When my kids were younger, I spent vast amounts of money on juice boxes of all kinds, because when a kid is thirsty you gotta have some juice that’s easy to deal with “on the go”.  Trust me, spill a sippy-cup of Apple juice all over your car seats and you’ll be making a bee-line to Wal-Mart for some juice boxes lickety-split!  My kids are almost grown and have long since outgrown juice boxes, but now we need a new kind of juice box… an ‘adult’ juice box, if you will.  Enter… the Technocel Powerpak!  Juice… on the go!

With all the mobile devices/gadgets that I own, I am constantly running out of “juice” and need to power up.  If I am in the car, it isn’t that big a problem because I have mobile chargers for several devices, plus various other charges like the iLuv USB charger and one of those cigarette lighter chargers where you can plug in regular power cords.  But you still have to have the charge cable for the device to use those charges.  And I don’t feel like carrying around all my chargers and cables for all my devices.  So I have wanted to get my hands on a charger of some kind that would solve this problem.  So I jumped at the chance to review the Technocal Powerpak.

The Powerpak comes with a cloth bag to carry everything in, and a special USB cable with the standard USB connector on one end (that plugs into the Powerpak unit) and a mini-din connector on the other end.  It also comes with 10 interchangable tips that allow you to connect the cable coming from the Powerpak unit to various mobile devices.  2 of the adapters are micro-USB variants, 2 more are mini-USB variants, and the other 6 adapters are proprietary.  All told, you can use the Powerpak to charge devices from LG, HTC, Blackberry, Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, Kyocera, Sanyo, Palm, Nextel, Casio, Sony Ericsson, and Toshiba.  They claim that 95% of mobile devices are covered.

I was looking forward to using the Powerpak to charge the various iPod devices that my family owns, because someone is always running out of juice in the car.  And I was a bit dismayed when I opened the package and didn’t find an adapter for the iPod.  However, I quickly discovered that any power cable with a standard USB connector on the end will plug directly up to the Powerpak unit without the need for any of the adapters.  So you won’t need any of the 10 adapters if you want to charge your iPod or iPhone… simply plug the USB that came with your device into the USB port in the Powerpack unit.

The Powerpak unit is clad in a soft-touch rubbery shell, like many of today’s cellphones.  I was very pleased with this, in addition to the round edges on the unit.  Because of this, it is very easy to hold and carry and it just feels solid.  The power plug on the back of the unit folds in flat to allow for easier storage, and when you plug the Powerpak into the bottom plug of a standard wall outlet, it won’t block the use of the top plug which is nice.  Another neat feature of this product that I was pleased to see is that when you plug one of the 10 adapters into the USB cable, each adapter has threads on the end of it so that you can screw the adapter into the cable for a secure, tight fit.  That way, it won’t accidental come loose.  Cord length is average at just a little over 5 ft.

When the Powerpak is plugged up to the wall it charges its internal battery while still being available to charge your devices.  And if you want, you can begin using your device as soon as it is plugged up to the Powerpak, which is how I am using it mostly as I run out of juice while talking on my cellphone alot.  To determine how much juice is left in the Powerpak you press a button the front and 4 red lights on the front will give you an indication of how much juice is left.  I don’t particularly care for this and wish that instead I had an LCD to show me a % value of how much is left.  But then again, I am sure that would push the cost up.  The interal battery is 1000mA.  Now, that isn’t as much as other chargers, and I have read that Technocel is coming out with a charger that has 2 connections built-in and a bigger battery.  While I would like to have a bigger capacity battery, I think the size of the device and price point ($35-40) will be very acceptable to most people.

One important thing to note about the battery as well… it loses its charge over time if left to sit unused.  I left it sitting with a full charge for 5 days without using it and it lost half of its charge.  I have experienced this type of battery loss with other devices that I have owned, so I can’t ding the Powerpak too bad for that.  But that does seem like a bit too much loss to me.

I was able to charge numerous devices with the Powerpak… an HTC cellphone, a Plantronics Bluetooth headset, an iPod Classic, a Kodak Playsport camera, and an iPod Touch.  When the 1300mA battery in my HTC Droid Incredible was completely dead, the Powerpak charged it back to 70% in 60 minutes.  Not amazingly fast, but not bad in my book.  I also tried charging my iPad with the Powerpak.  The Powerpak would not actually charge the iPad (it said “Not charging” in the upper right corner) but it would allow the iPad to operate without losing any battery life.  So while it won’t charge your iPad, at least you could use your iPad until the Powerpak died.

Overall, I recommend this gadget for most people.  I like the price, I love the features, and the size is just right.  I do wish the cord was longer, I wish it had an LCD readout instead of the red lights, and the loss of charge when unused is a little disappointing.  But I can live with those things for the convenience it provides me.

Filed in categories: Gear, Reviews, Travel Gear

Tagged: Cellular, Device, Power

Technocel Powerpak Review… an adult juice box. originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 5, 2010 at 12:30 pm.

The Holy Grail.  The perfect cherry blossom.  A four leaf clover.  The perfect bluetooth headset.  *BUZZ*  “What are things that are searched for?”  “That is correct!”  Personally I’m interested in the headset, but I wouldn’t mind finding a four leaf clover.  On my quest I’ve found headsets that were almost perfect, but failed for one reason or another.  Will Aliph’s latest Jawbone offering end my searching?  Read on to find out.

First the nitty gritty.  Aliph is known for its small, sleek headsets that have a sensor that rests against your jawbone (see, not just a silly product name) and detects when you’re speaking to eliminate background noise.  I’ve actually never used any previous Jawbone models, so this is my first introduction to this type of noise cancellation.  The ICON is 45 mm long, 18.25 mm wide and 24 mm high.  It weighs a puny 8.2 grams.  It has a very minimal design with a single button in addition to a dedicated on/off switch.  It’s rated for 4.5 hours of talk time and 10 days of standby time.

Image taken from Jawbone.com

The ICON itself is available in six different colors/textures (some are much harder to find online than others) and each are based around a unique “personality”.  You see, unlike other headsets this one talks to you.  Rather than showing you how much battery life is left with beeps, lights or other hard to decipher methods, this one happily tells you “About four hours of talk time remaining”.  When it’s ready to pair, it says “Jawbone is ready, waiting for phone to connect.”  This is actually amazingly simple and useful.  I could never remember if flashing blue was good or bad, and if purple meant I had a lot of battery life left or none.

The different designs are called the Hero, Rogue, Thinker, Ace, Catch and Bombshell.  The photos in this review are Julie’s Rogue, but I personally am using The Thinker in black.  The default voice is a friendly, but somewhat computer sounding female voice.  However, you can customize your ICON with different voices and applications.  In fact, after you register at mytalk.jawbone.com, you can change the voice, load applications, and manage connections on your device.

Use of the Headset

The ICON paired up with no problems to my Droid 1, Droid X and Palm Pre Plus.  To enter pairing mode you just hold the action button while powering it on which causes the indicator light to flash between red and white.  It really couldn’t be easier.

Using the ICON is just as straight forward as pairing it.  Just flip the power switch to on (which shows a spot of painted blue on the switch to indicate “on”), and you’re greeted by a chipper “Hey there.  Thanks for waking me up.” greeting in a non-computer sounding voice (the message may be different on other ICON “personalities”).

When the headset is paired with your phone and you tap the action button (which is nicely sized and perfectly positioned) you’ll be told how much talk time is left.  Right now mine is telling me “About three hours of talk time remaining”.  It doesn’t tell you standby time, but generally the actual talk time is more important.  One nice feature is when you’re on a call and the battery is getting low you’ll get a warning telling you that there is approximately 15 minutes of talk time remaining.  Much better than the headset just dying which is the case with most other devices.

A long press of the action button activates Voice Commands.  NOTE:  Not all phones or Mobile Operating Systems support this.  It works on my Droid X under 2.1 but didn’t work on my Droid 1.  This *should* be fixed with the Froyo (Android 2.2) update but you should check to be sure your device supports Voice Commands over Bluetooth.  In practice this is one of the weakest parts of Android.  The stock Voice Command app under Android 2.1 is awful (IMHO) and there are great third party apps that work much better.  Android 2.2 is supposed to offer a greatly improved app but I have not yet tested it with the ICON.  I don’t own any iDevices, so I can’t talk to how the device works with them.

A double-tap of the action button will redial the last number called.

While you are in a call a single tap of the action button will end the call.  If you press and hold the action button it will enable or disable Noise Assassin.  The only reason you would want to do this is to show how awesome Noise Assassin works (it really does work amazingly well).

When you receive an incoming call the headset will tell you “Call from 510-555-1212″.  Unfortunately you can’t configure it to speak the name you have associated with a stored contact, but it’s still handy if you can remember important phone numbers of people you definitely do (or do not) want to talk to.  If you tap the button once the call will be answered.  If you press and hold the action button it will automatically send the call to voicemail.

MyTALK

At first I dismissed MyTALK as something that I wouldn’t need, but after playing with it more it’s quite useful.  When you download the software and plug your ICON into your computer, you are taken to a portal that shows you the current software/configuration on your ICON, allows you to choose different voices, and load software.  The following is the current configuration on my ICON:

As you can see the Voice (AUDIOAPP) I’ve selected is “Be Flirty”.    This voice is a flirty female voice.  Don’t judge me…   I have everything else on the default.  If you click on “Edit” under Advanced Settings you are able to name your ICON (helpful I guess if you have more than one), turn voice announcements on or off, turn spoken caller ID on or off, and view or delete connected devices.

The description here is very important (and now is the first time I’m seeing it).  “Every time it is turned on it will attempt to connect to the first 2 [phones] it can find.”  You can’t drag/drop the devices to change the order, so if you want a different device on the top you need to delete the ones above it.

The ICON also supports A2DP which is great if you want to listen to audio books or podcasts (I personally don’t).  As of this review (8/31/2010) A2DP support is now part of the default software and will work out of the box (if you have an older ICON you may need to update your software from the MyTALK site).

Sound Quality

Okay, so you can have the remaining battery life spoken to you in a flirty female voice…but how do calls SOUND?  In a word: Great.  I’ve never had anyone complain about the sound quality even when I’ve asked them “how does this sound?”.  As the wearer, the sound is clear and loud.  I sometimes find that if I’m in a quiet room I need to turn the volume down on my Droid X.  I’ve never had to do that with previous headsets.

The ICON features Noise Assassin which in practice works amazingly well.  As mentioned, Jawbone models have a sensor that rests against your jaw to detect when you’re speaking.  With the ICON you do not need to have the sensor in an exact spot, anywhere on your face seems to work well for me.

I previously used the now discontinued Zivio Boom which I LOVED.  Well, I love the ICON more.  I wrote a review of the Sound ID 400 (which I did not like) and used the Zivio as the comparison device.  Here is the Jawbone ICON compared to the Zivio and Sound ID 400:

Jawbone ICON with NO background noise (30KB .WAV File)

Jawbone ICON in my car on the highway (31KB .WAV File)

Jawbone ICON in my car on the highway with the passenger window down (30KB .WAV File)

Jawbone ICON in my car on the highway with the passenger window down and Noise Assassin disabled (31KB .WAV File)

Sound ID 400 with NO background noise (33KB .WAV File)

Sound ID 400 in my car on the highway (66KB .WAV File)

Zivio with NO background noise (33KB .WAV File)

Zivio in my car on the highway (225KB .WAV File)

Conclusion

So, is the ICON perfect?  To me, YES.  For the first time since I switched from wired to bluetooth, I have stopped looking for a new headset.  The ICON has amazing sound quality on both ends of the line, it’s extremely comfortable and very rugged for its small size and light weight (mine’s been stepped on and dropped a couple times with no ill effects).  If you want something sleek and subtle or if you want something flashy and blinged out there’s an ICON personality that will give you the look you’re after.

Filed in categories: Bluetooth Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Bluetooth Gear, Cellular, Phone

Aliph Jawbone ICON Bluetooth Headset Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 31, 2010 at 7:56 pm.

Can you hear me now? Everyone with a cellphone has probably asked that question at one time or another while checking the signal on their phone. I’ve been skeptical of so called signal boosters after reviewing the the Cell Ranger PORT Signal Booster a few years back, but agreed to try the CelLynx 5BARz Road Warrior Cell Phone Signal Booster when it was offered to me. Let’s see if this one really does what it claims.

Hardware Specifications

Maximum input power: +20 dBm
Output power: 0.25 watt average /1 watt maximum
Service Antenna: Cigarette lighter/power cord antenna
Frequency Bands: Full-band US Cellular and full-band US PCS
System gain Cell/PCS: 40/45 dB, self-optimizing
System noise figure: 5 dB nominal at maximum gain
Power Supply: 12 VDC
Power dissipation: 6 Watts
Dimensions: 5.0″ x 4.75″ x 1.35″
Weight: 1 lb (0.45kg)

Package Contents

Base unit
Cradle
Car mount / 12V power
AC adapter
USB Charging cable (requires an iGo plug for the phone of your choice)
User Guide

Right away I could tell that this was a serious product unlike the Cell Ranger. I like the fact that it can be used when you’re mobile (in a vehicle) or in an office.

There are two main parts to this product. The base station and the cradle. The base station is a little smaller than a portable CD player (do they even sell those these days?).

The front of the base has a power LED of 5 signal bars. The whole thing lights up and doesn’t actually measure signal strength.

On the back you will find the cradle cable connector and power connector. There’s also a sticker that covers an external antenna port.

The cradle is padded with neoprene on the back and sides and has an adjustable grip. The cradle might not be able to hold narrow phones.

A goose neck style 12V car mount is included that attaches to a socket on the back of the cradle.

The mount is keyed to allow easy connection and removal. There’s also a swing out stand built into the back of the cradle.

This is how you would use the 5BARz Signal Booster on a desk. You’re probably wondering how you answer calls if the phone is always in the cradle. That is the one ‘gotcha’ for this product… the best solution is to use a Bluetooth headset or speakerphone while using the 5BARz booster.

You’ll also notice what looks like a USB connector in the side of the cradle. You can use this connector to charge your phone while you are also boosting its signal. A USB Charging cable is included in the package, but requires an iGo plug for the phone of your choice. If your phone can be charged via USB and you already own a cable for it, it will work just fine with this cradle, which provides a charge regardless if the cradle’s power switch is on or off.

Only two connections are required to get up and running. The cable from the cradle plugs into the back of the base as does the AC adapter or the 12V mount into a power port on your car. If you use the 5BARz in your car, you can just set the base on your dash. It has rubber feet with a good grip. I didn’t have any problems with it sliding off.

I tested the 5BARz with my iPhone 3GS on the AT&T 850MHz network. This product also claims to boost Verizon and Sprint signals too.

My first test was not very scientific at all. I took a screen shot of the signal bars with the phone in my basement before turning on the booster and then again when powered on. I was immediately impressed given the fact that I have never had a full signal in the basement of my house. Heck, I’ve never had a full signal upstairs or outside either.

Then I recalled that I could go into field test mode on my iPhone to get a better representation of the signal strength. You can do this by manually dialing *3001#12345#* followed by a tap of the Call button. Once you do that, the signal strength bars in the upper left are replaced by a negative number. The less negative the number, the better your signal strength. For a reasonably reliable signal, the number should be less negative than -100. Ideal strength would be somewhere around -50. From the image above you can see that without the 5BARz, the signal is bad and with the 5BARz it is significantly improved. The weird thing that I’ve noticed though is that AT&T’s signal bounces around a great deal. But with this booster, I never saw a signal worse than -79.

I also tested the booster in my car. I was very curious to see if it would solve a ‘black hole’ issue on my way to and from work. There’s a short distance where the AT&T signal drops completely out. I was super surprised when I was able to get 2 bars in the area where I normally see No Service. However, on the way home on the same day, I did see a No Service message for a few seconds in that same area while using the 5BARz. Of course, this device can’t magically create a signal where one does not exist at all. So don’t think that if you live in a true dead zone that it will somehow solve that problem. But, if you just have a really weak signal, it should be able to boost it.

I’m confident that the CelLynx 5BARz Road Warrior Cell Phone Signal Booster really works. It’s pretty expensive at $300, but for people that live on the fringe coverage areas or often drive through areas with weak signals, this product will definitely help boost signals and prevent dropped calls.

Filed in categories: Reviews, Wireless

Tagged: Cellular

CelLynx 5BARz Road Warrior Cell Phone Signal Booster Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 11, 2010 at 3:14 pm.

The Plantronics Voyager Pro UC raises the bar for Bluetooth headsets and is well-deserved for all the accolades that it has received.  If you have been a Bluetooth headset user from the dawn of Bluetooth as I have, you’ll quickly realize that with the Plantronics Voyager Pro UC, this ain’t your daddy’s Bluetooth!

I am a long-time Bluetooth headset user, ever since Bluetooth was unleashed on the world.  So for many years I have received strange looks and had complete strangers talk to me because they thought I was talking to them.  I with I had a dollar for every time that I have held my hand to my ear, not to hold the Bluetooth headset still, but to visually tell those around me that I am not talking to them!  If you are a Bluetooth user, you know of which I speak.  I have worn out or given up on a dozen Bluetooth headsets, so I jumped at the chance to try the Plantronics Voyager Pro UC.

Prior to this, my favorite Bluetooth headset was the Jawbone 2.  I was more excited than a tic on a hound dog to get the original Jawbone headset, and even more excited when the Jawbone 2 came out.  The noise cancellation and ‘coolness’ factor of the Jawbone products was un-paralleled.  I mean, if you wear a Bluetooth headset, you will get looks.  So if you are gonna look like a dork, why not look like a cool dork, right!?

But after my initial giddiness wore off, the reality of wearing the Jawbone for daily use set in.  I wondered why the Jawbone headsets came with so many accessories… earloops, and earbuds, and rubber-thingies, oh my!  I found out.  Maybe it was the shape of my ears, but I could never get the darn thing to sit right on the my ear without falling off.  To be effective, you have to make sure the Jawbone touches the side of your head, and the slightest tilt of my head would cause the thing to move.

(from top:  Original Jawbone [without earloop], Jawbone 2, and Plantronics Voyager Pro UC)

But before I trash the Jawbone too much (remember, I loved that headset), every other Bluetooth headset I have ever had posed the same problem for me… the darn thing just won’t stay where it is supposed to stay.  But I always wanted to have the smallest and coolest looking headset, so I put up with the hassle of having to hold my head still to talk.

But today I am a new man!  I am a new man because I have given up my desire to look cool while wearing a Bluetooth headset.  I am happy to look like a dork, so all I care about now is how the thing works.  And if you can get over looking like an employee at the McDonald’s drive-thru, then the Voyager Pro UC is for you!

So enough pontificating… let’s dig into the nitty gritty of the Voyager Pro UC!

After 3 weeks of use, I experienced a little over 6 hours of talk time.  I can’t speak to the standby time because I use this thing every day, all day, so I never let it sit.  It is the most comfortable headset I have ever worn, and I have worn every kind/style you can think of.  It looks big on your head, but it is still so light that I honestly couldn’t remember sometimes if I had it on my head.

As you can see from the pictures above, you can wear the Voyager Pro UC on either ear and it takes about 2 seconds to flip the headset around.  I have never had a headset that I didn’t have to pull out earloops, swap earbuds, and basically hop on one foot to change it from ear to ear.  The simple design of this product is sheer joy!  Also, the earbuds are extremely soft gel, so I didn’t even have to change the earbud that came on the product… it just ‘smushes’ (technical term there) ever so softly into my ear.  It also comes with some foam covers (seen in the pics) that cover the gel earbud if you want.

The charger is a microUSB charger which fully charged my headset in about an hour and a half.  On top of the device are the volume controls.  The power button is at the bottom of the part that sits behind your ear.  I will admit that turning the device on and off while it sits on your head is a bit tricky, but I got used to it.  The answer/hang-up button is on the outside of the hing that attaches the boom mic to the ear.  The boom mic is about 3 inches long, and it seriously does look like a drive-thru headset!  I just have to keep telling myself that I am cooler than I look.  The boom mic also adjusts up and down on the side of your face so that you can aim it directly at your mouth.

Call quality, which honestly is the most important aspect to me, was outstanding.  I would even venture to say that it is better than the Jawbone products, which is saying a whole lot!  Noise cancellation was excellent, and I tried it in many different surroundings… in the car with the window down, at a basketball game in a gymnasium, etc.  I never once have had to ask the other person to speak up because I couldn’t hear, and that was a sweet surprise!

There were many times that the person I was talking to on the other end had to hold the phone away from their ear because the headset was picking up my voice so loudly.  I don’t know if you would consider that a plus or a minus, but I often had to adjust the boom away from pointing directly at my mouth so that I wasn’t blasting the eardrums of the person I was talking to.  To me, that is a testament to the power of that boom mic.

My cellphone, which is a Windows Mobile 6.1 device, announces phone calls and pop-up screen notifications on my phone, and they all sounded awesome in the earpiece of this headset.  When the headset connects with my phone, I get a beep in my ear so that I know it connected.  A high beep means that it does not see my phone and a low beep means that it connected successfully.  And I can honestly say that the headset connected with the phone every single time.  I have never had that consistency before, and it has been a wonderful thing.  In the past I would have to sometimes go into my Bluetooth settings on the phone to turn it off and then back on to get the headset to connect to the phone.  But this headset just connects to it.

When a call is coming in, it beeps several successive beeps in my ear to let me know.  This is particularly nice when you have the phone on silent and still want to know when phone calls are coming in.  And a nice touch with this headset is that when the battery is getting low, the headset announces in your ear “battery low” with a pleasant sounding female voice.

I also have voice-dialing on my cellphone, so holding down the answer/hang-up button on the headset causes my voice-dialing to be activated, which is so handy when driving or you can’t look at the phone to dial.  Also, if I press the answer/hang-up button 3 times fast then my phone will automatically dial the last number I called.  I was able to walk about 25 feet away from the phone before the headset became un-usable, and like every other Bluetooth headset I have ever used, it is better to place the phone on the same side of your body as the headset… I couldn’t put the phone in my opposite pocket without serious call degradation.

If I had to pick my biggest disappointment with the Voyager Pro UC it is the lack of wind-cancellation, or whatever you want to call it.  The headset is basically useless if you are standing in any kind of wind.  The Jawbone products are much better in this regard.

Another thing that I’ll mention is that on all my previous Bluetooth headsets there was a blinking light of some kind that was a visual indicator to you that the headset was turned on and functioning.  To me, this was always an annoyance to the people NOT wearing the headset because they had to watch the infernal blinking light.  But it was nice for the user because you could simply look at the headset to determine if it was on.  The Voyager Pro UC has a light indicator that lights up blue when turning it on and red when turning it off.  But you can’t tell by simply looking at the headset if it is on or not.  I have to actually pick it up, hold it to my ear and press the answer/hangup button once to see if I hear a beep or not.  A small annoyance, but I feel I should mention that.

In conclusion, this is the best Bluetooth headset that I have ever had.  Until this thing wears out, I won’t be using any other headset.  I am over my vain attempt to look cool and I am comfortable in my ‘geek-ness’.  This is one of those devices that I simply can’t live without, and if you try it out I think you’ll agree that what really matters is finding a Bluetooth headset that just works.  And this thing works!

UPDATE:

I completely forgot to mention the thing that sets this Plantronics Voyager Pro apart from regular Plantronics Voyager Pro headsets… the UC on the end!

This headset comes with a Bluetooth dongle that allows the headset to work with your computer to make phone calls using various telephone software packages, such as Skype.  I have tried doing this in the past with a few other headsets that promoted this ability, but it has never been as easy as this.  Seriously.

My laptop has built-in Bluetooth, but I turned it off to test this dongle with the Plantronics.  The headset came with a software CD with the PerSono software suite that provides the ability to manage the audio and sounds on the computer that work with the headset.  But I wanted to see what would happen if I just plugged the dongle in and tried it.  And it just worked.  I don’t know what to say except that I was talking on a phone call with my cellphone using the Voyager Pro, hung up, then I started up Skype and called my brother, and the headest just switched to Skype and worked.  What more could you ask for?

I also used the headset with ooVoo, another software package to make phone calls, and it worked flawlessly with ooVoo too.  So I unplugged the dongle and tried it using my built-in Bluetooth on my laptop and it worked with that as well.  I have no complaints at all, and I was quite impressed with how seemlessly it worked.  And the voice quality that I experienced using it with my cellphone was there as well when I used it on the computer.  Now, I don’t use a Bluetooth headset with my computer on a daily basis, but if I did, this headset would be my choice.  I mean, it just works.  By the way, the UC stands for “Unified Communications”, but in my book it stands for “Ultra Cool”!

UPDATE:  April 23, 2010

After a few months of normal use, my Voyager Pro UC headset developed a problem.  It wasn’t related to any of the functions, but rather a crack appeared in the curve of the rubber part that sits between the boom mic and the part behind the ear.  It became so big that I was afraid that the rubber would crack all the way around and render the headset useless.

Needless to say, I was greatly dismayed because I have come to rely on this headset for daily use with both my phone and computer.  I don’t believe that I was in any way rough with the headset in the process of removing it from my ear and placing it back on my ear numerous times a day.  But I did use it heavily every day.

I contacted Plantronics about the problem.  They didn’t give me any hassle whatsoever, and the technician was very friendly and simply gave me the address to mail it to.  I put everything back in the package, mailed it off, and 3 days later a FedEx package arrived with my new headset.

Now, I have dealt with technology companies on issues like this for years, and I must say that I was very surprised, and pleasantly so, at how quickly they responded to me without any hassle.  A+ to Plantronics.  Further evidence to me that they are a class act.  Now let’s just hope that a bunch of people don’t post Plantronics horror stories on this review!!

Filed in categories: Bluetooth Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Bluetooth Gear, Cellular, Headset

This ain’t your daddy’s Bluetooth! Plantronics Voyager Pro UC Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 23, 2010 at 9:30 am.

When Julie announced the Sound ID 400 I couldn’t wait for it to be announced.  Small, simple and packed with features like PersonalSound (enhanced listening power) and Automatic Volume Control (self-explanatory) in a nice looking package.  Well I’ve been using the headset for a little while now, and was surprised by how it performed.

The Sound ID 400 is the fourth generation bluetooth headset from Sound ID.  It is visually very similar to their previous three headsets (which I have not used personally).  It is all black with a faint Sound ID logo and only has two buttons: the Main Button and a single volume button.  In addition, there is a tiny status light on the front of it and a micro-USB charging port on the back of it (the part that rests against your cheek).  It comes with three earpieces — two in-ear sizes and an over the ear loop with a foam cover.  The box also includes a micro-USB to standard-USB cable and a wall charger with a USB port.  (I love these modular chargers since they can be used with any device.)  Personally I would have preferred a mini-USB connection on the headset so I could use the many cables I have, but I understand that micro-USB is getting more standard and is better than a proprietary connection.

The headset itself is “standard” sized at 2.1″ by .6″ and weighing in at a very light 8 grams.  The stated talk time is 7 hours and the standby time is 8 days.  I did not test these values but “standby time” may be affected by the fact that the headset turns off after a period of non-use.  Of course with it off the battery will last a long time.

As of this review the headset is only available direct from SoundID.com’s website which is curious.  It retails for $129.99 which is on the high-end.  You can get the Plantronics Voyager PRO for $85 or the Plantronics Discovery 975 for about ~$130.

The Box

Sound ID 400 Box Contents

The headset itself walks a fine line between boring and sleek, but I’m not sure which side I feel it sits on.  It has a clean matte black look with no unnecessary design elements.  It’s the type of headset that no one will ask you about and most people won’t even notice.  For the style conscious (not me) it would work for everywhere from the beach to the boardroom without looking out-of-place.  From a functionality point of view it has some huge problems.  The first problem is no doubt touted as a feature: the single volume button.  There is no up or down, just up.  When you reach the max volume it cycles around to the bottom and so on.  It’s not a deal breaker, but it is odd at best and annoying most of the time.  Simply adding a second volume button would not have any negative impact on style and would improve function.  Having said that, the Automatic Volume Control really does seem to work, and I’ve not yet had to adjust the volume on a call.

Then there’s the Main Button.  The Main Button, the one that answers and ends calls, pair it with your phone and basically do everything non-volume related was clearly placed by a team that did not have ears.  The Main Button sits on the end of the headset opposite the microphone and in order to press it you have to wedge your fingers between the headset and your ear.  Maybe my ear has a weird cartilage setup, but when I want to press this button it involves squishing my ear back and wiggling the headset.  It’s quite annoying, and honestly if I had purchased the headset this problem alone would have caused me to return it.

It may seem like TMI, but it does apply to this review:  I am a lazy groomer, and as such I do not shave every day.  The way the Sound ID 400 sits against my cheek when I open my mouth to talk, yawn or chew the stubble rubs against the headset and makes a scratchy sound.  It’s annoying.  Now, I have a fat face so if you have a thinner face it may not rub as much.  Of course women (who aren’t in the circus) won’t have this problem.  I have never used the Jawbone, so I don’t know if this happens with it as well since it sits against the users’ cheek.  But, for this review it’s a negative and almost makes me want to just shave that small patch on my cheek each day.  Almost.

From a comfort perspective this is a very comfortable headset.  I use the smaller of the two in-ear loops and it fits perfectly.  I can shake my head till I almost black out and this headset isn’t going anywhere.  Also, it feels quite durable and I wouldn’t hesitate to throw it in my pocket or bag without worrying that it will break.

