.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCT REVIEW
.TITLE Are you a gadgethound or techno geek? The HTC Advantage might be for you.
.AUTHOR James Booth
.SUMMARY Are you a gadgethound or techno geek? Then you may be interested in HTC’s Advantage mobile computer. With the exception of Apple’s iPhone, no other handheld was more eagerly anticipated in 2007. Should you take Advantage? Read on to find out.
.OTHER
Are you a gadgethound? A techno geek? Perhaps a road warrior of the digital age? If so, then you may be interested in HTC’s Advantage mobile computer. With the exception of Apple’s iPhone, I doubt any other handheld was more eagerly anticipated than the Advantage. Should you take Advantage? Read on to find out.
.H1 Overview
Called a "mobile computer" by its manufacturer, HTC’s Advantage shown in Figure A falls somewhere between laptop and a PDA.
.FIGPAIR A HTC’s Advantage mobile computer.
To some it may be a UMPC (ultra-mobile personal computer), but as it runs Windows Mobile it may not actually qualify as a "PC." Regardless of what its technical moniker may be, the Advantage was designed to liberate traveling executives from their laptop PCs. It’s the next evolution of the PDA-phone.
The Advantage x7501 runs Windows Mobile 6 on a 624MHz Intel processor, with an ATI graphics processor. It has 128MB of RAM, 256MB of flash ROM, and an 8GB hard drive (that’s right, hard drive). In addition, storage can be expanded even further via the miniSD expansion slot.
.BREAK_EMAIL You’ll have to click here if you want to take Advantage.
For its display, the Advantage offers an impressive 5-inch diagonal, 640×480, 65k color VGA touchscreen. And hang on to your hats… it has a VGA-out port for connection to a monitor or media projector, and stereo speakers.
It is an unlocked quad-band GSM/GPRS phone that is EDGE/HSDPA/UMTS capable, depending on coverage in your area. The Advantage also features 802.11b,g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, IrDA, and will act as a GPS receiver with a Telenav subscription.
Additional features include a magnetically docked QWERTY keyboard that doubles as a screen cover, speakerphone with stereo output, 3.5mm audio jack, miniUSB audio/sync/charging port, and a 3MP digital camera.
Software includes Microsoft Office Mobile, as well as the typical stable of other applications that normally ship with most Windows Mobile devices. A recent update to Office Mobile has made it compliant with Office 2007 standards.
For Internet browsing, the Advantage gives you the choice of either Pocket Internet Explorer or Opera Mobile. HTC has also included their kinetic VueFlo browser plug-in, allowing you to scroll by tipping the device. And finally, it comes with a nice, fat, printed user manual. You gotta love a printed manual.
.H1 What’s it all about?
I have to warn you straight off… the Advantage is not a device for the masses. It is a niche device; meaning it was created to address a very specific segment of the business-consumer market.
First off, it’s expensive. At $900.00 it is one of the most expensive non-ruggedized Windows Mobile devices currently on the market. In discussing the Advantage with friends and industry associates, they all said the same thing. "I can get a pretty decent laptop for $900.00."
And they’re one-hundred-percent correct.
The Advantage is neither a laptop, nor is it a phone. It falls somewhere between the two, and that’s why it’s a niche device. In fact, it can’t even be held up to your head like a regular phone; it can only be used as a speakerphone or with a headset, wired or wireless.
Is it a laptop replacement or PDA for the average consumer? No, it’s not. It’s just too expensive a product for that.
Is the Advantage a mobile solution for IT consultants and tech troubleshooters? Well, no, not really. It may be a tool for them to add to their arsenal, but it’s not going to replace the laptop they take on service calls. The fact that the Advantage runs Windows Mobile is going to limit its usefulness in that capacity.
So who is the target market for the Advantage? Well, techno-dorks like yours truly for one. There is a segment of the electronic consumer market that just has to have every gadget coming down the pike. The folks that stood in line to get an Xbox 360, PSP, or Nintendo Wii the day they were released. The kind of person that never goes anywhere without a laptop, a PDA, a cell phone, and a GPS device. Maybe even an iPod too; and spare batteries for them all. This is the kind of consumer perfect for the Advantage.
But this certainly isn’t enough of a market share to justify the creation of a device like this. There must be more, right? Yes, there is.
.H1 The mobile executive
In the business world, there is actually a rather large population of executives who are required to have a laptop and cell phone, but only use them within the confines of Outlook and Office. For these individuals, the Advantage is a perfect replacement for the traditional laptop and cell phone.
It is a GSM cell phone with Internet access (depending on your service plan), and it can receive push email via Microsoft Exchange. The Office Mobile suite provides the necessary Office 2007-compliant components, and the video-out option makes it ideal for Powerpoint presentations, smartboard use, and standard media file output. In addition, the built-in hard drive and memory card slot provide for ample storage space.
The large, 5-inch diagonal screen makes it easier to view and work with documents and files. The included keyboard makes input much easier, and if coupled with one of the available docking stations, the Advantage can take "advantage" of a USB hub, full-size USB keyboard, USB mouse, even thumbdrives and flash memory card readers.
