Multimedia Phone Reviews

A review of the O2 Xda cosmo Windows Mobile Smartphone has been posted on Unwired. 'Soon to be released by O2 Germany and recently announced by HTC, the O2 Xda cosmo (previously known as HTC Excalibur and now, also known as HTC S620) is something completely new for HTC since it follows the BlackBerry idea - a mobile phone with a QWERTY keyboard as also available by Motorola as the Motorola Q and Samsung as the Samsung SGH-i320.Feature-wise, the Xda cosmo includes everything you might expect from a state of the art Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone. It's powered by TI OMAP 850 CPU with 201 MHz, features quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE, Bluetooth 2.0 with stereo support, WiFi b and g connectivity (but excludes UMTS and IrDA), 128 MB ROM, 64 MB RAM which is extendable through microSD cards and a 1.3 megapixel camera for photos and videos. It's sporting a 2.4 inch QVGA landscape display supporting 65k colors.'

GSM Arena have reviewed the HTC P3300 personal mobile navigator. 'At first sight HTC P3300 looks longer than Compact. The real dimensions of both devices are nearly identical though. The great advantage of HTC P3300 consists in its slim profile and less than 130 grams of weight. Even if a communicator, HTC is so small and elegant that it reminds some of Nokia smartphones. It feels comfortable in any pocket.

The HTC S310 Windows Mobile Smartphone has been reviewed over at Trusted Reviews. 'The S310’s hardware design is quite appealing. My review unit was black with silver trim round the screen and edges. It’s also present around the number pad and for some of the buttons. This is the colour scheme Expansys lists as ‘black’, though you could opt instead for a ‘grey’ option, which is in fact a mixture of grey and black.

The HTC TyTN Pocket PC Phone features full connectivity with Tri-Band UMTS, Quad-Band EDGE, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, a camera specifically for video telephony and highspeed internet access via 3G network. '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.'

Trusted Reviews have posted a review of the XDA Orbit and MDA Compact III handsets. 'Apple’s magical iPhone may currently be wowing the tech world, but the fact is that it won’t be available on British shores until practically the end of the year – a long time in technology terms. That leaves plenty of time for products that are actually here now to make their mark, such as the XDA Orbit from O2 and the MDA Compact III from T-Mobile.

Mobile Burn have published their review of the Cingular 8525 / HTC Hermes multimedia smartphone. 'The Cingular 8525's basic form factor is similar to earlier HTC developed QWERTY Pocket PC devices, such as the T-Mobile MDA (HTC Wizard) and the Sprint PPC-6700 (HTC Apache). It is a 113mm x 58mm x 22mm (4.5" x 2.3" x .87") block form traditional PDA that weights 176g (6.2oz) and has a slide out QWERTY keyboard. When the keyboard is exposed, the screen is used in a landscape format. When the keyboard is hidden, the 8525's display reverts to the normal portrait mode common to most PDAs. The keyboard is made of of closely fitting, domed rectangular keys. The keys are reasonably attractive and are also easy to use. They offer good, solid tactile feedback and are easy enough to locate by sense of touch alone. The dedicated Start, OK, and twin softkeys on the keyboard make the 8525 reasonably easy to use without the stylus for many tasks.'

A preview of the HTC Vox smartphone has been posted over at MoBlog.com. 'The phone is featured 128MB of ROM and 64MB of RAM, 2.4 inch Q VGA Screen with WiFi connectivity 802.11 b/g. Inbuilt 2 Mega pixels camera, MicroSD slot and is running on Texas Instrument OMAP processor 850 at 200 MHz (side track a bit, Processor like this is featured mainly because that is the best since battery consumption demand is pretty low. The most ultimate interesting concept design of this device is that even with a numeric key pad, there is this well hidden sliding QWERTY keyboard which measured less than 1 cm for mobile warriors to text fast while on the go. The keyboard is easy and spacious to type too. What lack in this device is UMTS 3G.'

Brighthand.com have published a review of the HTC MTeoR Windows mobile smartphone. ‘In looking at the MTeoR as a phone, I was primarily concerned with call quality, battery life, and pre/post call tasks. Call quality was suitable for most environments. Callers could not tell the difference between the MTeoR and my Treo 680. However, those who were put onto speaker phone did notice some feedback on their end. Overall, the MTeoR performed just as one would expect a phone to perform.

