If you have a Windows Mobile 6.5 device and wish the interface looked a bit more like an iOS device, Jeffrey Embregts has answered your prayers. He’s created an iPad theme that is freely available through Modaco and XDA Developers. Go grab it, you know you want to!

Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, News, Windows Mobile related

Tagged: iPad, Windows Mobile

Make your Window Mobile 6.5 phone look like an iPad originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 3, 2010 at 10:03 pm.

This is the last entry in my week with the LG eXpo smartphone series. It’s time to take a quick look at the camera and Pico projector and then see if this phone has ended up as my new BFF or turned out to only be a five night stand.

The Camera

The 5 megapixel camera built into the LG eXpo is a better than average camera because it passes my one main criteria for a good mobile phone camera. It can do macro shots. I don’t use a cell phone camera as my main photo snapping device. I use it to take pictures when all I have with me is my phone. 99.9% of the time I use phone cameras to take pictures of magazine ads and articles when I’m in a bookstore. It saves me from having to carry around a pad and paper when I see something interesting but don’t want to buy the magazine. As a result, I want a camera that doesn’t take blurry close up images. The eXpo camera passes that test.

The camera lens is located on the back side of the phone (no surprise there) and next to it is an LED flash, which is a nice addition. I do wish there was a protective cover over the lens as it’s really easy to smear the glass with fingerprints and other goop.

Pressing the shutter / camera app launch button on the side will bring up the app in ready to shoot mode. Even when no other apps are running, it can take a few seconds to load the app. Tapping the gear on the top left menu strip will bring up the user settings screen.

A touch dial on the side allows you to scroll through various settings such as resolution, scene modes, white balance, etc.

When you’re ready to take a picture, you just press the shutter button halfway down to auto focus on your subject. Press it all the way to snap the image. Here are a few sample images to give you an idea of the image quality that this camera is capable of. Click the thumbnails to see the full sized unedited images.

The images are decent. Again, I wouldn’t use this as my main camera, but it’s definitely good at macros and with the LED flash, it can take images in lower light.

The image viewer has a nifty scroll interface where you can flick your finger left to right to see the images snapped on a specific date and flick up and down to change to another date.

The Pico Projector

If you want to be the guy with the coolest phone, the eXpo qualifies when you snap on the optional DLP Pico Projector.

The Pico projector is a small add-on accessory for the eXpo, that’s priced at $179.

There’s a protective cover that slides closed over the lens of the projector that doubles as the power switch.

It does not require any special adapters or cables. Just remove the battery door from the back of the phone…

And snap on the Pico in its place.

Yes, it does make your phone look pretty odd, but since it’s easily removable, that really shouldn’t be an issue.

The projector has a max resolution of 480 x 320 pixels and is capable of displaying a 12 – 66 inch diagonal image.

I had some technical problems getting some of my videos to play on the eXpo. It wasn’t an issue with Pico, but with the software. I wanted to play some AVI files, so I had to install some 3rd party players and couldn’t get either one to work right. I kept getting errors or freezes. I ended up just using some old WMV videos.

When they say that the Pico can project a 12 to 66 inch diagonal image, I would have to say sure it can – if you don’t mind crummy image quality. It can’t even project a clear image using the stock media player at 12 inches. The best it could do was 6-8 inches before the picture was too fuzzy. There’s a focus slider switch on the side of the projector, but it wasn’t much help.

I tried a Powerpoint presentation file using the Mobile Office app and it wasn’t any better. That’s disappointing since that’s what I could imagine using the projector for more than anything else.

Viewing static images with the stock picture viewer worked the best. Even so, the clearest picture could only be displayed at a maximum of 12-14 inches diagonal before it became fuzzy. Bottom line is that the Pico projector is a $179 gimmick. Sure it’s ‘cool’, but it’s really not worth it in my opinion.

Summing it all up

There are several things to like about the LG eXpo. It has a really nice display, a nice slider keyboard, a nice camera and good call clarity/volume. But the main thing that keeps me from really liking this phone is actually the Windows Mobile user interface. It’s just not finger friendly enough in my opinion. If you don’t mind using a stylus, it’s great. But for fingers, not so much. It looks like I’ll be sticking with the iPhone a little longer. FYI, I ordered a Google Nexus One Android phone a few hours ago. If any phone can make me throw the iPhone in a drawer, it will probably be that one.

Filed in categories: Reviews, Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Smartphone, Windows Mobile

A Week With the LG eXpo Smartphone and Pico Projector Days 5-7 originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 8, 2010 at 10:03 am.

My first five days with the LG eXpo Smartphone has been a mixture of good and bad experiences. Good because I like the phone’s hardware and bad because I’ve had issues with that hardware. Life with gadgets is never perfect is it?

In this installment, I’d like to talk about the user interface, using the touch screen, D-Pad and keyboard. I will also talk about how it performs as a phone.

User Interface

This is the part where I have to tell you that I’m spoiled by the iPhone’s interface and it’s tough not to make comparisons when I’m reviewing other devices. Am I biased? I’ll admit that yes, I probably am. For those of you that have ever used an iPhone and know how well thought out the interface is, how finger friendly it is and how smooth it is to scroll and tap items on the screen, you understand where I’m coming from.

With that said, I have been giving Windows Mobile 6.5 a fair try and have been using the eXpo as my primary phone for the past week.

By default the Today screen appears as it does in the image above on the Left. It’s basically a list of items that you can scroll and tap on to gain more info. The image on the Right is LG’s Today screen, which gives you basically the same info, just arranged in a different way. Instead of a vertical scrolling is, there’s a horizontal list along the bottom edge. There are also 3 different screens. The one you see there, favorite contacts and favorite media.

Pressing the Start menu at the top Left will give you a scrolling list of icons. If you tap the LG Menus icon in the LG Today view, you’ll be presented with rows of icons that can be scrolled horizontally.

I like the screens of icons, but here’s where I find myself missing the scrolling smoothness of the iPhone. The LG eXpo has a resistive display unlike the capacitive display that the iPhone has. This is great because you can tap it with your finger, a stylus, a gloved hand, etc. But, the smoothness isn’t there. If I put my finger in the middle of the display and flick my finger up and down to scroll through icons, often nothing will happen and I’ll have to try again. Or, my finger will activate an icon instead of scrolling the screen and will launch a program. It’s even worse with the LG Menus because the icons are much closer together. For that fact, I rarely use those menus.

Windows Mobile is powerful and relatively easy to use, but as it is implemented, it’s not very finger friendly. You’ll notice that the OK button in the upper right corner of many screens is very tiny. I have to use the tip of my fingernail to tap these elements. Windows Mobile has come a long way, but I really hope version 7 turns the corner and allows everyone to finally get rid of old fashioned stylus input.

Fingerprint Sensor / D-Pad

If you have problems scrolling the screen using your finger, you have another way to scroll. It’s the integrated touch D-Pad, fingerprint sensor that is located directly below the AT&T logo below the display.

The D-pad can be used to scroll lists up and down as well as left to right. To use it this way requires no training, you just swipe your finger across the surface of the button. You can also press the button in to select items. It works pretty well, but I often have to swipe more than once to get the results I expect.

In addition to scrolling, this button is a fingerprint reader that you can use to secure your phone from unauthorized access.

To use your fingerprint as a locking mechanism for the eXpo, you first have to register one or more fingerprints. To do this, you just swipe the figure you choose four times to teach that print to the phone. Then when you press the power button along the top edge of the phone, it will ask you to swipe your finger to unlock it. I had no issues registering my finger prints or using this unlock feature. I actually think it’s pretty cool.

Using QWERTY Keyboard and Touch Screen for Input

Entering text on LG eXpo can be done through the slide out keyboard or the touch screen.

The soft keyboard is pretty cramped as you can see from the screenshot above. It works best for me when I use my thumbnails to tap the keys. I’m not sure how well it would work for someone with large thumbs and no nails though. I suppose they would be better off using the slide out keyboard.

Here’s the LG keyboard compared to the iPhone’s keyboard. Unlike the iPhone, the keyboard on the LG will not rotate if you hold the phone in landscape mode.

The slide out QWERTY keyboard is comfortably roomy, with large flat backlit keys. The layout (click image to see full size version) is good and I had no issues typing quick text messages with it. The size of the keys is also very thumb friendly.

Making and Receiving Calls with the LG eXpo

I’ve found that it’s easier to make calls with the eXpo than it is with my iPhone. This is true for me because there are physical buttons that you can press to initiate, answer and end calls.