So of course the big question is how well does the headset perform?  This is a mixed bag.  For the wearer, the quality is excellent and very clear.  For the person on the other end of the call, it depends.  Some callers I spoke with said it sounded like I was in a tunnel or elevator and things had an echo.  Other times everything sounded fine.  In a quiet environment the headset works very well, but as the background noise increases, the quality decreases.  It features dual microphones (the main one and one on the opposite side) designed to detect and eliminate background noise, but I can’t see that they offer anything above a single microphone headset.    My other headset is the awesome Joby Zivio Boom so that’s what I was comparing to (I just found out that the Joby Zivio Boom is discontinued!).  There is a clear difference between the Sound ID and the Zivio, and especially when in a moving vehicle with background noise the Sound ID tends to be very distorted at times.  Here are two examples of each with background noise (traveling 60mph in the car) and no background noise.

Sound ID 400 with NO background noise (33KB .WAV File)

Sound ID 400 WITH background noise (66KB .WAV File)

Zivio with NO background noise (33KB .WAV File)

Zivio WITH background noise (225KB .WAV File)

I have also found that about 75% of the time when a call connects I hear a very short but loud burst of static in the headset.  It’s really annoying, but I have not been able to identify when or why it happens.  It does not happen on my Zivio, and does not happen all the time.  I can go a day or two without the static, then the next day it’s static city.  After over a week of use, it’s now at the point where I cringe when I’m placing a call in anticipation of the static.

The Sound ID 400 does offer some unique features such as PersonalSound, Environmental Mode, NoiseNavigation and Automatic Volume Control.  Notice I said “unique” and not “cool” or “useful”.

PersonalSound just makes everything sound increasingly “echoy” and really is an odd feature.  It just makes things sound like it’s been electronically enhanced (as it has).  I suppose it could be useful if you’re in a really loud environment, but then you would just want to increase the volume instead.

Environmental Mode is something that seems great on paper, but just doesn’t work.  When you’re wearing your headset and not on a call if you hold the volume button for about two seconds it activates Environmental Mode.  This enables the microphone on the headset and plays it through the earpiece.  This would be a great feature, except for the noticeable and increasingly annoying hiss that also plays.  In fact, turning it off after using it for just a minute is an amazing relief.  I don’t quite feel like shouting “THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS“, but it’s close.  If the hiss weren’t there, it would be an awesome feature.  As it is, I’ll never use it.  Also, when the microphone is enabled our old friend “stubble scratch” shows up again since the microphone is activated and rubbing against my cheek.

NoiseNavigation uses dual microphones on the headset (the main one against the cheek and one on the back by the Main Button) to optimize sound and remove background noise.  I can’t say if this works or not, but background noise is fairly well controlled.  If it weren’t for the echo sound of the headset itself, it would be easier to tell how well background noise is removed.

As previously mentioned, Automatic Volume Control does seem to work well and I’ve not had to adjust the volume since I started using it.  This is actually a really nice feature and I hope it starts showing up in other headsets.

One “quirk” I found is that the Sound ID 400 shows up as SOUND ID 300 on my Verizon Wireless Touch Pro 2.  It works fine and definitely IS a Sound ID 400, but it’s just strange.  What’s even more strange is that on my laptop it shows up correctly as SOUND ID 400.  I’ve added and removed it and it always shows up the same way.

To round out the list of negatives, the Sound ID 400 cannot activate Voice Command and cannot reject a call.  These are both very important features for anyone who uses their phone while driving.  Voice Command has become very useful to me and rejecting a call is just a nice feature that is standard on almost every other headset.

I truly do not intend this review to just bash the Sound ID 400, but honestly for a fourth generation product it is a huge disappointment.  Having read some other reviews on the headset it is possible that I have a lemon, but really the design elements (awful button placement and single volume button) poor performance, incorrect bluetooth name and call connect static are just not excusable for a mature product.  Personally I will not be using this headset anymore and will probably leave it in my car as an emergency headset.  I was really looking forward to this product after the initial Gadgeteer spotlight, and am quite disappointed by the results.  I cannot recommend this headset as there are better choices on the market.

Filed in categories: Bluetooth Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Bluetooth Gear, Cellular, Phone

Sound ID 400 Bluetooth Headset Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 22, 2010 at 11:21 am.

I’ve been a big fan of Palm Treo smartphones for quite awhile. Since I purchased my very first smartphone (Treo 650), I’ve been using one as my main phone on and off for over three years now. During most of that time, I’ve been a Palm OS user, but I have also used Windows Mobile Treos during that period too. We’ve all watched the slow evolution of Treo hardware and even slower evolution of software – at least on the Palm OS side, throughout the past several years. That’s why I tend to be an on again, off again Treo user. I get bored with either the hardware or the software and get the itch to try something new for awhile. I really liked the Treo 800w and was looking forward to an unlocked GSM version of that model. But instead of doing that, Palm decided to release the Palm Treo Pro. Let’s check it out…

Hardware Specifications

Operating System: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition
Processor: Qualcomm MSM7201 400MHz
Memory: 256MB user memory (100MB user storage), 128MB program memory
Display: 320 x 320 pixel transfective color TFT touchscreen
Radio: HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS/GSM radio
Tri-band UMTS – 850MHz, 1900MHz, 2100MHz
Quad-band GSM – 850/900/1800/1900
Wi-Fi: 802.11b/g with WPA, WPA2, and 801.1x authentication
GPS: Built-in GPS
Bluetooth: Version: 2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate
Digital Camera: 2.0 megapixels with up to 8x digital zoom and video capture
Expansion: microSDHC cards (up to 32GB supported)
Battery: 1500 mAh Rechargeable lithium-ion, Talk time: up to 5.0 hours, Standby time: up to 250 hours
Size: 2.36″ (W) x 4.49″ (L) x 0.53″ (D); weighs
Weight: 4.69 oz

Package Contents

Palm Treo Pro smartphone
Rechargeable battery
AC power charger (100-240 volt, 1A power cable)
Micro USB sync / charge cable
Headset
Stylus
Get Started Guide

Design and Style

First let’s have a look at the Pro and a few of its siblings.

On the Left, you see the Treo 680, in the middle is the new Treo Pro and on the Right is the Centro.
It’s easy to see that this new Treo Pro more closely resembles the Centro, and not the 680.

The Treo Pro is available in any color you like, as long as it’s Black ) Shiny Black. So shiny, that I had a difficult time taking decent photos of it.

The face of the phone has a nice touch screen color display. This is Palm’s first phone that has a flush mount display. I have to say that I do like the lack of a bezel.

The back of the phone is very sleek, with the Palm logo and ring around the camera lens in chrome. There’s a small speaker grill on the back, along with the stylus silo in the bottom corner. The shiny plastic is a magnet for smudges, but appears to be scratch resistant.

To gain access to the SIM card slot and microSD slot, you have to remove the entire back cover of this phone. It is an understatement to say that this is not an easy task. The first time I wrestled with the darn thing for 30 minutes and was completely frustrated until I thought to use one of those little grippy rubber mat things for helping you remove a lid from a jar. Only by using it, was I able to remove the cover. Grrrrrrr…

Below the display is a panel of navigation, application and function buttons. Let’s start with the outside buttons and work our way inward. On either side, there is a small round button with LED illuminated edges. On the Left is the standard Call Send button and on the Right is the Call End button. These buttons are slightly domed and are easy find blindly with your thumb.

There are four backlit application buttons, that surround the center 5-way navigation button. These app buttons are flat, have very shallow travel and provide minimal to no  tactile feedback. The center button has the best tactile feedback of all the buttons on this phone and works well.

Like all Treos, the Pro has a QWERTY keyboard. And like the Centro, the Pro’s keyboard has clear plastic keycaps. Although the keyboard is pretty flat, it works just fine and I had no problem with its size or spacing. I really don’t care for the clear keys though. Light glares on them, making it hard to find punctuation characters. In my opinion, the keyboard and application buttons are a step down from what the 800w offers.

Top to bottom: Centro, Treo Pro, Treo 680

The first thing that I noticed about this phone was how thin it was. It is the thinnest (and some would say sexiest…) Treo to date. In hand, the Pro feels extremely solid and comfortable. My gadgeteer squeeze test yielded no flexing or creaking. The only part that rattles when you shake this phone is the mute button.

On the left side, there is a long thin rocker button that controls volume levels. This button sits almost flush with the case and has weak tactile feedback. Below it is the camera launch / shutter button, which is slightly raised and has decent tactile feedback.

On the opposite side, you’ll find an infrared port and WiFi button. This button is very small, sits flush with the case and has pretty much no tactile feedback at all. If WiFi is turned off, pressing the button will power it on and automatically connect to your
last used access point. If it’s already on, pressing the button will bring up the connections dialog box. To turn off WiFi, you can do so through the Today screen.

On the bottom of the phone, you’ll find the new style micro USB power / sync connector that Palm started using with the 800w. There’s also a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack. Yay, nice addition! Palm even includes earbuds with a built in microphone and a call answer / end button. Too bad you can’t use that same button to pause music while playing though.

On the top edge of the Pro, you’ll find the mute switch and radio power / display button. Pressing this button once will toggle the display on / off. Holding it down for several seconds will toggle power to the GSM radio. Surprisingly, this button will not completely power down the device though. Actually, there isn’t a way to power off the Treo Pro besides removing the back cover and the battery. In my opinion this is really lame! I might not complain that much about it if it were easy to remove the back cover, but that’s not the case at all. Far from it.

Like I mentioned earlier, the Treo Pro’s display is flush with the face of the device. It’s crisp and bright. As a touch screen it is responsive and finger friendly.

One very cool new feature of this Treo is the screensaver. While the display is toggled off, the time of day and date are displayed in monochrome. I love this feature because I carry my phone with me when I go on walks. I used to always have to press a button to wake the phone up to see the time. Now I just look at the display and it’s there in big letters, easy to see.

In addition to the time, small icons will appear while in screensaver mode to alert you to missed calls and text messages. For some odd reason, missed alarm notifications and voice mails aren’t shown. Go figure.

Camera

I hope you haven’t been holding your breath, waiting for me to say that the Treo Pro has the best camera of any phone ever! If so, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but the built in camera is just as crappy as every Treo that has come before it. Am I being harsh?
Maybe just a little… As is, the camera is useful for those times when no other camera is available. Here are a few sample pics:

Click thumbnail to view full sized image

As you can see, the images are a bit fuzzy and flat looking.

WiFi

The Treo 800w was the first Treo to include WiFi, and the Pro also includes it. I had no problems using it at all. It connected quickly to my access point when the side button was pressed. Surfing with Pocket Internet Explorer felt pretty snappy all things considered.

GPS

The Treo Pro includes a built in GPS that you can use with Google Maps and Windows Live Search which are already included on the phone. TeleNav GPS Navigator comes pre-installed on the Pro too. You have to pay a monthly fee ($10) to use it after the trial period has expired though. This GPS can also work with other third party navigation apps such as CoPilot.

Bonus Software

In addition to all the regular Windows Mobile applications, a few extra goodies have been added to the Pro. First of all, the Today screen has some added functionality.

You’ll notice the icon in the upper Right corner…

Pressing it will bring up the currently running tasks list. You can press the big Red X to close all running applications, or you can close individual processes in the list. Tapping the wrench icon will bring up the regular Task Manager application and tapping the memory chip will bring up the Windows Mobile memory settings app.

Clicking the communications status bar on the Today screen will launch the Communications manager application. This is a quick and dirty little app that has on/off switches for all your com settings.

In the GPS section of this review, I mentioned that the TeleNav GPS application is included on the Pro. Another application that is included and installed is WorldMate Pro. This a really nice travel app that allows you to check weather at different locations, flight status, various converters, etc.

Other software additions include Sprite Backup software and a streaming media application from HTC.

Overall Performance

The Treo Pro doesn’t feel nearly as snappy as I remember the 800w feeling. I wouldn’t say that it is dog slow, but I get a sense of slight lagging when I load and switch between applications. I’ve also noticed some overall wonkiness at times with the device that occurs when I’ve tried to load a large eBook or video. Instead of just killing the viewer or reader app, it will make the whole system unstable. Resetting the device requires (you guessed it…) that you remove the back cover. Bleh.

I found video playback through the Windows Mobile media player to be hit and miss. Sometimes the whole phone would freeze up or refuse to load a video. Other times, they would play, but with considerable missed frames or with hurky jerkiness.

Call reception and call audio quality seemed to be as good as I would expect from AT&T – the GSM carrier that I tested this phone with. I had the normal issues that I deal with all the time, some calls that don’t go through when you dial them, static, etc. Volume levels were definitely loud enough for me though, no complaints there.

As for battery life, I didn’t do any extensive testing as I often had the phone plugged into USB to sync and install applications. During those days when I wasn’t installing or syncing, I could get away with around 2 full days between charges.

Conclusion

I wanted to really like the Treo Pro, I really did. Heck, I was so sure that I would love it, that I bought this device with my own cash ($550) instead of just trying to get a review unit! I really regret buying it now though… I have to say that this is the first Treo that I’ve purchased that has disappointed me so badly. Although it looks very nice in my opinion, the way it performs is very
underwhelming. Maybe it’s the fault of Windows Mobile or an underpowered CPU. I’m really not sure. If the Pro were running Palm OS, I wouldn’t like it any better… I suppose that the biggest reason why I don’t like this phone though is the buttons. That might seem like a trivial reason, but I’m all about how easy it is to use a device and the buttons on the Treo Pro are crummy. If only Palm had used the 800w design for their unlocked GSM phone instead of this one. I think my days of cheerleading for Palm are numbered unless they do something great soon. And unfortunately, I really don’t see that happening…

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related, Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

Palm Treo Pro Smartphone Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 24, 2008 at 8:00 am.

Here’s a first – a mobile phone with a built in Bluetooth headset. LG’s Decoy for Verizon is a cool little slider phone that has a headset dock on the backside of the phone. Now you’ll have no excuse for hands-free talking while driving.

Hardware Specifications

Technology: CDMA
Frequency: 1.9 GHz CDMA PCS, 800 MHz CDMA (Digital Dual-Band)
Data Transmission: High-Speed EVDO
Dimensions: 4.01″ (H) x 1.97″ (W) x 0.67″ (D)
Weight: 4.05 oz.
Display: 262K Color TFT, 240 x 320 Pixels, 2.20″
Standard Battery: 800 mAh
Usage Time: Up to 230 Minutes (3 Hours & 50 Minutes)
Standby Time: Up to 330 Hours (13 Days & 18 Hours)

Package Contents

Decoy phone
Standard Li-Ion battery
Travel charger
Integrated Bluetooth headset
Bluetooth headset charging adapter
Bluetooth headset cavity cover
User guide
Quick reference guide

The Decoy has a sleek design that really appeals to me. The front looks like liquid silver with its glossy mirror finish and the back is a Blue with a slight rubberized feel.

The front of this phone has four buttons and a 5-way navigation joystick in the center. The joystick has circular ridges on the top, to keep your thumb from slipping off as you use it. It’s not difficult to use the joystick, but I think I prefer a regular 5-way navigation pad.

On the back, you find the camera lens and the cover for the Bluetooth dock. This is what the phone looks like when you don’t want to use the included headset. More about this in a minute.

The front of the Decoy slides up to reveal the backlit keypad. The keys are slightly bumpy, making them easy to press. They also have good tactile feedback. The center button on the top row that looks like a microphone will launch the voice command application when pressed. Using this feature, you can dial by name or number by just saying “Call Jeanne Webster”. The voice command feature is also launched by pressing the main button on the Bluetooth headset.

On the left side of the phone, there is a volume up/down button and the USB charging port, which is protected by a plastic cover.

On the right side, you’ll find a microSD flash card slot and the camera application launch / shutter button. There’s also a 2.5mm headphone jack and lanyard attachment point.

When open, the Decoy is still a pretty slim and compact phone.

In hand it feels solid and comfortable to hold.

Of course, the most interesting feature of this phone is the built in Bluetooth headset. To use it, you remove the plastic cover, which reveals a built in holder that holds the headset and even charges it while it’s docked.

The headset itself is pretty small and only has the one ear pad size, meaning that it probably will not fit everyone. For control, it has one main call start / end button on the face, which doubles as the pairing and power button. It also has a volume up/down button on the top edge.

A separate dock is included that you can connect to the USB AC adapter for charging.

The headset then snaps easily into the cavity on the back of the phone. Pairing is simple and another nice feature is that when the headset is docked on the back of the phone, its battery status shows up next to the Bluetooth icon on the top status bar of the display.

The phone’s interface should be familiar to you, if you’re a Verizon customer. It’s not much different from the LG Chocolate 3 which I just reviewed. The Decoy includes all the same V Cast features which allow you to view video and download/buy music. One interesting thing I noticed was the fact that I was unable to play .MP3 songs that I copied on to a microSD card. This worked just fine on the Chocolate 3… I tried to buy a song using V Cast, but no matter how many times I tried, it kept erroring out during download – even though I had a full signal.

One special application included on this phone is a chat client that supports AIM, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo!.

As far as using this phone for its main tasks – making and receiving calls, I was impressed by call clarity and volume. I also liked the way it shows very large numbers when you manually key in a phone number. That makes it easier to see when you’ve made a mistake if you are outside in full sunlight.

Having a designated place to store a Bluetooth headset is very cool, but buying this phone without a new contract or an upgrade is pretty expensive at $350. As an alternative, I’d be more likely to probably just buy a less expensive phone and a separate headset. You can save considerably (right now, $200) if you buy this phone with a 2yr contract, though. If you’re going that route, I’d say that this is a sleek phone with a cool feature at a decent price.

Filed in categories: Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

LG Decoy V Cast Phone (LG-VX8610) Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 25, 2008 at 9:30 pm.

I’ve been an AT&T customer for several years now. The main reason being that I can easily switch SIM cards between the various mobile phones that I have the opportunity to review. This convenience has been great, but if I am honest, call quality and audio clarity on the AT&T network really isn’t the best… at least not in my area. Also, AT&T has not rolled out 3G here in little old Columbus, Indiana. Funny thing is that Verizon’s 3G (EVDO) network is already here. So, I’m going to try some Verizon phones and see if I might like to switch carriers. LG’s Chocolate 3 is my first Verizon feature phone to test. Let’s take a look.

Hardware Specifications

Technology: CDMA
Frequency: 1.9 GHz CDMA PCS, 800 MHz CDMA (Digital Dual-Band)
Data Transmission: EVDO
Dimensions: 3.87″(H) x 1.94″(W) x 0.64″(D)
Weight: 3.36 oz.
Display: Internal LCD: 260K Color TFT, 320 x 240 Pixels, 2.2″ External LCD: 260K Color TFT, 176 x 220 Pixels, 1.76″
Standard Battery: 800 mAh
Usage Time: Up to 270 Minutes (4 Hours & 30 Minutes)
Standby Time: Up to 350 Hours (14 Days & 14 Hours)

Package Contents

LG Chocolate 3 Phone
Standard Li-Polymer Battery
Wall/USB Charger
User Guide
Quick Reference Guide

It’s been awhile since I’ve used a flip phone, not to mention a non-smartphone. I’ve actually been looking forward to using a basic phone again. The Chocolate 3 isn’t exactly a basic phone, but it’s easy to use, small and very inexpensive (or even free) when you either re-up or sign up for a new Verizon account.

The Chocolate 3 is available in Blue or Black. I was sent the Black version to review. It’s really more of a shiny Charcoal color though. The top part of the flip is glossy and shiny, so it does attract smudges and finger prints. The back part has a thin coating of rubber, which helps you keep a firm grip on the phone during use.

What I really like about this phone is the generously sized outside LCD display and the front navigation wheel.

That front display is color, backlit and can be used to access your media (music and photos), as well as check your messages and calender. I do wish that the clock was visible at all times instead of needing to press a button to see it. But that’s not a big deal.

The navigation wheel isn’t a touch wheel. It actually spins like a tiny record or can be pressed to cycle through the main menu options. The center of the wheel acts as a select button.

The 2.0 megapixel camera lens is also located on the front of the phone. Don’t count on this phone to be your only camera… the pictures it can take aren’t too great.

The Left side of the phone has a 3.5mm earphone jack (hidden under a rubber plug), volume up/down buttons, voice command button and a micro USB port for charging the phone. The USB port is protected by a narrow plastic cover that swivels to allow access.

On the other side of the phone, there’s a microSD card slot, music application launcher button and the lock button. Like the USB port, the microSD slot is protected by a narrow cover. Every time I would open either cover, I worried it would snap off.

Flipping the phone open reveals a flat backlit keypad. I’ve never been a real fan of flat keyboards, but I haven’t had any issues using this one. All of the buttons are generously sized and have good tactile feedback. It is a bit difficult to tell exactly where each number is located if you’re not looking at the keypad though.

In hand, the Chocolate 3 feels light and comfortable. When closed it fits easily in any of my pockets, and when open, it feels like a full size phone that goes from your ear to your lips. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to hold a mobile phone between my ear and shoulder ;o) Try that with a Centro!

Making and receiving calls

As a phone, the Chocolate does a better job than most of the AT&T phones that I own. Call quality is great and I didn’t have any issues with dropped calls, audio anomalies or volume problems etc. It was quite nice not to have to say “are you there?” at least once during every conversation like I normally do…

I enjoyed using the voice command key to make calls, play back songs, etc. No voice training necessary, just press the button and follow the voice prompts.

Software

Coming from using various Palm and Windows Mobile smartphones, I was afraid that I would seriously miss not having the ability to install applications. In all actuality, this phone has made me feel surprisingly liberated. The only application that I truly miss is an eBook reader.

The user interface on the Chocolate is simple and easy to navigate. There are just 9 main menu options, that all fit on one screen.

The Chocolate is a music phone and has a decent built in audio player that allows you to control playback while the phone is either open or closed. You can listen to tunes through earbuds, through the built in speaker or using the built in FM transmitter, which is a cool feature to have built into a phone. Music can be stored on a microSD card or by downloading through the V Cast Music Rhapsody service and saved in the 1GB of internal memory. One thing I did notice is that you if you opt to save your .MP3 or .WMA files to an microSD card, you can’t save them in folders. From what I found, songs have to be dumped into the root of the card in order to be recognized. I did not try any type of syncing software with my PC though… You can connect the phone to your PC via the included USB cable and is supposed to automatically install a client application on your PC.

V Cast also allows you to watch video clips and TV shows. I was surprised at how smooth video playback was, even when I only had a 1 bar signal. While I’m not sure I’d want to watch an entire episode of Heroes on the Chocolate’s little display, I’d not have any issues watching a few clips here and there when I needed to kill some time.

VZ Navigator, which is a map and navigation service provided by Verizon is included on the phone and is very cool. You can pay by the month ($9.99) or by the day ($2.99) to use this feature. It has turn by turn voice prompts, movie search, maps and traffic, and local search features.

Conclusion

I’ve really enjoyed using the LG Chocolate 3 phone for the last week or so. I found it easy to use and very compact. I like being able to just slip it into one of my jeans pockets when I’m on the go. My favorite feature is the large outside display. Too bad that it doesn’t have an eBook reader, if it did, I’d seriously think about using it as my main phone. It’s a good phone with a nice set of features (especially if you like music) and doesn’t cost much at all if you’re upgrading.

Filed in categories: Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

LG Chocolate 3 V Cast Music Phone (LG-VX8560) Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 23, 2008 at 10:10 pm.

It’s been close to two years since I had a new HP iPAQ smartphone in my hands. The last one was the hw6945. Their latest device is the iPAQ 910. This QUAD band GSM phone has a nice collection of features including a QWERTY thumb keyboard, a camera, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, etc. But will this loaner unit be one that I will want to buy for myself? Let’s find out…

Hardware Specifications

Processor: Marvell PXA270 Processor, 416 MHz
Memory: 128 MB SDRAM main memory for running applications, 256 MB flash ROM
Operating system: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
Integrated wireless: Integrated Quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and Tri Band UMTS/HSDPA at up to 3.6/7.2 Mbps; Integrated WiFi – 802.11 b/g with WPA2 security; Integrated Bluetooth v2.0 with EDR; Integrated multi-mode GPS navigation with Google Maps
Display: 2.46-inch transmissive TFT 65,000 color 320 x 240 pixel touch panel display with LED backlight
Built-in camera: 3 Megapixel, autofocus, 4X digital zoom
Battery: 1940 mAh Lithium Ion rechargeable
Expansion: Micro SD card slot
Audio: Integrated microphone, receiver, speaker and mini-USB wired stereo headset
Dimensions: 114 x 64 x 15 mm (4. 5″ x 2.5″ x 0.6″)
Weight: 154g (5.4 oz)

Package Contents

iPAQ 910 smartphone
Standard battery
AC Adapter
USB synchronization cable
Stylus
Wired stereo headphones
Getting Started guide
HP iPAQ Companion CD

Hardware Design

The iPAQ has a shiny Black plastic front, with a chrome colored band that forms a U around the sides and top of the device. The sides are made of a smooth non-shiny Black plastic, while the back of the phone has a thin rubber-like coating.

Above the display is a LED that is used for battery level / charging status and notifications. Turning the phone over, you’ll notice the 3MP camera lens, flash, self-portrait mirror, speaker and stylus.

On the Left side, you will find the volume up/down button and voice commander / notes application launch button. Below those two buttons is the MicroSD slot and a mini USB connector, both of which are covered by a protective rubber flap. The buttons on both sides of the device are flat and somewhat difficult to locate just by feel.

On the opposite side, there is a scroll wheel, OK button and the camera application launch button.

The power button is located on the top edge of the phone, along with a reset switch and a GPS external antenna port. I like that HP included the reset switch. Most devices these days require you to remove the battery to do a soft reset.

The navigation key layout and QWERTY keyboard are roomy and comfortable to use. The domed center select button is easy to locate with your thumb. Around it is a plastic ring that can be pressed up/down, Left and Right. There are the normal Green and Red call send and end buttons, along with buttons for the Left and Right menu soft keys. There is also a button to launch the calendar, start menu, email and OK. The thumb keyboard keys are dome shaped and easy to press. All of the keys have good tactile feedback and are backlit, making them easy to see in dim environments. I didn’t have any issues or complaints using the keyboard for normal text input and text messaging.

The display is one of the nicer ones I’ve seen in awhile. Although it is small, it is crisp, bright and easy to read – indoors. Outside in full sunlight, it’s pretty much impossible to read unless you have the brightness cranked to the maximum setting and you use your hand to shield the sun from the screen. For touchscreen use, I found the screen to be responsive to stylus input and finger presses.

Size and Feel

I prefer phones that have a readily accessible keyboard. Phones like the Palm Treo and Centro are ones that I usually gravitate towards because I find it easier to press a physical button, than a touch screen to make calls and do other tasks. I’ve been using a Centro for several months now and before that, it was the Treo 680. Device size is important to me because I don’t wear a belt case or anything like that. I usually just slip my phone in my back pocket or even just carry it around in my hand when I go from location to location during my day job.

Here’s how the 910 (Center) compares to the Treo 680 (on the Left) and the Centro (on the Right) width-wise.

Although the iPAQ is wider than those two smartphones, it’s the thinnest of the three (it’s on the bottom of the stack in the image above).

This phone feels smaller in hand than the Treo 680 due to the thinness. But the width is definitely noticeable when compared to the Centro, which easily slips into most of my pants pockets. The iPAQ isn’t as portable (for me) in that regard.

As far as sturdiness, the iPAQ feels solid in hand. It doesn’t creak or crack when you squeeze the sides and has only a very slight button rattle when you shake it.

Camera

The 910 has a built in 3MP camera with a flash. Here are some sample images that I snapped using the maximum resolution of 2048 x 1536:

Click thumbnail to see full size image

As you can see, the images aren’t the best. They are a little fuzzy and one of the indoor shots has a slight green cast to it. I wouldn’t want to rely on the camera to be my only means of snapping pictures, but in a pinch, it does ok.

Performance as a PDA, WiFi web browser and a Phone

I didn’t have any problems using the iPAQ as a PDA. System performance is snappy and applications launched quickly. I even watched a few movies and videos and was happy using this smartphone as a media player. Of course the screen is very small, but video was smooth and easy to view.

Using the built in WiFi to surf web pages with Pocket Internet Explorer is quick and easy. Google maps works very well via WiFi too.

As far as using the iPAQ as a phone, I didn’t have any issues with dropped calls or signal strength with AT&T. The 910 is an unlocked GSM phone with 3G capability, but I couldn’t test 3G as it’s not yet rolled out in my area. The only issue that I noticed right away was that the volume level was too low in the earphone. Using it as a speakerphone wasn’t a problem for me, but when I wanted to talk normally using the built-in earphone, I found myself straining to hear the other person – even when I had the volume set to the max.

Battery

The HP iPAQ 910 has a high capacity 1940mAh Lithium Ion battery, which sounds great as most phones do not have batteries that large. That said, I didn’t find that the 910 lasted any longer per charge than other smartphones. I didn’t do any special battery drain tests, but with normal use (a few calls, some PIM access, a few email checks per day, ebook reading here and there), I was only able to get about 2 days per charge.

Software

In addition to the regular Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional software bundle, you also get a few other goodies that include:

HP PrintSmart – Print via Bluetooth and WiFi to HP printers
Sun’s Java VM – Run Java apps on your iPAQ
Voice Commander – Allows you to control your smartphone with your own voice commands. Doesn’t require special training
Remote Desktop Mobile – VNC client
Internet Connection Sharing – Phone tethering application
HP iPAQ GPS Position Accelerator – Downloads satellite data for faster GPS access. Still need a 3rd party GPS mapping and navigation software to take advantage of the built in GPS feature

Conclusion

I’ve used the HP iPAQ 910 for a week or so now and have compiled the following list of likes and dislikes…

Likes:
QWERTY keyboard – I like the feel of the domed keys
5-way nav button – Doesn’t feel cheesy like some nav buttons
Scroll wheel – I like the location on the Right side of device
Display – Bright and crisp
MicroSD – Easy access and SDHC compatible
Stylus – Telescoping, but sturdy and thicker than most

Dislikes:
Low call volume
No GPS included mapping / navigation software
No built in InfraRed port
Width of phone
Fuzzy camera snapshots

When it comes down to it, I like this device as a PDA, but as a phone, the low call volume is what really kills it for me. I don’t usually use a Bluetooth headset, so if I have to strain to hear someone talking even in a relatively quiet area, that’s going to be a real problem for me. For that reason, I won’t be using purchasing an HP iPAQ 910 for myself. Let’s hope that HP comes out with a successor to the 910 that is a bit smaller physically and better volume. If they do, I’ll be very interested in trying it out as I’ve always liked HP iPAQ devices.

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related, Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Phone, Smartphone, Windows Mobile, Wireless

HP iPAQ 910 Business Messenger Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 21, 2008 at 5:00 pm.

The Palm Treo 800w smartphone is Sprint’s latest Treo with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. It’s been designed for business users and operates on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network, with support for EvDO Rev. A data speeds. It’s also the first Treo with built in WiFi.

Unfortunately for me, I don’t live in the EvDO Rev. A coverage area, so I wasn’t be able to test how well this device performs with broadband speeds. I will tell you that Sprint claims that the 800w provides users in the EvDO Rev. A coverage area with expected average upload speeds of 350-500 kbps (versus 50 –70 kbps with EV-DO Rev. 0) and download speeds of between 600kbps and 14mbps (from 400-700kbps). Peak download data rates increase to 3.1 Mbps (from 2.4 Mbps), and peak upload data rates increase to 1.8 Mbps (from 153 kbps).

Hardware Specifications

Operating System: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition
Processor: +TI OMAP 2431
Memory: 256MB user memory (~ 170MB user storage), 128MB program memory
Display: 320 x 320 pixel transfective color TFT touchscreen, supports 16-bit color (65k colors)
Radio: Qualcomm MSM6800A chipset supporting EvDO Rev A and mobile receive diversity
Digital Dual-band: CDMA (1900mHz and 800MHz)
WiFi: 802.11b/g
GPS: Built-in GPS (standalone and assisted); Sprint Navigation
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.0+ A2DP
Digital Camera: 2.0 megapixels with 1280×1024 resolution and 2x zoom
Expansion Slot: microSD card
Battery: 1150 mAh Rechargeable lithium-ion, Talk time: up to 4.0 hours, Standby time: up to 200 hours
Size: 2.28 x 4.41 x 0.73 in
Weight: 5.0 ounces

Package Contents

Palm Treo 800w smartphone
Rechargeable battery
AC power charger
Micro USB sync / charge cable
Headset
Stylus
ActiveSync Software installation CD
Basics Guide
Get Started Guide

Design and Style

As soon as I took the 800w out of the box, I was struck by its small size. It’s shape and size is similar to the Centro which I like quite a bit more than the previous design of past Treos.

Left to Right: Palm Treo 750, Palm Treo 800w, Palm Centro

Although the 800w doesn’t look like it’s much smaller in than the Treo 750 in the image above, it is noticeably so in hand. It’s both thinner and flatter and feels very comfortable in your hand.

Top to bottom: Palm Centro, Palm Treo 800w, Palm Treo 750

A smartphone stackup shows that the 800w is a bit thinner than the other two devices.

At the time of this review, the 800w is only available in one color. It is Grayish Blue, with the back half of the case having a rubberized texture for better gripping. For the most part, the updated design of this phone really hasn’t changed that much from previous Treo’s. It still has the familiar QWERTY keyboard, 5-way navigation button and a camera on the back. One big difference is that the display is 320 x 320 pixels. That’s a big improvement over previous Windows Mobile Treo’s, that were only 240 x 240.

The display is crisp and vibrant, but I wouldn’t mind if it were just a little bit brighter. The image above is at max brightness and was snapped without flash.

The backlit keyboard is easy to see and type on. I like this keyboard better than the one on my Centro due to the fact that the keys do not have shiny clear bubble tops which are sometimes hard to see. The application, control and navigation buttons are also superior to the Centro. They feel more robust and I really like the small Left and Right buttons that map to the bottom screen functions. It’s easy to hold this phone in one hand and use the thumb of that hand to access all the buttons to make a call or launch a program. All of the buttons have excellent tactile feedback, so you’ll know if you’ve actually pressed the button.

On the Left side of the phone, you’ll find the volume adjustment buttons and a Voice recorder launch button. Then on the Right side there is the stylus slot, an IR port and the MicroSD card slot that is accessible without needing to remove the battery cover.

Along the top edge of the phone, you’ll find the ringer on/off button and the one-touch WiFi button. Yes, this is the first Treo to have built-in WiFi. Hold the button down for a few seconds and it will turn on WiFi and show you a list of available networks that you can connect to. Hold the button down again and it will disconnect from any connected network and will turn the WiFi feature off.

Take a look at the bottom of the 800w and you’ll find an unusual sight for a Treo… The Universal / Athena sync and charge connector has been replaced with a Micro USB connector.

If you haven’t seen a Micro USB connector before, here’s how it compares to a Mini USB connector. The Mini is on the Left, while the Micro is on the right. I’m a little disappointed that the Mini USB wasn’t used as most people have several extra Mini cables hanging around that they could use to sync and charge. This special connector is also used for the included headset. That’s right, the 800w does not have a 3.5 or 2.5mm earphone jack. Bummer.

Camera

Treo’s have not been known for their fantastic photography prowess, and that hasn’t changed with the 800w. Although the resolution has been increased to 2 megapixels, the images it can snap are mediocre at best. Great for snapping when it’s the only camera you have handy, but that’s about the extent of it. Here are a couple examples to check out…

Click thumbnail to view full sized image

As you can see, the images are only so-so. They have good color, but are not every sharp. You also can’t get too close to your subject… as in macro shots. Which for me is one of the more useful uses for a mobile phone camera. I like to snap info out of books or magazines instead of writing things down. No joy doing that with the 800w.

Overall Performance

The Treo 800w feels very responsive even when there are quite a few applications loaded. It helps that this Treo has more memory that previous models. There’s just a very slight lag when an application loads, but once loaded, switching between them is very quick.

I was able to watch some videos using the Windows Media player and was happy with the performance.

Call quality is clear and volume levels are loud enough for me. Reception seemed fine, but during most of my testing, I was roaming on Verizon.

As for battery life, I didn’t do any real testing as I had the phone plugged into USB off and on to install applications. The battery does have a lower capacity than some previous Treos, but the talk time and standby time are listed as pretty close to the Sprints prior Windows Mobile Treo.

Software

In addition to all the regular Windows Mobile applications, Palm and Sprint have added some of their own special sauce to the mix. First of all, the Today screen has quite a bit of functionality.

You see all the standard items such as upcoming appointments, number of unread emails, etc., you can start typing a name or a number to lookup someone to call.

You can also conduct searches via Live Search or the Maps application. Speaking of Live Search, I really love that application. You can look stuff up my typing in a name, or by speaking it.

Some of Sprint’s bundled in applications include:

Sprint TV

More than 50 live television channels available including CNN mobile, FOX sports and E! Entertainment; access NFL Network and special programming via Sprint Exclusive Entertainment. There are full episodes of various shows like Hannah Montana. No, I don’t watch that show. Really! ;o) The quality isn’t HD or anything, but it’s fun to watch something when you’re bored. Works over WiFi too.

Pocket Express

Easy to navigate web portal with customized up to date content such as sports, weather, news, stocks and movie info. This is another application that I like to waste time in when I’m waiting for someone or taking a break.

Sprint IM

Access to Yahoo! Messenger, AOL’s AIM® service and MSN Messenger.

Sprint Navigation

Delivers voice-guided and on-screen turn-by-turn GPS-enabled driving directions, 3-D moving maps similar to an in-car navigation system or personal navigation device, as well as more than 10 million local listings and real-time intelligent traffic alerts with one-click rerouting, anywhere on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network.

Sprite Backup

Easy to use backup and restore application with scheduling abilities.

Corporate business users will be interested in the fact that you can use this device with an exchange server to for up-to-date email, contacts, calendars and access to other productivity applications. Delivery of Outlook email using Direct Push Technology requires your company to use Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 or 2003 upgraded to service pack 2.

Conclusion

From the VERY short time that I’ve been able to play with the Palm Treo 800w, I can tell you that I’m really liking it so far. I just wish it was already available in a GSM version so that I could buy one for myself (sorry Sprint). I really like the new case style, the 320 x 320 display and of course the built-in WiFi. If I was in the market for a new smartphone (I just bought myself a Centro), I might very well buy this one. If you are a Windows Mobile fan that likes a QWERTY keyboard in a nice compact package, you should really check out the Palm Treo 800w.

Price is $249.99 after a $250 instant savings, $100 mail-in rebate, and two-year contract.

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related, Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

Palm Treo 800w Smartphone Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 14, 2008 at 8:30 am.

The Sony Ericsson Z520a is a rather simple phone by today’s standards. It doesn’t have a media player, it doesn’t have a good camera, and it doesn’t even come with any games. What it does come with is a fairly easy to use interface, a nice compact size and good battery life. About the only frill you do get is Bluetooth, which is really standard equipment on all but the absolute cheapest phones nowadays. More about all this later.

On terms of specs, the phone is 3.3 x 1.8 x 0.9 inches (or 83 x 46 x 24 mm), and weighs 3.3 oz (or 94g). It includes 16MB of memory, with no way to expand. It is a quad-band GSM phone, supporting the 850, 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz frequencies. According to Sony, the phone gets 9 hours of talk time and 400 hours of standby time to a charge.

Inside the Cingular (or AT&T, I guess) branded box, you get a charger, a manual, the battery and phone. The phone has an outer display that is fairly bright and easy to read, and appears to be made of a genuine, good LCD; none of the ghosting problems that are reminiscent of a Palm IIIc. The very poor camera is on the front as well. The side has the camera button, volume rocker, and IR lens, and the back reveals the speakerphone and battery door. The back of the phone reveals the rather funky antenna (the loop of plastic above the phone itself), the speakerphone, and the battery cover.

By the way, when I say the camera is poor, I mean poor. I suppose it is adequate and par for the course for most cell phone cameras, but Sony generally bills themselves as a media company. Granted this phone is an entry-level phone, but I think they could have done better. Here is a sample image:

Click thumbnail to see full size image

When you turn the phone on, you are greeted with a short “How-To” video similar to a Palm device. The buttons are very large and very easy to press. Even the D-Pad is comfortable to use. The keypad’s larger size makes it very easy to type out SMS messages, and perhaps play games. If only some were included.

That’s right, no games are included. All you get is a World Clock and a weird app that lets you make ringtones by typing them in with your keypad. The UI is fairly straightforward, and isn’t overly encumbered by custom AT&T fluff like many phones nowadays are.

Bluetooth is about as easy to use as any other dumbphone; navigate to an impossibly hidden menu, turn bluetooth on, turn discovery on, pair with your device, exchange passkeys, and you’re set. One cool thing I noticed is the phone is supported by iSync in Leopard, allowing you to sync contacts, notes, todo’s, and calendar. Also, apparently Sony has licensed Salling Clicker, as the phone can also serve as a remote commander for a Mac running Leopard. It’s pretty rudimentary; about the only thing I could get it to do is move the mouse and left-click, but it did work. Pretty cool.

Battery life is actually very good; I’ve found that I only have to charge the phone every three days or so. I guess having a phone with few frills makes for a long-running, reliable phone.

In short, this is a good, easy-to-use phone, with few frills. It would make an excellent phone for a first-time user, or someone who just gets the free phone every time their contract is up for renewal. It’s built very solidly and should be good to go for the two year period, I would think.

This phone has been discontinued by SE, but you can still find it on eBay and other online retail shops for less than $200.00.

Filed in categories: Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

Sony Ericsson Z520a Mobile Phone Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 3, 2008 at 7:30 am.

Most people that read this site probably know that I’m a big fan of Palm OS and have been using a Treo for what seems like forever. A couple years ago I went through a whole
nightmare ordeal buying a SprintPCS Treo 650 that was hacked to run on the Verizon network. Then I moved to Cingular / AT&T,
got GSM Treo 650 and later a
Treo 680. As for the new
Centro, I haven’t purchased one yet and am not sure that I will. Why? Well, I seem to have found
my way back into the Windows Mobile camp by way of the
Pantech Duo smartphone from AT&T.

Hardware Specifications

Windows Mobile Standard (Smartphone) v6.0
416 MHz Marvell Bulverde CPU
Quad-band world phone – 850/900/1800/1900 MHZ
Dual-band domestic UMTS/HSDPA
2.2″ QVGA LCD with LED backlight
128 MB Flash ROM plus 64 MB SDRAM
Dual sliding keyboards
Bluetooth v1.2 with A2DP
MicroSD(TM) memory slot, expandable up to 2 GB
11-pin mini-USB (USB 1.1)/ audio jack in one
1.3 megapixel camera with 4x zoom
Weight: 3.88 ounces
Dimensions: 4.02 x 1.97 x 0.83 inches
Battery: 1320 mAh Lithium Ion with up to 3 hours talk time and up to 10 days standby

Package Contents

Pantech Duo phone
AC adapter charger
USB charging / sync cable
Earphone jack adapter cable
User manual and CDs

First of all, I just have to say that I love, love, love the form factor of the Duo. For me it is the prefect size. It is small enough to fit in my jeans pocket, coat pocket, etc. and is comfortable to hold and use.

In hand it is solid, but almost doesn’t pass the gadgeteer squeeze test due to some slight flexing and creaking of the plastic
casing. Most people won’t go around squeezing their phones like I do, so I think this phone will be fine for normal day to day use. I’m not sure I’d
want to use it in environments that would need a more rugged device though. I sure wish it had a metal casing instead of plastic, as I think that would raise it to another level.

Made of shiny dark Grey plastic, the Duo is a smudge and fingerprint magnet. I
find myself constantly polishing it on my pant leg to wipe the marks off.

Most of the front surface of the phone is occupied by the 2.2 inch color display, which is bright, crisp and easy on the eyes. Above the display is the speaker and status LED. Below the display is the navigation button grouping.

In the center of the grouping, there is a round 4-way nav pad with a select button in the
middle. Surrounding the nav pad are six small buttons with an additional button directly below the nav pad. The top row of buttons map to the functions at the bottom of the display. Under them are buttons for the home screen and
previous screen. The next row of buttons are your standard call and end/power buttons. The last button is the profiles / lock button. All of these buttons are small, but they are raised enough to allow you to easily find the desired one with your thumb-tip. They also have good tactile feedback and are backlit.

On the back of the phone, you will find the 1.3 megapixel camera lens and snap-on battery
pack.

On the left side, you’ll find the volume adjustment rocker switch.

The opposite side has the camera launch / shutter button. To launch the camera application, you have to hold down the button for a few seconds. Then once the application is running, pressing the
same button will snap a picture. Below the camera button, is the voice recorder / voice command button.
The Duo has MS Voice Command software built in that will allow you to dial
numbers and launch applications without any training. You can say things like
"Call Jeanne at work" and it will repeat your request then dial the number.
It’s very useful for those times when you’re driving and
should have your eyes on the road instead of your phone’s keypad.

On the top edge of the Duo, you’ll find a MicroSD card slot. Unfortunately this
phone does not support newer SDHC cards, so you’re stuck
with a 2GB limit.

On the bottom is the sync / charge port. This is also where you plug in the included earphone adapter cable, so that you can use earbuds / earphones to listen to music.

Of course, the main advantage of this phone over other Windows Mobile Smartphones is the fact that it has dual keyboards.

The entire top surface of the phone slides up to reveal a regular numeric keypad to use for dialing a number, texting with T9 input, etc.
The keys are relatively flat, so it is difficult to type blindly. That said, the keys have good tactile feedback and are backlit.

You can also slide the entire face sideways to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard perfect for those times when you need to enter more than a little text. Like the numeric keypad, this one is also very flat. The keys are also small and somewhat hard to press unless you use your thumbnails. Even so, it’s very nice to have a full keyboard to type long text messages.

It’s amazing that two keyboards can be built into such a slim device. Opening
and closing either keyboard is a simple one-handed operation. I was impressed
how firm and robust the mechanics felt. I’ve used some sliding keyboards on
other devices and found them to be a bit too wiggly for my liking.

Another cool feature is the fact that when you slide open the QWERTY keyboard, the display will automatically rotate to be in landscape mode.
This happens very quickly with almost no lag at all. Like I mentioned above, the
display is very comfortable to view. Below you’ll see a picture that I took to
give you an idea what it looks like. I didn’t use flash and didn’t touch up the
photo.

The resolution of the display is 240 x 320 and has 262k colors, which is fine
for PIM (personal information management) type activities and not so fine for
surfing regular web pages. Pages formatted for mobile devices work fine though.
I like the display so well, that I wouldn’t even mind reading a book on it. )

I found the overall system performance to be surprisingly snappy. Launching and
toggling between applications is quick and painless. Watching videos was surprisingly smooth and skip free.

What about battery life? From my testing, it seemed to be from ok to good. I
typically recharge my phones every night and rarely use one enough in one day to
drain it, so I don’t usually run into any problems. I have noticed it drop a bar
or so in a day where I have only used it to make a few calls and sent a few text
messages.

So, we’ve established that I love the form factor, dual keyboards, the color
display and system performance. Now for the bad news…

Click thumbnail for full-size image

The Duo’s built in camera is crummy. I mean really crummy. The images are out of
focus, with blotchy colors and sometimes the outside edges of the snapshot are warped. The
camera works in a pinch, but only barely.

The Duo does not have WiFi or a built in GPS. I guess this isn’t a shocking
revelation, but it seems that a lot of smartphones these days have those feature
as standard. I can forgive the lack of WiFi on this phone due to the fact that
the screen is so tiny that I wouldn’t really care to take advantage of that
feature anyway. An iPhone it is not.

Another thing to consider is that the Duo only has Bluetooth 1.2 instead of 2.0. Version 2.0 is more robust and allows for faster speeds when tethering the phone to a laptop. The Duo does have A2DP though, so that means you can listen to your tunes through Bluetooth earphones.

The worst problem with this phone though is call quality. When I first started testing
it a few weeks ago, I would receive calls where the person on the opposite end
could hear me, but I was unable to hear them at all. I’ve also had an occasional
dropped call in areas where the signal is typically very good. People have even
commented that I sounded like I was talking with a sock in my mouth. I’m often
hungry, but I assure you that don’t eat socks. ;o)

Software Bundle

You get the regular suite of applications that make up Windows Mobile Standard, like Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Internet Explorer, Media Player, Pocket Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, File Manager, Calculator, etc. Also included:

Brain Challenge game
Bubble Breaker game
JewelQuest2 game
Midnight Pool game
Scrabble Blast game
Solitaire game
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 game
Google Maps

Java VM
ClearVue PDF viewer
World Time

Also included are a few apps from AT&T that require an extra fee to use. Some of them include:

XM Radio (monthly fee req.)
AT&T Music

MobiTV (is pre-installed (monthly fee req.)
Cellular Video
MyCast Weather (trial version)
TeleNav Maps (link)
XPress Mail
AT&T Mall
MySpace Mobile

I don’t have any real complaints about the software other than I wish the trialware and payware apps weren’t installed by default as I would not use them and they just clutter up the applications listing.

As a non-Windows person, I used MarkSpace’s MissingSync to sync the Pantech Duo with my Mac. It works great and is a must have for Mac users.

Bottom Line

The Duo phone was a loaner from AT&T and I have to admit that even with the call quality issues, I am very sad to have to pack it up and send it back to them. I have really enjoyed having a small smartphone that can easily fit in my hand and pocket like this Duo. I guess I can hope that the Duo will become so popular that Pantech might decide to come out with a better version in the future… But more surprising than liking this phone, I also found that I missed using Windows Mobile. Yes, it’s true… I guess I’m just getting bored with Palm and its overall stale OS, that WM feels more fun and interesting to me. As I finished this review today, I was going through my draw o’phones and decided to pull out the HTC Excalibur to use for awhile. Hi Windows Mobile, glad to be back (if only until something else piques my interest…).

The price listed is for a phone without any contract. You can get better deals through AT&T with a 2yr contract.

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related, Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

Pantech Duo (C810) Windows Mobile 6.0 Smartphone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 10, 2008 at 10:00 pm.

Every time I decide to buy a new mobile phone, I get excited that it might become my new favorite. I’m really anxious for a new favorite. A phone that has all the features of my current favorite (Treo 680), but with enough new features that takes me to my gadgeteer happy place. If the Treo works for me, why do I want to chuck it for something new? Because I get bored easily and am never satisfied. ) Will the Nokia E61i transport me to mobile phone nirvana? Let’s see…

Hardware Specifications

Operating system: Symbian S60 3rd Edition
Memory: Approximately 60 MB of available user memory
Hot swappable microSD memory card support up to 2 GB
Quad-band GSM/EDGE coverage for international usage (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) with WCDMA 3GPP
2.8” QVGA landscape active-matrix color display supporting up to 16 million colors (320 x 240 pixels) with an active area of 56.9 x 42.7 mm
WLAN: 802.11b, 802.11g
Bluetooth 1.2 specification
2 megapixel camera
Weight: 5.29 oz
Dimensions: 4.61 x 2.76 x 0.55 in

Package Contents

Nokia E61i
Battery BP-4L
Travel charger
Wired headset
Connectivity Cable

The E61i has a serious / business style to it. The design seems a bit straight laced and stuffy… at least to me. Now I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but it might cause some people to look the other way.

The casing is a combination of brushed aluminum and charcoal colored plastic. The front is almost entirely comprised of the 2.8 inch display and QWERTY keyboard. Above the display there is new email status LED / ambient light sensor and a small power button.
The LED is supposed to blink for a missed call, text message,
email, and multimedia message. You have the ability to turn on or off any of
these options. During my review period with this phone, I never was able to get
this to work reliably and never for a missed call. I think one time I saw it
blinking for a text message.

On the back you will find the easy to remove battery cover and the 2 megapixel camera lens.

The only other physical buttons on the E61i are located on the Left side. Here you will find the up/down volume buttons and a voice recorder / voice command button. Pressing the voice recorder button once will launch the recording application. To begin a recording, you must press the center select button on the front of the phone. Holding the side button in for several seconds will launch the voice command application and cause it to listen for your command.

Along the bottom edge of the phone, you’ll find the power port, data / proprietary headset port and IR port.
That’s right, there isn’t a regular headphone jack built into
this smartphone.

I’ll admit that the Treo has spoiled me. Now I feel like I must have a smartphone that has a QWERTY keyboard. Without one I feel a bit lost and all thumbs. As a result, I get along relatively well with the E61i’s keyboard. The keys are a bit larger than the Treo’s, but are flatter and have less tactile feedback. They are also backlit, but only light up when the ambient light sensor detects that your are in low light. I had no problems getting used to the keyboard layout for texting or calling. I did have more trouble getting used to the navigation buttons located above the keyboard. The 5-way nav button in the center is too small in my opinion. The surrounding buttons are also too cramped.

As you can see in the image above, the Nokia E61i is wider than the Treo 680.

But, it is thinner… Is it better to be thinner or more narrow? For me, the E61i feels too wide to be a phone. It feels awkward to hold up to my ear and talk into it. It’s not THAT much larger than the Treo, but in hand, it just doesn’t feel nearly as comfortable to me. That said, it does feel very solid and well built. It passes the gadgeteer squeeze test with absolutely no protest.

The display is large and easy to read. I wouldn’t say it’s wonderful as I’m
currently spoiled by the
iPhone. But it is crisp and the colors are not washed out. The display is a
lot better than it looks in the images I have shown below. All of those images
were taken without flash, but they do appear to be a bit washed out for some
reason.

Battery
life on the E61i is excellent. It is rated for 4-9hrs talk time and 12-17 days of standby. I’ve used it for what seems like a week without
connecting it to the AC adapter for a recharge. Granted, this is during a week
that I only used it for an occasional call and text message. But still, that’s
pretty darned good if you ask me!

The signal strength / reception with this phone is equally impressive. Nokia as
a rule seems to make phones that can how to hold a signal better than most
phones I try. This phone is no exception. I’ve been able to use it in places
that I’ve only seen a ‘no signal’ or ‘no service’ message on other phones. I’ve
also found that I can drive through areas where my other phones (Treo / iPhone)
always drop the call. Not so with this phone.

Sound quality
during calls is clear and the volume is very good for both sides of a conversation. No gripes there.

For a lot people here in the US, the E61i will disappoint because it isn’t a 3G phone. It just
has EDGE. This would definitely disappoint me if I actually had 3G in my town… The E61i does have WCDMA though… so if you’re in Europe, you will have 3G speeds.
The E61i has built in WiFi which works fine but given the size of the display,
surfing on it isn’t exactly a great experience.

So, as far as hardware goes, this is a solid phone that performs well, but lacks
some pizazz when it comes to style. Now let’s take a look at the user interface
and built in applications.

This is the home screen. It is functional, although not overly customizable. As
you can see, there is an application launch bar to the right of the clock. There
are also a few status lines. The phone comes with 2 themes, but you can find
many more online.

Pressing the small phonebook button in the navigation bar will bring up the contacts application. From here, you just start typing part of a name. First, Last or even the middle name, and it will filter down the list to just show the correct matches. As you can see, contact records can have images associated with them if you desire.

Incoming and outgoing calls are shown on the home screen, along with missed call status.

The E61i has a very good software bundle built into it. Included is a copy of Quickoffice which gives you the ability to edit Microsoft Excel, Word and Powerpoint files right on the phone.

There are also several media players on the device, including RealPlayer, Flash Player and an MP3 player.

The music player has a simple interface and supports MP3 and AAC formats. You can play music through the built-in speaker or through the proprietary earbud (yes, earbud… not earbuds) included with the phone.

The 2 megapixel camera has a simple interface and takes mediocre pictures. I guess a so-so camera is better than no camera at all. Right?

Click thumbnails to see full size image samples

The web browser is pretty good if you don’t mind surfing on a tiny display. You use the 5-way nav button as a pseudo mouse to move to the links that you want to click on.

Image rendering isn’t too bad and moving backwards and forwards through pages that you’ve visited is done through a convenient thumbnail view of the pages.

I didn’t find the messaging client to be all that friendly. It’s one application that you use for text messaging and email. Accessing email is painfully slow. I used it to access my IMAP account, so maybe that’s why it might be slower than with POP. Even though I had it set to pull down full messages, it would only download the headers. Then if I wanted to read a message, it would have to pull that down. It just felt very cumbersome to me.

I also don’t love the way this phone handles text messages. The message does not show up on the display when it comes in. Your phone just beeps and tells you that you have a messages waiting. You have to then navigate to the message to read it, which takes too many key presses for my liking.

When I purchased the Nokia E61i, I was hoping to fall in love with it. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened. While I do appreciate some aspects of this phone (namely the great reception), the size, cramped keyboard and overall feel of the OS just don’t do it for me. At least this time I can say that I gave a Symbian device a real honest to goodness try. It’s time for me to get back to my quest to find my perfect phone. Wish me luck with my next try.

Filed in categories: Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

Nokia E61i originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 5, 2008 at 9:15 pm.

Fans of Palm smartphones and PDAs continue to wait as days, weeks, months and years drift by without a major update to their favorite mobile operating system. It’s not far from the truth when I say that the Palm operating system hasn’t changed all THAT much since it’s introduction back in the late 1990′s. It still has the same look and feel, which is both comforting and let’s face it, kinda boring. While the OS side of Palm remains the same, they have offered hardware updates on a semi-regular basis. The latest one in the stores is the Palm Centro. This is a CDMA EvDO smartphone running on the Sprint network. How does Palm’s most affordable (when purchased with a 2yr contract) smartphone stack up? Let’s find out…

Hardware Specs

Operating System: Palm OS 5.4.9 (Garnet)
Processor: Intel XScale 312 MHz processor
Memory: 64MB non-volatile flash memory available for user storage
Display: 320 x 320 pixel 2.2in TFT touchscreen with support for over 65,000 colors
Wireless: CDMA2000 EvDO with fallback to 1XRTT and IS95, Bluetooth 1.2, Infrared (IR)
Digital Camera: 1.3 megapixel 2x digital zoom, Video capture with 352 x 288 pixel resolution
Expansion Slot: microSD (up to 4gb)
Battery: Rechargeable 1150mAh lithium-ion, Talk time: up to 3.5 hours, Standby time: up to 300 hours
Size: 4.22 x 2.11 x 0.73 in
Weight: 4.2 ounces

Package Contents

Palm Centro smartphone
Rechargeable battery
AC power charger
USB sync cable
Software installation CD
User documentation

Hardware Design

Front

Available in Onyx (Black) and Ruby (Red), I was sent the Ruby Centro to review. The Onyx version is available now and the Ruby model will be available in November. Unlike the Treo 680, the casing on the Centro is slick plastic. The kind of plastic that easily attracts smudges and fingerprints. You don’t notice this on the face of the Centro, but it is visible on the back.

