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(More customer reviews)I was lucky enough to hear that this phone had been released just days after I had bought the 8525 to replace a previous broken phone. There seemed to be some confusion with the AT&T sales people, since currently with rebates it sells for less than the 8525 and some internal memo seems to have them telling customers that a different update to the 8525 is still coming. Make no mistake, this is the upgrade for the 8525 and it's a beauty! Since there's pretty good specs and basic data on what the phone includes on the Amazon product page, I'll just run down some improvements over the 8525:
1. New sleek black casing. It's not as slippery so less likely to be dropped!
2. When keyboard is out, you can tilt the screen up. This makes it particularly nice for watching videos on a plane or using as an alarm clock, etc.
3. GPS built in. You can pay for the AT&T Telenav...or just load on your own navigation software like TomTom. More on this later...
4. Double the memory! One of my biggest issues with windows mobile phones was they had so much less usable memory on the device. I do tend to load a lot of applications and many I really prefer to run on the device, not on an external card. So yeah for this!
5. 3 MP camera (up from 2) with autofocus. No light to use as a flash though (not that it was all that great anyway!)
6. Dual processor and graphics accelerator for improved performance
7. Windows Mobile 6
Okay, so those are the improvements in a nutshell. Lets look at this sucker in more detail.
First, the package from AT&T is pretty bare bones. You get the phone, an extra stylus, screen protector, AC charger, USB sync cable, and the usual software CD with ActiveSync and user's manual. That's basically it! There's no case, no headphones, not even a headphone adapter. This device does support stereo bluetooth headphones, so a lot of people will probably get those instead, but to not even include a basic slip case? Pretty cheap for a device in this price range.
The device itself is really pleasing to look at. The front is actually considerably darker to the eye than the photos on this page, more like a dark grey than silver, which I think is quite nice looking (see the photo I uploaded). The back does show fingerprints a bit, but it has a nice feel to it and is easy to gripe. The back however is rather challenging to get off. There's no release as on the previous model, you just have to use brute force. The speaker is on the back and can give pretty decent volume. Also on the back is the connector for an external GPS antennae (generally not needed unless you are in something like an RV).
The keyboard is a full QWERTY keyboard, and fairly nice and tactile. Also has a nice light-up feature which can automatically detect light (or you can tweak to always activate). The number keys are colored grey which makes them easier to find and the blue switch key is completely blue rather than just having a blue dot. However, the keyboard slides out the opposite direction of the 8525 so if you used that phone, you may find yourself trying to slide this the wrong way all the time! This does also put the buttons and stylus to the left...not good for most of us that are right-handed. I also wish there was a way to lock caps and/or numbers on. You have to hold down their respective shift keys which really slows me down sometimes. Also, when fully tilted up, the soft keys at the top of the keyboard are very hard to press as they are somewhat under the screen.
Now on to the buttons. There don't seem to be as many buttons on this model and they aren't as easy to customize in general. You have a dedicated Push-to-Talk button that won't let you remap it, frustrating if you never use this service. There is no longer a Comm Manager button either, which I really liked, to pull up my setting for bluetooth, wifi, etc. and turn them on and off. The internet and email buttons are now down at the bottom with all the other buttons. I expect some people will like this, I personally liked them being separate as I now often have to look to make sure I'm pushing the right button. It's not the greatest layout if you like to play games on your device. I do love the real scroll wheel (not a jog dial). Once you have a device with just jog, you'll know how nice true scroll is! The power button is really flush with the device and unlikely you will accidentally turn the device on while in a pocket or purse. Unfortunately this does mean it is not exactly easy to find that power button when it's dark out! Luckily sliding out the keyboard will also turn it on. By default the sliding makes a little chiming sound, but you can turn that off.
Built-in GPS is pretty cool to have. It does take awhile to fix the satellites, there is a utility to help with that and others you can download for free. Once you have a signal, you can use it with TeleNav, something like TomTom or with various online free service like Microsoft Live or Google Maps. Lots of cool options to make use of this. However, if you want to use this to replace the navigation in your car, there's one big issue with this device, and that's the screen. It doesn't use a transreflective screen which makes it very difficult to see in bright light. This is generally not a huge problem for typical use, but if you want to use this in your car to do navigation, it may be too difficult to see from any distance if light is hitting it. You can turn up the brightness all the way but on a sunny day, you may still have problems. Make sure your navigation has spoken text directions or you may end up lost!
The new camera does have the neat autofocus which you can lock on your subject before shooting the photo. It's like most phone cameras in that it is rather slow and can't handle a moving subject. For relatively stationery ones, it's actually fairly decent. Won't beat your digicam, but it's usable in a pinch.
Now on to the operating system and software, this phone is using the new Windows Mobile 6. Not a huge different here from 5, biggest changes are in the messaging which handles Exchange servers a lot better, HTML emails, etc. Many people in the past used 3rd party products for email, WM6 actually does a pretty decent job with them now. It also has the new Windows Live service which lets you do instant messaging, maps, location searches, traffic, weather, news, etc. I've only just started playing with some of these features, but it looks really good. Just type in a location, search for something like a nearby restaurant and you can pull up not only the address and phone...but get directions and a map there as well! And yes, GPS is integrated. It's pretty cool. Other various MS functions like hotmail and IM are part of Windows Live as well. Pocket IE is still pretty crappy. I prefer Opera Mobile, but the free Opera Mini works pretty well for a lot of people as well.