The call Send and End buttons are located along the bottom front edge of the phone. If you double click the Left Send button, it will automatically redial your last dialed number.

If you press the Send button once, it will popup the keypad screen that you can use to tap out a number.

You can also dial by favorites if you use LG’s Today screen.

Incoming calls can easily be answered or rejected by pressing the soft keys on the screen or the Send and End keys on the phone.

Call volume and clarity are really good with the LG. Most of the time I have to turn the volume down when I’m in a call, which seems to be a rarity for most phones I’ve reviewed.

I mentioned at the beginning of this installement that I had some issues with the hardware this week. The eXpo started spontaneously rebooting for no apparent reason. A couple of other people (Judie of Geardiary.com, Lisa of MobileTechReview.com and Clinton of ClintonFinch.com) reviewing the same phone had similar problems. Judie narrowed the issue down to a problem with 3G coverage. The eXpo apparently isn’t happy when it’s in an area with little or no 3G service. The bad part is that there is no option in the phone to turn off 3G and just go with 2G. There’s a way to do it if you have the super secret test mode code though…

I also had a problem with charging the phone using the included USB cable and my iMac. One morning I tried to use the phone after it had been plugged in all night and it died and wouldn’t come back to life. I plugged it back into the USB cable and the LG logo popped up, but it wouldn’t power on. I even took out the battery several times to no avail. Judie suggested that I plug it into the wall because she had similiar experiences with Nokia phones and charging them via USB. Sure enough, plugging it into the wall charger and waiting for 30 minutes resurrected it again. Weird, I’d never had such an issue with phones before.

So far I have mixed feelings about the eXpo. I think I’d like it a lot better if the Windows Mobile user interface was more finger friendly. As is, it can become frustrating for me.

In the last part of this series, I’ll be covering:

• 5MP Camera
• Optional Pico Projector

Filed in categories: Reviews, Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Smartphone, Windows Mobile

A Week With the LG eXpo Smartphone and Pico Projector Days 1-5 originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 24, 2010 at 11:36 am.

Several of my favorite Windows Mobile sites are talking about OpnMarket this morning. It’s a new application market for Windows mobile devices that only offers completely free apps that can be downloaded and installed directly from your phone. The only steps required to use it are to sign up for a free account and install the OpnMarket browser application on your device. I’ve been playing with it for the last 30 minutes or so and I give it a thumbs up. It helped me find a screen capture application that I’ve been needing. Go check it out.

[Via Windows Phone Thoughts and Pocketnow]

Filed in categories: News, Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Software, Windows Mobile

Totally Free App Market for Windows Mobile originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 22, 2010 at 11:07 am.

It’s been nearly a year since I’ve carried a Windows Mobile device as my everyday phone. Back then it was the Pantech Matrix Pro. Today it’s the LG eXpo for AT&T. Like the Pantech, the eXpo has a slide out qwerty keyboard. But the eXpo has some other surprises as well. I’m going to use it exclusively for a week and at the end of that time, I’ll decide if this phone has what it takes to dethrone my current fave (the iPhone 3GS).

Let’s call this Day 0, and we’ll start with a quick introduction / overview of the hardware.

Hardware Specifications

Processor: 1 GHz Qualcomm QSD8650
OS: Window Mobile 6.5
Wireless Technology: GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, 3G UMTS/HSDPA (850/1900/2100 MHz)
Bluetooth 2.1
Display: 3.2 inches, Resolution 480 x 800, 16 Million colors
Memory: Internal memory storage 512 MB, expandable memory storage supports up to 16GB microSD Card
Camera: 5.0 MP
Battery: 1500mAh Lithium Ion (Talk time up to 3 hours, Standby time up to 10 days)
Dimensions: 4.50 x 2.16 x .63 inches
Weight: 4.46 ounces

What’s in the Box

LG eXpo Smartphone
Battery
USB data / charge cable
Hands-free headset
Stylus
Proprietary hands-free stereo headphone with mic (with 3.5mm adapter)
Power Adapter
Quickstart Guide
Pico Projector (is an optional $179 purchase and is not included with the phone)

The LG eXpo is being marketed as a business phone and normally that might bring about visions of a boring design that works well, but probably lacks pizazz. In my opinion, the eXpo doesn’t look boring at all. It has just the right about of shiny chrome accents to go along with its Black and Pewter colored case. As far as I can tell, the entire case is made of plastic. Don’t let that turn you off though as it feels solid and doesn’t complain when I perform my patented Gadgeteer creak test. Basically this test consists of me squeezing the phone in one hand while feeling for case flexes and listening for creaks. A quick shake yielded no rattles.

The front of the phone has a large touch screen display that is bright, crisp and vivid. The screen is resistive and not capacitive like the iPhone. That is both good and bad. It’s good because you can interact with the phone while wearing gloves and even with a stylus (yes, I guess some people are still using styli even in this age of finger friendly devices). Resistive touch screens can bad because the screen requires pressure to select items and that can mean a less than smooth experience using a finger to scroll and tap. I’m a little worried about this aspect of the phone since I’ve been using an iPhone for about 7 months now. We’ll have to see…

Above the display on the front of the device is the speaker. A small LED to the Left of the speaker provides status for charging and notifications for alarms and missed calls.

Below the display are your normal Send and End buttons as well as a Back button. The strange looking object in the center is a biometric fingerprint reader and D-pad sensor. Don’t worry, I’ll be covering that in greater detail later.

You’ll notice what looks like a protective film over the bottom section. At least that was what I thought it was until I tried to remove it. So far I’ve not had any luck trying to get my fingernail under an edge. I didn’t want to scratch the the phone, so I’ve given up for the time being. I think it’s just the way it’s styled.

The Left side of the phone has a large volume up and down button. It might look like there are individual buttons, but it’s just one long rocker. The ends stick up slightly, making the button easy to find with your thumb while you’re on a phone call.

You’ll also notice a small eyelet in the top corner. That’s for the included stylus. That’s right, the stylus isn’t housed in the phone itself. Weird huh?

The opposite side has the camera application launcher button, a smaller application launcher button and the microSD slot/cover.

The eXpo is slight chunky by today’s standards, but you can’t really complain too much since it does have a full qwerty keyboard.

The display slides to the Right to reveal the backlit keyboard. The slider mechanism feels very strong and has a nice ‘assist’ feature to it that helps it slide open and closed quickly with a nice ‘curchunk’. The size of the keys is generous, but they are very flat. They do have good tactile feedback though and I have had no problems typing quick emails.

Along the top edge of the phone is the power / lock and the combination microUSB charging / earphone jack connector with a cover. I don’t know about you, but I’m not a big fan of those little swivel covers for ports. I’d rather them just be bare.

The other end has the microphone.

The back of the phone has a really easy to remove battery cover, which is a great feature because this cover has to be removed in order to  attach the optional Pico projector. I’ll cover all the details of the projector later in this series.

Also on the back of the phone is the 5mp camera lens (I wish it had a protective cover) and to the Left of the lens is an LED flash.

All in all, I like the hardware of the LG eXpo. Even though the phone is a bit chunky, it doesn’t feel uncomfortable in my hand. I like that the button layout seems to have been well thought out. The location of the volume button and camera launcher / shutter button work out well and I didn’t have any problems using either one. Sometimes using a phone as a camera is hindered by the location of the shutter button, but not with this phone.

These are just my first impressions of the hardware, so it will be interesting to see if anything changes my mind after I spend time using the phone day to day.

In the next part of this series, I’ll be covering:

• Making and receiving calls
• Interaction with the touch screen
• Interaction with the touch D-Pad
• Using the slide out keyboard

Filed in categories: Reviews, Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Smartphone, Windows Mobile

A Week With the LG eXpo Smartphone and Pico Projector originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 15, 2010 at 10:10 am.

I found this video on YouTube of HTC presenting an overview of the Sense interface. This is a really good explanation of the value this adds to Android, and Windows Mobile.

Filed in categories: Android related, Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Android, HTC, Windows Mobile

Video – HTC Sense originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 25, 2009 at 2:36 pm.

Today HP announced a new smartphone – the iPAQ Glisten, which will be available through AT&T. The iPAQ Glisten is a 3G world phone, running Windows Mobile 6.5 and features the improved Internet Explorer Mobile 6. It has a comfortable, full-QWERTY keyboard and touch-enabled AMOLED screen. The HP iPAQ Glisten will be available in the coming weeks for $179 after a $50 mail-in rebate. Full press release after the jump.

