.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCT REVIEW
.TITLE The Cingular 8525 is a top-shelf Pocket PC phone
.AUTHOR James Booth
.SUMMARY HTC (High Tech Computers), the largest manufacturer of Pocket PC devices in the world, has never been one to be restrained by convention. Few thought the much-praised 8125 (aka T-mobile MDA, HTC Wizard) could be improved upon, but HTC has done just that with the 8525. Read on to find out what Senior Editor James Booth thinks of Cingular’s flagship PDA phone.
.OTHER
"Never mess with a good thing." At least that’s how the old adage goes. But HTC (High Tech Computers) has never been one to be restrained by convention. Although you may not be familiar with HTC, if you have a Pocket PC phone, it was probably made by HTC. In fact, under a variety of brands, and as many service providers, HTC is the largest manufacturer of Pocket PC devices in the world, including the Cingular 8525.
.CALLOUT So what’s with all this aka?
Few thought the much-praised 8125 (aka T-mobile MDA, HTC Wizard) could be improved upon, but HTC has done just that with the 8525 (aka HTC Hermes, HTC TyTN) shown in Figure A.
.FIGPAIR A The Cingular 8525/HTC TyTN.
.BREAK_EMAIL Read on to learn more about Cingular’s 8525 Pocket PC phone.
So what’s with all this aka?
As I said, HTC is the largest Pocket PC and smartphone producer in the industry. Many of their devices are built on a core platform, then rebranded for various markets and/or service providers. Therefore, the Cingular 8125 was also the T-mobile MDA. Both were built on HTC’s Wizard platform. Likewise, the Verizon XV6700, [[http://www.computingunplugged.com/issues/issue200603/00001731001.html|previously covered here]], and the Sprint PPC6700, [[http://www.computingunplugged.com/issues/issue200603/00001742001.html|previously covered here]], were built on HTC’s Apache platform.
The Cingular 8525, the next evolution of the 8125, is also marketed as the HTC TyTN, and its core platform, the HTC Hermes. While there are a very few subtle differences between them, the information in this article will generally apply to all three.
.H1 Packed inside
Inside the box is the 8525, of course, an AC adapter, USB cable, a Y-adapter cable, two styli, a Getting Started guide, and the software installation CD, featuring Activesync, Outlook 2002, and the electronic manual.
The 8525 brings with it an impressive array of specs.
Running on Windows Mobile 5, the Cingular 8525 is a quad-band GSM phone with GPRS/EDGE/3G data access capable of operating on any GSM network worldwide. It has a 400MHz Samsung processor, 64MB of RAM, 128MB of Flash ROM, a 2.8-inch QVGA (240X320, 64k color) screen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and IR, a 2MP digital camera, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and a microSD expansion slot. And it’s all powered by a 1350 mAh Lithium Polymer battery.
The 8525 was also set up for PTT (Push to Talk), which was not available on Cingular’s network when the phone was released in November 2006. A ROM update was released on April 25th, 2007 that activated the PTT feature, as well as bringing a few minor fixes.
On the left side of the 8525 you’ll find the PTT button (which is not otherwise programmable), the Jog wheel, which can be used to navigate menus and clicked to make selections, and an additional OK/Close button. You can see all these items in Figure B below.
.FIGPAIR B The left side of the 8525.
You’ll also find the microSD expansion slot, shown in Figure C, on the left side.
.FIGPAIR C The microSD expansion slot.
.PAGE
And finally, the keyboard slides out from the left, as in Figure D.
.FIGPAIR D The Cingular 8525’s slide-out keyboard.
On the right side are the Power button, the Comm Manager button (which is programmable), and the Camera button (also programmable), all seen below in Figure E.
.FIGPAIR E The right side of the 8525.
The bottom of the 8525 has quite a bit going on. The USB port for charging, syncing, and plugging in the headphones is located here, as is the Reset button, the Ir port, and the lock for the battery cover. On the right side of the bottom is the Stylus well, and an attachment for a lanyard is on the left, as you can see Figure F.
.FIGPAIR F The bottom of the Cingular 8525.
As you can see in Figure G, the top, amazingly, has nothing.
.FIGPAIR G The top of the 8525 is bare.
The back is where you’ll find the 2MP camera, its flash, the self-portrait mirror, the system speaker, the battery cover, and the external antenna plug. Figure H shows all these features.