Compared to Treos, the Centro is smaller in all dimensions. This is a good thing as it is much more pocket friendly. The smaller display is still comfortable to view though. It’s crisp, bright and has vivid colors. I had no issues even reading ebooks on this device.

For people familiar with the Treo line of smartphones, they will recognize the small thumbboard keyboard. It is significantly smaller than the Treo’s keyboard, but is still very usable. The semi-soft plastic keys are backlit, which is great for low light. The spacing of the keys is tight, but I found my normal practice of using my thumbnails to work equally well on the Centro. No complaints at all as far as the keyboard is concerned.

Above the keyboard is a grouping of main navigation keys that include four app launcher buttons, a 4-way directional button, the power/end button and the talk button. All of the buttons have adequate tactile feedback and are backlit.

Back

If you flip the Centro over, you’ll see the camera lens, built-in self portrait mirror, speaker grill and stylus silo. The Centro’s camera is on par with other Palm smartphone cameras. That means it’s pretty mediocre. That said, it works fine for quick snaps when you don’t have access to your ‘real’ camera.

Click thumbnail to see full size image

The built-in speaker on this phone is loud! Quite a bit louder than my Treo 680. If you want to use this phone as an alarm clock, I don’t think you’d ever be able to sleep through an alarm. The Centro also includes a ring tones and alarm sounds that my Treo 680 does not have.

Left Side

On the Left side of the phone you will find the up / down volume adjustment buttons and a user assignable button below it. I wish the volume buttons protruded a bit farther from the side of the phone. As is, it’s a bit difficult to feel them when you need to make an adjustment.

Right Side

On the opposite side, you’ll find the infrared port, lanyard attachment point and the microSD card slot. The card slot isn’t immediately noticeable. It’s directly to the Left of the IR port. You can’t access the slot without removing the battery cover on the back of the Centro though.

Once the cover is removed, the door over the card slot can be opened and you’ll have access to the card. Not overly convenient, but I suppose that microSD cards are easily lost, so it’s best not to be fiddling with them often anyway ;o)

Top

On the top of the Centro, you’ll notice the always handy mute toggle switch. When activated, the phone will vibrate for calls. Very useful during meetings and other places where you don’t want to disturb others.

Bottom

The universal charging / sync connector is located on the bottom of the phone. This connector remains unchanged from previous Palm devices and is compatible with existing cables.

Next to the universal connector is a 2.5mm headset jack. Too bad Palm didn’t include any earbuds with the Centro… As is, you’ll need an adapter if you want to use a regular 3.5mm set of earbuds with this phone.

I remember when I originally saw images of the Centro, that I was not impressed with the design. It appeared very toy-like / cheap. After having actually held and used this phone, I now don’t feel that way at all. Now, I would probably not opt for the Ruby version of the Centro, but I do like the overall design and size of this phone.

Treo 680 and Palm Centro

It feels great in my hand and fits more easily in my back pocket when I’m walking around. As far as being cheap, the Centro does not feel that way in hand. It’s solid and does not creak or flex when subjected to my tried and tested Gadgeteer squeeze test.

Software

Installed in ROM

Documents to Go v10 – Read, edit and create MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel and text files
Sprint TV – Video
On-Demand – Web portal
Google Maps
Palm’s Pics & Video
PocketTunes
IM – Chat client for AIM, Yahoo and Windows Live Messenger
Palm Blazer v4.5.8 web browser
VersaMail v4.01 – Email client
Sudoku – Number game
pTunes v4.0.4 – Pocket Tunes audio player
Phone – dialer application
Voice Memos
World clock
Calculator
Camera
Camcorder
Calendar
Contacts
Memos
Messaging – Threaded SMS client
Tasks

There’s really not a lot new here that wasn’t in the Palm Treo 755p that I reviewed a few months ago.

Just like the 755p, the Centro still has the old style phone dialer application. This doesn’t bother me as I am not a big fan of the tabbed application included with the Treo 680.

There is a new game though… Sudoku. Fans of this game can rejoice… others (like me) just say whoopdeedoo. ;o)

This is the point in the review where I’m trying to think of what more I can say about this product. The thing is that there is no innovation in the Centro. The software is the same as it’s been for a long while now. Really, the main features of this phone are a smaller form factor than previous Palm phones, and the excellent price. You can pick up a Centro from Sprint for $99 if you opt for a 2yr contract. That’s crazy cheap for a great little phone like this one. If you compare the specs of the $199 Palm Treo 755p to the Centro, you’ll find that it has the same processor, same screen resolution and same camera resolution. The 755p does have more memory though. It has 128MB (60MB persistent user storage).

If the Centro was available in a GSM version, I’d gladly trade my 680 for it. I like the size a lot and find it to be just as snappy as the 680 and equal in all other aspects of operation. The Centro is basically the same phone as the 680, only for Sprint. If you’re a fan of Palm OS devices and a Sprint customer looking to purchase your first smartphone, I think the Palm Centro is a great buy.

Price with 2yr contract is $99. Without contract the price is $399.00

Filed in categories: Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Palm OS related, Phone

Palm Centro Smartphone Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 23, 2007 at 3:05 pm.

The HTC TyTn II is the successor to the powerful and popular TyTn Windows Mobile PDA phone (which Julie and I reviewed here last year). While it retains the original’s features, including 3G mobile broadband, WiFi, and a sliding keyboard, it adds new features such as a tiltable display and internal GPS. A customized version of it, called the “Tilt”, has recently been released in the USA by AT&T. Is the TyTn II a worthy successor to the original TyTn? Read on to find out.

Specifications

• Quad band (US/World) GSM and tri-band (US/World) UMTS
• EDGE and 3G HSDPA (3.6 mbps) data
• WiFi 802.11 b/g
• Bluetooth 2.0
• Built-in GPS with standalone and A-GPS capability
• 400 MHz Qualcomm CPU
• 128 MB RAM, 256 MB flash/ROM
• microSD (TransFlash) card slot
• 2.8” 240×320 pixel color touch display with LED backlight
• Slide-out keyboard and with display flip
• 3.15 megapixel camera with autofocus
• VGA camera on front for video conferencing [not on AT&T Tilt]
• 112 x 59 x 19 mm size
• 190 g weight
• Up to 400 hours standby or 6 hours talk time

In the Box

HTC seems to have taken note of packaging trends for high-end gadgets, as the TyTn II comes in a stylish black box with magnetic closure. Like its predecessor, the TyTn II comes with all the accessories you’ll need to get started, including a USB cable, stereo headset which plugs into the device’s special USB/audio port, and a belt holster case. As you can see from the picture, the TyTn II also comes with a copious amount of documentation and software — the manual is as thick as the device! They even threw in a screen protector. One welcome change in accessories is that the TyTn II’s case closes with velcro, while the original TyTn’s case had a magnet, which would often fool the TyTn into thinking the keyboard was open.

Ah, a fresh device nestled so peacefully in foam…

And here’s what was inside the box. Top row: documents, documents, documents… and a screen protector. Bottom row: AC adapter, belt case, TyTn II, headset, USB cable. And two discs of software.

Physical Design

The physical design of the TyTn II does not deviate much from that of its predecessor, but shows the sort of tweaks and improvements expected in a second-generation product. The most obvious change TyTn users will notice is that the keyboard now opens from the right of the display rather than the left, and once the keyboard is open you can flip the display up to angle it for better viewing. The buttons have been rearranged somewhat, with the two that were above the display now part of the cluster below, while the Comm Manager button has been removed completely. The SIM slot is now more accessible, behind the display instead of under the battery, and the memory slot has moved to the bottom end and gained a rubber cover.

The TyTn II is the same width and length as the TyTn, but is a couple of millimeters thinner. The slide now springs into place when you open or close it, and the combination of that plus subtle changes in the case design give the TyTn II a more solid feel than the original. Also contributing to this more solid feel is the new back; on the TyTn II the entire back slides on and off, rather than having the somewhat flimsy battery cover of the original.

Here you see the front of the TyTn II (sorry about the dusty screen, it’s in the air at my house). All the buttons are in the cluster at the bottom; it’s hard to see the markings in this picture, but the soft keys are above the Internet Explorer and messaging buttons. The circle up at the top left is the video conferencing camera. Not visible here are two LEDs in the speaker slot at the top; these blink various colors to let you know the status of the phone, WiFi, Bluetooth, and battery charging, just like on the original TyTn.

The back of the TyTn II is much cleaner than the original. The flat battery door is gone; now the entire back slides on and off, and it stays very firmly in place. The rubber piece near the top left is removable to expose a port for an external GPS antenna.

The TyTn II has the same buttons on its left side as the original TyTn, but they’ve been moved around a bit. The leftmost one in this picture activates the voice dialer, the one on the right is an “OK” button (one of several on the device), and in the middle is the clickable jog wheel. The horizontal piece in the middle is the outside edge of the SIM slot, which is accessible when the slide is open.

I’d had the TyTn II all of five minutes when I took these pictures, and already got fingerprints on it. They aren’t actually visible in normal light though; they show up rather prominently here because of the camera flash. Anyway, on the right side of the TyTn II are the power button and camera shutter button, which sticks out a bit due to having a half-pressed position for autofocus. If you had an original TyTn, you’ll note the absence of a dedicated Comm Manager button here.

On the bottom of the TyTn II is the USB connector (HTC’s special one that includes audio), lanyard slot, reset hole, and Micro SD slot. The memory card is behind a rubber cover, which is a nice improvement from the original TyTn which just left it sticking out of the side. Note the lack of an infrared port; I actually miss it a little, since I used to occasionally use a Palm IR keyboard with my TyTn.

Here we see the TyTn II with its slide open and the screen flipped up. As you can see this is much nicer when sitting on a table than the original TyTn was. The keyboard is the same as before, but if you look closely in the upper left corner you can see two LEDs which light up to show what shift state the keyboard is in — another small but nice refinement of the original. The only drawback I can find, compared to the original, is that with the screen flipped up there isn’t a lot of clearance between the display and the soft keys, making them hard to press with my fat thumbs.

GPS

While most of the TyTn IIs new features are upgrades to things the TyTn already had, the addition of a built-in GPS brings it a whole new range of possibilities. It is a true GPS, not an assisted system that requires access to the cell network, so it will work anywhere you could use a standalone GPS, and with any location-aware software that runs on Windows Mobile, including such things as Google Maps, Windows Live Search, and all types of navigation software. Using the TyTn IIs GPS is easy. Some software (Google Maps, for example) will just work, using Windows Mobile’s built-in location services, and for the rest the GPS is available on a COM port just as if it were connected externally.

The TyTn II’s uses the Qualcomm gpsOne chipset, and doesn’t seem to be quite as fast to lock nor as sensitive as the SIRFStar III based Bluetooth GPS I am used to using. But those differences seem to be quite minor, especially compared to the convenience of having it built right into the device. For best performance, you should make sure to use the included “QuickGPS” application to download ephemeris updates every week (it can do this automatically if you have an appropriate data plan), which makes the GPS start fast enough for impromptu Google Maps searches and the like.

Camera

The TyTn II sports a 3 megapixel, fixed focal length, autofocus camera. As with the original TyTn, the camera button is on the lower right side of the device, and the software assumes you’ll hold it sideways. The shutter button on the TyTn II works like the ones found on most digital cameras; pressing it halfway locks the focus and exposure, and pushing it the rest of the way snaps a picture.

The camera application on the TyTn II is very similar to the one on the TyTn. The most visible addition is a finger-tappable pop-up panel which lets you change commonly used settings and activate the self-timer. Another small, but potentially, improvement is the ability to take pictures with the front camera (if you have one).

Unfortunately, I am less than impressed with the quality of the camera in my TyTn II. Frankly, it’s bad enough that I wonder if there is a software bug, or if I just got a bad unit. Pictures from the main camera have some of the worst JPEG artifacting I’ve ever seen, with areas of broad gradual color change — clear skies for example — looking more like basket-weave. At first I thought I was simply expecting too much from a phone camera, but then I compared identical shots taken seconds apart on both the TyTn II and original TyTn, and the ones from the original TyTn are free of artifacts. I’m inclined to believe this is a software bug rather than a hardware issue, so hopefully it will be fixed. I’ve only included one sample picture below, but I think it shows the problem quite well. It doesn’t look too bad here, but if you download the full size version and look at it more closely, the artifacts should be obvious.

Another bug in the TyTn II’s camera application which you will notice right away is that while the software is designed with the intention that you’ll hold the device sideways to use the main camera, it doesn’t rotate the pictures accordingly. This is easy to correct, but slightly annoying. Also, the TyTn II does not have the LED “flash” that the original TyTn had; I’m not sure that was very useful, so I don’t really miss it.

Software and Performance

The TyTn II runs Windows Mobile 6 Professional, compared to the original’s Windows Mobile 5. Despite the bump in version numbers, the difference between the two is not as large as you might expect. For the most part, WM6 is exactly like WM5, and runs the same software. Most of the changes are incremental and not immediately obvious from a user perspective, but some of the ones you might notice include:

• Updated versions of mobile Office apps
• HTML support in e-mail
• Better Javascript and AJAX support in Internet Explorer
• Windows Live replaces MSN mobile application and messenger
• Push e-mail with Exchange servers (was also in later versions of WM5)
• Better searching in built-in PIM
• More functionality with Exchange 2007 servers (search, etc.)
• Internet Sharing using Bluetooth PAN
• Encrypted storage on memory cards
• Windows Update and customer feedback support (yes, you can disable this)
• .NET CF 2.0 and SQL built in, no more need to install them for some third party apps
• Improved Bluetooth stability

There is one negative change in Windows Mobile 6 (and later builds of Windows Mobile 5) that might cause problems for some users, and that is that Microsoft has removed support for Bluetooth dial-up networking (DUN). Although PAN is a far superior way of sharing a mobile Internet connection with a computer, the older DUN method of tethering is still used by a number of external devices including standalone TomTom GPS units and the Nokia 770 and 800 tablets.

The TyTn II has twice as much memory as the original — 256MB storage and 128MB RAM for running programs — which helps a lot with performance. Unfortunately, almost half of the storage is taken up by the OS, but that still leaves around 128MB for your files. The program memory is a much bigger improvement, though, because it means more applications can be open before the system starts to slow down. Furthermore, though the specs still say 400 MHz CPU speed, the TyTn II uses a different chipset than the original, and it seems to be faster — all in all the TyTn II feels quicker than the TyTn, even with Windows Mobile 6.

That isn’t the end of the changes in the TyTn II, however, as HTC has added even more customizations to the base OS than they did in the TyTn. One of the most visible HTC additions is on the home screen as soon as you turn the TyTn II on:

That’s the HTC home plugin, variants of which they are putting on all of their devices now. It’s meant to be finger-friendly, with tabs for the clock, weather (downloaded from the net), picture contacts, application launching, and turning the ringer on and off.

HTC’s attempts to make the TyTn II touchable don’t stop with the home plugin. The dialer and Comm Manager have been updated with larger buttons, and finger scrolling now works in the standard contacts and calendar apps as well as Internet Explorer. Unfortunately, the TyTn II’s support for finger operation doesn’t extend much farther than that; I would have liked a touchable on-screen keyboard as well, but that is easily remedied by adding one of several free third-party add-ons.

The software bundle on the TyTn II is similar to the TyTn, with several welcome additions. Note that the software described here is what comes on the HTC-branded TyTn II; if you get the AT&T 8925 (or any other carrier-branded version) you might get more, fewer, or simply different bundled applications. The bundled applications include:

• HTC Audio Manager – touch-friendly music player themed to match the rest of the HTC apps
• Streaming Media – audio/video streaming player for some formats not supported by WMP
• Adobe Reader LE – PDF viewer
• Esmertec Java Midlet Manager
• Voice Recorder
• Cyberon Voice Speed Dial
• ZIP – create and extract .zip archives
• WorldCard Mobile – take a picture of a business card to scan it into your contacts

One unexpected surprise in the TyTn II box is an applications CD containing a few add-ons that aren’t pre-loaded into the device. In addition to the TomTom “taster” mapping software I talked about above, the application disc also includes free copies of SPB GPRS Monitor and Sprite Backup.

SPB GPRS monitor tracks your data usage and shows a summary on your home screen. Tapping on its home plugin opens an application with all sorts of graphs and reports. You can set up details of your data plan — monthly base cost, overage, per-minute connection charges, and so forth — and it will keep track of how much your browsing habits are costing you, and warn you when you get close to your limit.

Sprite Backup allows you to back up your TyTn II’s internal memory to the storage card, and restore it later. I haven’t tested it extensively, but as near as I can tell the HTC edition of Sprite Backup is fully functional. Since backup tools are often the sort of thing people don’t buy until it’s already too late, having a good one in the box is a nice addition.

Conclusions

The TyTn II is an evolutionary change from the original TyTn, with the latest version of Windows Mobile and many improvements, both small and large. If you already have a TyTn, the question of whether to upgrade might be a tough one — while few of the changes are significant enough to warrant an $800 upgrade all by themselves, taken as a whole the TyTn II seems significantly better than its predecessor. The choice might be somewhat easier if you’re considering the AT&T Tilt, since the contract prices I’ve seen so far are quite good considering what you get. The TyTn II isn’t the perfect Windows Mobile device, but it gets darn close; it’s near the top of the current heap, at least, and I recommend it for anyone wanting a powerful PDA phone.

The price of this phone will vary depending if you purchase it unlocked, locked to a carrier and with or without a contract. The price of $799.95 quoted is the price Julie paid for the phone through Mobile Planet. It was unlocked and without a contract.

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Cellular, Phone, Pocket PC, Windows Mobile, Wireless

HTC TyTn II Windows Mobile 6 Professional Smartphone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 15, 2007 at 6:56 am.

I’ve been a fan of Apple products since I purchased my first iPod back in 2003. Yes, I waited until the 3rd generation of the world’s most popular audio player was on the market before I drank the kool-aid. Two years later, I took another gulp of that kool-aid and ditched my Windows PC, for an iMac and haven’t looked back. It did take me 3 tries before I finally made that switch though, as I always found some reason why the Mac OS didn’t quite do it for me. And now, I find myself standing at yet another Apple crossroads in my gadget life. This time, it’s with the world’s most hyped mobile phone: the
Apple iPhone.

After Apple broke the news that they were NOT going to allow developers to create installable 3rd party applications for the iPhone,
I was pretty sure that this device would be a disappointment to me. Their
consolation prize of web applications just sounded lame and equally
disappointing. I’ve been using a Treo 680 (and previously the Treo 650) for a long while now, so not having access to great 3rd party applications is almost unthinkable, when it comes to a feature on my phone. Of course, the fear of disappointment did not keep me from standing in line on 6/29/07 to buy my 8gb Apple iPhone. But after having used this phone for a little over a week, I am to the point where I have to ask myself if this is the right device for me. Before I let you in on my decision, let’s actually take a look at a phone that may have garnered more attention than Alexander Graham Bell’s original invention.

Hardware Specifications

Operating System: OS X
Memory: 4gb or 8gb versions available
Processor: (unknown)
Display: 3.5 inch 480-by-320-pixel resolution at 160 dpi
Wireless: Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), WiFi (802.11b/g), EDGE, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
Digital Camera: 2.0 mega pixels with 1200×1600 resolution
Battery: (unknown capacity) Rechargeable lithium-ion, Talk time: up to 8 hours, Standby time: up to 250 hours, Internet use: up to 6 hours, Video playback: up to 7 hours, Audio playback:5up to 24 hours
Size: 4.5 x 2.4 x 0.46 in (115 x 61 x 11.6 mm)
Weight: 4.8 ounces (135 grams)

Package Contents

Apple iPhone
Small folding prong AC adapter with USB input
USB docking / charging cable
Docking cradle
Earbuds / microphone
Polishing cloth
Apple stickers
Warranty info
“Finger Tips” User guide

After waiting for months and months to finally get my hands on an iPhone, unboxing it and holding it my hand for the first time was a real gadget lovers moment. I found the iPhone to be even sexier in person. The size, shape and feel of the iPhone in your hand makes you appreciate all of the engineers at Apple. There is no doubt that they are masters at creating wonderful consumer electronics. Let’s take a hardware tour…

Hardware

The entire front surface of the phone is a color display made of completely flat glossy glass. Yes, it’s a fingerprint and smudge magnet. Did you think otherwise? ;o) The color display is beyond gorgeous. I think it might be the best display I’ve seen on any handheld device to date. It’s so crisp and sharp that at first it looks like it’s not even real. You know how they have demo devices in stores with fake screens? That’s what the iPhone looks like. It’s just too good to be a real display. But it is real… the colors are great and the resolution is tight. I also found the display to be viewable in full sunlight. It does get dark, but it is readable.

What I love best about the iPhone display is the fact that it’s glass. Unlike other handheld displays that we’ve all been used to for years, this one seems almost impervious to scratching. It’s also completely rigid and does not indent when you touch it. Speaking of touching the screen, I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to feel comfortable tapping, swiping, pinching, etc. the screen with my fingers. I come from the PDA world, where doing so
is a no-no. I will say that after a very short acclimation period, I’ve found that I really enjoy tapping away with my fingers. Stylus? What’s a stylus? BTW: if you think you’ll just be ‘safe’ and use a stylus with the iPhone, instead of your fingers… you can’t. It won’t work. So just give
in and touch it!

All of the finger gestures of pinching a screen to make text / images smaller or
spreading your fingers to make it larger, work just like the videos you see on
Apple’s site. The actions feel natural and the results are smooth and fast. This
feature in itself will change handheld devices forever. Yay!

There is only one button on the face of this device. It is located in the center bottom edge.
The Wake / Home button brings the iPhone out of idle and gets you back to the
main menu whenever you press it.

Surrounding the display is a ring of chrome and if you flip the phone over,
you’ll see that the back shell of the phone is constructed of brushed aluminum and Black plastic. The iPhone is sealed, you can not open it to swap batteries when needed. If / when you need to have the battery replaced, you have to send it to Apple along with $86 to have them do the switch. Can you say grrrrrr?

On the Left side of the iPhone, you’ll find a small switch at the top that toggles the speaker On/Off. I have always appreciated a similar switch on my Treo, so I love that Apple also included it on the iPhone. Below this switch is the volume up / down rocker switch.

On the bottom edge, you’ll notice the speaker / microphone grills. The iPhone has good sound through the built in speakers. I actually did a double take when I hit Play in iPod mode and heard music playing through the speakers. It surprised me to hear an iPod playing music without earbuds plugged in. Volume levels are
very good as well. I can totally use the iPhone as an alarm clock.

Between the speaker grills is a standard iPod docking connector. Even though this is a standard 30pin iPod connector, that doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to use ALL of your old iPod accessories with the iPhone.
Some accessories work, some don’t.

Apple was nice enough to include a small dock with the iPhone. You can use it or just plug the included cable directly into the phone to charge and sync with a computer.

On the opposite end, you’ll find the power switch. To power the iPhone off completely, you hold down the power button and then confirm that you want to power down by swiping the screen.

Next to the power switch is the GSM SIM card slot and earphone jack. To open the card slot, you have to use a paperclip or push pin to ‘eject’ it.

Regarding the earphone jack, it’s a standard 3.5mm jack, but there’s an issue with the fact that it is recessed
into the case. Depending on thickness of  the plastic around your favorite earbuds, the connector might not make good contact in the jack. I tried several pairs of non-Apple earbuds with the iPhone and none of them fit correctly. Quite annoying! And if you are thinking of using a pair of external speakers with your iPhone, well… I wish you good luck. I’ve sure not had any.

Of course the earbuds included with the iPhone work just fine. They actually aren’t your typical Apple earbuds
though. There’s a tiny microphone and switch built into the Right ear cable. The
switch will pause and play music and will allow you to answer / end calls. These earbuds work remarkably well and I really liked being able to listen to a phone call with sound coming into both of my ears.

In hand, the iPhone feels extremely solid and comfortable to hold. My Gadgeteer squeeze test yielded no flexing, creaking or cracking and shaking the phone produced no rattles. I
also have to say that after using this phone for the past week with no case or screen protection, it looks as perfect as the day I unboxed it.

To give you an idea of how the iPhone compares in size to other popular devices, I’ve photographed it with my 60gb iPod Video and the Treo 680.

The iPhone is quite thin and definitely pocketable (either in your back pants pocket, jacket pocket or cargo pants pocket.

Another stack up view. Treo on top, iPhone in the center and iPod on the bottom.

Activation

So, you’ve just purchased an iPhone and you want instant gratification. Guess
what? You can’t just start using it as soon as you walk out of the store or open the box. Unlike all the other GSM phones I’ve used in the past, you can’t pop in your existing AT&T SIM card and skip away into new phone bliss. Nope, you have to back home, make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed on your Mac or PC, pop the iPhone in the cradle and activate it through the iTunes. This means you will need an active internet connection as well.

Once you’re connected and start the activation process, you’ll have to commit to a 2yr plan. Plans start out at $59.99/mo., which includes 450 minutes, 200 SMS messages and the $20.00 unlimited data plan. My monthly rate stayed the same, so I was a happy camper.

Set up continues with iTunes configuring your email accounts, what music, video, photos to sync, etc. Everything is very easy to setup and understand. In no time at all, I was activated and ready to explore my new device…

WiFi and Bluetooth

Transitioning between using WiFi and EDGE is seamless. It just happens on the fly with no intervention from you. Surfing via WiFi on this device is a joy. EDGE, not so much. Ok, it’s not horrible… But it is slow.

As is, Bluetooth on the iPhone isn’t all that feature rich. It’s only good for using headsets right now. No tethering and no A2DP profile for wireless audio
earphones.

I have been very pleased with overall system performance and battery life on the iPhone. The built in applications load almost instantly. If only there were 3rd party apps… You would think with such a gorgeous screen, WiFi and playing music through the speaker would be a real drain on the battery. But, Apple has done a great job cramming lots of juice in what must be a tiny battery package. I’ve gone a couple of days without charging. Very Nice!

Ok, time to talk about the software…

Software

When the iPhone is idle and the screen is Black, pressing the center ‘home’ button
on the face of the device will turn on the display and prompt you to unlock by swiping the screen. Any missed calls, voice-mails, etc. will be shown in a list on this home screen when you press the home button. You can change the wallpaper on this screen, but you
will only see it when the phone wakes up from idle state.

Here we see the main menu. The top line of the display gives you your signal strength, carrier name, EDGE / WiFi signal indicator, time of day, and battery level indicator. Below the status line, is a bank of 12 icons for all the main applications. Then along the bottom is a row of the 4 main apps (Phone, Mail, Safari and iPod).
Unfortunately, you can not customize this menu in anyway.

I’m going to give a quick look at each app in order of appearance in the menu.

SMS (Text Messaging)

Although MMS (Multimedia messaging) is not a feature on the iPhone, good old SMS messaging is. This is an easy to use application that keeps a list of the people you’re texting, and your threaded conversation.
Those of you that are expert thumb typists may find the hunt and peck finger
keyboard a little hard to get used to, but after a short while, I was able to
use my thumbs for quick typing. I have found that the auto word correction when
you mistype a word works great too!

Calendar

Nice calendar application that has an agenda (list), day and monthly views. New events can be added on the device itself, including repeating and multi-day events with notes.
Your calendar info will sync with iCal or Entourage on the Mac, or Outlook on a PC.

Photos

The iPhone has a mini version of iPhoto. Your images can be organized in rolls and albums. You can use your finger to flip through images, or go to slideshow mode, complete with cool transition effects.

From this viewer, you can email pictures to your friends, assign pictures to your friend’s contact record or set as a wallpaper to the power on screen.

Camera

The iPhone has a 2mp camera built in that takes snaps that are actually really good. Cameras built into mobile phones tend to be pretty lame, but I was really surprised how well the iPhone camera does.

Click on thumbnails to see full size images

The camera app is dirt simple. It just has one on screen button to take the picture. That’s it, no user changeable settings or nothing… Just a shutter button. Unfortunately, you can’t capture video… Just images.

YouTube

Can’t get enough of watching YouTube videos? Then this app is for you. It lets you see the most viewed videos for the day, week or all time. You can bookmark them, email them and search for them.

Watching to videos using WiFi is great. EDGE, not so great…

Stocks

Keep an eye on your family fortune with this stock ticker.

Google Maps

Everyone’s fave map app is on your iPhone. Use your fingers to zoom in and out, view in map, satellite or list (directions) mode. In list mode you specify starting and ending addresses, and you are presented with turn-by-turn directions.

Weather

See if it’s going to rain tomorrow. No radar / satellite images though…

Clock

The included clock application is very nice. You get a world clock that you can use to see the current time in 4 locations. You also get a nice alarm clock with snooze and repeating features.

But wait, there’s more… You get a stop watch with laps and a timer feature. Nifty huh?

Calculator

A generic calculator…

Notes

Keep all your bits of info in this application. The only problem is that it doesn’t sync to your computer! That also means that you can’t import text into it. No searching, cutting and pasting either. Can you hear me groaning over here? If I had to pick one of
the main things I use my phone / PDA for, it’s looking up info in my notes / memos. The lack of this feature a really big deal for me. I’d trade the YouTube app and even Google Maps for a full featured memo app in a heart beat. (

Settings

Settings for each application / feature are all found in one place, instead of inside each individual application. I’ve included just a few of the screens here, so you get the idea.