AT&T AND HP INTRODUCE HP iPAQ GLISTEN,

3G WORLD PHONE FOR MOBILE PROFESSIONALS

DALLAS, November 24, 2009 – AT&T* and HP (NYSE: HPQ) today announced the upcoming availability of the new HP iPAQ Glisten, a  feature-rich 3G world phone that meets the increasing demands of modern mobile professionals.  AT&T’s first smartphone with an AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) screen, the HP iPAQ Glisten is loaded with features tailored with the business power user in mind.

Featuring the Microsoft Windows® Mobile 6.5 operating system, the iPAQ Glisten offers a touch-friendly user interface and improved browser with Flash support.  Connections to your favorite people, content and applications are a fingertip away on the redesigned Start Menu, and Internet Explorer Mobile** supports the rich experiences that many Web pages offer for desktop computers.

Users can easily move between work and leisure with advanced mobile e-mail capabilities, built-in Wi-Fi and GPS functionality as well as rich multimedia features and applications.  AT&T supports Windows Marketplace for Mobile for access to a variety of applications.

The iPAQ Glisten features a full QWERTY keyboard and five-way directional pad for fast, easy and accurate messaging including SMS/MMS and e-mail. The touch-enabled AMOLED screen, among the best displays on the market, allows users to easily navigate through menus, windows, and links with the touch of a finger.

“iPAQ Glisten adds to our innovative Windows Phone portfolio,” said Michael Woodward, vice president, Mobile Phone Portfolio, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets.  “It meets the demands of our business customers while boasting a beautiful AMOLED touch screen and a full package of multimedia features.”

“The iPAQ Glisten packs a powerful punch with its multiple input methods, variety of  connectivity options, and a familiar, consistent email experience that allows mobile professionals to connect with the people and information that matter most to them,” said Susan Macke, vice president, Marketing, Handheld Global Business Unit, Personal Systems Group, HP. “Our strategy for success in growing the iPAQ business and customer base is working with industry leaders, like AT&T and Microsoft, and leveraging our collective strengths in the business and prosumer markets.”

Manage and take control of demanding professional lifestyle

Power users stay more connected with Outlook calendaring, Microsoft Word and Excel as well as the ability to view Microsoft PowerPoint and Adobe PDF documents. The HP iPAQ Glisten gives users the ability to manage a single contact list and synchronize them wirelessly or with a PC using a supported e-mail account. It also comes with an integrated inbox that summarizes recent emails, calls, and texts.

In addition, users can take advantage of the built-in speakerphone and enjoy the freedom of hands-free control with Voice Commander, voice recognition software which reads text messages, emails and appointment details and lets users begin messages and dial contacts using simple voice prompts.

Bridge work and social life

Web browsing and streaming video on the HP iPAQ Glisten are fast and enjoyable with the improved Internet Explorer Mobile 6. Users can turn on the built-in Wi-Fi quickly with a dedicated on/off button and enjoy high-speed Internet access – featuring automatic access to over 20,000 AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots included at no additional charge with select smartphone data plans.

Users can also connect with friends and colleagues on their favorite social networking sites, including a preloaded Facebook application. Mobile professionals can capture pictures and videos with the 3.1 megapixel camera and view them in brilliant color and clarity or edit them with HP Photosmart Mobile and easily share them via email or on the Web using Snapfish.

Pricing and availability

The HP iPAQ Glisten will be available in the coming weeks for $229.99 (receive a $50 AT&T Promotion Card with two-year agreement, smartphone data plan). The smartphone will be available through AT&T business services, HP corporate sales, small and medium business and consumer Websites at AT&T.com and HP.com as well as through third-party e-commerce sites.

More information on HP iPAQ Glisten is available at www.att.com/hpipaqglisten and www.hp.com/go/glisten.   For the complete array of AT&T offerings, visit www.att.com

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

**Advance Mobile Email Capabilities: Standard GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSPA infrastructure, Wi-Fi network access, other Bluetooth-enabled devices, separately purchased equipment, and a service contract with a wireless service provider may be required for applicable wireless communication. Wireless Internet access requires separately purchased Internet service contract. Check with service provider for availability and coverage in your area. Not all web content available. Normal GSM Data Calls (CSD) are not basic GSM data services. These services may not be available via all service providers, and may require separate subscription. Establishment and continuation of a wireless connection depends on network availability, provider support and signal strength.  Coverage is subject to transmission limitations and terrain, system, capacity and other limitations.  Wireless transmission speeds may vary due to location, environment, network capabilities and other conditions. Not all features and service options are available in all areas.

Filed in categories: News, Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Spotlight Gadgets, Windows Mobile

AT&T and HP Introduce iPAQ Glisten World Phone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 24, 2009 at 1:26 pm.

Who has a mobile device and a little time to kill throughout their day? My guess is just about all of us, especially when it comes to having a bit of fun.

Over the past few days I was able to spend some time playing games. Sounds tough right? Well, I was able to play with astraware boardgames for the Blackberry. It is also available for just about every other mobile operating system as well. Before I get into the nitty gritty of game play, let me just say this app is fantastic!


The package includes chess, backgammon, ludo, checkers, reversi, nine mens morris, and of course tic tac toe. There are some really cool things that I liked a lot when it came to game play. The graphics were very crisp and the game pieces moved very smoothly. There is a bit of movement difference depending on which device you are using. I used my Blackberry Storm and my Curve, one being touch and the other not. On the touch screen you just highlight and slide(very smooth) on the non-touch screen you have to highlight the desired piece then you see a highlighted area that you can move that piece into. Regardless game play was fun and very easy to figure out.

Each game did have sound in the background. However the sound was very basic and slightly annoying. At least you have the option to mute the sound. Which is what I did after about 30 seconds of playing. Besides, I didn’t want to be heard when I was in my staff meetings.

I would say that chess is my favorite game to play, but that is mainly due to the fact that I just learned how to play it (yeah i know I am a late bloomer)! I also like it because it has an instructional mode, so you can learn as you go. Tic Tac Toe would have to be my least favorite, and that’s mainly because it was very basic and besides, it is tic tac toe and there is only so much you can do with it.

Each game is fully customizable, from being able to make your own rules (yes you saw that correctly) to the difficulty level of game play. The fact that you get 7 games for only $9.99 I would definitely buy this one on my own. If you are going to spend the money make sure you do like these types of games. If these aren’t the type games you like just head over to www.astraware.com and take your pick from their huge selection of other games they have to offer.

Definitely check out this package. Not only do the games make you feel like a kid again but they are fun to play and at the same time they make you use your brain!

All I can say now is CHECKMATE and KING ME!

Filed in categories: Blackberry related, Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Blackberry, Games, Palm, Palm OS related, Windows Mobile

Astraware Boardgames Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 31, 2009 at 7:47 pm.

Beginning with the release of the first generation iPhone, every phone manufacturer and wireless carrier have thrown themselves into tailspins trying to catch up and be the first out of the gate with a true iPhone killer. No entity has taken this quest more seriously than Microsoft, trying to reinvigorate their ailing Windows Mobile OS. This past week, the internet has been on fire with rumors and supposed leaked artwork and product renderings of a possible dragon slayer. We try to sort it all out for you here.

I’m going to attempt to lay out all of these different pieces of the puzzle, collected from the far recesses of the Internet rumor mill, together in a way that may collectively make sense. Be warned however, that quite a bit of this is speculation, some of it from supposed credible “inside” sources, and some of it is my effort to put it all in a perspective that might be a logical approach for Microsoft to take at this point.

Project Pink

Briefly, Project Pink is Microsoft’s not so secretive codename for their initiative to bring convergence to Zune services and Windows Mobile. Roz Ho heads this Area 51 in Redmond. While Steve Ballmer, and previously Bill Gates have both said they have no intention of bringing  Microsoft branded mobile phones to market, rumblings of a contingent inside Microsoft pushing for that persist.

Windows Mobile 7 and Zune Services

Steve Ballmer has made no secret that the future of the Zune may be as a package of services or a platform running alongside or on top of Windows Mobile. What could this mean? It means that if you’re sporting a Windows Phone in the future, you could take your Zune profile and services with you. Much like the iPhone, take your apps, your movies, and your music with you on your hip. So, it’s not a far stretch to see that Microsoft is actively attempting to converge the Zune Services and Platform with/onto Windows Mobile. Both platforms run on the Windows CE engine, so it’s a short stretch.

The Rumor Mill Event Timeline

March 19th, 2009

Steve Ballmer states in an interview with Business Week editor Stephen Alder,“We’re going to keep going with Zune. It’s two things: Service and a device. The Zune service, that’s going to fan out its footprint. Hardware will continue to improve.”