.FIGPAIR H The back of the Cingular 8525.
The front, of course, is where the action takes place, and where you’ll find the most features. You have your basic 5-way Navigator, the two phone buttons, the two hardware-soft key buttons, the Start Menu button, and an OK button. Up top, on either side of the phone speaker, are the Messaging and IE buttons, shown in Figure I.
.FIGPAIR I All the action is on the front of the 8525.
.H1 The software
Seeing as how the Cingular 8525 is much more than just a phone, a full-fledged computer in fact, it comes with a full suite of pre-installed software.
For the mobile office warrior, there are Pocket versions of Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Outlook, as well as Clearview PDF. The media freak will enjoy Windows Media Player, and the mobile Web hound will find Pocket Internet Explorer. Several other applications, such as Telenav GPS, MobiTV, and Cingular’s XPress Mail are included as well.
.H1 Comparison
Let’s see how the 8525 compares to some other devices on the market. Physically, its dimensions are virtually identical to its predecessor the 8125 and the Verizon XV6700. As you can see in Figure J, all three are themselves significantly smaller than the Palm LifeDrive.
.FIGPAIR J The LifeDrive is a giant next to these phone devices.
All three of these Pocket PC phones feature a slide-out keyboard, the same 2.8-inch QVGA screen, 128MB of ROM, 64MB of RAM, an expansion slot, and all three run Windows Mobile 5. In fact, it would not surprise me one bit to learn they are all built on the same basic framework. Underneath the hood is where you’ll find the difference, though.
.PAGE
Taking a cue from Darius Wey at Pocket PC Thoughts, I’m including results from Spb Software House’s Benchmark tests to show how the 8525 measures up to other devices. I have to thank Darius for providing me with the Benchmark files from the Dell Axims and the E-TEN Glofiish M700. The following figures detail the results of those Benchmark tests. Starting in Figure K is the overall Benchmark Index, which reflects the overall performance of the hardware. All test values are normalized to the Compaq iPAQ 3650 index values.
.FIGPAIR K The Benchmark Index test.
Figure L shows the results of the Platform Benchmark, and reflects the performance of the operating system on the device.
.FIGPAIR L The Platform Benchmark results.
Figure M details the CPU Benchmark test, which measures the performance of the processor, testing both integer and floating-point operations.
.FIGPAIR M CPU Benchmark.
Figure N shows the Graphics Benchmark. This reflects the performance of the video system.
.FIGPAIR N The Graphics Benchmark.
The File System Benchmark in Figure O measures the performance of the internal file system. These results are not affected by a storage card or the amount of memory, only the speed at which files are manipulated.
.FIGPAIR O The File System Benchmark.
The Storage Card test in Figure P is just like the File System test, except it measures the storage card system.
.FIGPAIR P The Storage Card Benchmark.
Figure Q details the results of the Internet Explorer Benchmark, measuring the time required to open IE and load a 260kb HTML page.
.FIGPAIR Q The IE Benchmark test.
And finally, the Battery Benchmark. The results in Figure R show the battery life from a "Normal" usage and a "High" usage test.
.FIGPAIR R The Battery Life Benchmark results.
The Battery Benchmark only shows results from the Cingular 8525 itself, because its expected performance is the most important. I was amazed at how long of a life the battery had.
The "Normal" test sets the backlight to maximum and periodically opens Pocket Word, loads a document, then closes Pocket Word to simulate normal usage. The test is run until the battery is dead.
The "Maximum" test measures battery life by setting the backlight to maximum and continuously plays a video in Windows Media Player until the battery is completely dead.
.H1 What’s hot
The Cingular 8525 is nothing short of a first-class handheld. The battery life is simply amazing, as shown in the results above. And I get a stronger signal with Cingular’s GSM network than I ever did with Verizon. Although I was quite satisfied with their service, I’ve experienced nowhere near the number of dropped calls on Cingular.
The 8525 is a superb update to the 8125. It doubles the processor speed, increases the camera resolution, adds the Jog dial popular with Blackberry users, keeps the slide-out keyboard, and adds Push to Talk. The memory remains the same as the 8125, though. I would have thought an upgrade in that area likely as well.