Now for the big negative...AT&T bloatware. Apparently with all this free memory, they saw no reason to leave it for the user, instead filling it with all these extra paid-for AT&T services and horrible game demos (time out in something like 1 minute!) Luckily there are a couple ways around this. You can soft reset the device when it starts loading all these extra apps on and skip over it that way. Or if you are a really savvy techie type like me, you can flash the device with the original HTC ROM which is much nicer than the plain AT&T one. You do need to really spend some time learning how to do this and of course it invalidates the warranty. But you'll have a really slick device afterwards and a lot more free memory. It has a nice black theme that matches the color of the device and a really nice Today screen plugin. The dialer is much improved and easier to use as well. Google the xda-developers site for more info (again, not for the technically challenged!)
I'm the type of user that plays around with a new device for weeks trying to find just the right combinations of addon programs and utilities to get it working just the way I like it. I've found all kinds of neat programs such as one that lets you configure all the buttons (adding commands for things like double-press or long-press) and another that lets you create custom profiles like a regular cell phone, but controlling things like bluetooth/Wifi being on and changing volumes, etc. Set your profiles to switch at certain times of the day or for certain types of appointments, there's so much you can control if you want to. I was hoping with the faster processor it would load up my Today screen a bit faster with everything I have on there, but it still takes awhile on the first load to render everything. Be careful though as all software does not support WM6 yet. I found that clock/alarm programs in particular did not play well with it.
There's so much you can do with a Windows Mobile phone, I can't begin to list it all here. You can do streaming video (watch YouTube), use Skype or other VOIP services, even listen to your entire music collection from home using media sharing. Instant messaging, you can even use remote desktop! I even found a website that lets me stream my XM radio channels. Pretty amazing stuff.
You'll definitely want to drop by the xda-developers Kaiser forums (google it) and check out some of the applications available there. Top of the list is the Kaiser Tweak which you install and run in order to adjust a lot of the somewhat annoying default settings on the Tilt. Top of the list is the often-mentioned issue with the screen turning off during a call. Run this app and you will never have that problem again. Various performance-related tweaks are available as well.
Overall, this is a nice step up from the 8525 and with all the rebates currently available, a...Read more›
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AT&T Tilt Phone, Silver (AT&T)The slim, pocket-sized AT&T Tilt smartphone is bursting at the seams with a full-menu of wireless capabilities to keep you connected wherever you roam on this globe--quad-band GSM for global roaming, Wi-Fi, EDGE, and 3G data connectivity via AT&T's UMTS/HSDPA-based BroadbandConnect network. Practical and versatile, the phone's face slides open to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard while the screen tilts for optimal viewing of email, spreadsheets, and web videos. It also adds the power of the Windows Mobile 6 operating system (Professional Edition), which provides push email for immediate send and receive as well as editing of Microsoft Office documents. (See more details about Windows Mobile 6 below.)
With its high-speed 3G network capability, you'll be able to access AT&T's Mobile Music and Cellular Video services, and the phone includes the latest version of Telenav GPS Navigator for turn-by-turn directions while on the go. One of the most powerful, feature-packed smartphones on the market, the AT&T Tilt also includes a 3-megapixel camera (with video capabilities), Bluetooth connectivity with stereo music streaming and multiple connection capability, MicroSD memory card expansion up to 4 GB, and a variety of games for when you need a break (including Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 and Ms. Pac-Man).
AT&T Service The AT&T Tilt can handle high-speed data connectivity via AT&T's 3G mobile broadband data network, which is available in most major metropolitan areas. The AT&T 3G network uses the UMTS 850/1900/2100 network (also known as WCDMA), making it possible to enjoy a variety of feature-rich wireless multimedia services with speeds up to 3.6 Mbps. It also gives AT&T the advantage of offering simultaneous voice and data services. You'll also enjoy 3G broadband speed connectivity across the globe with tri-band UMTS/HSDPA capabilities, which allows the Tilt to operate in Japan and Korea, in addition to the more than 135 countries in which AT&T offers international data roaming.
In areas where the 3G network is not available, you'll continue to receive service on the AT&T EDGE network, which offers availability in more than 13,000 US cities and along some 40,000 miles of major highways. Providing average data speeds between 75-135Kbps, it's fast enough to support a wide range of advanced data services, including video and music clips, full picture and video messaging, high-speed color Internet access, and email on the go.
With 3G connectivity, you'll be able to access AT&T's Cellular Video (CV) service and the Internet while on the go. Cellular Video features content from CNN, The Weather Channel, iFilm, Comedy Central and exclusive premium content from HBO and much more. It also features AT&T Mobile Music, which provides access to Napster and eMusic subscription services as well as Music ID song-recognition software, music videos and The Buzz music news portal. The handset is XM Radio Mobile-capable, so you can enjoy streaming live digital radio as well. (An AT&T MEdia Max subscription bundle is recommended for accessing AT&T's Internet, video, and music services.)
Phone Features Akin to a micro laptop, the AT&T Tilt's face/touchscreen tilts up to a maximum of 40 degrees, and the variable screen angle can be positioned to suit your needs, whether you're catching up on email, browsing the Web, or playing a game. The QWERTY keypad offers roomy, rectangular buttons that are tactile and backlit, making it easy to type with both thumbs while on the go. The large 2.8-inch touchscreen has a 240 x 320-pixel resolution and support for up to 65K colors. It sports a 256 MB memory (not all user available) and a MicroSD memory card slot, which is compatible with the latest 4 GB capacity.
This smartphone has an integrated Wi-Fi LAN (802.11b/g), enabling seamless connectivity with wireless networks at work, at home, and on the roam via Wi-Fi hotspots at airports and coffee shops. For an additional charge, you can connect to any of the 10,000 AT&T hotspot locations in the U.S. and tens of thousands more abroad. The AT&T Tilt supports Bluetooth 2.0, which allows up to six Bluetooth devices to be wirelessly connected simultaneously to the device--one of which can be a Bluetooth stereo headset for listening to music.
Featuring the latest version of Telenav GPS Navigator, you'll enjoyGPS-enabled turn-by-turn voice and on-screen driving direction, colorful 3D moving maps and traffic delay alerts with re-routing for use in vehicles or while walking.New features debuting on the Tilt include address sharing--allowing you to share your location with friends and associates--and reading, rating and sharing business listings like restaurants and more. Business users also can utilize TeleNav Track a fully hosted, on-demand and comprehensive GPS-based workforce-management solution.
In addition to Microsoft Direct Push, the AT&T Tilt will be the first Windows Mobile device in North America to include the Blackberry Connect email service, which also enables familiar wireless synchronization of calendar, contacts and tasks for users.BlackBerry Connect 4.0 supports push email for Microsoft Exchange Server, Lotus Notes/Domino and Novell Groupwise through the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and personal email through the BlackBerry Internet Service. You can also use the AT&T Tilt to access your personal email through AT&T's Xpress Mail service, enabling you to receive email from most major POP3/IMAP personal email services pushed to the AT&T Tilt at pre-set intervals. AT&T Xpress Mail can perform two-way wireless synchronization of their calendars, access contact lists and view attachments.
Beyond business functionality, the AT&T Tilt is made for fun and games as well.The device is preloaded with free and premium games and applications including Ms. PAC-MAN, Brain Challenge, Bubble breaker, Midnight Pool, Solitaire, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07, MobiTV, and MyCast. Other features include:
Instant messaging via AOL, Yahoo!, and Microsoft Live
Music format support: AAC, AAC+, eAAC, MP3, WMA, WAV, MPEG4, AMR
Record videos and voice memos as long as you have available space on an optional memory card
Full duplex speakerphone
Flight mode turns off cellular network and Wi-Fi for enjoying stored music and video
USB 2.0 wired connectivity
Push-to-talk capability
Vital Statistics The AT&T Tilt weighs 6.7 ounces and measures 4.41 x 2.32 x 0.75 inches. Its 1350 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 4 hours of talk time, and up to 10 days of digital standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies, as well as the 850/1900/2100 UMTS/HSDPA 3G frequencies.
Powered by Windows Mobile 6 Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6 updates the Windows Mobile 5 platform with a number of handy features that make searching through email, editing Microsoft Office documents, and staying on top of your most important communications even easier. Emails can now be viewed in their original rich HTML format and now offer the ability to visit embedded links. It also includes Windows Live for Windows Mobile, which provides a full set of Windows Live services, such as the Windows Live Messenger IM application, which now enables you to chat with more than one person at one time or send a file.
With Windows Mobile 6, your phone will finally be able to emulate the power and features of your PC's Microsoft Office suite. You'll be able to neatly view, navigate and edit Word documents and Excel spreadsheets in their original formatting--without affecting tables, images or text--as well as view PowerPoint presentations.
Microsoft Office Word Mobile features include spell-check, Find and Replace commands, bulleted lists, text formatting, and support for tables for the first time.
With Excel Mobile, you're not just confined to editing charts: with the new Chart Wizard you can create charts quickly and easily.
PowerPoint Mobile allows you to view the full presentation, rehearse timings, check the order and any live links you may have in your presentation. You can then email comments back to the team or communicate via MSN Messenger for an immediate response.
After creating or editing a Word document or Excel spreadsheet, you can synchronize it with your PC and it will automatically be converted to the PC version.
All Windows Mobile 6 powered devices include Direct Push Technology for up-to-date e-mail delivery and automatic synchronization of Outlook calendars, tasks and contacts through Microsoft Exchange Server. It also offers a set of important device security and management features that include the capability to remotely wipe all data from a device should it be lost or stolen, helping ensure that confidential information remains that way.
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