I must confess to finding the keyboard a bit awkward to use long-term. It’s not quite large enough for touch-typing, and it’s too large to thumb-type. Not to mention the device is a bit top-heavy for hand-holding with the keyboard attached. I found myself utilizing a combination of finger-pecking and touch-typing, which worked rather well. But even after seven continuous hours of typing in this manner, I still made rather frequent errors. My recommendation would be to use a docking station and portable or flexible keyboard for any long-term input needs.
.H1 How’s it look?
To look at it, the Advantage is a very sweet looking device. It’s just the right size to fit in both hands, much like Sony’s PSP. I have to confess though… at first I didn’t care for the Advantage.
The positioning of the buttons and the analog stick felt awkward and misplaced. It took about a week, week and a half, but I finally got used to it. Now it feels natural. I think my initial opposition was merely that it was different to what I was accustomed.
In addition to a Windows, OK, and a programmable browser button, the Advantage has a volume slider, camera and wireless manager buttons, and stereo speakers. Included ports are for VGA video out, 3.5mm audio out, and a miniUSB port for charging, syncing, and audio out. You can see it all in Figure B.
.FIGPAIR B Multiple views of the Advantage.
Included with the Advantage is a very nice leather case, which leaves all buttons and ports accessible as you can see in Figure C.
.FIGPAIR C HTC includes a nice leather case.
I’d really like to see more device cases include slots for credit cards and driver’s licenses though. Like most, this one has none.
I haven’t written a check in a year and I rarely carry cash; I use my credit card for everything. As such, I really don’t have much need for a traditional wallet, preferring to carry my necessary cards in my device’s case; and I know I can’t be the only one.
As you can see in Figure D, the keyboard magnetically attaches to the front of the device, acting as a screen protector, yet continues to provide essential information.
.FIGPAIR D Vital info is still available while the keyboard protects the screen.
One of the neatest aspects of the Advantage is the ability to output the video to another source with the included cable. It has a myriad of useful applications for both the boardroom and entertainment room. Figure E shows video from the Advantage being displayed on a VGA monitor with speakers plugged into the 3.5mm audio jack.
.FIGPAIR E Output the video to a monitor or TV.
Beyond the ability to simply play videos, the video-out option allows the Advantage to function similar to a desktop or docked laptop. It can be used to display presentations, spreadsheets, etc. to groups as well. Outputing the Notes display to a large monitor or media projector, you can use the Advantage like a smartboard as shown in Figure F.
.FIGPAIR F Use it like a smartboard.
.H1 How’s it measure up?
This section will showcase the benchmarking tests done on the Advantage using Spb Benchmark. Figure G shows the benchmark Index.
.FIGPAIR G The benchmark Index tests overall Pocket PC speed.
Figure H illustrates the CPU benchmark results.
.FIGPAIR H Benchmark results from the CPU tests.
In Figure I, you find the results of the File System benchmark.
.FIGPAIR I The File benchmark test how quickly the device writes files to memory.
.PAGE
Similar to the File benchmark, is the Storage Card test. Figure J shows how fast the Advantage wrote to the hard drive as compared to how fast other devices wrote to a memory card.
.FIGPAIR J The Storage Card benchmark notes how fast the device writes to a card (or hard drive).
Figure K displays the High-use battery benchmark, done with the display at maximum brightness and playing continuous video.
.FIGPAIR K The High-use Battery benchmark.
You’ll note a bit shorter run time in the Normal-use battery test. What the benchmark does not tell you is that I ran the Normal-use test with the Bluetooth radio turned on. I did this to simulate average use when coupled with a Bluetooth headset. Because the Advantage can only be used with a headset or as a speakerphone, I felt it would most likely be paired with a wireless headset. Therefore, I tested it appropriately. The results are in Figure L.
.FIGPAIR L Normal-use Battery benchmark with BT turned on.
.H1 Conclusion
Although the Advantage is not a device for the mainstream public, it does address the needs of its niche market quite well. For the person that is required to have a laptop and cell phone, but only makes use of Outlook and Office, the Advantage is the perfect converged device and laptop replacement. And don’t forget us techno-geeks either. We really like it.
I really only have a couple of problems with the device. At $900.00 it’s a bit expensive for what it is. And you MUST use a headset for phone calls. I give HTC’s Advantage mobile computer 3 out of 5.
.RATING 3
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
Learn more about [[http://www.htc.com/product/03-product_x7501.htm|the HTC Advantage]].
Learn more about [[http://www.apple.com/iphone/|the Apple iPhone]].
Learn more about [[http://www.xbox.com/en-US/|the Xbox 360]].
Learn more about [[http://www.us.playstation.com/psp/landing.aspx|the Sony PSP]].
Learn more about [[http://us.wii.com/|the Nintendo Wii]].
Learn more about [[http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/benchmark/?en|Spb Benchmark]].
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO
