We have already shown you a bit about the Pantech Matrix Pro, primarily in this Quick Look video posted by Brandon earlier this year.  Well, since then, he sent the Pantech Matrix Pro over my way, and I have been spending my own fare share of time with it.  I figure rather than just giving you a straight review, it might be more interesting to look a little deeper over a series of posts.  So, sit back and relax.  Today, we’ll take a quick look at the hardware.  We’ll get more into the software, phone calls, Internet, and other features later and finish up with how it all ties together.

All right, well, we can start at the beginning, which is the face.  That seems like a very good place to start.  I really liked the look of this phone.  it was slightly curved across the face, which gave it a sleek feel.  Almost reminiscent of a rocket ship.

The bulk of the face is taken up by a nice 2.4 inch QVGA screen.  Like I said, this is a nice screen…but hardly a great screen.  I would have preferred a VGA screen, which is a feature that has been grossly underutilized by many smartphone manufacturers.  Additionally, and more upsetting, is the enormous bezel on top of the screen.  That is an awful lot of space for a logo and earpiece.  Pantech could have used that space for a bigger, better screen.

Beneath the screen are your standard smartphone buttons: soft button controls, phone controls, D-pad, the usual.  There are also two very small buttons hidden in the middle of this layout,Home and Back.  While I liked this layout, and felt it worked well, I did not like this tiny middle buttons, which I found extremely difficult to push without hitting the wrong button by mistake.  Overall, I found that this layout turned out to be a lot more form than function.

Now, here is where things get interesting.  The double slider.  Slide the face up to reveal a T9 dialing pad.  I love this.  I really like having a hardware option for dialing the phone, and the ability to slide it out of the way when not in use is fantastic.

Slide the face the other way to reveal the QWERTY keyboard.  I found the keyboard to be a bit cramped.  I did prefer the 5-row keyboard on the HTC Touch Pro, or even the 4-row keyboard on the HTC S-740, to the 3-row layout on the Pantech.

I thought Pantech did a great job with this double slider layout.  It gave me access to both a T9 dialer and a keyboard, but let me move them out of the way when not in use.  This goes a long way toward avoiding accidental button taps.

There are only a few other buttons around the device.  On the left hand side is the record button and volume buttons.  I would have preferred a scroll wheel to these volume buttons, but that is just me.  This volume button layout seems to have won the day, as it is included on many of the most popular phones.

On the right hand side, you will find the camera button.  I love having a hardware button to access the camera.  My HTC Touch Pro does not have such a button, requiring you to access the camera from the touch screen menus, and it is considerably less convenient.  Anyway, we will look at the 2 megapixel camera a bit later.

Above the camera button, there is a small door, with access to the sync/charge port.  I have to admit that I hate these doors.  They get in the way, they generally have flimsy connections, and they do not really provide all that much protection.  On top of that, this is a proprietary connection, which means you have to use Pantech’s cable.  In my mind, there is really no good excuse for not incorporating the now standard mini USB connection.  And now, it is three strikes and your out.  This connection also serves as your headphone jack (which requires an additional adaptor).  Yikes!  That is not good news at all.

On the bottom of the phone is a microSD slot.  What is nice here is that you can use a microSDHC card, meaning you can add a considerable amount of storage memory to this phone.  Again, though, there is another one of those flimsy plastic doors covering the micro SD slot.

Turn the phone over, and we can take a quick look at the back of the device.  On top, you will find the 2 megapixel camera, along with the speakerphone speaker.  Slide off the back to reveal the battery.  We’ll take a closer look at the 1320 mAh battery later.  Underneath the battery is the SIM card slot.

I have not had much of a chance to do a lot more than simply explore the hardware so far.  But I can already tell you that I am completely enamored with the double slider design.  Stay tuned, though, we’ll see how this phone is going to work when subjected to the rigors of everyday use.  We’ll take a look at phone calls, data connections, battery life, and anything else you want to ask about.  So, go ahead and leave your questions in the comments.  We’ll take a look and try our best to answer them.

Well the contest is definitely in full swing – here’s chance number 2!

Could there be a more awesome Mother’s Day Gift than the gift of the Pantech matrix Pro for the mom that is always on the go? We’re giving one away for Mother’s Day, along with a $100 credit for AT&T’s web site. E-mail us how your mom would you use the Pantech Matrix Pro in a special or a quirky way. The winner wins a brand spankin’ new Pantech Matrix Pro along with a $100 credit for AT&T Wireless store online.

Head on over the ChipChick for your chance to win! Be quick – Time is limited!

And so it begins. We warned you the other day that you’d have a chance to win one of 26 brand new Pantech Matrix Pro smartphones… and the giveaways have begun!

First up on the list (you can find the rest of the list here) is Tools for Thought. Be quick on this one… you’ve only got 2 days to get your entry in!