This is further confirmation of winter 2008 stirrings that lack luster Zune hardware sales may spawn Zune Services as its own entity.

April 10th, 2009

Engadget posts a gallery of pictures that are supposed leaked marketing materials from Microsoft. This really gets the ball rolling. If these pictures are indeed from an upcoming marketing campaign, it tells us the hardware spec for the Zune has significantly changed and is evolving into a pure touch screen device.

April 11th, 2009

The discovery of ZuneHD.net  further fuels the fire. People love a picture, and a simple background with a Zune logo do the trick on this one.

April 12th, 2009

Zunited reports that the ZuneHD.net website is not owned by Microsoft, but by a Mr. Altman of California.

April 13th, 2009

The artist who hosted the images in which Engadget reported on, removes them from his site. Is this the discovery of a hoax or intervention by the black helicoptors from Redmond?

April 14th, 2009

Mat Rosoff, whose blog I read regularly, publishes a post  that points to several sources and events making a ZuneHD device very plausible.

April 15th, 2009

wmpoweruser.com publishes supposed pictures/renderings of the new ZuneHD device.

Neowin.net publishes supposed “confirmed” hardware specs for the device. I’ll regurgitate just a few of them here:

• 3.6 inches OLED touchscreen
• Nvidia Tegra chipset
• HDMI out, Wi-Fi, USB
• HD radio
• Flash and HDD storage, 4GB to 120GB

What could it all mean?

Here’s where it get’s a little dicey. It’s on again, off again, but there’s a buzz for sure. The rest of this is my own speculation, blathering, and wishlist.

You have to go back a bit, and look at an initiave by Nvidia beginning, at least as far as I am aware, in 2007. Last year, Nvidia let loose the scoop on their Tegra hardware platform. This is an ultra low voltage mobile chipset geared to bring true 3d multimedia and gaming performance to mobile devices. Mobile phones, UMPC’s, MID’s, netbooks, handheld gaming consoles, and so on would greatly benefit from a chipset like this. It’s really quite amazing what theyr’e doing with Tegra. I’ve been watching this for some time because of its possibilities with mobile gaming and multimedia on par, at least to some degree,  with a desktop PC experience.

So if you mash all this up, throw it in a blender, and try to spread it out on a cookie sheet to make it somewhat digestable, what you could wind up with is the holy grail of mobility if Microsoft does this right. You could conceivebly integrate your Zune Services (music, video, and apps) which has a subscription feature, and your Windows Phone platform. Throw in some Tegra powered 1080p video with HDMI out, and you’ve got a portable multimedia powerhouse that you can plug into your HDTVwhen you get home.

Now, what if Microsoft decides to throw in a little Xbox Live integration? Perhaps Tegra would be powerful enough to run ported Xbox games you already own. On top of that think about the possiblity of all three services being pooled into one device. Then lump on the new Windows MyPhone services, Windows Live services with their integration into Spaces, Twitter, Facebook, etc., a cloud version of Office Mobile. Slap on a sliding QWERTY keyboard, and suddenly you’ve got a netbook in your front pocket that will play your Xbox games, get your email and phone calls, and let you watch movies and listen to all the music you can download. True convergance, that’s what the potential with all of this is. One identity in the coming cloud, and one device to run all of your services. And trust me, Steve Ballmer wants it to all be Microsoft driven.

Now that may sound like some evil plan to takeover the world, but every manufacturer is doing that, Apple with gaming on the iPhone, the new DSi (which I’m currently reviewing) and their newfound connectivity, the possible new PSP 2 (Can anyone say PSP phone?) All that has to happen is for carriers to shove radios in these new devices and you’ve got bona-fide competitors to the iPhone, and consumers need that.

Those are the posibilities, what I think will happen is that Microsoft will release a new ZuneHD hardware personal media player, and then release the platform to phone manufacturers. I don’t think they want to compete with hardware makers in the hyperactive phone manufacturing world. I think, that just like their desktop OS, and their Office suite, they want every manufacturer to license it, and every consumer to buy it.

Will the new ZuneHD posess all of the speculated hardware specs? I don’t know, I think only a few do at this point. Will Windows Mobile 7 have Zune services integrated in to it? Only a few know. But what I do know is that convergance is something that has been talked about for several decades now, and I think we may be just about on the new edge of it with some of this. And it’s an exciting time to be watching it all unfold. Just keep your fingers crossed that it’s not locked in to one carrier.

I know there is plenty more our readers can add to this and I hope the conversation gets started.

Footnote

Before we get the Apple vs. Microsoft argument going full flame here, note that I’m for both, I’m for competition and innovation. Without the original Palm’s there would be no Windows mobile, without Windows Mobile and Palm, there would be no iPhone, without the iPhone there would be no Pre. Without the Pre and iPhone, there woud be no talk of  a possible ZuneHD Phone. These innovations drive the other to evolve, and that’s what we’re all looking for. Right?

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Windows Mobile, Zune, ZuneHD

The Gadgeteer’s ZuneHD Rumor Mill Roundup originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 16, 2009 at 1:15 pm.

While all of us who are locked in to WinMo by our employers choose WinMo Devices over the next iPhone, the G2, or the upcoming Pre, wait for the messianic arrival of WinMo 6.5 while hanging out in limbo, news and new software can be a little slow coming. Here’s something you may have missed.

If you’re still using the Sync Center software that shipped with Vista or has been around forever previously as ActiveSync, and if you’re running Vista or the Windows 7 Beta, try the Live Mobile Device Center that replaces it. Unfortunately it won’t work on XP, and for some reason there wasn’t a real campaign when this software was launched, but you can download it for free on the Windows Mobile site. It’s a much nicer interface than the tired old ActiveSync or Sync Center, and makes several functions much more intuitive.

When you connect your device, this is the main interface screen you will see. Notice the green check mark indicating that my Treo has connected and synchronized. I do find that Device Center tends to lose partnerships and connections a lot less often than ActiveSync. From this main screen, you can see the four areas available to you.

From the Programs and Services area you have three options. The Add/Remove programs function is extremely useful, and lets you take care of this process more directly than was previously available. The next two options take you to the Windows Mobile site to give you tips and a few freebies.

The next section is where you pull pictures from your device over to your desktop or vise versa, configure pictures and video settings, and sync other media with your device.

The next area is simply an explorer for your device, nothing new functionally here, just a prettier way to get there.

This last area lets you configure how you connect, sync, and manage your device or devices.

To sum things up, this isn’t a game changer, just an enhancer. I do find it works much better for the rest of the guys at the office who are a little less tech savvy than all of the readers here. It’s more intuitive, so that gives me a bit of a break everytime someone can’t get their phone to sync.

OK, so I know what you’re thinking, that’s not much of a review. No it’s not, it’s just a little tidbit to pass along on a light Saturday morning before the rest of the world wakes up. Besides, it goes good with the coffee doesn’t it? Enjoy and Happy WinMobiling.

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile Device Center originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 11, 2009 at 6:57 am.

Microsoft released an update to Windows Live Mobile yesterday. I’ve been running it on my Treo 700wx, and I like the changes. I’m now able to run Messenger without my battery draining to zero in record time, and many of the features integrate very nicely in the Today screen. If you’re sporting WinMo, head over to Microsoft for the full skinny or browse over to the Live Mobile site on your Smartphone and hop aboard.

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Live, Windows Mobile

Windows Live Mobile Update Available originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 3, 2009 at 8:37 am.

Today HTC has announced the Snap Windows Mobile 6.1 GSM smartphone. This is a successor to the HTC Dash and includes an interesting new feature called Inner Circle. With Inner Circle, emails that are most important to you (from a pre-selected group of people), can be accessed with a click of a button, so that you don’t need to wade through a lot of useless gunk to get to the stuff that you really want to read. 

The Snap has a 528 MHz processor, 192MB of RAM, WiFi, GPS, 2.0 megapixel camera and 1500mAh battery. It’s 4.59” x 2.42” x .47” and has a QWERTY keyboard. Yay! The jog ball looks interesting too.

I continue to use the HTC Dash aka Excalibur aka S620 off and on, so I’m very anxious to get my hands on the Snap to try it out. Here are some more pix of this device to provide you with some gadget lust. Click on the thumbnails to see the full-size images.

Note the fact that there is a dedicated MSN chat key, that also doubles as a FN key / camera key combo.

Will you buy one?

Filed in categories: Uncategorized

Tagged: HTC, Smartphone, Spotlight Gadgets, Windows Mobile

HTC announces the Snap QWERTY smartphone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 1, 2009 at 9:00 am.