Phone

Above all else, the iPhone is a phone. So it has to have a great phone interface in my opinion. It does a good job, but there are a few noticeable omissions.

The iPhone’s version of speed dialing is the Favorites screen. This is where you list all of your frequently dialed numbers. The issue I have with this method of making a call is, that it  requires me to do the following steps to make a call:

1. Press ‘home’ button to wake up iPhone from idle state
2. Swipe finger to unlock iPhone
3. Press Phone icon
4. Press Favorites icon (if not already on that screen)
5. Tap number to dial

Ugh… too many key presses. Not to mention the fact that it’s not really safe to have to interact with the phone that much if you happen to be driving. Incase you’re wondering, No, there isn’t a voice dialing feature on the iPhone.

The contacts view allows you to search your address book for people to call. Scrolling is done by flicking your finger up and down on the screen, or by pressing a letter on the right sidebar to narrow the search.

There’s always the good old standby dial pad… One of the great features of the iPhone is
Visual Voicemail. Instead of just getting a number of voice mails you have waiting, you can see
a list of exactly who each voice mail is from and when it was recorded. You have the ability to listen to them in whichever order you desire. You can also view / listen to deleted messages.

Another feature I appreciate is that you can easily change your greeting whenever you wish by tapping the greeting button and recording a new one.

During my week of using the iPhone, I’ve not had any issues with dropped calls or bad reception. I’ve noticed a few instances with low volume level calls though… A boost in
the earphone volume would be a nice addition in the first software update.

Mail

For the most part, I love the mail application. It beats the pants off of anything I’ve ever used on Palm and Windows Mobile smart-phones.
It supports MAP and POP3 (compatible with the most popular email systems � including Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, AOL, and .Mac Mail) and renders messages in full HTML with inline
images. It was dead simple to setup (iTunes imported my Apple mail settings for all my accounts).

The iPhone can also view PDF, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel email
attachments. One thing missing is Apple’s great junk mail filtering though…

Safari

The Safari web browser is wonderful. Again, it’s the best browser that I’ve used on a mobile device
so far. I don’t normally surf all that much on my phones, but surfing on the iPhone is much more enjoyable than any other phone/pda surfing experience that I’ve had.

You see the entire page the way it’s meant to be seen, then you use the pinch and spread finger gestures to zoom in on what you want to read. It’s really very intuitive and easy to do. I didn’t find it annoying to scroll around to read articles at all. And of course, you can rotate the display
horizontally to see more text.

Double tapping on an image will zoom in on the image to fill the screen. Double tapping again will zoom back out.

Safari’s version of tabbed browsing is paged browsing. You can have multiple pages open at once and scroll through a thumbnail view with a swipe of your finger.

Of course the iPhone is not 3G capable. It’s just EDGE. And as such, surfing via your data plan is much slower than when using WiFi.
Another gotcha is the fact that the browser is not Flash capable right now. I
guess I don’t surf very many sites that use Flash, because I didn’t notice the
lack of this feature… but I know a lot of people are complaining about it.

iPod

The iPhone is Apple’s first widescreen / touch-screen iPod. The finger scrolling features really lend
themselves to the iPod interface. At first I missed the wheel scroll feature, but not for long.

Cover flow is another cool feature. It’s more of a gee whiz, look at what I can do feature though… I don’t use it normally, just when demoing the phone to other people. I prefer good old scrolling through artists and albums
lists.

Sound quality through the included earbuds is on par with other iPods that I own. No complaints there. My question is, when will there be an 80gb iPhone? ;o) I want ALL my music on my phone, not just a small subset.

Watching video on the iPhone is wonderful. You will fall in love with the widescreen
format, that’s for sure! I know I have.

What’s Missing?

All the built in apps are very nice (with the exception of the Notes app…). But I’m greedy and want more! I want 1000′s of cool 3rd party apps that I can install on the phone like I can on my Treo. Web apps are… well… lame if you ask me. I don’t want a crappy web app! I want a real application that works when I’m
out of my coverage area, or while I’m in my basement where the signal is weak.

It only took me about 24hrs to start missing the following things:

No 3rd party apps (what I’m missing most is a date calculator, gas mileage app, unit converter and
e-book reader, telnet, ssh client)
No note / memo syncing
No task / to-do syncing
No text search
No cut and paste
No file manager
Can’t use as external storage / flash drive
No external storage card for expansion
No voice recorder
No games included! What’s up with that?
No way to add my own ring tones
Can’t sync via Bluetooth

After reading all the things I’m missing with the iPhone over my Treo 680, it
drives home the fact that the iPhone is not a smart phone. It’s a feature phone.
I think that’s where a lot of us so called power users will find fault with this
device. We’re just expecting too much out of it. I know I was. When I first saw
/ heard about the iPhone, my ears perked up and I started dreaming of the new
and improved Newton Message Pad. Well, it’s time to realize that the iPhone is
not the new Newton, the new Palm, new Windows mobile or Symbian phone. It’s just
a very cool feature phone.

Bottom Line

I’m not going to lie to you, I do love the iPhone. Even though it’s crazy expensive for a phone, I love the display, love the widescreen iPod, love Safari, love Mail, really like the camera, appreciate automatic syncing through iTunes whenever I plug the iPhone into the computer (think Windows Mobile ActiveSync, only this sync actually works…) and have grown to enjoy the touch keyboard.
I also share the excitement with all the hackers out there that are trying to
open this device to make it better than it currently is. It feels like the early
days of the Palm Pilot, when every other week brought us some cool new
application or accessory. But all that said, it’s difficult to imagine myself
using the iPhone as my main device much longer. Unless I want to continue to carry my Treo with me to use for all the functions that the iPhone lacks… But that would mean that I would have to swap the SIM in and out whenever I need to telnet or SSH into my
web server. That’s just too much of a pain.

The biggest issues keeping me from switching to the iPhone right now (in order
of importance to me) is the fact that I can’t have all my text files on the
device, can’t search those text files for info, and that the phone is closed to
installable 3rd party apps. I’m hopeful that these things will change in the near future
and that the iPhone will eventually become the smart-phone that I want it to be. I am keeping my iPhone close at hand.
But it just won’t be in my pocket 24/7. At least not for now…

Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

Apple iPhone Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 10, 2007 at 11:00 am.

It’s hard for me to believe that I’ve not reviewed a BlackBerry device in over 6 years. The last device that I reviewed was the 950, which was an email only device shaped like a pager. Back in 2001, BlackBerry products did not have telephony capabilities. These devices were for one purpose and one purpose only: email. Wow, times sure have changed, haven’t they? That’s especially evident with the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 series smartphone. This little beauty sports a quad band GSM radio, a wonderful display and an innovative trackball pointer. Will this phone cause me to put my Treo 680 and 750 in my drawer o’ phones, or will it end up there itself? You will have to keep reading to find the answer.

Hardware Specs

Processor: 312 MHz Intel Xscale processor
Wireless: GSM/GPRS/EDGE, Quad band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
Memory: 64MB Flash
Expansion Slot: MicroSD
Display: 2.2 inch 240 x 260 pixel TFT, 65,000 colors
Bluetooth 2.0
Digital Camera: 1.3 megapixel, with 5x digital zoom, 352 x 288 pixel resolution
Battery: Rechargeable 900 mAh lithium-ion
Talk time: up to 3.5 hours
Standby time: up to
15 days
Size: 4.2 x 1.97 x 0.57 in
Weight: 3.1 ounces

Package Contents

BlackBerry Pearl
AC charger
USB cable
Handsfree wired headset / microphone
Getting Started Guide
Push to Talk Guide
BlackBerry User Tools CD

The Pearl is a thin candy bar style phone that fits easily into most pockets. I personally prefer candy bar phones and really have enjoyed the form factor of this one.

The case is made of a shiny charcoal and chrome colored plastic. The upside is that this phone looks very slick, the downside is that the back attracts fingerprints and smudges quite easily.

Half of the front of this device is taken up by the 2.2 inch color display. I know that sounds really small for a smartphone, but in reality, I’ve found the display to be more than adequate. It’s bright and easy to read in all lighting conditions. A built in ambient sensor automatically adjusts the screen brightness based on the current light levels. Unlike the Pocket PCs that I’ve used with this feature, the BlackBerry actually does a great job with it.

Above the display is a status LED that blinks Red when you have a new email or voicemail. It also blinks Blue when you are paired with a Bluetooth device.

Below the display is the ‘pearl’ trackball mechanism and dial pad / keyboard. I wasn’t really sure how well I would like using the trackball as I’ve never been a fan the full size computer input version. But after only a short period of time adjusting to it, I’ve come to find that I really like it. The ball itself is pretty small. If I were to compare its size to a another object, I would have to say that it looks to be close in size to a BB. You know, the little copper colored orb that you shoot out of an air gun… The trackball rolls freely in all directions and has a smooth but not slick surface. It’s easy to use your thumb to control the ball. It’s also a bit springy and has good tactile feedback when you press it in to select items.

The keys and trackball are both backlit. Like the display, an ambient light sensor controls the backlight for this area. As you will notice from the images above, the BlackBerry Pearl does not have a typical QWERTY style keyboard. There are 25 keys including the trackball. On either side of the trackball, there are 2 keys. On the Left there is the Send and Menu keys. On the Right side, there is the Escape (Back) and End/Power keys.

Most of the main keys do triple duty in that they will be assigned to 2 letters and 1 number or symbol. You might be thinking that entering text with this phone will be a laborious task. Actually, that’s not the case because the BlackBerry uses something called SureType. It’s a very nicely implemented adaptive text style of typing. For example, most non QWERTY keyboard style phones have something called Multi-tap where you have to press 1 key multiple times in order to select the desired letter. With SureType, you just press the keys normally and 9 times out of 10, the word you want is shown correctly. If not, you can choose the correct word in the word list shown on the display. More about that below.

In hand the Pearl feels great. It’s the perfect size for a phone that just happens to also have quite a few smartphone features built in. I really appreciate that this device looks and feels like a phone instead of like a PDA brick that you can make calls from. It’s solid and passes the Gadgeteer squeeze test with passing marks.

The back cover is easily removed (don’t you hate phones that require a pry bar to open them?) to reveal the battery compartment, SIM and MicroSD slots.

On the Left side of the phone, you will find the earphone jack (2.5mm), mini USB sync / charger connector, and the Left convenience key which is mapped to the Push-to-Talk feature by default.

On the opposite side, you will find the volume adjustment buttons and Right convenience key which is mapped to the camera application by default. Both convenience keys can be remapped to the applications of your choice. The hole you see on the Left in the image above, is a lanyard attachment point.

If you look at the top of the BlackBerry, you’ll find a Mute button and a slit in the case. I believe that the slit is the ambient light sensor, but I could be wrong. The Mute button does not turn off the ringer, it turns off the speaker when you are in a call.

To turn off or change the ringer, you can either press and hold the # button or go into the profiles application from the main menu.

There are several ways to make a phone call with the Pearl. You can search your address book for a contact and click the trackball on their desired number. Another way is to go into the phone log and click on one of the listings in the log to call that person. Yet another way is to use the built in voice dialing feature which works pretty well. You can always just start typing a phone number or a person’s name from the main menu and you’ll presented with a listing of names that will continue to filter as you type.

This is what the screen looks like when a call comes in. You have the ability to answer or ignore the call. Ignoring the call will immediately send the caller directly to voice mail. Too bad there isn’t an ignore with text message option…

The default Cingular ‘desktop’ looks like this. You just roll the trackball to the desired application and press it to launch. The phone also comes with some BlackBerry themes, but I find the Cingular theme to be easier on my eyes.

Let’s take a look at the built in applications. The Pearl has all the necessary PIM (personal information manager) apps that you would expect from a smartphone phone. Since I’m a Mac user, I did not install the included PC desktop software package. Instead, I use MarkSpace’s MissingSync for BlackBerry. It allows me to easily sync with iCal.

The Pearl has a Calendar application that looks and feels remarkably Palm-like. The calendar has monthly, daily and agenda style views that you can choose from. You can set the default view that you would like to use every time you launch the calendar app.

There is a Task application, Search app and a MemoPad app. I really like that the search application searches for text inside the memos from the MemoPad app. And I’m very happy that the Pearl includes the MemoPad app that syncs
wonderfully with my Mac using MissingSync.

When you think of a BlackBerry device, you naturally think of email. This phone is no different in that regard. It has strong email features that can be used with an exchange server or a plain old POP email server like the one your ISP offers. The only thing you will need to be able to actually access your email though is a data plan. Actually, you’ll need a data plan to do any data related tasks including email, web browsing. That fact became painfully clear to me after I purchased my Pearl from eBay and was unable to surf the web right out of the box. I mistakenly assumed that my regular Cingular Unlimited Media Net plan would allow me to do everything I would need. I’ve never ran into issues with other phones I test, so I didn’t think I’d have a problem with this one. Wrong.

A BlackBerry device is a different animal than other phones. You must subscribe to one of the BlackBerry specific data plans in order to fully enjoy the benefits of the phone. These plans range in price from $34.99 – $79.99 per month (these prices are with Cingular. Other carrier’s prices will vary) on top of your regular cell phone bill. I opted for the cheapest plan at $34.99 /mo. Once they turned on the service, email and web browsing were magically enabled.

I decided set up my regular julie@the-gadgeteer.com email address for the Pearl. Set up is easy either through the browser on your phone or using your desktop web browser connected to your BlackBerry web account.

The email interface on the phone is not very fancy as you can see in the images above. That’s one disappointment that I have as I wish there were more bells and whistles. Some features that I find missing are the ability to create and save messages to folders, html email viewing, multi message selection for deleting. I would have to say that the last issue that I mentioned in that list is the one that annoys me most. Every morning when I first check the phone, I would find over 100 emails in the inbox. Usually, I wait till I get to work and use a web interface to read, respond and delete mail. At some point during the day though, I’d have to manually delete each email one at a time on the phone. Tedious is an understatement when you receive as much email as I do. There is a setting to automatically delete messages after a predetermined time… but 15 days is the lowest setting.

So, that’s the bad side of email on a BlackBerry Pearl. The good side is that this phone typically receives new email faster than my desktop computer. There’s also the fact that you don’t have to tell it to go fetch messages. It does that automatically.

Composing and responding to messages is pain free with SureType. As you type, it senses the correct word and displays it as you type. If that word is not what you want, you can choose from a list of other words that fit with the letters you pressed and select from them. In the example above, I typed the word hello, which it correctly guessed without me needing to correct it. If that wasn’t the word I wanted, I could choose from the other words listed. You can also edit the word list to add words that you commonly enter that the phone doesn’t recognize. All in all, I have found entering data on this phone to be almost as comfortable as doing similar tasks with my Treos.

Now let’s check out the browser.

For some reason there are two browsers on the BlackBerry, but I’m really not sure that they differ in any significant way. They both start up the same, look identical, have the same menus and are annoyingly slow. Granted, I only have EDGE in my area. But I have found surfing with this phone to be pretty frustrating. More than 25% of the time, I’ll receive an error like you see above when I try to launch the browser.

Pages do look fine with the built in browser though. Graphics render just fine and navigating from link to link with the trackball is not uncomfortable. Of course the screen is small, so it’s not like you would ever consider making this device your primary web surfing machine.

I also tried the Opera mini browser with this phone. It’s a bit less annoying than the built in browser, but not by a significant margin.

The Pearl also has a nifty mapping application (TeleNav Maps) built in that you can use to get turn by turn driving directions. The free versions requires you to feed it starting and ending addresses, but with the premium version ($9.99/mo.) and a Bluetooth GPS you will get voice GPS directions.

A few of the other built in applications include an MP3 player, video player, calculator and an breakout style game which is pretty addictive.

The built in camera on the Pearl can take pictures with resolutions of 1280 x 1024, 640 x 480 and 320 x 240. It also has a built in LED flash that helps for low light shots. Like most phones, images captured by built in cameras typically aren’t too great. I found the BlackBerry Pearl’s camera to be better than average though. Check out my sample pix below.

Click thumbnail to see full-size image

I have really enjoyed using the BlackBerry Pearl for the past 2 weeks. I love the form factor, enjoy the trackball, love how fast the phone pulls down my email, and have been impressed by the battery life and reception. All that said though, I’m sad to say that a few issues will keep me from making this my main smartphone… First and foremost, the biggest issue for me is the expensive monthly data plan. Then there’s the email client. It lacks some important features that keep me from totally loving it. Another problem is the slow web browser. But I could live with that since I don’t really surf all that often with my phone. I guess the BlackBerry Pearl is going to go live in my drawer of misfit phones for awhile… It’s a sad sad thing…

Filed in categories: Blackberry related

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

BlackBerry Pearl 8100 Smartphone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 6, 2007 at 6:00 pm.

I am simply amazed at how cell phones have evolved from the “portable” bag phone to today’s vast selection of featured laden mobile phones. Built in cameras, music players, text messaging and voice dialing are just some of the options available in mix and match feature laden phones. Add to the mix WiFi and Bluetooth, push email, robust calendar and contact management with Internet access plus a large catalog of third party software makes today’s smartphone a compelling reason to leave the laptop at home.

The Samsung SGH-i320 Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone has all this and more packaged in a well-designed form factor in a thin and compact package. When I first received the Smartphone to review for the Gadgeteer, I was in awe of how every aspect of this Samsung was smartly engineered to achieve its compactness and near perfection.

Hardware Specifications

Processor: Intel ARM920T PXA272 416 MHz
Standard: EDGE, GPRS Class 10 (900/1800/1900 MHz)
Camera: 1.3 Megapixel Camera
Display: 2.2″ 240×320 65K Color TFT
OS: Windows Mobile 5 for Smartphone
Features:
Push Email (Messaging & Security Feature Pack)
QWERTY Keyboard
Video Recording & Messaging (MPEG4 / H.263)
MP3/ AAC / AAC+ / WMA/ WAV / OGG
Dual Speaker / Speakerphone
Bluetooth / USB / Voice Recognition
Document Viewer
Memory
120MB embedded, External Memory (microSD)
Size: 111 x 59 x 11.5mm
Weight: 95g

Package Contents

i320 Smartphone
Quick Reference Guide
Microsoft Windows Mobile Getting Started Disc
User Guide on CD (PDF)
Wall charger with travel adaptor
Spare battery with case
Proprietary sync/charge UBS cable
Stereo Headphone connector

The installation of ActiveSync to a Windows XP PC was fairly easy with no flaws or interruptions.

Display: 2.2″ Landscape 240×320 65K Color TFT
While the screen is small, the resolution is very sharp with crisp font rendering. I found that the screen is nearly impossible to read in bright outdoor settings. Remembering what key to press to unlock the device will light up the display from sleep mode to a much more readable active mode; otherwise when the phone is inactive with the screen dimmed out, reading can be difficult in outside settings because of the reflective screen. The small screen with miniature icons requires visual concentration, which is certainly not advisable in a moving vehicle for safety sake. However, there is a launcher feature than solves this problem.

Increasing the font size to large will render user inputted information such as contacts, emails, and call history much more readable.

The Samsung uses the Windows Mobile 5 for Smartphone operating system. I’ve been used to the Palm OS user experience with the Palm Treo 650 (and the occasional use of either the stylus or finger on the touch screen), so it took a small learning curve to operate the various commands and screens using the D-Pad. In short time, the D-Pad makes navigating very easy around the menu tree with a thumb Up, Down, to the Right very easy like the Mac. Point. Click. Double Click.

Features:
Push Email is a big plus if you require a steady diet of email from every fifteen minutes, half hour, hour, two, six hours and once a day. Once the email is pushed, the Samsung sends an alert of your choosing. Of course, you can send and receive anytime, but having the Push Email functionality is a big plus for those who are overly compulsive on checking email. I set my business account to check for email every fifteen minutes and personal less often. Having push Email was freeing for added productivity set it and forget it. The individual alerts will signal incoming Emails. The setup of email accounts mimics Outlook on a desktop PC, so it was quick and easy. Protocols supported are IMAP, POP3 and Microsoft Exchange.

QWERTY Keyboard:
Typing with the keypad proved to be much easier in part to the angled keys; there are handy functional keys for easier input such as a number lock button, a # key to trigger the phone into a silent or vibrate setting as user defined in the general profiles and a messaging key for access to email account(s), Outlook Email and SMS/MMS. The keypad was solid to the touch.

What is impressive is the ease of dialing. There is a outline grouped around the center keys which in effect making dialing easier and less error prone. The adjacent buttons respond to the number inside the circle. Pressing E or R yields a 1, T or Y yields a 2, etc. Pressing the keys activates the bright white backlit keys and large color font in the display screen. The phone also searches the contact list by letters as well.

When a call is coming in the soft buttons above the keypad flashes red.

Size:
111 x 59 x 11.5 mm Samsung
112 x 58 x 23 mm Treo 650
89 x 53 x 13.9 mm Motorola RAZR

Left to right: Treo 650, Samsung i320, Motorola RAZR

Left to right: Treo 650, Samsung i320, Motorola RAZR

Here are comparison photos next to a Palm Treo 650 and Motorola RAZR for perspective as to size and slimness of the Samsung.

Weight
95 g Samsung
179 g Treo 650
95 g Motorola RAZR

Memory:
The Samsung was no slouch on memory with 128MB ROM standard. After installing the 3rd party application Pocket Express by Handmark, 93MB of storage memory was available on the device itself. With a microSD expansion card slot safely tucked away underneath the battery cover, this device will handle additional third party software with plenty of room to store MP3s, documents and photos. Total Storage: 122.54 MB.

The battery has to be removed to access the microSD card. I actually like the location as there is no opportunity to lose the sd card by accidentally ejecting the card. The battery casing was extremely snug and it took a good grip with both thumbs to slide the case open.

The processor is the Intel ARM920T PXA272 416 MHz. I did not notice any speed issues particularly with downloading email or navigating any of the programs. Available Memory: 26.33 MB; Total Memory: 52.78 MB.

Functionality:
I actually liked the thin design as it fits well in a pants pocket and is light enough to carry in a shirt pocket (with the button fasten.) I fear dropping or misplacing the Samsung because of its lack of bulk. The rounded sides and smooth finish made the phone easy to hold for lengthy phone calls.

The black finish as to be expected picked up lots of smudges, static lint and fingerprints. On the backside there were noticeable wear and scratches on either side of the camera and lower corners. But the screen was encased in reflective glass; there was no evidence of scratches. Because of the flatness of the phone, activating the keylock was a must to prevent accidental calling or triggering of programs.

On the left side there is a rocker arm for earpiece and speaker volume. The volume was adequate in noisy environments. To mute the call ringer when a call comes in, press once. Press and hold to reject the call and send to voicemail.

At the upper right is a multi-purpose button that activates a Quick List menu: Power Off, Wireless Manager, Key Lock, Device Lock and other profile settings.

The button underneath can be programmed to launch applications. Press once (in my case for Contacts) and Press Hold to launch the camera.

On the right side at the bottom is a nylon connected hinge door that flips up for access to the sync/charge connection port. The headset jack door is located in the middle. Having these ports covered is a good attention to detail to protect the ports from accidental liquid spills, dust, lint or dirt. The headset jack is non-standard and the sync/charge cable is proprietary, which means never leaving those vital components behind. The fit was not flimsy and finish of the door ports shows good attention to the manufacturing design.

On the backside of the phone there are stereo speakers with SRS WOW TXT technology settings to fine tune playback of MP3/ AAC / AAC+ / WMA/ WAV / OGG files via Windows Media Player. The sound is fair as to be expected for a smartphone.

In between the speakers is a 1.3 Megapixel Camera with a small horizontal flash.

The camera’s various modes include a camcorder function; single shot and multishots of 6 or 9; mosaic mode of 2×2 or 3×3; flash on or off, 3 timers settings of 2.2, 3.6 and 4.10 seconds, sepia, black and white and negative in sizes from 320 x 240 or 176 x 144. This is not your standard camera thrown in as afterthought!

My carrier is Cingular, so I was able to transfer the SIM card easily. The device is tri-band GPRS Class 10 (900/1800/1900 MHz) with good signal strength. EDGE data is supported here in the United States with Cingular and T-Mobile; web browsing was very good accessing GMail and general surfing.

The Bluetooth 1.2 radio paired with ease with my Palm Treo Bluetooth headset. There is no 3G radio or WiFi functionality. But I have a $40.00 a month all you can eat data plan so lack of WiFi was not an issue for me.

There was one hurdle to clear. Setting up Internet access was not easy as the Samsung did not automatically recognize the settings needed to access the Cingular settings. However a quick call to Cingular’s Customer Service (with no hold time at 12:30 AM!) yielded the information needed to quickly access the Internet:

Access Point: WAP.CINGULAR
User Name: WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM
Password: CINGULAR1
Primary DNS: 0.0.0.0
Secondary DNS: 0.0.0.0
IP Address: (leave blank)

THE SEMI UGLY:
So let’s talk about the battery. The Boy Scout motto is applicable… Always Be Prepared! With general web surfing, push email throughout the day and a few phone calls, the battery quickly drains down to about 5 hours of usage based on the strength meter reading. However, I found that that it’s actually 7 hours before a recharge is absolutely needed – just like the gas needle on your car that sits on empty! Fortunately, the Samsung will prompt you that the end is near with a warning alert.

What I really like about Samsung is that an extra battery is included in a plastic case that has a recharge insert. Nice touch that all manufacturers should offer regardless of battery life.

A car charger (not included) is a must have accessory to stay powered at all times and to not risk losing the extra battery.

Software:
Samsung packages the phone with applications such as Picsel Viewer (that allows viewing of native Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF documents and image files for email attachments), Windows Media Player, World Clock, WAP browser, Smart Converter, D-Day (for birthday/anniversary events), SIM Manager, Stop Watch, Task Manager, File Manager, and the Program Launcher. The customizable Program Launcher makes navigating the Samsung a breeze

Conclusion: This is my first experience with a Windows Mobile 5 based phone and anyone using this Samsung SGH-i320 will quickly find out that it an exceptional phone with plenty of features. The push Email, solid construction, light weight, memory, reliability and feature sets will give a diehard Palm enthusiast reason to make the switch. I’m impressed as this Samsung SGH-i320 sets a new standard for those wanting to purchase or upgrade to a new smartphone to strongly consider the new form factor in thinness (like the Motorola Q) and functionality. Unfortunately, the SGH-i320 is available in Europe and South East Asia; Cingular US customers will see a similar phone in the introduction of the Samsung Blackjack. If the price is right (for example, around $200 with a 2 year contract) I would not hesitate to make a switch even if the SGH-i320 was available for $499 (via Amazon) USD unlocked. This phone from Samsung is that good.

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Cellular, Phone, Smartphone, Windows Mobile, Wireless

Samsung SGH-i320 Windows Mobile Smartphone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 2, 2007 at 3:56 pm.

Are you the type of person that wants a great PDA that happens to also have a good phone built into it? Or would you rather have a great phone that just happens to also function as a good PDA? That’s almost always the question you have to ask yourself when you’re in the market for a smartphone. It seems that no matter which brand of phone/PDA that you look at, you can’t find a device that is both an excellent PDA and an excellent phone. Trade offs, gotta luv em…

For that very reason, this review is going to be approached by two different perspectives. I’m the type of person that wants a great phone first, and a great PDA second. Since Rob is the opposite, I thought he’d be the perfect person to help me out with this review. As a result, I got him a TyTN at the same time that I bought mine. So, let’s get this tag team review of HTC’s TyTN rolling!

Julie’s comments are in BLACK, Rob’s are in italicized BLUE.

In case you didn’t already know, HTC is the maker of a lot of phones / PDAs on the market today. From the original Compaq iPAQ to the current Palm Treo 750v, HTC has been around since 1997 and seems to really know what they are doing as far as creating devices with great hardware design. The TyTN is one of their latest Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC phones. With a slide out keyboard, WiFi, Bluetooth and a Quad band GSM radio, this device has a lot going for it.

Hardware Specs

Operating System: Windows Mobile 5.0
Memory: ROM 128MB / RAM 64MB SDRAM
Processor: 400MHz Samsung 2442 processor
Display: 240 X 320 2.8in TFT-LCD 65,536 colors
Radio: GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS radio, GSM bands: 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS bands: 850/1900/2100
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi 802.11b/g, Infrared (IR)
Expansion: MicroSD card slot
Camera: 2.0 megapixel with 8x digital zoom
Battery: Removable 1350 mAH Lithium-ion
Talk time: up to 4-5 hours GSM / 2-4 hours UMTS, Standby time: 120-250 hours
Power: AC adapter (Input 100-240AC, 50/60Hz 0.2A / Output 5V and 1A)
Size: 112.5 x 58 x 21.95 mm
Weight: 176 grams

One thing not mentioned in the official specs is that the TyTn also has an ATI media accelerator in it. I’m not sure how much it helps in practice, but this should allow video playback to be smoother and more battery-friendly than on PDAs which use the CPU for media decoding. Also worthy of special note is the support for the 850 and 1900 MHz UMTS bands; this is one of the first phones to support UMTS and HSDPA in North America.

Package Contents

HTC TyTN
Leather Belt case
Extra stylus
Li-ion battery
USB sync cable
AC charger with 2 country adapters (US and Asian)
Stereo headset / mic
Getting Started CD
Quick Start Guide
User Manual

Hardware Design
Front

The TyTN is shaped like a little rectangular rounded corner brick. Constructed almost entirely of grey plastic (except for a brushed aluminum inset on the front), this device feels solid and substantial in hand. It had no troubles passing my legendary gadgeteer squeeze test without rattling or flexing.

The 2.8 inch diagonal display is easy to read, with vivid colors and crisp text. But like almost every color PDA/Phone that I’ve tested over the years, the screen is almost unreadable in bright sunlight.

Along the top there are 2 buttons, a status LED bar and a front facing camera. The two buttons are mapped to the messaging application and Pocket IE web browser. The LED bar (you can see it right above the HTC logo in the image above) shows the status for battery charging, radio reception, Bluetooth and WiFi.

Regarding the front facing video camera, I’m not sure what it’s for because I don’t see anything in the software that references it.

I haven’t tried it yet, but apparently CoolCamera by Ateksoft supports it for taking pictures. Also of note is that Cingular’s 8525, their branded version of the TyTn, doesn’t have the front camera at all due to the lack of video calling support on their network.

At the bottom of the front, you will find the main button layout. There are buttons to Start a call, End a call, OK (exit applications), Windows Start Menu, Left softkey, Right softkey, 5-way navigation and the Video Call button.

Video calling doesn’t work in the United States, and probably won’t any time soon. If you’re on a UMTS network elsewhere, you can probably press the Video Call button (which is duplicated on the touch screen user interface) to turn on the front camera and videoconference with the person you’re talking to, provided, of course, that they have a video-capable phone on their end as well.

All of the buttons are flat and sit flush with the casing around it. Even so, they have great tactile feedback and are easy to press. The only issue that I have is trying to feel for a specific button with gloves on.

Since I’m a Treo user, I’ve grown very accustomed to having a thumbboard built into my PDA/Phone. This caused me a bit of frustration when I first started using the HTC. It almost felt like I was trying to use this device with one hand tied behind my back. That might sound strange since the TyTN does have a built in keyboard…

To access the keyboard you have to slide the screen to the right. I usually do this by rotating the device in my hands and then use my thumbs to slide the display up to expose the keyboard. The display will click in place securely and the onscreen image will automatically rotate to match the new orientation. When you slide the display back in place to hide the keyboard, the screen will rotate back into portrait mode automatically.

This reminds me a bit of the HP200LX and other keyboard-based handhelds of its day; landscape mode is nice for web browsing, email, and other text-oriented activities, and the TyTn’s automatic switching is seamless in most modern PocketPC applications.

Holding and using the PDA when the keyboard is exposed feels very comfortable and not awkward at all.

The keyboard itself has a cool blue backlight that is activated when you press one of its 41 keys.

See the spot above the ‘P’ key? That’s a light sensor, so that the backlight will not activate if you are, for example, outdoors in the middle of the day. I wonder if this actually saves battery life, or if it’s just one of those things that sounds cooler than it actually is.

Ha! I’m so glad you mentioned that, because I didn’t know what it was for. I actually tried pressing it with my stylus thinking it was a reset switch!

The keys are large and slightly dome shaped which makes typing for even long periods of time a pleasure. The Left and Right soft keys are even duplicated on the keyboard so that stylus use isn’t necessary.

Back

On the back of the TyTN you will find the camera lens, LED flash and speaker. There is also a little toggle slider switch to change the camera from macro to normal mode. In the very bottom right corner there is a small eyelet for a hand strap.

The built in camera is 2 megapixel, which is a better resolution than the majority of camera phones. I was hoping to be impressed by the camera due to the fact that it has an LED flash and a switch to toggle between macro and normal mode. Unfortunately, I am not impressed at all… The pictures (both macro and normal) are blurry. (

Indeed, the TyTn follows in the grand tradition of mediocre-at-best phone cameras. Oh well, I guess it can’t have everything, or else there would be nothing to improve in the next model.

This is the camera interface

There’s also the problem with the side button placement. When you turn the phone in landscape orientation to take a picture, your left thumb naturally rests along the button left edge of the phone where the jog wheel and OK button are located. These buttons are pretty sensitive, so it doesn’t take much effort to accidently activate them while you’re trying to take a picture.

Left to right: macro shot, normal shot. Click on thumbnail to see full size image

Left Side

The left side of the device has a jog dial, OK button, Voice command button and MicroSD slot. The jog dial allows you to scroll through various lists, menus and while in a call, it will allow you to adjust the volume level up and down. If you press the Voice command button, it will launch the Voice Speed Dial application. Pressing and holding the Voice command button will allow you to record a voice note.

On the Cingular version, this button apparently is hard-coded to activate a future Push To Talk service, and can’t be reassigned without additional software.

Regarding Voice Speed dialing… You actually have to set up an entry for each person that you want to dial. You do this by recording a command like “Call Rob’s TyTN”, and then link it to the appropriate contact phone number. It’s not surprising that I like the voice command app on the Treo 750v a lot better than the one on the TyTN. There’s nothing to setup on it. You can just hold the button and say “Call Julie at Home” or “Call Julie at Work” and it will verify what you asked and then if you say Yes, it will dial the number. You can also use it to interact with other applications.

The voice dialing software Julie mentioned is Microsoft Voice Command, which comes bundled with the Treo 750v but can be purchased separately for $40.

Right Side

On the right side of the TyTN you will find the Power button, Communications Manager launcher and Camera button. It’s no surprise that pressing the power button will toggle the power on and off. But, this actually just puts the phone into sleep mode. If you hold the power button for more than 5 seconds, it will completely shut down the device. This means that you will not receive calls or notifications until you turn the phone back on.

Top

There are no buttons or special features located on the top edge of the phone.

Bottom

If you look on the bottom edge of the TyTN, you will see the IR port, Battery cover lock, reset switch, microphone, USB sync / charge port and stylus silo. The USB connector doesn’t appear to be the normal shape for a mini USB plug, but never fear, plugging one in will work just fine. You can either charge using the supplied AC adapter, or via a standard USB mini cable. I use the last method.

If you’ve been paying attention, you might be wondering where the earphone jack is. Well, you have to use the earphone / mic that comes with the phone. It uses the special USB connector. I find this to be a little annoying. Not that I use my phone as a media player that often, but if I did, I’d want to use my own earbuds… even if I had to use a 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter.

If you’re willing to poke around a bit with a registry editor, it will apparently work with Bluetooth A2DP stereo headsets. Until that is better supported, however, I agree that the lack of a proper headset jack is an annoyance. A lot of recent phones are guilty of this, but that’s no excuse.

Battery life has been pretty good for me. I’m not a heavy user of both the phone or PDA features. I mainly make a couple short calls each day, check email once or twice, look up appointments, text notes, and maybe play a game for a few minutes. With that type of usage, I have been able to get away with charging every other day and sometimes every 3rd day.

I also don’t have any complaints about battery life. I’m pretty diligent about plugging things in every night, or at least once every couple of days and I don’t think I’ve seen the TyTn dip below 50% charge. And that includes some days of heavy WiFi and Bluetooth use, installing and trying out software, and the like.

Let’s talk a little more about the size of the TyTN. In hand it feels a little bulky because it is pretty thick. It doesn’t feel HUGE, but it does feel somewhat unphone-like to me. That said, it does feel way more like a phone than the HP hw6945!

Compared to the Treo 750v, it doesn’t look that much different in overall size does it?

The Treo is a little thinner which does make a big difference in how the device feels in your hand.

You can really see the thickness difference in the picture above…

As far as overall phone experience, this is where the TyTN falls a bit flat for me. As a PDA, I love the screen and built in WiFi. It’s a great little Pocket PC. But as a phone, the lack of the always accessible keyboard has made it feel just a little awkward for me. Although I have gotten used to it in the weeks since I’ve been reviewing this phone, I still find myself really missing the Treo keyboard. The Treo is a great one handed device; the TyTN requires the use of two hands for true text operation.

I was looking for more of a PDA with phone functionality, rather than the other way around, so I’m happy to trade the front keyboard for a rectangular screen. I still haven’t fully conquered my fear of directly touching a PDA display, but the between the finger-sized buttons on the dialer application, the jog wheel, and the front face buttons I don’t find it any harder to use one-handed than any other keyboard-less phone. One thing that helps a little with this is to get a phone pad input method, such as the one HTC provided for some of its other PDA phones, which gives you a thumb-friendly on-screen T9 predictive text input pad that works in all Windows Mobile applications. I don’t know why HTC didn’t include this in the TyTn’s ROM; it can be downloaded from a few places on the web, and while it wasn’t created for the TyTn it works just fine on it.

Besides keyboard use, the TyTN has very good reception. I don’t think I had one dropped call while using this phone. I’ve not had any issues with audio volume on either side of the conversation. The only thing I have noticed is that sometimes I can hear some static in the background of my calls. Have you noticed that Rob?

I can’t honestly say if I’ve noticed static, because I’m used to marginal quality on a lot of my calls regardless of what phone I’m using. I live in a semi-rural area and even the best phone suffers from a lot of audio glitches, if not completely dropped calls, if I try to use it indoors at home. (And that’s on Cingular 850 MHz; T-Mobile 1900 MHz is a lost cause.) The fact that the TyTn works here at all is a sign that it has reasonably good RF performance. I can walk around the house with it without finding any obvious dead spots, which is more than I can say for some phones I’ve tried. When I’m out and about I have had nothing to complain about.

The TyTN runs on a 400MHz processor. I haven’t had any real issues with application speed, but it isn’t unusual to see the little spinning wheel for a second or two when you launch some applications.

Now let’s talk a little bit about the software that powers the TyTN. This particular device uses Windows Mobile 5.0. Below you can see a list of all the applications that are included in ROM.

Software Installed On Device

ActiveSync
Alarm Clock
Bubble Breaker
Calculator
Camera
Communications Manager
Internet Explorer Mobile
File Explorer
Microsoft Office Outlook Mobile
- Email
- Calendar
- Contacts
- Tasks
- Notes
Microsoft Office Mobile
- Word Mobile
- Excel Mobile
- PowerPoint Mobile
Phone
Pictures and Video
ClearVue PDF Viewer
Download Agent
Pocket MSN
SAPSettings
Search
SIM Manager
SMS / MMS Messaging with chat view
Solitaire
Terminal Services Client
Voice Speed Dial
Windows Media Player 10 Mobile
Wireless Modem
Zip

Software on CD

ActiveSync 4.1 (for your desktop)
Outlook 2002 (for your desktop)

As you can see, this device doesn’t come with a typical software bundle that includes extra full and trial applications. I’m wondering what type of bundle the Cingular version (8525) comes with…

From what I understand, the Cingular version doesn’t add a lot to the basic bundle. The main additions are the clients for MobiTV and TeleNav, which take advantage of Cingular’s high speed network, but otherwise the software load is the same.

The TyTN doesn’t come with a bunch of today plug-ins that can slow down the device. However, there are two little additions to the bottom of the today screen. A battery level indicator, and a small icon that you can click on to launch the communications manager.

If you’re handy with a registry editor, you can also enable a hidden today plugin, apparently a standard part of Windows Mobile, which shows the name of your GSM carrier and the status of Bluetooth and WiFi. (You could also get this information by tapping the status icons up top, of course.) Why this isn’t available by default I don’t know.

I don’t really think the tray icons are all that useful. The communication manager has its own hardware button, while the battery icon is easily replaced (and improved upon) by one of the many task managers or today screen plugins out there. You can turn them off, but it requires poking around in the registry.

The communications manager can be accessed by the icon at the bottom of the today screen or by the button on the right side of the device. I like to use to this app to mute the speaker. It will remember the last cursor location, so I just leave it on the little speaker icon so that can easily toggle the status.

You are supposed to be able to use the TyTN as a modem for a PC or Notebook via USB, IR or Bluetooth. I tried this with my Powerbook and although I was able to pair the two devices, the Powerbook kept asking me for a user name, password and phone number. I’m not sure what settings are required to use the existing data plan on the phone though…

Surfing webpages using the phone itself is very comfortable. There are several zoom levels in Pocket Internet Explorer to enable a good chunk of text to be displayed. See some examples below.

Medium zoom setting on left, smallest zoom on right

Landscape mode: medium zoom setting on left, smallest zoom on right

Images in webpages look pretty nice too.

The TyTN would make a great little web surfing device if you happen to live in an area with 3G coverage. Unfortunately for me, I just have Edge right now. Even so, surfing felt relatively snappy. I did use http://text.dslreports.com/mspeed to test my connection a couple of times, and came up with results of:

200k test:

133 kbit/sec, 0.893s latency
159 kbit/sec, 0.916s latency

Not too horrible )

I tried the same mobile speed test on my home WiFi network, it came up with a result that was pretty close to the speed of my DSL. I tried copying a large file to the storage card with Total Commander and the results were not as good; while it is nice to have 802.11g in a PDA, the rest of the hardware isn’t really capable of using that much bandwidth. For surfing and streaming, it works well both at home and at public hotspots.

This is the interface for the Voice Speed Dial app.

And last but not least, here is the Zip application that is also included with the TyTN. It’s a simple interface to allow you to zip up files to save storage space.

I have to say that the HTC TyTN is a great little device. With its nice display, Quad band GSM, WiFi, Bluetooth, and keyboard, it’s really hard to find many faults. Of course you know I have to complain about something, so here goes. The camera is less than stellar and for me, the phone experience just isn’t as good as… yes, you know what I’m going to type… the Treo. I can’t help it. I think I’m forever spoiled. Seriously, if you want a device that’s a little bit more PDA than Phone, this one is a great choice. If you’re the other way around then it might not be the perfect device for you. What do you think Rob?

I really like it. As I mentioned earlier, I was interested in something which was a PDA first and foremost. I was a bit wary of switching to the Windows Mobile platform, since I’ve had PocketPCs before and always found myself underwhelmed. But as a Windows PDA, the TyTn lacks for very little; about the only significant thing I could wish for is a bigger screen, and that would be impossible without making it less portable. I’ve switched completely over to the TyTn from my Palm TX, and I don’t think I’m going back.

I can’t yet say the same for myself. I am having a hard time deciding if I want to go back to Palm or stick with Windows Mobile. There are things that I like about both software platforms. As for the hardware, I’m still looking for my perfect Phone/PDA combo. The TyTN is close in some aspects, but not quite the one for me at this point. The quest continues…

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related, Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Phone, Pocket PC, Windows Mobile, Wireless

HTC TyTN Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Phone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 4, 2006 at 8:00 am.

11/17/06 Update (see info in Red)

Trying to find my perfect smartphone has been causing me the same frustration as trying to find my perfect gear bag. The quest just never ends because I’ve come to realize that there isn’t any one perfect phone (or gear bag) out there for me. The whole trick is to find one that comes as close as possible. This review is for the Hewlett Packard iPAQ hw6945 Mobile Messenger; a Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC phone. The question is, will it become my new “perfect” smartphone?

(I have also created an audio review of this phone in The Gadgeteer Podcast #2. This written review should be considered as a companion to it.)

Hardware Specs

Processor: Intel PXA270 processor 416MHz
Operating system: Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC, Phone Edition, with Messaging and Security Feature Pack
Memory: User Available 45MB available for persistent user storage 64MB SDRAM for running applications
Display: 3.0 inch (75 mm) Transflective TFT, 64K Colors
Built-in camera: 1.3 megapixel, 1280 x 1024 resolution
Battery: Removable, rechargeable Lithium-Ion (1200 mAh)
Expansion: Integrated mini-SD slot
Audio: Voice recording, built-in speakerphone, microphone, one 2.5 mm stereo headphone/microphone jack
Dimensions: 4.65″ x 2.8″ x 0.71″ (118 mm x 71 mm x 18 mm)
Weight: 6.33 oz. (179.45g) with battery; 5.28 oz. (149.69g) without battery

Package Contents

hw6945 Mobile Messenger
Universal cradle/charger
AC adapter
Flip cover
Holster
Wired ear bud headphones
HP product information guide
Software: Microsoft Outlook 2002, ActiveSync 4.1, HP ProtectTools, HP Photosmart Premier, HP Navigation Maps (60 day trial)

With WiFi, Bluetooth, a camera and even a GPS built in, the hw6945 has a lot of features packed into a relatively compact package. Let’s take a closer look.

Hardware Design
Front

Made of silver and dark grey plastic, this smartphone has a similar appearance to a Treo, due to the small thumb-board keyboard located directly below the display.

The keyboard has small flat hard plastic keys that exhibit good tactile feedback. Even though the keys are small and are practically flush with the face of the phone, they are still easy to press with your thumb tips.

Notice how flat the keys are on the HP phone compared to the Treo 750v seen stacked on top of the HP in the picture above.

Situated above the keyboard are 5 additional buttons. The outside buttons start and end calls, while the inside buttons map to the onscreen command buttons. Centered between them is a small joystick type button that allows scrolling in 4 directions and also selects items when pressed in.

The start and end buttons are backlit, but unfortunately the keyboard is not. However, the light from the start and end buttons does sort of leak through to the buttons beneath the phone buttons.

The keyboard does in fact light up. I had the “Disable all buttons except power button” setting turned on in the buttons settings dialog box. Apparently when this setting is on, it keeps the keyboard from lighting up…

Included with the phone is a plastic flip cover. Kinda retro huh? It does do a pretty good job as a screen protector if you aren’t the type of person to put your phone in a case.

Also located on the front of the hw6945 is the power button (top right corner) and two status LEDs beside it. One big problem that I have with this phone is the fact that the power button is the only way to power this device on. Pressing any of the other buttons including the green talk button has no effect. As a result, if you want to make an outgoing call when the device is turned off, you will have to press a minimum of 3 buttons. 1. Press the power button, 2. Press the green call button, 3. Press a speed dial key. You will also notice that the power button and green call button are separated by a good distance. Not very ergonomic at all.

Other buttons will in fact power on this device. I had the “Disable all buttons except power button” setting turned on in the buttons settings dialog box. This is apparently the default setting. Unchecking this option allows pressing of the Green call button to turn on the device and go directly to the phone / dial screen.

I’ve found the whole phone experience to be lacking when using this phone. Not only physically, but with the interface and reception. During calls, I will hear static in the background (people on the other end of the conversation have commented on hearing static too), and I have found that the signal strength is not as strong as other phones I have used.

Left Side

On the left side of the phone, you’ll find the volume adjustment slider switch, camera button and IR port. In the image above, you see the hw6945 on the bottom, with the Treo 750v on top. This gives you an idea of how the two phones compare in thickness.

Right Side

A mini-SD slot is located on the right side of the device. The stylus slot is also located on this side.

Back

On the back you will find the built in camera lens, self portrait mirror and LED flash. Next to the camera is the speaker grill.

The 1.3mp camera is only just so-so as far as picture quality goes. You will definitely NOT be using this device as your primary camera.

Click thumbnail to see full-size images

As you can see, the images are pretty fuzzy. The biggest problem though is that the camera software is slow. VERY slow. If you need to take a quick snapshot, you’ll most likely miss it. More about the image capture software later in the review. It is nice to have a flash for the camera though, even if it doesn’t flash automatically. You have to tap on the display to turn it on and off.

Bottom

A 2.5mm stereo headphone jack, microphone, charge/sync port and reset switch can be found along the bottom edge of the phone.

HP included a nice charge / sync cradle for the hw6945. You don’t see cradles being included with PDAs or phones these days, so I consider this a nice ‘gift’.

In hand, this phone feels pretty large. While it’s somewhat thinner than a Treo, it’s wider. The added width makes it look more like a PDA than a phone in my opinion.

Build quality is very good and this smartphone doesn’t have any problems passing the Gadgeteer squeeze / creak test.

Above you can see the hw6945 and the Treo 750v. The display on both devices has 240 x 240 pixel resolution, but the HP’s display is noticeably larger.

The display is crisp and easy to read, but it’s not quite as bright and vibrant as the Treo 750v’s display as shown below

Left to Right: hw6945, Treo 750v

This picture was taken without a flash and with both devices side by side and set to their individual highest brightness levels. Even though HP does have a dimmer screen, it isn’t something that you will notice without having another device with a brighter screen next to it to compare. So I don’t have much to complain about as far as the display goes, except for the 240 x 240 resolution.

One hardware feature that I have so far been unable to test, is the built-in GPS receiver. Out of the box, this device does not have any mapping software built in. The only feature that takes advantage of the GPS is the image capturing software. There is a setting to have it stamp coordinates on your pictures. If you want to use the GPS for mapping, you can install the 60-day trial software that is included on CD. It’s HP’s navigation software. Of course, it’s a Windows application, so I wasn’t able to install it at home using my iMac. I did try installing it with my XP laptop at work, and didn’t have a very good experience. The software has to connect to the HP in order to sync maps. When I would try this step, it continued to say that it could not find the device ID. I didn’t have any problem syncing with ActiveSync though… The software app did install on the HP, but it caused the phone/PDA to run extremely slow. I checked and had sufficient memory available, but the only way to fix the problem was to do a hard reset. My confidence level in the GPS / software went down the tubes at this point. I would be interested in hearing from hw6945 owners that have had a better experience than I have.

As far as power, I haven’t had any real issues with battery life while using this phone. For several calls, a little WiFi surfing, a few snapshots, etc. it will easily last the entire day with plenty of juice left over.

To wrap up the hardware section of this review, I would say that this device is more of a PDA, than a phone. I suppose that this might be beneficial to some people, but for me, I want a great phone that just happens to also have excellent PDA features. This one falls short in my opinion.

Software Installed on Device

ActiveSync
Bubble Breaker
Calculator
Download Agent
Internet Explorer Mobile
File Explorer
Get Good
Java
Microsoft Office Outlook Mobile
- Email
- Calendar
- Contacts
- Tasks
- Notes
Microsoft Office Mobile
- Word Mobile
- Excel Mobile
- PowerPoint Mobile
Modem Link
Phone
Photosmart Camera
Photosmart Mobile
Search
SIM Manager
Solitaire
Terminal Services
Windows Media Player 10 Mobile

Software Installed on CD

Adobe Reader (link for your desktop)
ActiveSync 4.2 (for your desktop)
Audible (link)
Avvenu (link)
Dynomite! By Astraware
Outlook 2002 (for your desktop)
Spritesoft Backup and restore
User Guide pdf

The today screen that comes pre-configured has a few plug-ins that allow you to easy see the status of your battery, free memory, free storage space and brightness level.

While the today screen looks pretty slick with these plugins, they really make the system sluggish. My advice is to just turn them off.

The hw6945 has a built-in 1.3mp camera. The camera software launch button / shutter button is mapped to the button on the left side of the phone.

When you press the button, the camera interface starts up and is flipped so that you have to turn the PDA 90 degrees clockwise. This makes the HP feel like a camera because the shutter button is then in the upper right corner. The interface itself is simple to use as you can see from the image above. But it’s also very slow…

There is a nice selection of user customizable settings available…

Too bad the image quality is only mediocre.

HP also includes a image viewer application. Nothing too special, but better than nothing.

There is also a phone setting manager app, ring tone app and profile setting application. All three are simple to use.

The iPAQ Wireless interface combines the phone, WiFi and Bluetooth setting dialogs all into one convenient location.

It’s hard to gripe about this product because it has so much to offer as far as features. But my whole problem with it is that it tries to be everything to everyone and doesn’t do a great job at any one thing. It’s not a great phone because it’s too big and has crummy ergonomics. It’s not a great PDA because the screen is small and has low resolution. It’s not a good camera because the interface is too slow and the pictures are not sharp enough. As far as the GPS feature goes, I can’t comment because I was unable to get the software to work. In a nut shell, I am disappointed with the hw6945 and am setting off again on my search for my perfect smartphone…

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related, Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Phone, Pocket PC, Windows Mobile, Wireless

HP iPAQ hw6945 Mobile Messenger originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 13, 2006 at 6:41 pm.

I’ve been a Palm Treo junkie since March of 2005 when I began my odyssey into the world of smartphones. It was a strange journey that began with a Sprint Treo 650 that had been hacked to work on the Verizon network. Then I switched carriers from Verizon to Cingular and purchased an unlocked 650, which I’ve been using as my main device ever since. In the past year, I have seen Palm release the 700p and 700w for non-GSM carriers. No joy for me! But, finally Palm has released a new GSM phone. The 750v is a quad band (850, 900, 1800, 1900) phone for the Vodafone network. Right now it is only available outside the US, but will eventually be available here. Of course you didn’t think that I would be patient enough to wait around for that day did you? Ummmm…. NO! A little googling turned me on to PhoneSource-USA.com and one day later I had an unlocked 750v in my hands.

Hardware Specs

Operating System: Windows Mobile 5.2

Memory: 128MB / 60MB nonvolatile flash memory available to user
Processor: 300MHz Samsung processor

Display: 240 x 240 16-bit color (65,000+) TFT touchscreen display

Radio: GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS radio, GSM bands: 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS bands: 850/1900/2100

Connectivity: Bluetooth 1.2 wireless technology, Infrared (IR)

Expansion: miniSD card slot

Camera: 1.3 megapixel with 2x digital zoom
Audio: 2.5mm headset jack is stereo headset compatible

Battery: Removable 1200 mAH Lithium-ion
Talk time: up to 4.5 hours GSM / 2.5 hours UMTS, Standby time: 10 days
Power: AC adapter (Input 100-120V ~ 50/60Hz 0.2A / Output +5.2V)
Size: 111mm x 58mm x 213mm
Weight: 5.4 ounces / 154 grams

Package Contents

Treo 750v
Li-ion battery
AC charger with 4 country adapters
Stereo headset / mic
USB sync cable
Getting Started CD
Quick Start Guide
User Manual

The design of the 750v hasn’t changed radically from the original Treo 600, 650 and 700 models. That said, there have been some subtle changes, so let’s take a look.

Hardware Design
Front

The first obvious thing that you will notice about the 750v is its lack of an external antenna on the upper left corner. You might worry that a lack of an external antenna might cause reception to suffer. I’ve actually found that the 750v gets better reception than my 650. I’ve been able to use the 750v in places where my 650 would have problems with dropped calls and bad audio.

Everything else about this phone looks very familiar, which is both good and boring. I guess Palm didn’t want to mess with a good thing considering how popular the Treo has become. Personally, I wouldn’t mind a little innovation…

Compared to the 650, the 750v has slightly larger buttons and keyboard keys. It also has more rounded corners, which makes it feel smaller in your hand. But if we compare the size of both devices, there really isn’t a big difference. The 750v is 1 ounce lighter than the 650 and feels solid. This phone passes the Gadgeteer squeeze test with nary a creak or flex.

The thumb board keys are square with rounded corners and seem to be a bit flatter than the 650 keys. The tactile feedback is good and the layout is identical to the 650, so the learning curve is nil if you’re someone that is upgrading from a previous Treo device. The 5 way navigation button and phone buttons are shaped a bit differently and the call Answer / Start button and call End / OK button are actually 2 buttons now instead of 4. Each set is a rocker button instead of an individual button. I haven’t found this to be a problem so far.

The keyboard and other keys light up when activated. You will notice that the 4 points of the nav button do not light up though like they do on the 650. Not a big deal, just pointing it out.

Let’s talk about the display… The resolution is 240 x 240, which is a step down from what I’ve been used to with the 650 (320 x 320). I was worried that this would bother me, but so far I’m not noticing a huge difference. Granted, so far I’m mainly just using the built in set of core applications. We’ll see what happens when I get to the software section of the review.

Left to Right: Treo 650, Treo 750v

Besides the resolution issue, the display itself is easy to read, the colors bright and the text crisp.

Back

The stylus silo, camera and speaker are located on the back of the phone. You’ll also notice that the outer shell of the 750v is a deep Blue. What you can’t see, is that it is rubberized. This is a nice improvement over the 650, which I’ve always found to be a bit slippery.

The back side has ridges (hard to see in the picture) along the sides that give the phone a thinner feeling in hand.

The built in speaker on the back of the device is loud enough for demoing an MP3 to a friend and definitely loud enough to be used as an alarm clock.

The camera built into the 750v seems to be worse than the crummy camera built into the 650. Which seems odd to me because the 650 is only a .3 megapixel and the 750v is a 1.3 megapixel. I’ll let you judge for yourself though.

Left to Right: 750v, 650. Click thumbnail to view full size image

Left to Right: 750v, 650. Click thumbnail to view full size image

The images on the left was taken with the 750v, the ones on the right the 650. Both were taken within seconds of each other from the same distance. The only thing I did was to set the 750v to snap at 640 x 480, since that is the max resolution of the 650. As you can see, the image taken with the 750v is noticeably blurrier. Disappointing…

Hey, does anyone really use these tiny self-portrait mirrors? I mean, how can you even see yourself in these things?

The stylus included with the 750v is typical skinny stylus.

The battery cover pops off without much trouble, and reveals the battery compartment and SIM card slot. The battery included with the 750v is 1200mAH. The 650 has a 1800mAH battery. I tried my 650 battery in the 750v and it does work. But, it’s too thick to allow the battery cover to snap back on. I’ve yet to really test the battery life of this new phone, so I’m not sure how the difference in capacity really compares.

Left Side

The left side of the phone has a volume adjustment rocker button, and a user definable button. I prefer the shape of the volume rocker on the 650. The ends of the 650 button are raised so that your thumb can easily find the right end to press for adjustment. Volume level through the earphone on the front of the phone seems a lot louder than the 650. I’m used to keeping the 650 set to max volume, I don’t need to do this with the 750v.