MobileTechReview have posted a review of the HTC S710 Windows Mobile Standard Edition 6 Smartphone. ‘Indeed, the S710 has an impressive feature set for a phone that measures just 4 x 2 x 0.73 inches: Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi 802.11b/g, long battery life, a 2 megapixel camera and the full Windows Mobile set of smart goodies such as mobile versions of Internet Explorer, MS Office, Outlook with Direct Push, Windows Media Player and Windows Live. The phone is one of the first on the market running the new Windows Mobile 6.0 operating system. The S710 runs Windows Mobile Standard Edition (that's the new name for the smartphone version, while the Pocket PC Phone Edition devices now run Windows Mobile Professional). Though the ever-changing naming conventions keep users confused, we're happy there aren't six different editions.'

Lets Go Mobile have published a review of the HTC P4350 quad-band PDA phone. 'The HTC P4350 is a mobile phone carried out in black with beautiful silver accents. The screen is that large that it is dominating the telephone, in other words, it is so large that we seem to have a screen and nothing else. On the front of the telephone, we find the silver buttons for the start menu, for scrolling through the functions, confirming the functions and answering and finishing calls. On the back of the camera we find the mirror for making self-portraits. The artificial material feels solid, which leaves a good overall first impression of this telephone. The battery cover can't be opened just like that; you have to unlock it first at the bottom of the cell phone.'

A review of the HTC Touch smartphone has been posted over at Pocket-Lint. ‘Considerably smaller in size than the iPhone, the new Touch design is dominated by that 2.8-inch LCD touchscreen with backlight, 240 x 320 dots resolution with 65K colour screen and only has room for three buttons on the front - a call, a hang up and d-pad for moving around should your finger gliding skills desert you. Fitting in the palm of your hand and certainly having a nice build quality feel to it, the only other element to adorn the design is the 2 megapixel camera on the rear of the device.’

A review of the HTC Touch smartphone has been posted over at MobileBurn.com. 'It is no accident that the HTC Touch's codename was the "Elf." At 100mm x 60mm x 15mm (3.9" x 2.4" x .6") in size, the Touch is very slightly wider than the original Motorola RAZR V3, while being roughly the same height and thickness. At 116g (4.1oz), it is also pretty light for a Pocket PC device. By comparison, HTC's own P4350 (aka T-Mobile Wing) looks like a giant next to the Touch and weighs 53g (1.9oz) more. The smooth lines that make up the design of the Touch's body, along with its compact dimensions, make the Touch one of the most comfortably held Pocket PC devices ever made. The 77mm (3") long stylus is not going to please a lot of people, though, as it is too short to be comfortably used for an extended period of time.'

Laptop Magazine have published a review of the HTC Mogul Pocket PC Phone. 'Like its predecessor, the Mogul features a full QWERTY keyboard that slides out when you hold the device sideways, but this one has a smoother sliding action. The flat layout, much like the T-Mobile Wing's, is large enough to prevent typos, even when you're sending long e-mail replies, but the tactile feedback could be a bit better. Sometimes we weren't sure whether we hit a letter. On the other hand, that's the price you pay for having a more compact footprint than the PPC-6700, which had a relatively plump keyboard. The 2.8-inch display is plenty bright, with the same 320 x 240-pixel resolution as the Wing.'

Pocket-Lint have published a review of the HTC P3350 smartphone. 'Virtually identical to the P3300, The HTC P3350 smartphone focuses more on the multimedia functionality in its offering rather than Satnav support, but is it worth the bother? We get phoning to find out. On the surface the two devices do look slightly different, the P3350 sports a black and sliver design over the gun metal offering of the P3300 and like the P3300 although the majority of tasks are done via the touchscreen, that hasn't stopped HTC offering some hard buttons for quick access. Here you'll find the usual answer and reject buttons, Internet Explorer option and menu features.'

MobileBurn have published their review of the HTC S710 Smartphone ‘A power button can be found on the top of the device, the camera shortcut key on the right, and the volume and voice memo buttons on the left. An extUSB jack, an HTC version of microUSB used for charging, data connections, and headsets, is on the bottom, and a microSD memory card slot is on the right of the device, each protected by the best litter rubber covers I have seen. The covers are robust, yet easy to remove. The positioning of the microSD slot on the top portion of the slide did make it a little hard to put a card in though, as you need to hold the device closed in order to apply the force necessary to insert the card. The SIM card slot can be found on the back of the top portion of the handset, and can be accessed by sliding the device open and unclipping a small door. Quality abounds here.’

A review of the HTC Vox S710 smartphone has been posted over at CNET. 'The main attraction of the HTC Vox S710 is its design, and it's easy to see why. The smart phone combines some of the best elements of the company's other smart phones to make for one killer device. It has the compactness and cell phone chassis of the Cingular 2125, while still managing to pack in a full QWERTY keyboard thanks to a slider design much like the Sprint Mogul. The S710 measures 3.9 inches long by 1.9 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick and 4.2 ounces with a candy-bar style and soft-touch finish, making it more comfortable to hold and use as a phone than the bulky Cingular 8525 or wider T-Mobile Dash. The trade-off is that the S710 on the thicker side, so it will make for a tighter fit in a pants pocket.'

MobileBurn have published their review of the HTC Mogul Pocket PC device. 'Like all Windows Mobile devices, the HTC Mogul has a first class contacts system. It can store most any piece of data that Microsoft's desktop version of Outlook can, including notes. The QWERTY keyboard can be used to dial a contact from the Home screen by name, and also supports searching on first and last name at the same time. For example, opening the keyboard and typing "M OR" would instantly bring up the Michael Oryl contact on the screen, where a quick press of the green call button would initiate a call. Once the call has started, the keyboard can be slid closed and the Mogul can be used like a regular phone. The phone can also be dialed traditionally with an on-screen dial pad. In general, the phone use experience on Windows Mobile 6 has been improved a decent amount versus that of older versions of Pocket PC.'

A review of the HTC Advantage X7501 mobile office device has been posted over at MobileTechReview.com. ‘For those who aren't familiar with the Advantage, it's a Windows Mobile device with a VGA display, triband HSDPA radio (that works on the US bands as well as Europe and Asia), GPS, 3 megapixel autofocus camera with flash, detachable full keyboard and of course it has WiFi, Bluetooth and other goodies. From the specs you might think this was a Pocket PC Phone (aka Windows Mobile Professional), but it's really designed as a handheld computer and notebook replacement. Yes, you can make phone calls but the phone radio is really there for data foremost. And yes, it's unlocked for use with any US carrier. The US retail price is $899.’

IT Reviews have published a review of the HTC Touch smartphone. ‘The Touch weighs 112g, which is about the same as many Windows Mobile Smartphones. It is thin, thin, thin at just 13.9mm. And overall it measures 58mm wide and just 99.9mm tall. In the hand it feels like a slightly fat ultra-thin mobile phone, if you see what we mean. Yet its front is occupied by a screen measuring a healthy 2.8 inches from corner to corner. In fact the front is almost all screen. There are tiny Call and End buttons and a navigation key, where more usually you'd find these plus a barrage of shortcuts at least offering access to the calendar, contacts and soft-menus of Windows Mobile.’

A review of the HTC Touch smartphone has been posted over at Brighthand.com. 'The Touch is one of the slickest looking smartphones I've seen in a while. It uses a standard tablet shape, but its rounded corners and minimalist design really make it stand out of the crowd. Plus, the Touch is very small, especially when compared to the typical Pocket PC. It's just 3.9 inches tall, 2.3 inches wide, and 0.55 inches thick (99.9 mm by 58 mm by 13.9 mm). It weighs 4.0 ounces (112 g) with battery. And what's even more surprising is how much HTC fit into this little package, like both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.'