I must confess to not installing the PTT update as of this writing. It requires all data to be wiped from the device when the ROM is flashed, and I’m not ready to do that yet. I just got it set up the way I like, and I’ll be having to do it soon enough as it is. In any event, PTT is a much-looked-for feature.
Windows Mobile… what more can I say? Windows Mobile is such a drastic improvement over Pocket PC 2003 that there is no comparison. And if you’re still in the Dark Ages of the Palm OS, do yourself a favor and check out Windows Mobile. Multi-tasking says it all.
But wait… didn’t Windows Mobile 6 just come out? Doesn’t that make the 8525 outdated?
Not at all. In order to ensure continued device longevity, Cingular will be offering a WM6 update for the 8525, keeping it current and up-to-date for some time to come. A future article will cover the new OS and its improvements.
ActiveSync is much easier to set up now than it used to be. It’s actually as simple as Plug-N-Play. Likewise, Pocket Outlook setup is essentially self-detecting. Much easier than on the XV6700.
The updated 2MP camera is a nice improvement over the previous 1.3MP version on the 8125. It’s unlikely anyone will be the next Ansel Adams with one of these cameras, but the nice thing is that you always have a camera handy. They can be especially useful at accident scenes, and on those occasions when you wish you had a camera.
I have to count the slide-out QWERTY keyboard as a plus. Personally, I don’t really use it that much. As a matter of fact, not at all. But I know people that can type on the slide-out almost as fast as on a full-size keyboard.
I have tried the keyboard, and for the most part did well with it. But I think my thumb must be a bit too fat, because I kept hitting the Period instead of the Space. Truthfully, I prefer to use natural handwriting as my input method of choice. In any event, having a full keyboard available that doesn’t take up half of the device’s real estate is a definite advantage.
For wireless capabilities, the 8525 has you completely covered. With Wi-Fi hotspots becoming more and more popular, the built-in Wi-Fi card will keep you connected.
Although Bluetooth has been around for a number of years it’s only recently become more mainstream. The mobile phone market has really given it a boost in the form of Bluetooth headsets. My previous experience with BT showed it to be rather slow and a bit of a power hog, but as I don’t actually have a BT headset at this moment, I wasn’t actually able to test that feature.
Just remember, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth will drain the battery of a Pocket PC phone much faster than a regular mobile phone because it has to run the computer in addition to the wireless feature.
Another plus to the 8525 is the ability to tether it to your laptop via USB and use it as a wireless modem. Many service providers don’t allow this. Verizon doesn’t, but Cingular doesn’t mind at all. After all, we’re paying for the airtime and data usage anyway. As a matter of fact, there’s an included utility to set your phone up as a wireless modem.
The real star of the wireless show is Cingular’s 3G network. Cingular was actually the first provider in the US to offer 3G service, but at this time, the 3G network is not available in all areas, mine included. If you’re in a large, metro area, such as Chicago, New York, etc., you should be in a 3G area. Fear not though, coverage is always expanding.
The 3G network provides access to UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System)/HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access). What does this mean? Basically, wireless broadband. I’m hours away from any 3G access, but others have reported speeds ranging from 50-125Kbytes/second.
In my GPRS region, I’m getting speeds of around 170Kbits/second, or 17Kbytes/second. Honestly, I don’t think this is bad. Having the ability to connect to the Internet anywhere is a plus, regardless of speed. And if you’re in a crowded coffee shop, this may be faster than you can get with their Wi-Fi hotspot.
The 8525 comes with Voice Speed Dial, from Cyberon, the same company that makes Voice Command. This is definitely a handy little app. Just program one of your buttons to activate it, and you can make calls and launch programs by speaking the voice tag that you assigned. A very nice feature.
.H1 The bad
Few products ever get by without at least a little criticism, and the Cingular 8525 is no exception. For the most part, they’re all really little nits that I’m picking.
I guess my biggest complaint would be the stylus. Although contoured to match the corner, it’s the same stylus from the 8125. It’s quite short and collapses in on itself. This is done to make it fit inside the casing, but take up as little space as possible. I don’t like it.
I’m no stranger to collapsing styli, my LifeDrive stylus collapsed. But it was spring-loaded, so it stayed extended much easier. The 8525’s is just too short and has a tendency to collapse while being used. It needs to have another extendable segment, or just plain be longer. And if it’s going to extend, it should be spring-loaded. Figure S shows the styli from various handheld devices.
.FIGPAIR S The 8525 and 8125 styli are very short.
Next is a button issue. The Messaging and IE buttons are on either side of the phone speaker, meaning they get pressed rather easily when talking on the phone. On the 8125 they were at the corners, and they should have been left there.
Another button problem is the installed button mapping utility. This may actually be part of the OS, but not all of the buttons can be remapped. And of those that can, they can only be remapped for Press, not Press & Hold.
The inability to program the buttons was even a complaint by users prior to the PTT update; they didn’t like having a button that did nothing. I don’t like it either. And I don’t use the OK/Close button on the left side either; I just haven’t developed the habit. By disabling the Messaging and IE buttons so they don’t accidentally get pressed, and not using either the PTT or the extra OK/Close button, half the buttons on the device are useless.
On the XV6700, any of the buttons could be re-mapped for any Press, or Press & Hold function, and I miss that. It’s something that can be remedied with various third-party applications, but some of them will only remap buttons the pre-installed mapper can handle, and some actually disable buttons you don’t want them to. If the pre-installed mapper could cover all the buttons on one HTC device (XV6700), it should do it on another (8525).
My last little complaint is how the headphones connect to the device… by the USB plug. The sync cord connects to the USB port, the charging cable connects to the USB port, and the headphones plug in there as well. That’s a lot of things in one place.
I understand why, it makes for less hardware on the inside. USB also provides a better connection than a 2.5 or 3.5mm plug. But it’s another format that has suddenly made all of my other headsets useless. I kind of felt this way with my XV6700; it had a 2.5mm plug and my other sets were 3.5mm.
I’m just tired of a new standard with every device. The industry trend seems to be shifting toward the USB standard, so maybe we’ll get a break for a while.
On the up-side, Cingular has included a Y-adapter so you can charge and talk on the phone at the same time. The headset does seem to have that airy, white-noise in the background though.
.H1 The verdict
Despite the shortcomings noted above, the 8525 is at the top of the Pocket PC heap, and with a Windows Mobile 6 update, is likely to hover around the top for some time to come. It is, without question, the best Pocket PC phone that Cingular has to offer.
The XV6700 is the best Verizon has going, but with a WM6 update uncertain, its longevity is questionable. If you’re looking for PTT, are considering changing service providers and want to stick with a Windows Mobile device, looking to migrate from a Palm to a Pocket PC, or are looking to upgrade your 8125, you can’t go wrong with the Cingular 8525.
Travel overseas? Because it’s a quad-band GSM, it should work on any GSM network in North America, Europe, or Asia, making it a true world-phone.
One of the bonuses I didn’t mention above (I was saving it for now), is the interchangeability of parts with other HTC products, namely the battery. I was very pleased to discover it uses the same battery as my XV6700, and the same AC adapter, and car charger. Sadly, it didn’t fit the XV6700’s desk cradle, and Cingular didn’t include one in the retail package. Shame on you, Cingular, everyone likes a desk cradle.
Overall, the Cingular 8525 is a top-shelf Pocket PC phone, with voice and data service available virtually the world over. The soon-to-be-released Windows Mobile 6 update shows Cingular’s continued commitment to the device, its longevity, and their customer base. The recently released PTT update adds further value and addresses customer demands. The 8525 is available from Cingular for $400 with a two-year contract, or $600 without. I have no reservations whatsoever recommending the 8525 and give it a rating of 4 out of 5.
.BEGIN_KEEP
.RATING 4
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
Learn more about [[http://www.cingular.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phone-details/?q_list=true&q_phoneName=Cingular+8525&q_sku=sku310005 |the Cingular 8525]].
Learn more about [[http://www.america.htc.com/ |HTC, High Tech Computers]].
Learn more about [[http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/store/controller?item=phoneFirst&action=viewPhoneDetail&selectedPhoneId=2200 |the Verizon XV6700]].
Learn more about [[http://www.etencorp.com/products/Communication/M700.php |the E-TEN Glofiish M700]].
Learn more about [[http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/benchmark/?en |Spb Software House and Spb Benchmark]].
Learn more about [[http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/ |Pocket PC Thoughts and Darius Wey]].
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO
.END_KEEP