In the image above, you can see how the thickness of the 750v compares to a 650.

Right Side

On the right side, you’ll notice the new location for the IR port and memory expansion slot.

The 750v doesn’t have an SD card. Instead, it has a slot for a MiniSD card. The change from SD to MiniSD isn’t a big deal, except for one issue… the ability to easily add WiFi to the 750v. MiniSD WiFi cards are coming to market, there is at least one available now: the Spectec SDW-822. But the the problem with that one is that the card sticks out of the slot, making it easy to accidentally break off the door. For me the lack of WiFi really isn’t that big of a deal. If I want to surf, I just use my mobile data plan.

It’s hard to see in the image above, but at the bottom right corner under the card slot, there is a reset switch. This location is more convenient than under the battery door like previous Treo models.

Top

The top of the 750v has the speaker on/off switch. When you switch it to the off position, the Treo will vibrate to remind you of the setting.

Bottom

Nothing much has changed along the bottom edge of the 750v. You can see the 2.5mm audio jack, sync and power connections and the microphone, which has moved to a new location to the Right of the power port.

Speaking of power, when I first pulled out the AC adapter, I was reminded that this phone is from the UK and not the US. I wasn’t too concerned due to the fact that a USB charge/sync cable was also included. But then I noticed some plastic slugs at the bottom of the box that included outlet prong configurations for power outlets of different countries. Great for world travelers!

As far as the hardware, this Treo is on par with previous models. The build quality feels rugged enough for typical day to day abuse. I do wish the camera were better and that the resolution of the display was higher. So far these are my only two gripes, but I’ve only been using this phone for a few days.

Now let’s take a look at the software side of the 750v. I’m not going to cover every application because that would make this already long review into a novel. But I will talk about the phone application and a few other things that people have asked me about.

Software Installed On Device

ActiveSync
Alarm Clock
Bubble Breaker
Calculator
Camera
Internet Explorer Mobile
File Explorer
Microsoft Office Outlook Mobile
- Email
- Calendar
- Contacts
- Tasks
- Notes
Microsoft Office Mobile
- Word Mobile
- Excel Mobile
- PowerPoint Mobile
Modem Link
Phone
Pictures and Video
Picsel PDF Viewer
Quick Tour
Search
Setup email for Vodafone
SIM Manager
SMS / MMS Messaging with chat view
Solitaire
Sounds and Notifications Manager
Terminal Services Client
Voice Command
Windows Media Player 10 Mobile
Wired Car Kit Support

Software on CD

Adobe Reader (link for your desktop)
ActiveSync 4.2 (for your desktop)
Audible (link)
Avvenu (link)
Dynomite! By Astraware
Outlook 2002 (for your desktop)
Spritesoft Backup and restore
User Guide pdf

First of all, as a Mac user, I have been syncing my phone using MissingSync for Windows Mobile 5 from Mark/Space. I’ve been very happy with it. The only feature it lacks is the ability to sync notes files.

The screen that you’ll be viewing most of the time on the Treo 750v, is the Today screen.

Included with the phone are 3 or 4 themes, like the one you see above. Like all Windows Mobile devices, you can configure it to show your upcoming appointments, status of tasks, emails, etc.

There are several ways to make calls. If you press the Green Talk button, you’ll get a popup showing your most recent contacts. From there, you can initiate a call. Pressing the Menu key (button above the Red End Call button), will give you access to various settings.

If you just start typing a number or a name, a search box will display that will filter based on the numbers / letters that you type. Once you find the person you want to call, you can then press Select to dial.

Yet another way to make a phone call, is to configure the speed dial feature. With this feature, you can have text buttons, or pictures. The picture above on the left, gives you an example of both. It’s interesting to note that you can’t customize your Today screen to have no speed dial buttons. At a minimum, the Voicemail button has to be there. Hmmmmm…

There’s always the good old dial pad. Not sure why you would want to use this, when you can press the keys, but it’s there if you so desire. For reference, the Treo 650 dial pad is shown on the right.

The call log is accessible my pressing the menu button from the Today screen.

The log can be filtered by different criteria. You can also access the call timer screen, which basically tells you how many calls you’ve placed and how much time you’ve talked since the log was last reset.

For reference, I’ve included the call log screens from the Treo 650 above.

When a call comes into the 750v, a small popup with the caller’s name (if a member of your contact list) will display at the bottom of the screen. If you have a picture associated with that person, it will display along with the name.

If you don’t want to answer the call, you can ignore or ignore with a text message. A selection of messages are available from a popup list or you can create your own. Missed calls have the dialog box as shown above on the right.

Text messages display at the bottom of the Today screen. Multiple messages are threaded. Clicking on the block will show the threaded conversation.

You can even add emoticons. ) This threaded chat feature was first available on the Treo 650. Below are screenshots of the 650 chat app.

As you can see, the 750v chat application is very similar.

Surfing the web on the 750v has been similar to what I’ve been used to with the 650. The screen is small, so the experience isn’t exactly wonderful. That said, it’s fine for reading text and sites optimized for mobile devices.

The pictures above give you an idea of how much information you’re able to view per screen. You can view in fullscreen mode, which does offer a few more viewable lines of text.

Watching movies on the 750v is doable, but not advised. I say this because the 300MHz processor isn’t really up to the task. Yes, you can watch movies, but I found that they do pause and stutter here and there. Also, the screen is just too small for comfortable viewing. In full screen mode widescreen formatted videos are stretched and look pretty fuzzy and pixelated.

Due to the size of the 750v’s display, applications made for higher resolution Pocket PCs, will not always display correctly on the Treo’s display. A lot of times you have to scroll down to see the bottom of the screen. For this fact, it’s always best to download the latest versions of your favorite apps, as they will have probably taken the smaller display into consideration and will compensate.

Comparing the 750v to the 650 isn’t quite fair, as they do run different operating systems. But, I will say that the 650 feels snappier than the 750v. Not by a huge margin, but I do notice a difference. Other than the speed issue, I’ve been surprised that I’ve easily made the transition from Palm OS to Windows Mobile. At this point, I’m not entirely sure the move is going to stick, but I’m going to give it a good try.

I have been asked a few questions concerning the 750. I thought it best to include them below:

Q. When is this freakin’ phone going to hit the Cingular market?
A. Good question. I wish I knew the answer too…

Q. Will the Cingular phone have HSDPA? Or just UMTS?
A. The 750v has UMTS, but HSDPA can be enabled through software. When the phone comes out for Cingular, it will most likely be enabled.

Q. Because you have used both (650 and 750v) Which one do you prefer when it comes to the phone app and using your Treo as a phone?
A. The 750v because it has a little better reception and many ways to make calls.

Q. I don’t think it’s fair to set the 750v to take a picture at 640×480 and compare
them that way. I understand what you were trying to do — compare apples to apples.
A. Hmmm, good point. I’ll take some more shots in the next couple of days and add them to the review.

This phone is not yet available here in the US… You can find it on some import sites if you are willing to pay a premium. I got mine from PhoneSource-USA.com. The price was an insane $759.95.

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone, Pocket PC, Windows Mobile, Wireless

Palm Treo 750v Windows Mobile Smartphone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 27, 2006 at 12:00 pm.

The first time I saw pictures of the Nokia N80 back when it was announced, I was thrilled. As soon as I saw the laundry list of
features, I knew I had to have it! I already had a Treo 650 with Sprint, but the software was sometimes buggy and Sprint worked
poorly at my house. In the middle of July, I got a chance to leave my Sprint contract without the termination fee, so I immediately opened an account with T-Mobile and ordered a new N80 from eBay.

The very impressive specifications:

• 2.2″ 352×416 262k (18-bit) display
• Quad-band (850/900/1800/1900MHz) GSM with GPRS and EDGE
• 2100MHz (European and Asian only) UMTS
• USB 2.0
• Bluetooth 2.0
• 802.11g wifi
• 3.2MP (2048×1536) main camera with LED flash and macro
  mode
• 0.3MP secondary camera for video calling
• 40MB internal flash memory and hot-swappable miniSD slot
• Symbian OS 9 with S60 3rd edition

The first thing I thought when I opened up the box: It’s so small! Don’t let any of the stock photos fool you into thinking that this phone is large. It’s much smaller than I expected. Even with the phone open, it’s positively miniscule compared to my Treo.

The box includes a USB 2.0 cable, 3.5″ headphone jack adapter, a European power adapter with the new smaller plug, a software CD, a folder filled with product literature and manuals, an adapter to change old style power adapters to the new size, the most tangle-prone headphone/headset assembly ever designed, and a 128MB miniSD card.

You have to put the SIM card in for the phone to be recognised by the network, and that’s fairly straightforward. Right around
this point you will see that the battery is very small! More about that later. The phone will work without a SIM, but only as a PDA. The miniSD slot is tricky. The memory card is inserted with the logo facing away from the screen. My rubber door didn’t want to close all the way until I fiddled with it for a while. I would have liked a proper hinged cover, like the 6680 has, much better. I’m afraid to use this one too much for fear that it will eventually not close anymore.

After all of that, you can press the power button on the top of the device. It’s a little hard to press, but it’s worth it once you see the screen:

The screen is positively gorgeous. I always thought that my Treo’s LCD looked good, but this display is just so incredibly crisp. Pictures vibrant and have lots of detail in the gallery application, which is fairly basic. Video clips play in RealPlayer very, very poorly… if they play at all. Half of the time, RealPlayer crashes.

The camera application has a lot of different settings. You can see what they do in real-time.

Sample pictures:

This picture was taken in the dark to show the effectiveness of the flash.

As you can see, the picture quality is much better than your run of the mill camera phone. The macro mode is definitely an
improvement over typical fixed-focus phone cameras, but I still would have liked to see true auto-focus.

The front camera is pretty good, considering it’s VGA resolution. When I use the front camera in my house, there are blue and green artifacts because it’s adjusting for the low light.

The best camera in the world wouldn’t matter if the phone wasn’t good for talking with people, though. Luckily, the N80 is an
excellent phone! You can have as many contacts as the phone has memory, and you can assign multiple numbers, a picture, and a personalized ring-tone to each contact. The reception is excellent. Calls through the main speaker are clear, and I was even able to have a conversation while the signal was at the lowest marker without words dropping out. The speakerphone is very loud and clear, and the callers don’t get muffled like they did with my Treo.

Opening the slider will answer calls, and closing the slider will end a call. One thing I wondered was if you could make a call
while the slider was closed, and you can. You can either start the call while the slider is closed, or press the left soft-key and
then close the slider while you’re on a call. Pretty handy, although it’s easier to hold the phone when it’s open.

There is a voice command program that seems pretty nice, but whenever I try to activate it, it comes up for just a moment and
then won’t open again until I restart the phone. I can’t get it to work at all. There’s also a button on my bluetooth headset that
triggers the voice command, and that does the same thing.

My Sony Ericsson bluetooth headset seems to work well for calls, but the phone seems to want to use it to play music as well. It
will work, but it’s not what it’s designed for! Bluetooth is much faster than it was for my Treo or my older Sony Clie, even though
my Powerbook only came with Bluetooth 1.1. The wifi reception is also good. I have two wireless routers on opposite ends of my
house, and the N80 can detect both networks.

The N80 comes with two web browsers. One is an unspectacular WAP 2.0/HTML browser, and the other browser is an excellent mobile browser that’s new for S60 3rd edition. This browser uses the same rendering engine as Safari, WebKit, and it does an acceptable job of shrinking content down to fit the screen; it even displays some flash content. There is also a nice little map of the entire web page that comes up when you’ve been scrolling for a while or when you press the ’8′ key. I wish that I could rotate the display while the web browser is open… I also wish that the web browser would just give you an error instead of closing suddenly when it tries to load a page that’s too big! Most pages load within 4 or 5 seconds when browsing over wifi. I live in a rural area that doesn’t have EDGE data yet, and GPRS download speeds are downright pokey, measuring in at about 38kbps, so it can take a while on the road. 3G service will only be found in Europe and Asia, and this phone will never work with American 3G networks.

As a smart-phone, the N80 can run third party applications. While this is true in principle, old Series 60 applications won’t run on the N80 or many of the other members of the N series because the new Symbian OS 9 isn’t compatible with older applications for security reasons. Programs are slowly being re-released that are compatible with the updated OS, but they’re hard to find. All Java applications run fine, though.

When you hold down the menu button, a list of all open applications shows up. Yes, there is actually a mobile operating system that is sensible about multitasking! You can then switch to a different program or you can press the ‘c’ button to close it.
There’s no need for 8 menu deep program managers or carefully programmed multitasking hacks. It is very nice to
have the option of just going to a different program if your application is busy downloading something.

The audio player is pretty nice. You can play back MP3, AAC, and AAC+ files, and there’s a third party program for streaming
internet radio. It lets you create playlists and view music organized by artists, albums, playlists, genres, and composers. Nokia made a big deal a while ago about how they were going to be the biggest seller of MP3 players very soon, but I don’t think it’s
so great. My iPod may be old, but it is an easier and better MP3 player than any mobile phone I’ve seen. The Nokia music player
interface is one of the better ones I’ve seen, but I can’t imagine someone owning this phone and using it as their primary music
player. Maybe I’m just not as good as I thought about this whole convergence thing

There is also a radio tuner, but it can only be used when there’s a wired headset or headphones connected because it uses the
wires as the radio antenna. Personally, I don’t listen to the radio, but I’m sure lots of people like having that choice. The sound quality of the included loop-around headphone/headset thing is pretty bad, and it has so many little wires on it that I can’t
even imagine the mess it would be in after living in my pocket for a while. The internal speaker is good, considering what it is. Oh, and it’s extremely loud! I have no trouble hearing even the faintest of my ring-tones.

I tried to sync my N80 with my Mac right after I got it, because I already had a fully populated address book that I was not going
to put in by hand, and it didn’t quite work. The Sync app on the phone didn’t want anything to do with any kind of computer, and iSync said that the N80 wasn’t compatible! What?, I thought, knowing that iSync has supported S60 phones for some time now. A Google search later, I was adding a string to one of iSync’s configuration files. It wasn’t very hard, but Apple should stay
more current about these things.

The rated battery life for this phone is 3 hours of talk time or 192 hours of standby time. I’m not really sure how realistic those
times are. I don’t know of anyone that talks on their phone nonstop from the time it comes off the charger until it dies, nor do I know of anyone who uses their phone as a decorative ornament and never uses it, but the phone lasts through an average day for me with an hour of wifi/GPRS usage, 45 minutes of calls, and a bit of text messaging and taking pictures. The screen will turn off after a while, and a piercing very bright blue LED will flash to tell you that the phone is still on. I don’t like this, especially when I’m trying to go to sleep. You can turn this sleep mode off, but that might drain the battery much faster.

The N80 can really do it all. Every smart-phone should have wifi, and S60 is much better than Palm OS for many little reasons.
Still, I don’t think it’s right for me. I miss the solid form factor of the Treo, all of the third party applications, and predictive T9 is no replacement for the thumb-board. T-Mobile just doesn’t have enough coverage where I live, and that’s the biggest reason why I’m going to sell this phone. For other people, this might be the perfect phone.

Filed in categories: Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone

Nokia N80 Smartphone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 1, 2006 at 6:49 pm.

Over a year and a half ago in December 2004, the much anticipated Treo 650 smartphone arrived on the market. This first model was a CDMA version from Sprint, but several months later a GSM version and then a version from Verizon also became available. Since its release, the 650 has become the most popular smartphone (combination PDA / mobile phone) device on the market. Time has not stood still for Palm. Their latest smartphone is the 700p. Should 650 owners pony up to buy this upgraded model, or should they keep their cash and wait for something with more revolutionary features, instead of evolutionary?

Hardware Specs

Operating System: Palm OS 5.4.9 (Garnet)
Memory: 128MB (60MB user accessible) non-volatile
Processor: Intel® XScale™ 312MHz processor
Display: 320 x 320 color TFT touchscreen display 16-bit color displays displays up to 65,536 colors
Carrier compatibility: CDMA 800/1900MHz digital dual-band, CDMA2000 EvDO network-backwards compatible with 1xRTT and IS95 networks
Wireless: Bluetooth® 1.2 wireless support
Camera: 1.3 megapixels with 1280×1024 resolution, video capture with 352 x 288 resolution and audio
Audio: 2.5mm headset jack is stereo headset compatible-requires a stereo headset adapter, sold separately, for use with standard stereo headphones

Expansion slot: Support for MultiMediaCard, SD & SDIO cards
Battery: 1800 mAh removable, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, Talk time: up to 4.5 hours, Standby time: up to 300 hours
Power: AC adapter (108-132 VAC/60Hz)
Size: 2.3″ W x 4.4″ H (excluding antenna) x 0.9″ D (58mm W x 113mm H x 23mm D)
Weight: 6.4 ounces / 180 grams

Package Contents

Palm 700p
Li-ion battery
AC travel charger
Stereo headset
USB sync cable
Software installation CD
Read this first poster
Getting started packet

Hardware Design
I’ve been a Treo 650 (GSM) user for over a year now, so I don’t think it will be much of a surprise that this review is going to be really heavy on 650 vs 700p comparisons. The overall design of the 700p, is almost identical to the 650. There are just small subtle changes that a quick glance would probably overlook.

Left to Right: Treo 700p, Treo 650

The main differences that stick out when you compare the two smartphones, are the 700p’s more rounded bottom edge, squarish nav button, and new application button layout. Size and weight are the same, and for the most part, cases for the 650 will most likely fit the 700.

Left to Right: Treo 700p, Treo 650

If you take a look at the back side of both devices, you will again see that they are quite similar. It would have been nice to include a small hole in the shell for reset switch access.

Top to Bottom: Treo 700p, Treo 650

Here we notice a redesign of the Volume up/down buttons. Instead of one large rocker type switch on the 650, there are now two separate buttons to adjust the sound level.

Top to Bottom: Treo 700p, Treo 650

The location of the microphone has changed a little on the 700p, as has the size of the IR port located on the top edge of the phone.

Left to Right: Treo 700p, Treo 650

Of all the physical changes, I would say that the changes with the keyboard are the most significant. The new squarish shape of the navigation button and keys are not a big deal, but the keyboard layout definitely is. At least it is for someone that is already very acquainted with the 650 keyboard. If you look closely, you will see that the Power/Call End and Call Send buttons have both changed in shape and location. The Menu button has taken the place of the right Shift button, and the Application Home button has moved from the left side of the keyboard to the right side. There’s also a new Phone button that launches you directly into the built in dialer application.

Do I like the new layout / design? Right now I would say that I don’t like it all that well. The keys feel a bit cramped and I find myself pressing the Menu button when I really wanted the Shift button instead. That said, I’m sure after a couple of weeks, my brain would rewire itself, the new layout would seem natural.

Let’s take a more detailed look just at the 700p.

Front

Nothing new and exciting here folks. Not that the 700p needed to be redesigned from the ground up right? I mean the Treo hasn’t become the most popular smartphone due to a shoddy design. But it’s human nature to be a bit disappointed that this new version has changed so little.

In hand the plastic casing feels solid and didn’t yield too many creaks and cracks when I performed the Gadgeteer squeeze test. Mostly the keyboard seemed a bit more squeaky than what I’m used to with my 650.

The keyboard has good tactile feedback and is backlit. Each key has 3 different key assignments. Lower and Uppercase letters and then an additional number or symbol.

Left Side

Located on the left side are the Volume adjustment buttons and side key. These buttons are flatter and smaller than the same buttons on the Treo 650. I think they are a bit more difficult to press.

Back

The backside of the 700p has the camera, self portrait mirror, stylus silo, speaker and battery cover.

The 700p has “sharper” corners than the 650. This actually makes the phone feel slightly smaller in hand.

Luckily, the charge / sync port is the same as the 650, so if you do plan to upgrade, your old accessories will be compatible with this new phone. Unluckily, the earphone jack is the same lame 2.5mm instead of the standard 3.5mm size that 99.9% of earphones use. Yes, I know that this size jack has been used because that is the size used for most wired handsfree headsets. But the Treo has Bluetooth, get a wireless headset instead )

One nice little feature that the 700p has that the 650 doesn’t, is that now when you switch the speaker to mute, you’ll feel a little physical vibration feedback.

Regarding the speaker, the volume through the earpiece seems to be a lot louder on the 700p when compared with the 650. Volume levels for alarms and such remain about the same though. Alarms on the 700p can be set to vibrate in addition to sound.

What about the display? Well, it’s the same 2.57in diagonal, 320×320 pixel, 65K color screen that the 650 has. When I compared both side by side at the highest brightness level, I would say that the 700p’s display was ever so very slightly brighter. I could only tell a difference when looking at the application lists. The White background was a little brighter. I’m being very picky here. Both displays are crisp and clear and very easy to read except in full sunlight.

Left to Right: Treo 700p, Treo 650

One main difference with the 700p, is the upgraded built in 1.3mp camera. It has a max resolution of 1280×1024. The 650 only has 640×480. This upgrade is noticeable. Check out the comparison pictures below. Click the thumbnails to view the full-size images.

Left to right: Treo 650 (640×480), Treo 700p (640×480), Treo 700p (1280×1024)

Left to right: Treo 650 (640×480), Treo 700p (640×480)

Left to right: Treo 650 (640×480), Treo 700p (640×480)

Left to right: Treo 650 (640×480), Treo 700p (640×480), Treo 650 zoom x 2 (640×480), Treo 700p zoom x 2 (640×480)

The 700p still doesn’t have a macro mode, so close up shots still look crummy. I don’t think the 700p does that well with long distance shots either. The house pictures look pretty blah. The best shots are ones where the subject is 3-5 feet away.

Besides the camera update, the 700p’s memory has been increased. Now instead of having just 23mb of user accessible memory, you’ll have 60mb. This is a very nice increase for those of you that like to install lots of 3rd party applications. The processor remains the same though, so you won’t notice any differences in overall speed of the device. Personally, I’ve never had a gripe with the 650 when it comes to system performance.

Battery size remains the same between the 650 and 700p as well. Both use a 1800mAh lithium-ion rechargeable battery.

Bluetooth has been updated from 1.1 to 1.2. No A2DP profile though, so no listening to your MP3s via Bluetooth headphones. I don’t know what the upgrade from 1.1 to 1.2 really gives you. However, it is important to note that DUN (dial up networking) is now supported without 3rd party apps like PDAnet.

My tests on both phones with several headsets seemed to yield the same results. Bluetooth via a Treo works best when the headset and handset are within very close proximity.

Another upgrade for the 700p is EVDO or EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized). EVDO is a wireless broadband data standard supported by Verizon and Sprint. It’s only available in some areas of the country. Of course, it’s not available where I live (Columbus, Indiana). Even though the following tests really don’t mean anything because I’m comparing a Treo 650 on Cingular with a Treo 700p on Sprint, here you go anyway…

Using the built in Blazer browser on both handhelds, I visited http://dslreports.com/mspeed. Here are the results of the speed tests.

As far as the hardware goes, I can’t complain THAT much about the 700p. Of course, there are things I really wish had been included with this new model. Features like compatibility with Palm’s SD WiFi card, A2DP Bluetooth protocol, and better Bluetooth range. But I can actually live without these things…

Now let’s take a look at the software bundle for the 700p.

Software

Installed in ROM

No significant changes to:
Bluetooth Manager, Calculator, Calendar, Card info, Contacts, HotSync Manager, Memos, Phone, QuickTour, Tasks, World Clock, Messaging, Versamail, Camcorder, Camera

Blazer Web Browser v4.5 – Upgraded version now supports streaming media (WMA, ASF, WMV and MP3)

Documents To Go version 8.0 – View and edit Microsoft Office documents including Word, Excel. Also view Powerpoint and PDF files. This is a great app!

Pictures and Videos application has some interface updates:

MyTreo – Userguide and news download (via Hotsync or wireless) application:

PocketTunes – Replaces Realplayer as MP3 player

Voice Memo – Voice recorder application. This application is used to record voice memos, voice emails and ringtones:

On Demand – Cool wireless portal application from Handmark for news, entertainment and information, weather, etc. I think this is my favorite new application!

Check out what’s on TV tonight.

Weather info with forcast and radar.

SprintTV – Watch video on your Sprint Treo 700p.

I goofed around a little with this application, but I don’t think I have a EVDO connection in my area.

Sprint Software Store – Convenient way to spend money ;o) Cool though.

Software on CD-rom

Audible – Audio book software
Bejeweled – Tile game
Documents To Go (for your desktop) – Sync changes to/from MS Office documents with handheld
eReader – eBook reader
Palm Files
Remote File Access
Solitaire – Card game
Traffic for Treo smartphones
Treo Voice Dialing

So, do I think the Palm Treo 700p is a smartphone worthy of your hard earned cash? My answer is maybe. If you have already have a perfectly good Treo 650, I would say the upgrade doesn’t give you enough oomph to justify trading up. This is especially true for me as I’m on the Cingular network and so far there isn’t a GSM version of the 700p available. But for those of you that have yet to try a Treo smartphone, I would not hesitate to recommend the 700p. It’s an easy to use phone with a great feature set, tons of accessories, even more software and a large established community base.

PHONE	CARRIER	PRICE	AFTER REBATE
Palm Treo 700p		$449	$299
		$379	$279

Filed in categories: Wireless

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Palm, Palm OS related, Phone

Palm Treo 700p Smartphone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 17, 2006 at 9:28 am.

Early last year, when the first rumors began to swirl that
HTC would be introducing a
Pocket PC Phone Edition made with the mini-laptop form factor of
the "http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/sony_cli_peg_ux50_u_review">CLIÉ
UX50 and "http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/sharp_zaurus_sl_c3100">Zaurus
SL-C3100, my interest was immediately piqued. After all, I had
long been bemoaning the fact that as of yet there were no similarly
styled Pocket PCs. As more details began to surface, there was no
question that the upcoming device would have impressive
specifications and be capable of much more than the average PDA,
but there was some concern that it might not be readily available
in the United States, or that even if it was its various features
wouldn’t perform properly.

According to an "http://www.engadget.com/2005/05/30/the-htc-universal-gets-back-in-black/">
early Engadget report, the Universal would sport Windows Mobile
5.0, built-in QWERTY keyboard, UMTS/WCDMA, a large, rotating VGA
touch screen, 1.3 megapixel digital camera, 96MB of ROM, 128MB of
RAM, 520MHz Intel XScale processor, SD memory card slot, WiFi, and
Bluetooth. Knowing that this PDA would be in the “thousand dollar
and up” range, I could feel the urge to splurge coming on. But I
was worried that I either wouldn’t be able to get one, or if I
could get one, it would not operate properly where I live. That
fear would serve to be my undoing…

I should digress for just a moment and point out for those who
weren’t aware, that HTC is a hardware manufacturer based in Taiwan.
They are the world’s largest producer of Pocket PC OS-based PDAs,
and they design many of the "http://www.htc.com.tw/company/index.html">Pocket PCs and mobile
phones that are on the market today, but they never brand them
with their name. Instead, the designs are outsourced to other
companies like Hewlett Packard, i-mate, Audiovox, and others. The
Universal,
as the new device was named, was quickly picked up by "http://www.imate.com/">i-mate and dubbed the "http://www.imate.com/t-DETAILS_JASJAR.aspx">JASJAR; various
other names soon followed including the MDA Pro and the Qtek
9000.

The HTC Universal was designed to best operate on European and
Asian GSM/GPRS/UMTS networks. In the United States its use is a bit
limited as it is only compatible with the 1900MHz GSM/GPRS-networks
of T-Mobile and Cingular. That means if someone lives in a part of
the country where Cingular uses the 850MHz bandwidth, like Julie in
her part of Indiana, they are out of luck. For UMTS, the Universal
requires the European or Asian 2100MHz bandwidth, rather than the
bandwidth Cingular uses for its United States 3G UMTS networks. The
Universal is not EDGE capable, and it will not operate at all on
the Sprint and Verizon’s CDMA networks.

With such a list of qualifiers, those living in the US might
decide that it would be easier to forget about the Universal and
instead pick up an "http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/htc_apache_ppc_6700_pocket_pc_phone_edition">
HTC Apache or "http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/i_mate_k_jam_htc_wizard_pocket_pc_phone">
HTC Wizard depending upon their preferred mobile network. In
fact, that is what I wound up doing. I bought the PPC-6700 because
it seemed more practical since I already had a Sprint account, and
I put the Universal out of my mind until I saw it at the "http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/article/mobius_2005_trip_report">Microsoft
Mobius event last December.

Even with the raggedy protective plastic across its top and the
ugly paper on its backside, there is no denying this interesting
hybrid’s appeal. Smaller than a laptop, larger than the typical PDA
and definitely larger than even the most generously sized smart
phone, the Universal is a breed unto itself. Within a few moments
of handling one I could immediately see that there would be those
who would dislike its larger than usual form factor, but because I
have never shied away from larger PDAs it should come as no
surprise to our readers that I was having a hard time keeping the
drool wiped from my chin…

"0" src="/assets/htc-universal2.jpg"/>

John Starkweather, our host at Mobius, saw my undisguised gadget
lust and kindly offered to loan me one of Microsoft’s demo units;
so of course I jumped at the chance. In February he made good on
his offer, and I was sent a review unit with the understanding that
I could use it for a month then take a week to write about my
experience. Well, my time is up.

