP snapper, it is quite a pretty looking device. Our only criticism would be its glossy plastic exterior that’s addicted to retaining fingerprints.

Keeping the ‘for-best-results-skin-Windows-Mobile’ tradition alive, the S200 comes with a custom UI that resembles a desktop homescreen, where you can plonk 12 shortcuts. The UI is barely skin deep and beyond the homescreen, it is the default Windows Mobile 6.5 interface that you’d end up dealing with. That’d have been a bad thing if it were the older version of the OS but contrary to our expectations, we actually started liking what we saw.

Here’s the deal: The experience of using Windows Mobile 6.5 on a tiny 3.2 inch display is vastly different from using it on a massive 3.8 inch high resolution display. Top it with the S200′s Qualcomm Snapdragon 1 GHz processor and we were zipping in fifth gear. The S200 comes with a stylus but we are yet to use it! A word of advice: Allign the display first from the settings menu and the onscreen QWERTY keyboard becomes extremely finger friendly.

Well, this is just the first part of our review. Watch out for the complete review in CellPassion magazine which will hit stands soon. And stay tuned in for more impressions of the Acer neoTouch S200.