A review of the HTC Cavalier S630 (unlocked) smartphone has been psoted over at ZDNet. 'On paper, the HTC Cavalier S630 shares the same dimensions as the T-Mobile Dash, measuring 4.4 inches tall by 2.5 inches wide by 0.5 inch thick and weighing 4.2 ounces. However, we couldn't help but think that the Cavalier appeared slightly thicker and less sleek than its predecessor. Personally, I prefer the rounded edges of the Dash to the boxier Cavalier, and I thought the former was more comfortable to hold and easier to grip. The HTC S630 has a soft-touch finish, but the smart phone is still a bit slick. Now, this isn't to say the Cavalier is a complete dud in the design department--not at all. (I think I'm still getting used to the changes, and of course, style is a personal preference.) It's still a compact smart phone with an attractive black and brushed silver chassis. If you're curious, the Cavalier is slightly wider and heavier than the Samsung BlackJack (4.4 inches tall by 2.3 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick and 3.5 ounces).'

A review of the HTC Mogul business phone for Sprint has been posted over at GadgetNutz. 'The front contains a fairly simple layout with a call and end call buttons, a direct link to your messages and the Internet, an o.k. button, a Windows symbol which brings you to the menu, and a directional keypad. The screen is approximately 2 1/2 inches tall and 2 inches across which is plenty big enough for any phone freak(unless you have an iPhone). The keypad does not have separate directional keys. Instead it is just a full circle with a bump in the middle that you press to choose the option. Although there are no dialing buttons on the front by pressing the call button, numbers appear on the screen that you touch to dial. On the right side of the phone there is the power button, the open Camera button, and the open Comm Manager button. On the left there is the Scroll wheel, an o.k. button, the open Voice Dial button, and the disconnect and reconnect to a wi-fi connection button.'

A review of the HTC P6300 PDA phone has been posted over on IT Week. ‘HTC's P6300 is a fairly conventional wireless handheld that combines both cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity into a device with a relatively large display and a specification aimed at mobile business applications. The model has no keyboard, so is best suited to vertical applications such as data capture using form-filling. Available since the end of June, the P6300 is described by HTC as a PDA phone for mobile enterprise environments. However, the device does not appear to have any specific enterprise-friendly features. It is not ruggedised, has no fingerprint scanner or barcode scanner and HTC does not offer any tools to help IT departments manage the unit in the field.’

CNET Asia have published a preview of the HTC TyTN II smartphone. 'With 128MB RAM and 256 ROM, the TyTN II looks like it will be quite a workhorse. Having 128MB RAM is a luxury because it depletes the battery faster in favor of better performance. All things remaining constant, we should see greater responsiveness when multitasking, something power users will surely welcome. Besides being able to slide out to reveal a QWERTY keyboard, the TyTN II will also tilt up slightly so it resembles a mini notebook. This option will give users another angle to work with as well as make it easier to view media as the screen will be easily visible even when set on a table.'

MobileTechReview have published their review of the HTC S630 Cavalier smartphone. ‘On the front is the now familiar compact 37 key keyboard plus the Smartphone Home, Back, Left/Right soft-keys and 5-way D-Pad. Best thing about the keyboard is that the illumination is white on black; great stuff as it’s very clear and legible. Key feel and feed-back is top notch and it’s a one-key per letter design so no weird T9/T15 to learn. If I had any gripe I’d level it at the number pad; it’s a little indistinct with an odd placement for the # key, it’s to the right of the 3 key, not at the bottom as usual; ok when you know it less so when you’re trying to find it after one of those “Enter your whatever and press # to continue…” voice prompts.’

A review of the HTC TyTN Windows Mobile Pocket PC phone has been posted over at The Gadgeteer. '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.'

PC Magazine have published thier review of the AT&T Tilt / HTC 8925 Windows Mobile Pocket PC. 'The Tilt looks like a whole bunch of other Pocket PCs out there, including the Sprint PPC-6800, the AT&T (formerly Cingular) 8525, and the T-Mobile MDA. It's a thick (4.4 by 2.3 by 0 .7 inch, 6 ounces) PDA that slides open to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard of tightly spaced but decent-size keys. The device is festooned with buttons, a cursor pad, and a scroll wheel, all of which can make Windows Mobile's click-heavy interface faster to use if you master them. A stylus to tap on the 320-by-240 touch screen tucks into the lower right-hand corner of the device. The Tilt's signature feature is its tilting screen, which turns the whole handset into what looks like a mini-laptop and lets it sit on a desk comfortably. Despite this capability, the keyboard isn't designed to be typed on like a laptop keyboard: The small keys will make you want to pick up the device and use your thumbs.'