In that month, the Universal has been my daily driver in every
way except one – it was never really my main phone. Because I am
currently a Sprint CDMA customer, under contract until November, I
couldn’t just pop my existing SIM card with my current mobile phone
number into the device and go. I still had to carry my existing
mobile phone, which happens to be the PPC-6700. I just made sure
that I never used my PDA phone for anything other than voice calls.
Text messages, email, surfing, reading eBooks, working on databases
and spreadsheets while on the go, all of that would have to be done
on the Universal. Because I wanted the full experience, I went
ahead signed up for an unlimited T-Mobile data account at $29.99 a
month with voice calls costing an additional 20¢ a minute. Let
me tell you, surfing and reading eBooks on the PPC-6700 will never
be the same after once again getting used to a large glorious VGA
screen…but I am getting ahead of myself.

Being a demo unit, the Universal which I was sent came with no
frills whatsoever. The plain brown cardboard box literally included
the device, a wired headset, a miniUSB to USB cable and an AC power
cord. Those that buy their Universal from i-mate, T-Mobile Germany,
or wherever else will be in for a slightly different first
impression.

Specifications:
Battery Type: User removable / rechargeable 1620mAh Li-Ion
Battery life: Up to 5 hours talk time, up to 200 hours standby
Measurements: (with a micrometer) 5.2″ x 3.1″ x 0.93″
Weight: 10.2 ounces
Processor: Intel 520 MHz
Wireless: Dual-Mode UMTS/GSM, GSM/GPRS (900/1800/1900) + WCDMA
(UMTS) (2100 MHz), Bluetooth (v1.2) and WiFi, IrDA FIR
Platform: Windows Mobile 5.0
Expansion Card: MMC/SDIO
Memory: Flash ROM – 128MB / RAM 64MB SDRAM
Screen: 3.73″
640 x 480 Transflective TFT-LCD with
back-light LEDs, 65K Color touch screen
Audio: Dual Receivers/Speakers, Hands-Free supported,
microphone
Camera: 1.3 mega pixels CMOS, with video light

The Universal measures 5.2” long x 3.1” wide x
0.93” thick, and it weighs 10.2 ounces. Some of this
device’s weight may be attributed to its deep gray metal
casing, which gives the device a solid, substantial and what is in
my opinion a desirable feel. The overall impression I get
when holding the Universal is that it is very solidly built.
The case will flex a bit when squeezed on either end due to the
design of the hinged swivel screen, however I would be hard pressed
to find one flaw with the device’s clamshell design in regard to
how it feels when I have it in my hand.

Yes, the Universal is larger than average, but it is actually
smaller than my "http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/hp_ipaq_hx4700_pocket_pc_review">
iPAQ 4700 with its extended battery installed…

…the Universal seems even more reasonably sized when compared
to the 4700 in its usual "http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/innopocket_metal_deluxe_case_for_hp_ipaq_hx4700_4705_with_extended_battery">
metal Innopocket case.

Considering that the Universal’s metallic body and clamshell
design negates the absolute need for a screen-protecting case, this
is as large as the Universal might ever need be. However, it is not
exactly fair to compare the Universal to a non-PPC Phone Edition,
so here are a couple of pictures of it next to my PPC 6700. Yes, it
makes the 6700 look absolutely petite, but the trade off is that
the Universal’s screen and keyboard are substantially larger. For
those that need or want a larger screen area, the trade will be
well worth considering.

So let’s take a look at the Universal’s hardware…

The front is a wide expanse of smooth gray metal, broken up by
an inlay of lighter gray brushed metal. The graduated slashes are
the grill for the external speaker. Why does there need to be an
external speaker? So that calls may be answered when the PDA is
closed like this…! Hey, at least it keeps the user from getting
face-goo on the screen. The downside is that there is no way to see
who is calling; in order to do that the device must be opened.

Although voice calls are definitely possible when used in this
manner, I didn’t think that the experience was that great. The
person I was speaking to said I sounded staticky, and I could
barely hear them.

Secretly we all want to be the guy in
that "http://www.mvc.co.uk/product_images/11/44/69/11446982.jpg">
Trigger Happy TV skit

I seriously think that using a Bluetooth headset is the way to
go if one is using the Universal as their primary phone. When a
headset is used, the sound is as clear as we have grown used to
expecting from our mobile phones.

When the lid is swiveled around and laid flat in tablet mode,
the 3.7″ VGA screen is revealed, along with another speaker, the
interior video camera and the four way touchpad with center
button.

The back is mainly composed of a smooth gray metal frame
surrounding the textured black plastic battery cover. Located at
the upper end is the 1.3 megapixel digital camera lens and the
white LED video light.

The left side of the Universal has the stylus silo, two ports
for external GSM and 3G antennas, the phone on and phone off
buttons, the miniUSB port, the reset button and a 3.5mm
headphone jack. Yes, you can use your favorite set of earphones
with this phone because there is no need for an adapter dongle.

A close-up of the phone buttons shows how they illuminate when
the main screen is on. I expected them to also light up while in
clamshell mode as calls came in, but they don’t.

Here is another shot of the stylus silo and the external antenna
ports.

The right side has small grilled stereo speakers on each end,
sandwiching buttons for the camera and voice recorder, the infrared
port, a brightness button (which I could not get to control
anything) and a sliding volume bar. These speakers are used when
Media player is running, or when the Universal is in laptop mode
with the speaker-phone on.

The top edge of the device has nothing but the corner of the
stylus silo. The bottom edge has the power button, SD slot, and
circled in red is the microphone.

The Universal’s hinge is very similar to that of the Sony
CLIÉ’s in that it allows the screen to be opened like a
laptop, then rotated at a 180º angle
so that it can lay flat in tablet mode as I have already shown.
Here are some shots of the screen in action…

The 62 button keyboard is considerably larger than that of the
PPC-6700. Because of the way it opens and because of its larger
size, there are more keys and thus less doubling up of the keys’
functions. The square shaped buttons are slightly raised in their
centers, giving each an individual feel that goes along nicely with
their tactile feedback when pressed. My favorite thing about this
keyboard is that there are dedicated numbers, with their QWERTY
keyboard correlating alter-egos exposed with the press of the
Function key. It all just feels more intuitive and less crowded
than the more compact PPC-6700′s keyboard.

I was worried that the larger keyboard would be harder to thumb
type on, but after a couple hours of use I was completely in the
swing. The beveled edges of the lower keyboard fit comfortably in
my palms, and the Universal is cradled against my curled fingers
while my thumbs can type merrily away.

For comparison, a shot of the Universal’s keyboard exposed next
to the PPC-6700′s…

When the keyboard is in use, everything is backlit by red LEDs,
including the special function characters. The red backlight is
very easy on the eyes, and equally visible in little to no
light.

If one were to think of the Universal as a book, then in the
portion which makes up the spine I would like to point out the two
multicolored LED indicator lights.

When the phone is charging the topmost LED will glow solid
orange, changing to a solid green once a full charge has been
achieved.

These LEDs also indicate various stages of wireless use, such as
a green blinking light when the GSM signal is being received, and
an alternate side blinking green to indicate that WiFi is turned
on.

A blue LED will glow when Bluetooth is working.

The Universal’s stylus is a 3.75″ metal-bodied instrument with a
black plastic topper.

This slightly wider than average stylus is much more comfortable
to use than the toothpick that the 6700 sports. However for long
periods of writing an aftermarket pen-style stylus would be most
comfortable.

The battery compartment door is released by sliding the black
plastic tab on the bottom of the back side. Once exposed, a red
plastic lock must be disengaged so that the battery may be
removed.

Underneath the 1620mAh Li-Ion battery is the SIM compartment. I
confess to being more than a little bit paranoid that I will forget
to remove my card before I ship the Universal back to
Microsoft!

Other than the lack of branding on this device and the large
white sticker on its back, the true indicator that I was sent a
demo unit is here, in the start up screen seen after a soft
reset.

As the Universal also operates as a phone, here are a couple of
screen shots showing what can be expected in portrait mode…

…and in landscape.

The Windows Mobile 5 Contacts screen beautifully integrates
pictures of the contact and makes for an easy experience when
making a call or sending email and text messages.

Past incoming and outgoing calls are tabulated for easy
retrieval.

Volume level choices are accessed either by tapping the volume
icon (shown in vibrate mode here) or by adjusting the slider on the
front edge of the device when it is in laptop mode.

Tapping the signal strength bar allows the option of turning off
the phone radio for in-flight use.

The HTC Universal has two integrated digital cameras. The main
camera, which is also the better one, is located on the back side
of the device. It supports 1280×1024 pixels (1.3 megapixels) as
well as the lower resolutions of 640×480, 320×240 and 160×120.

Here are two 480 x 640 pictures taken indoors with morning
light…

…and here are two more, also 480 x 620, that were taken
outdoors in morning light.

In other words, the camera is not the best, but it is certainly
more than adequate.

One of the more interesting 3G features of the Universal is it’s
ability to make and receive videophone calls. Unfortunately, this
feature is not supported in the US, so I was not able to test
it.

The Wireless Manager screen is a central location which allows
the user to decide which if any wireless options to run.

I covered Windows Mobile 5 software previously in the PPC-6700
review, so I’ll just repeat some of the highlights.

Instead of the adjustable slider most Pocket PC Users have grown
used to, memory is now managed on a non-user adjustable screen. The
total main memory is no longer displayed; instead, the user is told
how many MBs are available for storage, and how many are left for
running programs.

WM5 now stores all installed programs in Flash ROM, so if the
PDAs battery dies, none of the stored info or programs will be
lost.

The Today Screen features a set of icons on the upper menu bar
showing on screen tappable buttons which access further features
and information. From left to right, are the Start Menu which opens
a list of pinned programs as well as recently opened applications,
the call status/connectivity information icon which displays what
mobile network is available or if the PPC is tethered to a computer
via ActiveSync, as is the case in this photo. The next icon shows
the phone’s signal strength in “bars”, and when tapped will display
network status and related options. There is an option to turn off
the phone, also knows as “turning on” Flight Mode. Pressing
Settings will take the user to a screen which allows the
customization of various phone settings. The speaker status icon is
directly controlled by the volume up and down slider on the front
edge (or right side) of the phone, and it is also accessible by
tapping the screen icon. There are two sets of volume controlled by
this icon, the phones and the PDA’s. Each may be set to “On” and
then different independent volumes may be set, or they may be set
to Vibrate or Off. The same slider button will also control the
volume of a call in progress if accessed during the call. The last
icon is Time and Next Appointment, which when tapped displays the
date, time, remaining battery life and next appointment.

The Universal comes with a built-in Voice Speed Dial, which is
quite easy to set up. A contact is selected…

The number that will receive a “Voice Tag” is chosen…

…and after a tag has been made, this screen will appear. Tags
may even be set up for the applications on the Universal, which I
find incredibly convenient. There is nothing like saying the word
“eReader” and having my latest eBook opened. Hey, I know it is a
gimmick, but I like it! :0)

In order to use the tagged contacts or applications, a button
will need to be assigned to the Voice Speed Dial Application. From
then on, when that button is pressed, the code words assigned to
each contact or application may be spoken which will then either
call the contact or open the application. After saying the code
words, a confirmation in the user’s own voice will play, repeating
the programmed words and indicating which contact or application is
about to be accessed.

This is truly one of the first voice recognition programs I have
ever enjoyed using, because it always seems to work!

Just like the PPC-6700, the Universal has a lot of cool
phone features, but in my opinion it is first and foremost a
PDA. One of the main reasons why I will be so sorry to send the
Universal back to Microsoft is that I will miss its laptop form
factor and the large VGA screen. Using the Universal to work on
spread sheets and databases has been a joy…

What’s amazing is that even without a case, I felt comfortable
using the Universal just about everywhere – even when at the ranch.
Being able to fold the screen so that it was protected inside the
clam shell allowed a freedom that I had forgotten since my
CLIÉ days. Now that I have been reminded, I can definitely
say that of them all, this is my favorite PDA form factor.

I have heard complaints from Universal owners about slow startup
times, but since I had already learned with my PPC-6700 to keep my
Today Screen plug-ins to a minimum that has not been a problem.
Overall performance has seemed similar to my iPAQ 4700, never
particularly sluggish – but then, it’s not like I am ever running
the PDA equivalent to Photoshop on my handheld.

But above all, whether it be via WiFi or GSM, the Universal
rocks as an internet surfing device. In the last month I
have made good use of the unlimited data plan I purchased. Here are
some examples of how the browser looks on a site that has been
optimized for mobile browsing. In this picture, the text is the
largest size and the full screen option is on.

Once again, text is the largest size, but this time the full
screen option is off.

Here are a couple of shots of the text on the smallest setting,
shown here with the full screen option on…

…and with the full screen option off.

Even non-optimized pages look decent. Here is Yahoo, a “busy”
site with lots of pictures and sections. Shown here is the largest
text size with the full screen option off.

Here’s where it gets really good though – this is Yahoo with the
smallest size print and the full screen option off…

…and best yet, smallest text with the full screen option on.
This feels pretty close to surfing with a laptop, and while the GSM
speed clocks in at an average of only 31.4Kbps according to

this speed test, It seems sufficiently fast for visiting
optimized sites..

Can you tell that the Universal is the PDA that I wish I had
purchased in the beginning? Since I am locked into my Sprint
contract at this time and would not be able to transfer my number
even if I weren’t, and since my current mobile number is the one
everyone knows to use for reaching me, it makes sense for me to
continue carrying a Sprint phone as my primary mobile phone.
However, I would have no problem going back to two devices
if one of them was the HTC Universal with the T-Mobile data
plan.

In the meantime I will continue to use my PPC-6700, which
somehow seems to have lost some of its luster…
<sniff!>:0(

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Cellular, Phone, Pocket PC, Windows Mobile, Wireless

HTC Universal Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Phone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 10, 2006 at 2:50 pm.

The smartphone designers at HTC recently
introduced their fourth-generation product, code-named “Tornado” and
running the latest Windows Mobile operating system. Like previous
generations, the Tornado is (or at least will be) available under many
different brand names including those of major wireless carriers;
i-mate is among the first to offer it for consumer purchase.

i-mate
markets two versions of the Tornado design which are based on the same
hardware but are packaged differently. The i-mate SP5
is the business-oriented design, while the SP5m reviewed here is
targeted at consumers, with a silver housing and dedicated media player
keys. Other versions of the Tornado (such as should be substantially
similar, but may add or remove software or hardware features. (The
Cingular 2125, for example, lacks WiFi.)

Opening the Box

The SP5m ships with a typical set of accessories:

• SP5m phone
• Multi-voltage power adapter with European plug
• Stereo earbuds with microphone and volume control
• USB cable
• Belt clip case (not shown in image above)
• ActiveSync and Outlook 2002
• Manuals and documentation

The
review model also included a US power adapter and a 128MB MiniSD card;
retail packaging might differ. The phone will charge through the USB cable, which uses the same mini connector commonly found on cameras.

The supplied case does not fit quite as well as it could, but it holds the phone securely and the belt clip is snug.

Hardware Specifications

The SP5m is comparable to most Windows Mobile smartphones:

• GSM 850/900/1800/1900 for compatibility with all North American and European GSM networks
• GPRS (Class 10, 32-48 kbps) and EDGE (up to 236 kbps)
• Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone Edition operating system
• 64MB RAM (18MB available for user data and apps)
• 200 MHz TI OMAP CPU
• MiniSD memory card slot
• 240×320, 65k color display
• USB port
• Bluetooth v1.2
• WiFi 802.11b
• 1.3 megapixel (1280×1024) camera
• Up to 5 hours talk time, 250 hours standby with included battery

Physical Design

The
SP5m is compact and fits nicely in the hand. Build quality is good with
no creaks or uncomfortable edges, and it has just the right amount of
heft to it. The display takes up more than half of the face, squeezing
seven rows of keys into the area below. The keypad is a bit small;
people with large hands may find it cramped.

(Left to right: iPod 30GB, Nokia N90, SP5m, Nokia 3595)

(Bottom to top: iPod 30GB, Nokia N90, SP5m, Nokia 3595)

As
you can see from the comparison images above, the SP5m is compact,
smaller than even the much less featureful, entry-level Nokia 3595.

Since
the SP5m does not have a touch-sensitive screen, the small joystick nub
just above the number keys is used for navigation, in conjunction with
the home, back, and left and right softkeys found in the row just below
the display. Also present is a row of four round keys which are
hard-wired to start the web browser and control the music player.

The
display is easily one of the best I have seen on a mobile device
recently. Small details are easy to see, the backlighting is bright and
even, and colors are vivid. (The screen shots I took for this review
don’t really do it justice.)

Above the display, two LEDs
flank the speaker. One changes colors to show network and charging
status, and the other blinks when WiFi or Bluetooth are turned on.

On
the right side of the SP5m, near the top, is a button which starts the
camera software and takes a picture. On the left is the volume rocker
and an additional button which opens the Communication Manager
(described more fully below).

The
camera lens is located in a typical position on the back of the SP5m,
along with a self-portrait mirror. Above it, a gray rubber plug covers
an external antenna port.

The power button is located at the top end of the SP5m, next to the infrared port.

The
only external connectors on the SP5m are a headset jack (which does not
accept ordinary stereo headphones without an adapter) and a mini USB port which is used for both synchronization and charging.

The
MiniSD memory card slot is positioned underneath the battery, a
baffling inconvenience considering that the SP5m is positioned as a
music and media phone.

Software

There are two kinds of devices that are commonly called “smartphones”. Some are the combination of a PDA with a full-sized phone; others are phones with advanced software but without the large touch screen of a PDA. The SP5m is in the latter category; if it is a full-featured PDA you are looking for, consider a Treo or HP iPaq instead.

The
SP5m runs the Smartphone edition of Windows Mobile 5, the latest mobile
operating system from Microsoft. The Smartphone edition of Windows
Mobile 5 shares the same code base as the PDA edition, with changes to the user interface to accommodate the lack of a touch screen. The standard software bundle includes:

• Contacts, Calendar, and Tasks
• SMS/MMS messaging
• POP3, IMAP, and Outlook email
• Voice notes
• Still and video imaging
• Picture and video library
• Mobile Internet Explorer
• Windows Media Player
• Speed dial/voice command manager
• File manager
• Task manager
• Pocket MSN
• MIDlet manager for Java applications
• ActiveSync
• Communication Manager
• Games (Solitaire and Bubble Breaker)

Notably
absent from the usual collection of Windows Mobile software are Pocket
Office and Microsoft Reader, smartphone versions of which do not exist
yet. You could install third-party software to replace them, but if you
need to do that you should probably consider a PDA phone instead.

The home screen is customizable, and the PIM
software is similar to that on Windows Mobile PDAs. The program
launcher uses a 3×3 icon grid so you can select applications from the
keypad.

In
addition to the Outlook-compatible contact manager, the built in
software allows programmable voice tags and will look up contacts as
you key in letters of their name.

A
reasonably full-featured file manager is included, as is a task manager
from which you can stop running tasks to free up memory. (In normal
usage this should not ever be necessary, but if you use a lot of third
party applications it is still possible for the system to slow down if
too much is running in the background.)

Windows
Mobile 5, unlike previous versions, uses the same code base on
smartphones and PDAs. In theory, this should make it much easier for
developers to write one application that supports all devices. Even so,
running PDA-oriented software on a smartphone is still likely to be difficult because of the lack of a touch-sensitive screen.

Performance

I
tested the SP5m on the Cingular and T-Mobile networks in my area. My
home has usable but not great Cingular “Orange” 850 MHz coverage and is
on the fringe of T-Mobile; Cingular also has 1900 MHz coverage in the
city, on the former AT&T (“Blue”) network. The RF performance of
the SP5m is about as good as most other phones I have tried, with no
unexpected dropouts on either network. I was unable to extensively test
data speeds, but the SP5m successfully uses Cingular’s EDGE network, opening pages and downloading files much faster than my other, GPRS-only phones.

The
SP5m’s software performance is good, but seems to rely on leaving
commonly used applications open; opening a program for the first time
can take several seconds. This is likely to be an issue if you run a
lot of add-on software, but for everyday use of standard phone
functionality the built-in memory is sufficient to keep all the
necessary programs running.

Voice quality is good, and the built-in speaker is loud, though not quite as loud as some other phones I have tried.

Using the SP5m

Music and Media

The
SP5m is positioned as a music phone, to the point of having dedicated
media player buttons on its keypad. The built in Windows Media Player
application handles both music and video, and it will synchronize
tracks and playlists with the desktop. The supported formats include MP3, WMA, and AAC (unprotected only) for audio and MPEG-4 and Windows Media for video. Streaming is also supported, and works well over WiFi. If you have a solid EDGE
connection, you should be able to listen to audio streams over the air
as well, but I wouldn’t recommend trying that unless you have an
unlimited data connection.

One thing you will definitely want
to do if you use the SP5m for music is get a better set of headphones.
A set of earbuds (with mic for hands-free calling) are supplied in the
box, but their audio quality leaves a lot to be desired. The audio
connector uses a four-conductor 2.5mm jack, so you’ll need an adapter
to use a standard headset.

Wireless Internet and Bluetooth

Unlike
most phones, “smart” or otherwise, the SP5m includes 802.11b (WiFi)
capability, so you can use it with existing wireless networks. Not only
is this a great way to save money if you don’t have an unlimited data
plan from your wireless carrier, but it will usually be much faster
than the speeds you will get over the air.

Pressing a dedicated button on the left side of the SP5m opens the Connection Manager, shown here:

From
here you can turn WiFi and Bluetooth on and off, activate silent mode,
or start ActiveSync by pressing a numbered key. If WiFi is on, the SP5m
will automatically connect to any of your preferred networks whenever
you are in range. If it finds a new network, you will be prompted
before it connects. If you need to configure WEP or WPA security, an advanced settings panel is available in the phone menus.

The
SP5m’s WiFi works flawlessly on my home network as well as at the
public hotspots I have visited. It doesn’t seem to be much harder on
the battery than a voice call, but I still wouldn’t recommend leaving
it on all the time.

The built-in Internet Explorer web
browser supports many web features and does a passable job at squeezing
full-sized sites into a small display, although you’ll probably want to
use mobile-oriented sites whenever possible.

The SP5m
supports Bluetooth 1.2, which offers improved audio quality and
resistance to interference compared with Bluetooth 1.1. With a
compatible headset (mine is a Plantronics Voyager 510) audio is clear
and voice dialing works well.

I did notice a couple of quirks
in the Bluetooth implementation. One is that there is no way to force
reconnection to a device that is already paired, without pairing it
again. If you use it with a headset that supports multiple devices,
this means that if you turn the headset off after using it with
something else, the SP5m may not find it again later unless you go
through the pairing process again. Another minor issue I noticed is
that if you set the SP5m to be discoverable through Bluetooth, that
setting sometimes doesn’t stick for more than a minute or so. I think
this is probably by design, but since there is no warning about it in
the user interface I can’t be sure.

Synchronization

Like
all Windows Mobile products, the SP5m synchronizes very well with
Windows, and not at all with any other desktop platform. It is supplied
with ActiveSync 4.0 as well as Outlook 2002 (in case you don’t have a
newer version already). Once installed on the desktop, ActiveSync stays
running in the background and keeps the phone’s contacts, calendar, and
tasks up to date continuously as long as it is plugged in. The SP5m
will also use the desktop’s Internet connection as long as it remains
tethered, even if WiFi is available. ActiveSync also provides a browser
for the phone’s file system, so you can easily copy music, pictures,
programs, and other files to it.

Since I normally use a Mac
to manage my personal information, I have only used ActiveSync for
contacts (which I copied over to Outlook as vCards) and copying files.
I was hoping to use Missing Sync or PocketMac, but neither of those
applications support Windows Mobile 5 yet.

I am also somewhat
disappointed that WiFi syncing (or network sync of any kind, for that
matter) is not supported. Microsoft apparently removed network sync in
ActiveSync 4.0, just when WiFi is becoming commonplace in mobile
devices. Bluetooth sync is still supported, though.

Camera

As
with most camera phones, the SP5m’s imaging capabilities are minimal,
useful only for the sake of convenience. Pressing a button on the top
right of the device starts the camera software, and pressing it again
takes a picture. The lens is fixed focus, there is no flash, and the
maximum resolution is 1280×1024. Image quality is typical of most
camera phones: relatively poor.

(Click on the thumbnails above to view the original image taken directly from the phone.)

In
the examples above, I attempted a self-portrait first under normal room
lighting, slightly dim but well within the exposure capabilities of a
typical digital camera. When that didn’t work too well, I tried again
with direct lighting. Finally, the last example is of some trees in my
back yard, to show detail. It should be obvious that the SP5m isn’t
going to replace a dedicated camera any time soon; if you need a camera
phone with decent imaging quality, try something along the lines of a Nokia N90.

The
camera application is basic, offering modes for general photography,
messaging, and contact photos. The only imaging options are digital
zoom (up to 8x at lower resolutions) and an “ambience” setting which
conflates white balance, exposure, and color settings into a single
menu. Images can be saved directly to the memory card and managed with
a separate “Pictures and Video” application.

The SP5m can also record MPEG-4, H.264, or Motion JPEG
video at a maximum resolution of 176×144. Given the general quality of
the camera this is a novelty at best, suitable primarily for impromptu MMS messaging.

Locking and Unlocking

The SP5m under review is unlocked in the usual GSM sense, meaning that it will accept a SIM
from any provider. But, as I found out only hours after I opened the
box, there is another kind of lock to be concerned about in the world
of Windows Mobile.

One of the first pieces of add-on software
I tried to install on the SP5m was the driver for the Brando Smart
Keyboard. This is a folding keyboard which uses Bluetooth, but it is
not a standard HID device and requires a driver to be installed. (The SP5m apparently supports Bluetooth HID
keyboards without a driver, but I don’t have one to test it with.)
After downloading the most current driver and copying the .cab file to
the phone, it refused to install because the driver did not have the
proper digital signature.

Windows Mobile’s security
architecture includes a variety of application locks which are
unrelated to the usual sort of “unlocking” we usually associate with
phones. As I was soon to find out, the SP5m ships with some of these
locks turned on by default, preventing you from installing unsigned
applications or changing certain registry entries and files.

Even
if you never try to install unsigned software, there is a good reason
to unlock the SP5m, and that is to change the mapping of the Internet
Explorer key. In its default configuration, it is hardcoded to go to
the i-mate home page every time it is pressed, even if Internet
Explorer was already open and showing another page. This is highly
annoying, but if you have to pay for your wireless data usage it can
also be expensive, since accidentally touching that button will cause
the phone to connect to GPRS/EDGE and download a rather large and graphic-laden page unless you are very quick to bang on the END button to stop it. Luckily, the extra buttons are mapped to shortcuts that you can edit… if the phone is fully unlocked.

The
procedure for removing the application lock is not hard, and you can
find instructions on the web quite easily. But I wish it wasn’t
necessary in the first place. If you’re buying a device at full price
from a neutral vendor (and that’s the only way to get an SP5m, in the USA at least) you should be able to run any software you like on it.

Customization

One
of the advantages of a smart phone is that, in most cases, they can be
customized extensively with not only ringtones and color themes, but
applications and system tweaks. That is definitely true of the SP5m,
but it also displays some odd choices of what parts of the system are
customizable and what parts are not. (This is probably Microsoft’s
doing, not i-mate’s.)

For example, the order of icons in the
application launcher cannot be directly changed. The first ten or
eleven of them are in a standard order, and the rest are in
alphabetical order. By comparison, on Series 60 phones you can create
folders and rearrange icons to put your favorite programs where you
want them. On a Windows smartphone, this requires editing the registry.

Likewise,
you can’t change the ActiveSync name of the phone. If it decides to
call itself “WM_JoeUser_1” you’re stuck with it unless you break out
the registry editor again. A minor issue, to be sure, but some of us
are picky about what our toys are called.

On the other hand,
Windows Mobile has a very flexible system for making custom themes
which goes beyond simple color changes and wallpaper, so visibly
personalizing the SP5m is easy.

Conclusion

I will
admit that I am probably not the target customer for a device like the
i-mate SP5m, since I use Macintosh on the desktop and carry a Palm PDA.
But for the larger market of Windows users, a phone that syncs to
Outlook and Windows Media Player is probably quite handy. It’s hard to
recommend the SP5m over any other current Windows Mobile smartphone,
since nearly all of them are variations of the same design, and the
choice is likely to come down to bundled features and carrier support.
Still, I like the SP5m and am using it as my primary phone.

The
biggest downside to the SP5m is, in my opinion, the oddly restrictive
application locking that prevents essential customizations like
reorganizing the menus and remapping the hardware buttons. If I hadn’t
found out how to unlock it, I probably would have very quickly smashed
it in frustration after my second or third accidental press of the
Internet Explorer button and its mandatory visit to the i-mate home
page. With that fixed, there are no other big issues with the SP5m that
I can complain about, except perhaps the poor quality of the camera (an
issue the SP5m has in common with a lot of camera phones).

The i-mate SP5m is not sold directly by any carrier, though some carriers do offer their own branded version of the HTC Tornado design; it is available through vendors of unlocked GSM phones for a street price of around $500 to $550.

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Cellular, Mobile Phone, Phone, Smartphone, Windows Mobile, Wireless

i-mate SP5m originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 25, 2006 at 5:05 am.