The latest smartphone to show up on my doorstep is the Pantech Matrix Pro (C820). It’s been a year since I reviewed the Pantech Duo (C810), which I enjoyed despite some faults. Today Judie of Gear Diary and I are going to give you our impressions of the latest model of this phone in a dual review. My comments are in blue italics, Judie’s are in Black.

Julie and I have been using the AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro for a while, and it is time to share our experiences with this Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard Edition smartphone. This review will be appearing on Gear Diary and The Gadgeteer; before reading further, you might want to start with my First Impressions of the AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro.

The Pantech Matrix Pro is a chunky little brick measuring 4.17″ tall x 2.0″ wide x 0.85″ thick and 5.34 ounces, but I have to say that it is so nicely curved and solidly built that I never felt its size to be a problem.

Me neither. The size is almost perfect for me. I can easily hold it in my hand (I don’t do belt clips…) while I walk around at my day job. If I don’t want to carry it, it isn’t difficult to stow it in my jeans pocket. It is a bit thick, but it has two keyboards – so I can overlook that.

Technical Specifications

Operating system: Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard
Internal Memory: 256MB
Expandable Memory: Supports up to 32GB microSD™ card
Display: 2.4″ 260K TFT (240×320 pixels)
Camera: 2.0 megapixels with digital 4x zoom
Connectivity: GPRS/EDGE quad-band, UMTS/HSDPA tri-band (850/1900/2100MHz), Bluetooth 2.0 and EDR, USB 2.0 HS
Audio: MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, RealAudio®
Video: MPEG-4, H.263, H.264, RealMedia, Windows Media,® 15 fps QCIF, MobiTV, Cellular Video, Video Sharing
Battery: Rechargeable Li-Ion: 1320 mAh; Talk time: Up to 6 hours; Standby time: Up to 12 days

I’ll admit that when I first got it, I was prepared to be underwhelmed. Unlike Julie, I thought that the original Pantech Duo was gimmicky, underpowered, ugly, and cheap…and I didn’t expect this one be much different. How’s that for bias going into a review?

Awwww, I liked it! It wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination and I had issues with it, but I really liked the form factor. I just went back and re-read my closing paragraph and in there, I said I hoped Pantech would come out with a better version. My wish was granted. But is it better?

Julie can tell you that I dragged my feet even opening the box. When I finally did open it, I felt a twinge of guilt for how prejudiced I had been. Don’t get me wrong: the Matrix Pro is far from perfect, and for various reasons it is not what I would necessarily label a “Pro” device, but it turned out to be a very good smartphone which should appeal to heavy texters and those who appreciate the wide variety of programs available on the Windows Mobile Standard platform, but who don’t necessarily want to pay an arm and leg for the experience.

Right, the “Pro” descriptor for this phone is definitely a bit of a mis-nomer. It’s missing some key features in order to earn that designation.

As I mentioned in my first impressions post, the Matrix Pro has an attractive form factor; its buttons and other controls are nicely laid out and with the exception of the fake scroll wheel, everything works exactly as expected. Perhaps my greatest complaint about the Pro’s appearance is the use of all that awful shiny plastic. I am trying to remember who it was that told me that shiny surfaces are considered “posh” on mobile phones in Asia, but honestly? I hate them. If I thought I was compulsive about rubbing the HTC S740‘s shiny face, I can tell you that the Matrix Pro made me totally OCD. Not only is its face shiny, so are its sides and back. “Fingerprint magnet” does not even begin to describe this thing – it is a fingerprint and face grease wasteland. I realize this isn’t a big deal to everyone, but it annoys the heck out of me.

I agree with you there. Heck, on occasion, I’ve even used it as a mirror to check my hair! That said, after the initial shiny shock, I have really not noticed it being any more fingerprinty than my iPhone. Polishing it on my jeans has become an absentminded habit.

Other than my obvious negative fixation with the device’s shininess, I have very few real complaints. I expected to think it was too fat, but it isn’t. The Matrix Pro fits very nicely in my hand, and the weight is appropriate , in fact I think that the weight makes the device feel more expensive than it really is. The rounded shape is caressable – and it begs to be held.

I think it has a good balance and is comfortable to hold and use. It doesn’t feel cheap or fragile and does not exhibit any creaking or cracking when squeezed.

I really like the way that Pantech tried to keep the shape of the device streamlined by putting covers over the microSD slot and the sync/charge port…but oh man. More on the sync/charge port cover in a moment.

Hehehe… I hate covers over sync ports too. Grrrrrr…

I know that among hardcore mobility people, the non-standard and proprietary sync/charge cable is going to cause some rolled eyes. “Not another cable to carry…revolt!”

Yeah, I feel the same way, but I also look at it like this: the average consumer who buys LGs, Nokias and certain other phones (smartphones as well as dumb) is used to having to carry a separate charging cable when they travel – assuming they even do that much of it. For them, this will be par for the course; I bet they won’t even give it a second thought.

We aren’t average though, so we can complain about it I hate the cable. Why didn’t Pantech use a mini or micro USB cable instead? Why oh why do designers pick proprietary connectors over more popular (probably even cheaper) choices?

I mentioned before that I didn’t like the sync/charge port cover of doom, and in the end I did wind up ripping it off.

It does not bother me at all that the port is now exposed – instead I have immediate and easy access to a slot that I need to plug into at least every couple of days.

Port cover of doom? Ha! It’s not THAT bad Ok, it annoys me too. But, the proprietary cable annoys me more. I’ll gladly not complain about the port cover if we could have a micro USB connector behind it.

Agreed!

The 2 megapixel camera takes fairly decent pictures, but yeah, I am still hitting the Voice Recorder button when I have the Matrix Pro turned on its side.

Me too! What a lousy decision to place those buttons directly across from one another. Also the shutter button isn’t the easiest to press all the way down. It makes taking a picture a little difficult at times. And then there’s the even more annoying fact that you can’t see a #$@% thing on the display when you’re outdoors – even on an overcast day.

The camera actually doesn’t do that bad of a job. Even the macro shots are readable. Of course I wish there was a built in flash. You can click on the thumbnails to see the full-size images.

The 1320 mAh battery has proven to be quite robust during my testing. I could easily get through a day of regular use without needing a charge – even with several calls, heavy email pulling, light GPS usage and a bit of surfing. When on standby without much activity, the phone could last for several days without losing much juice. Perhaps the lack of WiFi (as in, one less battery draining radio to leave on and suck the life out of the device) contributed to my good results, but since I don’t usually use WiFi all that much anyway, who is to say?

I also had very good results with battery life while using this phone. I typically need to charge it every 3rd day when I’m only making calls and texting. Throw in some browsing, picture taking and game playing, and I’ll charge it every other day.

Is the Matrix Pro perfect? Of course not. It comes loaded with AT&T bloatware (Cellular Video, AT&T Music, MEdia Net, MEdia Mall [no, those aren't typos], AT&T GPS, AT&T Navigator, Shop Music, etc.), and while you can obviously add WM programs to the phone, for some it is as locked down as Fort Knox. For instance, if you don’t want AT&T’s preloaded programs, you can’t delete them. But even worse: Twitter addicts will have to update though the web – the excellent WM application PocketTwit can’t be installed without hacking. Another program I couldn’t install was Google Mobile Apps, though I was able to easily install Google Maps…go figure. Google Mobile Apps and PockeTwit both return an error stating that the applications can’t be installed because they “lack sufficient system permissions.” Gah! FAIL.

I ran into the same issues Google Mobile Apps although I was able to install GMail and mobile Sync. I really like Google’s mobile sync now that I’m doing the cloud thing. No more worries about 3rd party sync apps for my Mac. Yay!

On the other hand, the Matrix Pro is an excellent and largely rock solid device for anyone who likes Windows Mobile Standard, who doesn’t need a touchscreen, who doesn’t mind the proprietary sync/charge cable, and who doesn’t expect to see a 3.5mm headset jack on their phone.

And who doesn’t mind not having WiFi. Although if you think about it, people probably use WiFi mostly for browsing the web on their mobile device. I don’t know about all of you, but I’m not going to want to do very much browsing on a tiny display like the one on the Matrix Pro. So I suppose the lack of WiFi isn’t a deal breaker (for me).

The QWERTY keyboard on the Matrix Pro is very easy to thumb info onto; heavy texters will definitely appreciate it. As a matter of fact, I showed the phone to Sarah and was immediately informed she wanted one. Bear in mind that my 19 year old is a rabid texter (as I have mentioned numerous times), and she has been “making do” ever since killing her Treo 500v (also a WM Standard device) with a Nokia dumbphone that I got from AT&T when I added a line. That’ll teach her.

The dual keyboard is what attracted me to the Pantech Duo and now the Matrix Pro. The top of the phone slides to the right with a very satisfying kerchunk sound (yes, that’s a technical term). The sliding mechanism is spring assisted and is very easy to use.

I found the keyboard to be very comfortable to type on once I got used to the slightly odd layout, with the spacebar situated between the V and B keys. I do a fair amount of texting during the day, and this is the first phone in awhile that I enjoy texting on.

I do not like the keypad though. Not that I use it very often, but I have never been a fan of the Razr style flat keyboard.

I have enjoyed using this phone quite a bit. I think I’m more sold on the form factor and sliding dual keyboard design first and foremost though. Once I get past those features, I find myself wishing it had a better display (one that would allow me to view it outdoors) and a camera with higher resolution and a flash. I will say what said at the end of my Duo review… that I hope Pantech comes out with an even better version in the future. Hey, they listened last time

It would be really easy for me to rag on the Matrix Pro for not being more of a “power user” phone, but if I keep myself from falling into “phone snob” mode, I can admit that it doesn’t have to be. This is a good device – both in specifications and in price – for anyone who wants a smartphone operating system combined with a form factor made for heavy texters.

The Pantech Matrix Pro is available from AT&T.

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: AT&T, GSM, Pantech, Windows Mobile

AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro (C820) Smartphone Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 27, 2009 at 4:12 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 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 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.

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.

In September 2005, my daily driver PDA was an
HP
iPAQ hx-4700 and my mobile phone was the
Samsung i550,
a Palm OS device that was never technically released in the US. I thought
that I was satisfied with the combination of the two devices – enjoying the best
of both PDA worlds in a sense – but there were times when I really longed to
have the freedom of carrying just one device that could do "everything".

Granted, the i550 could operate as a full fledged PDA and phone, but I
felt that its screen was just too small for full-time use since I enjoy reading
eBooks so much. The 4700′s comparatively enormous screen was perfectly suited
for eBooks and viewing everything else, but of course that PDA was not – and
would never be – a phone. Therefore my interest was raised when I heard about
the latest offerings from the Taiwan based company
High Tech Computer: the
i-mate branded
Jas Jar / HTC Universal
and the Sprint branded

PPC-6700 / HTC Apache.

Each was a Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Phone device with its own set of
special features. The Universal boasted a very appealing laptop/Tablet PC form
factor with a larger sized VGA screen, while the Apache had a more compact size,
EV-DO speeds (when/where available) and a sliding landscape-based keyboard.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with HTC, you should know that they are
the world’s largest producer of Pocket PC OS-based PDAs. HTC designs many of the
Pocket PCs and mobile phones
with which we are all familiar, but they never brand them with their name.
Instead, the designs are outsourced to other companies like Hewlett Packard,
i-mate, Audiovox, and others. But back to my story…

I wasn’t that surprised to learn that the HTC Universal would only be
offered on GSM/GPRS networks, such as T-Mobile and Cingular – because that is
almost always the case with cool new phones. I am a Sprint customer, which means
that I have to use a CDMA based mobile phone (no SIM card). While I miss out on
a lot of the trendy new phones, I generally enjoy great coverage and an
excellent data rate, so I guess in the end it more or less evens out.

So imagine my surprise when it was announced that Sprint would be the first
US carrier to offer the HTC Apache – the first Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC
Phone Edition device to be sold in the United States.

Of course I had to get one!

Specifications:
Battery Type: User removable / rechargeable 1350mAh Li-Ion
Battery life: Up to 4.7 hours talk time, up to 200 hours standby
Measurements: 4.25′ x 2.3" x 1.0" (according to the Sprint site) / My
measurements with a micrometer: 4.25" x 2.3" x 0.92"
Weight: 6.07 ounces according to the Sprint site / 6.6 ounces on my scale
Processor: Intel 416 MHz
Wireless: CDMA EV-DO, Bluetooth (v1.2) and WiFi, IrDA FIR
Operating Mode: Digital dual-band; this device operates within the CDMA
frequency bands of 1900 MHz digital and 800 MHz digital
Platform: Windows Mobile 5.0
Expansion Card: MiniSD
Memory: Flash ROM – 128MB / RAM 64MB SDRAM
Screen: 2.8" diagonal, 240 x 320 TFT-LCD with back-light LEDs, 65K Color touch
screen
Audio: Receiver/Speaker, Hands-Free supported, microphone
Camera: 1.3 mega pixels CMOS, with video light

Sprint introduced the PPC-6700 in early October, and at the time it was only
offered to their business customers. Rumors were abounding that it would soon be
offered to non-business customers, but there were no firm dates and I didn’t
want to wait. I paid close attention to the postings at
pdaPhoneHome, as other
non-business customers posted strategies which had and hadn’t worked as they
tried to get theirs. I called various Sprint numbers repeatedly, talked to
multiple service reps and tried everything short of begging, all to no
avail.

In the end, I went where I have had good luck finding other hard to buy items
in the past – eBay.

Once I had found a few eBay sellers that actually had the device in hand, I
decided upon the maximum amount I was willing to pay and then proceeded to
lose quite a few auctions. Evidently I wasn’t the only person with the eBay
idea, and evidently I wasn’t willing to pay the "going" amount. After a few days
of searching, bidding and losing, I was finally able to purchase a brand new and
unopened 6700 from a reputable seller. I have to laugh when I think back to the
whole process and what I went through trying to get my hands on a 6700. But in
retrospect the hunt was rather fun – even if a bit frustrating – and it did
allow me to start using the device more than a month earlier than I would have
otherwise.

Around the end of November, Sprint began selling the PPC-6700 to non-business
users and about that time other CDMA providers also began to sell rebranded
versions of the device.
Verizon calls their version the XV6700,
Qwest has the PPC-6700Q,
while Alltel,
Telus and other regional
carriers are offering the UTStarcom PPC-6700. Whatever it’s called, these are
all basically the same re-branded HTC Apache. Because there is a chance that
some of the various rebranded models have different features or limitations than
the specific model I have been using and am reviewing, just bear in mind while
reading that my experience is specifically limited to the Sprint version.

Once I finally received the PPC-6700 I had to pause for a moment, as I always
do when I am about to set my current PDA to the side and move on to the next.
Would the Apache be my perfect convergent device? Would I miss the glorious
screen of my iPAQ 4700? Would I like the much anticipated Windows Mobile 5.0? Or
would the PDA form factor bug me, being a PDA first and a phone second? I had
plenty of questions, and I was ready to find some answers…

Included in the PPC-6700′s box are the device itself, a standard battery, a
mini-USB charger, a stereo headset, a carrying case, two styli, a dual-slot USB
Sync cradle, phone user guide, getting started CD, installation guide, and
various items of Sprint paperwork.

Similar to past iPAQs and PPC Phone Editions, the Apache uses a plastic body
which has been painted matte silver. Because of it’s weight, the phone feels
substantial, but the plastic has a rather cheap finish. The paint will
eventually flake or wear off on oft-handled areas, and I have noticed this
already occurring on the bottom of the PDA near where the mini-USB port connects
in the cradle. If I couldn’t have my first choice of an all metal body, then I
would have much preferred an all over matte black with a slightly rubbery
texture, similar to the finish on the matte black

Motorola PEBL phone.

The 6700′s case is stiff and when flexed doesn’t have any obvious creaks,
however the battery cover does feel a bit thin and there is no locking mechanism
to keep it in place. If squeezed "just so", the moveable keyboard might trick
one into thinking that the case is flexing, but it is just the keyboard sliding
as it is supposed to do.

Once I actually had it in my hand, the 6700 seemed much smaller than expected
- even though I had known its measurements in advance. At 4.3" tall x
2.3" wide x 0.9" thick and weighing 6.6 ounces compared to the
iPAQ’s 5.2" tall x 3.0" wide x 0.6" thick and 6.8 ounces, the 6700 felt much
smaller overall. Of course, the smaller case size also means a smaller screen:
2.9" diagonal on the 6700 versus 4.0" diagonal on the iPAQ 4700. However,
the Apache’s screen was a definite size improvement over the i500′s sub-2"
screen. After reading many eBooks over the last couple of months on the
6700′s 3" screen, I have decided that this is the smallest size screen I am
comfortable using. Of course, there are still times when I will power on the
4700 and once again fall in love with the larger VGA screen. That extra inch
coupled with the VGA resolution really does make a difference.

For comparison’s sake, I am also showing the the 6700 next to the iPAQ 1945,
which measures 4.5" tall x 2.8" wide x 0.5" thick and weighs 4.3 ounces. While
the 6700 is nearly twice the 1945′s thickness, it is otherwise the smaller PDA.

from left to right: PPC-6700, iPAQ 1945 & iPAQ 4700

from top to bottom: PPC-6700, iPAQ 1945 & iPAQ 4700

from top to bottom: PPC-6700, iPAQ 1945 & iPAQ 4700

Since I usually keep the 4700′s extended battery installed, which raises its
depth to 0.8", the thickness of the 6700 has never seemed bothersome. As a
matter of fact, I think that the extra girth allows me to keep a more secure
grip on the phone.

Make no mistake about it though, dropping the 6700 is always a distinct
possibility. Its smooth silver plastic case does not have any type of rubber
grips on the side, nor does it have a slot for a wrist-lanyard. Cases aren’t
really an option just yet, as the majority of the ones available are pouch
style, which means the phone is completely naked when in use. At this time
Piel Frama is the only
manufacturer making a play-through case for this phone, but it does not allow
full use of the keyboard when the PDA is inserted. It is still better than a
naked phone however, for those that live in fear of the day when they’ll drop
the 6700 and crack its screen.

Of course, much of the reason why the PPC-6700 is so thick is because
of its sliding side keyboard, which transforms the 6700 from a portrait oriented
PDA to a landscape mini-laptop with a thumb-board.

Opening the keyboard immediately flips the screen to landscape
orientation

I have spoken with some who think that the 6700′s sliding keyboard feels like
it won’t hold up over time, and others who have had experiences where it slid
open at the wrong time. In my opinion, the sliding mechanism on the 6700 is fine
and should last the life of the phone. The front half of the PDA is held to the
keyboard by two rails, the tracks of which can be seen when the keyboard is
opened. When the two halves are sliding against each other they don’t feel
wobbly and there is no play.

When the keyboard is fully extended, there is a clicking noise as it locks
into position. When the keyboard is shut, there is also a clicking sound as it
locks into place. However, there is some play between the top half of the PDA
against the bottom, by which I mean that it is possible to easily cause the two
halves to go slightly askew while they are in the "locked" position. As this
happens, there is an audible click as the two halves separate or come back
together. I would like to have seen a more secure method for joining the two
halves and keeping them shut. Perhaps this could have been solved if
there had been a button release for the keyboard, but then such a release would
have made the keyboard a bit less quick to open. I guess it was a trade-off.

Sliding the keyboard takes a simple push against the top portion of the PDA,
while holding the bottom in place. This can be done by the fingers of whichever
hand is holding the 6700 as it sits in the palm. Sliding open the keyboard
causes the screen to switch from portrait mode to landscape mode almost
instantaneously. There can be a bit of a lag, but I have never found it to be
more than a second or so.

The screen 240 x 340 resolution screen is bright and quite easy on the eyes.
I generally keep the screen’s brightness set to about 3/4 when on battery power,
and it has not caused a huge drain on battery life. Even though the 6700′s
screen is not a VGA resolution, it’s smaller size makes it appear sharper than
the same resolution would appear on a larger screen.

It does not take much pressure to cause the keyboard to slide, which can lead
to the keyboard opening as the user grips the PDA in one hand while they are use
the stylus on the screen with the other hand. Because it is natural for a
right-handed user’s thumb to rest against the top of the sliding face, just a
little bit of push from that thumb can cause the screen to slide open.

Left-handed users will find that the tips of their fingers curling around the
back of the PDA will cause the same unwelcome opening.

Unfortunately there is no fix for this phenomenon other than learning not to
push on the sliding half, which may be a real point of frustration for some
users. My hope is that if a proper play-through case is ever introduced it will
allow the opening of the keyboard while also keeping the two halves shut.

Because I have one of the earlier PPC-6700s, my keyboard has a white LED
backlight that is activated when the keyboard is open and any button is pushed.
The extended functions for each key are highlighted with a red LED backlight,
which is very easy to see. If no buttons are pressed the keyboard lights will
extinguish after a user-chosen 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 seconds. I have read that more
recent PPC-6700s are shipping with a blue LED backlight and no red LED for the
extended key functions. In my opinion, that is a less desirable configuration.

The keys on the board are quite squared off, and each has a hump at its
center which helps the thumb feel centered when rapidly pressing them. So far I
haven’t worn the silver paint from any of the keys, but I suspect that it is
just a matter of time. The "F" and "J" keys have faintly raised touch-bars,
presumably to help orient the user if they are touch-thumbing. The keys have a
satisfying muffled "click" when pressed, and they are large enough that I
haven’t felt particularly crowded while typing.

One of the things that takes a little bit of getting used to is the lack of
dedicated numbers keys on the keyboard. Because there is so little space for so
many keys, numbers and symbols are accessible by pushing and holding the red
function key. However, when the keyboard is open and the phone application is
also open, the red function key does not have to be pressed for the numbers to
work.

I was never much of a thumb-board user before I got the PPC-6700, but I have
actually grown quite proficient at its use. Whether it is firing off a reply to
a text message or composing an entry for my online gear diary, the keyboard is
quite handy to have as it offers a respite from manually entering text on the
screen.

Now is a good time to take a look at all of the buttons, indicator lights and
other features built into the exterior of the 6700…

The top of the Apache features a prominent antenna nub with a built-in stylus
silo, a miniSD slot and a power button which when quickly pressed will turn the
PDA on or off, but when pressed and held will turn the screen’s backlight on or
off.

The stylus is rather thin, and while it works fine for quick data entry, a
fatter bodied replacement stylus would be the better choice for someone that
does a lot of data entry.

Above the screen on the right is an LED that glows orange while charging,
solid green when fully charged, and blinks green to show various notifications
that can be set by the user in the Start/Settings/Sounds &
Notifications/Notifications folder. On the left side, is a bi-color indicator
LED that blinks blue when Bluetooth is turned on and green for WiFi. In between
these two indicators is the phone’s speaker.

The button cluster on the lower front is as follows (starting in the upper
left corner and going clockwise): the non-assignable left soft key which
corresponds to the selection shown on the left bottom of the screen, the
user-assignable Start and OK buttons, the non-assignable right soft key which
corresponds to the selection shown on the right of the screen, the green phone
button which answers calls and pulls up the phone screen from any program, the
four-way navigation joystick which also presses in for entering
selections, and the red phone button which hangs up calls and exits from the
current screen.

The right side of the 6700 has a re-assignable camera button, which in its
default duty will activate the camera when pressed and held. I have found that
sometimes I can give what I think is a quick accidental touch and it will be
enough to activate the camera. This can be annoying, but it hasn’t been a big
enough problem to cause me to re-assign the button to <none>, which is one of
the options.

The left side features the re-assignable voice recorder button – I use it to
open eReader, the volume slider, the re-assignable Internet Explorer button and
the Infrared port.

The very bottom of the Apache holds the reset button (activated by the tip of
the stylus), the mini-USB port, the headphone jack and the microphone.

As you can see, my mini-USB port has been scraped by repeated
insertions in the cradle

The back of the PDA houses an external antenna port, the camera lens with its
"normal" and "macro" slider setting, an LED spotlight which works with both the
camera and the camcorder, and a small shiny surface which is described as a
"self-portrait mirror", but which doesn’t do much more than draw attention to
the slit which makes up the speakerphone on its left.

The speakerphone is a handy feature to have, but it is only effective in a
quiet room. Even when turned all the way up, background noises will cause it to
be almost useless.

The battery door has one grippy 1.5" rubber strip which does help keep the
6700 from being too slippery on smooth surfaces, but is otherwise
ineffectual. As I previously mentioned, the battery door slides right off when
the correct pressure is applied, and there is no lock with which to keep it
securely shut. I am sure that there are quite a few 6700 users that have come up
with their own methods of keeping it shut, and I am sure that they would agree
that the lack of a lock was a severe oversight. Hopefully this is another issue
that will be resolved once a properly fitting play-through case is introduced.

The cradle is a simple weighted black plastic base with green LEDs to
indicate that it is both charging and syncing, as separate cables power each
function. Behind the front slot which is sized o hold the 6700 even when
sporting its optional extended battery, is a second battery charging tray which
will fit both the standard and extended battery models.

I really like that the PPC-6700 uses the mini-USB connector for syncing and
charging. These are easy to find and work on a multitude of other devices.

There is an included wired stereo headset, but since the phone has Bluetooth,
I suspect that most users will opt for the unwired solution instead. The
included belt-clip pouch is pretty lame. It offers no protection when using the
PDA whatsoever, and it is feels cheap. However, as is often the case (no pun
intended), it is better than nothing.

Battery life on the PPC-6700 has been quite good. I have found that I can
easily get through the day with Bluetooth on, answering and making calls as
needed, and using various PDA functions. WiFi use is obviously a bit more of a
drain, but I try to always keep a charging cable nearby just in case.

That covers the hardware portion of this review, now it’s time to take a look
at the software…

The Today Screen looks much the same as it has on other PPC Phone Editions.

The upper menu bar shows the 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 (in my case 1X and not EV-DO). 1X surfing is similar to 56k dial-up. I
was able to experience EV-DO speeds while we were in Seattle, and they were
incredible. I get all the data surfing I can handle at 1X or EV-DO speeds for
$15 a month.I really am looking forward to the day when San Angelo gets EV-DO!

This icon also changes to show when the
network is being accessed…

… and when WiFi is working.

There is a registry hack available which allowed me to get the connection
icon to tell how long I had been connected to the Sprint Vision network, as well
as a button to easily disconnect. That hack and many others that are just as
useful

can be found here. I highly suggest that anyone even thinking about getting
a PPC-6700 peruse this informative forum.

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 left side of the phone, and it is also accessible by tapping the
screen icon. This 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.

As I previously mentioned, the 6700 is the first US Pocket PC Phone Edition
to feature Windows Mobile 5. Perhaps the biggest difference between this newer
version and PPC2003 is memory management. Instead of the adjustable slider most
Pocket PC Users have grown used to, memory is now managed on a non-user
adjustable screen. No longer is the total main memory 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, which has its good and
bad points. Good being that if the PDAs battery dies, none of the stored info or
programs will be lost. I found out the bad news when I asked Leonard with
Pocket PC Techs if they would be
able to perform a memory upgrade: If I understood his reply correctly, Since the OS is directly written to the same
memory that is used to store the user added programs, there are no after-market
options for upgrading the memory. It has been a major adjustment for me to go
from using a 128MB RAM Pocket PC Techs
upgraded iPAQ – meaning 61MB storage and 65MB program to the Apache’s
non-upgradeable 92MB – meaning 43.5MB storage and 49.42MB program. I have done
my best to only load programs in main memory that must be placed there to
operate correctly and all other programs on the
miniSD, but I am still just left with about 16MB free and I feel rather crowded.

One of the new features is the way that programs are loaded during an
install. Instead of choosing from ActiveSync where a program will be stored, the
option is given on-screen, along with a reminder of how much space is needed and
how much is available.

The Sprint PPC-6700 comes with a CD which includes various add on software
titles, including:
Sprint PCS Software Store provided by Handango™: described as "an
intelligent on-device catalog of applications and digital media."
Action Info™ for access to your favorite brands: eBay®, Amazon.com®, FOX
Sports™, AP News, AP Stocks, Microsoft® MapPoint®, AccuWeather®, Restaurant
Row™, and Zap 2 it™ Movies. Included is a free month’s trial, but a subscription
is pretty pricey at $50. I did use the free month and while I enjoyed the easy
interface, I still haven’t taken the plunge and bough the program.
Audible Listener Info and Rebate Offer: Selection of more than 23,000
titles of audio books, magazines, newspapers, radio programs, and more with a
free month of AudibleListener®, or sign up for an AudibleListener® 12 month
membership and get $100 cash back.
Citrix® GoToMyPC®: for fast, easy, and secure access to everything on
your office PC from your Windows Mobile™ Pocket PC device.

There are several software titles loaded into ROM that I don’t use, including
Audible, Action Info and Sprint Business Connection. Since I don’t use them and
I can’t delete them, I have had to settle for deleting their icons so I at least
don’t have to look at them in my program list.

One of the earliest problems I discovered while using the PPC-6700 was that
there were huge issues when a Today Screen plug-in had to access the memory card
for information. This could be something as innocuous as Battery Pack Pro trying
to tell me how many MB were left on the memory card, or
Newsbreak trying to
store downloaded content onto the memory card. Lock-ups and slowdowns became the
order of the day. It took reconfiguring these programs to not access the storage
card and re-formatting my MiniSD card before the problems would cease.

A later issue with the 6700 involved the PDA’s becoming completely locked up with
a dark screen, needing a soft reset to revive. During this time if any calls
came in there would be no notification, as the unit was effectively dead. Almost every time I have run into
something like this, it has been the direct result of a program that I
installed – but that is not always the case. Which brings me to another issue…backups.

While it is great that the information on my PDA will never be erased because
the battery died, that has really never been a problem for me. I suspect that
whoever was responsible for determining what software would come preloaded on
the 6700 decided that since stored items would not be erased due to battery
loss, there was no reason to install a backup utility. Unfortunately, that is
not the only reason that such a program comes in handy. I have had to do no less
than five hard resets since I got the PPC-6700 because of issues that arose from
a software incompatibility that could not be solved by erasing all traces of the
program through an uninstall and registry scrub. Thankfully I have been able to
backup many of my applications and settings with
Sunnysoft Backup
Manager, although there are still little settings that never seem to make it
through a reset and restore intact.

The PPC-6700 came with a new version of ActiveSync, 4.0, which has since been
upgraded to

ActiveSync 4.1. I had little to no problems syncing with ActiveSync 4.0, but
since the "upgrade" I have noticed that connections between my PDA and desktop
have become a bit…quirkier. It is not uncommon to get multiple errors,
and I have seen a popup window telling me that anything added since my last sync
will be lost more times than I care to comment upon. I have done everything from
turning off my desktop firewall and anti-virus protection to starting from scratch, and somewhere in the
process I seem to have struck a balance so that I only see the errors once every
day or two. This is not exactly something a new Pocket PC user is going to
understand, and it is not something that an old Pocket PC user will want to
accept. Let’s just say that I am dealing with it. <sigh>

Some of the specialized features of the PPC-6700 are the ability to orient
the screen in just about any direction…

This feature is also accessible from the static menu on the lower bar of the
Today Screen. It is accessed from the third icon on the lower right of the
screen.

This first icon on the static bar allows quick access to the power settings
and battery display, while the circular icon is a quick link to the Wireless
Manager.

The Wireless Manager is also quickly accessible by pressing and holding the
Internet Explorer button on the left side of the case.

The 1.3 mega pixel camera is handy to have along, but it is not a feature
that I use regularly. Here are some shots taken by Julie and me when we were at
Mobius. These pictures were taken in a well lit room, while sitting next to a
window.

Not so great, but as always – better than nothing.

Here is the screen that is seen when the camera is in use. Accessible are the
flash/LED light, zoom, other settings and tools. Ordinarily, the item which the
camera is pointed at will fill the screen, not this blood red color.

The LED light on the back of the PDA does help light things a bit, but it is
not really powerful enough to be a sufficient "flash’ in a darker room. It does
make for an excellent flashlight, however.

Photos taken may be directly attached and sent in emails, a process which is
easily accessible directly from the camera.

One of the features that I have enjoyed is the ability to add a photo to
incoming callers. A popup window will appear at the bottom of whatever screen is
open, announcing the caller’s number, as well as their name, company and photo
if they are in the user’s Contacts.

Their photo will also show when calls are made or calls are incoming.

Notice that there is an option to answer or ignore the call, and that if the
call is not answered an icon will appear showing that it was missed.

While the PPC-6700 does have a lot of cool phone features, in my opinion it
is first and foremost a PDA. I feel this way because the 6700 does not
have built-in numeric buttons which are easily accessible when the keyboard is
closed and because one handed phone operation is possible but not exactly intuitive.

While I have really been impressed with the form factor and all the things
that I am able to do with this small device, I do not feel that the Apache is a
phone I could ever recommend to a complete novice. Between the quirks that I
have found and the necessary work-arounds to get it to do things that it should
have done out of the box, there are enough problems present to frustrate someone
without infinite patience or online answer resources.

With that said, even though it has been an exercise in patience and
frustration, for the most part I am very happy with the PPC-6700. At this time, it is the best PDA for me.

Obviously I was not able to cover every nitty-gritty detail in this review,
and there are people who use their PPC-6700s entirely differently than I do. If
you have specific comments, tips, or questions, please post them in the
forum.

PHONE	CARRIER	PRICE	AFTER REBATE
Sprint PPC 6700
		$429	$379

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related, Wireless

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

HTC Apache / PPC-6700 Pocket PC Phone Edition originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 17, 2006 at 9:49 am.