12-07-2006, 04:00 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 147
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The Cingular 8525 Reviewed
Product Category: Windows Mobile Pocket PC Phone
Manufacturer: Cingular (HTC-Hermes)
Where to Buy: Amazon.com [Affiliate]
Price: $299 USD
System Requirements: ActiveSync 4.x; Exchange Server Account for MSFP features
Specifications: Tri-band UMTS/HSDPA high speed wireless data network support, Quad-band GSM, Bluetooth v2.0, 802.11g, Push-to-Talk (coming in 2007), 2.0MP digital camera, Samsung 400MHz processor, 128MB Flash ROM/64MB SDRAM, 51MB persistent storage, integrated trackwheel, sliding QWERTY keyboard.
Pros:
Great processor speed'Blackberry-like trackwheel' Easy-to-use QWERTY Keyboard.
Cons:
Push-to-Talk not yet available;Micro-SD slot for expansion;Memory available is the same as previous model.
Summary
Cingular's newest Windows Mobile Pocket PC phone, the Cingular 8525, shows a clear commitment by the carrier to the Windows Mobile platform with an outstanding device both for today and tomorrow. Built on the popular HTC-Hermes platform, the 8525 provides a brilliant display, snappy processor and a good amount of memory available to users. It is clear, though, that Cingular plans on growing the 8525 even more with Push-to-Talk coming to the device in early 2007.
Read on for the full review!
Plenty of Power in a Nice Package
The 8525 is the next generation of Windows Mobile Pocket PC phone available from Cingular and replaces the HTC-Wizard based 8125. The differences between these two devices is nothing short of impressive. First, the 8525 sports a 400MHz Samsung processor, a full 200MHz faster than the 8125's Texas Instruments processor. This difference in speed is noticeable immediately and cuts down on the lag that the 8125 seemed to suffer from when using multiple applications at once. It would have been nice to see an increase in available memory and ROM size with the increase in processor performance. Like the 8125, the 8525 has a 128MB ROM with 64MB of SDRAM. Of the 128MB ROM, 51MB of it is available for persistent storage. From a size perspective, the 8525 is 4.4" (L) x 2.28" (W) x .86" (D) and weighs in at 176g. Those dimension change, however, when the built-in QWERTY keyboard is slid out, which is why the device is somewhat deeper and heavier than other Windows Mobile devices on the market.
The front of the device is mostly occupied by the QVGA display with the traditional Send and End phone buttons. In addition to this, the 8525 has six additional buttons which can control the Windows Mobile 5.0 softkeys, a Start and OK button as well as open Messaging and Pocket Internet Explorer (the keys above the display). By adding these additional keys, the 8525 can be used with minimal stylus input, something that is very handy while traveling or in a hurry.
On the left-hand side of the device is the trackwheel which is an oustanding addition. Using this blackberry-like wheel allows you to scroll through any document, Start Menu or Today screen with ease. You can also press the wheel in to launch an application or make a selection. Additionally, you will find an OK button to be used in landscape mode (although it functions in portrait as well) and the Cingular Push-to-Talk button. Push-to-Talk, or PTT, will not be enabled on the 8525 until Spring 2007 and will be done with a ROM update to the device. This will be a great addition to an already well-rounded device. Lastly at the bottom of the left-hand side is the MicroSD expansion slot.
On the right-hand side of the 8525 you will find the power button and Comm Manager button which allows you to select the communication methods you want enabled such as Bluetooth and WiFi. The camera button is located towards the bottom of the right side. The back of the 8525 is slightly textured for more grip while holding the device with a locking battery and SIM card door as well as a 2.0 megapixel digital camera with macro function. On the bottom of the device is the mini-USB port for power and synchronization, battery door lock and infrared port. Finally, the case has a brushed gun metal look to it which hides fingerprints and smudges well.
Figure 1: Cingular 8525.
Figure 2: The 8525 with the QWERTY keyboard extended (click for larger image).
The QWERTY keyboard itself is easy to use especially compared to the 8125. The 8125 hand round button-like keys while the 8525 has flat larger keys which are backlit blue in low light. I found these keys to be easier to use and have a better feel than the 8125, although I did find that it had to be very dark for the backlight to turn on.
One aspect of the 8125 that was good but has been further improved in the 8525, is the battery life. The standby time on the 8525 is an impressive 10 days according to Cingular and in my testing is dead-on accurate. Further, the talk time is listed at five hours while my experience was just shy of that. As with all Windows Mobile devices, the standby and talk times are greatly impacted by other things you're doing with the device, especially data connectivity. Still, these marks are great and regular business travelers should not have to worry much about the device dying on them after a day or two.
Under the Hood
As with all Windows Mobile 5.0 devices, the 8525 has a built-in complement of applications. These applications include Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, PowerPoint Mobile and Pocket MSN. The Mobile office applications in Windows Mobile 5.0 have greatly improved over previous versions of the applications and function closer to their desktop counterparts than ever before. For a complete list of the features and functions of the standard applications in Windows Mobile 5.0, visit the Microsoft Windows Mobile site at http://www.windowsmobile.com. In addition, several customized applications such as ClearVue PDF Reader, Voice Speed Dial and the standard ZIP application from HTC. Cingular added MobiTV and TeleNav to the package with TeleNav being a $9.95 per month service that is a navigation and mapping application. Because the 8525 is geared to work with the Cingular network, the settings for the Cingular phone and data networks are pre-configured. This makes the 8525 essentially ready to go out of the box.
Figure 3: The Comm Manager in the Cingular 8525.
Glorious Connectivity
When it comes to connectivity, the 8525 hits the mark. First, the radio stack is improved and voice clarity is terrific. In the testing I did with the device I had no voice issues or signal issues here in the Dallas area. This was a significant change from my testing of the 8125 and the QTEK 9100 (another HTC Wizard variant) where I would drop signal for no apparent reason while in the same location. Secondly, the Bluetooth and Wireless connectivity work equally as well. The 8525 has Bluetooth v2.0 installed which makes for quick connections to your PC for file transfers or ActiveSync while the 802.11g WiFi makes Web browsing quick when on the road or at home.
The mother of all connectivity though comes from the UMTS/HSDPA high speed wireless data network support. With download speeds ranging from 800-900Kbps, it is blazing fast compared to the 8125s 160Kbps average on the Cingular EDGE network. In my testing I found that in some cases it was faster using Cingular's 3G network than it was the available WiFi (especially in a crowded Starbucks)! When you first use the 3G connectivity it will be shocking how fast it is compared to other devices.
Two key things to keep in mind when it comes to the 3G/HSDPA connectivity. First, it's not everywhere. I live about 40 miles north of Dallas, Texas and it was not available here (despite a new Cingular tower being less than a mile away from me). Interestingly, Lisa Gade (owner of MobileTechReview.com) lives just five miles south of me and had no problems getting onto the 3G network. The point is it's still a bit spotty, but Cingular is rapidly ramping up their coverage and it should be more uniform in coverage soon.
Secondly, bandwidth does come with a price when it comes to battery life. When using the 3G network it will draw more on the 1350mAh battery than GPRS or EDGE connectivity. However, the 8525 does a great job of power management and it should not be too much of an issue. Still, if you know you are going to need your phone for a lot of calls, you may want to watch how much of the 3G network you consume.
Finally! A Camera that Rocks!
One of my biggest complaints about the HTC devices has been the down right poor quality of the built-in, low megapixel cameras. I appreciate the fact that I'm not going to get Nikon D100 quality out of a Windows Mobile device, but some quality is expected. One of the worst camera's I ever reviewed was on the HTC Wizard (Cingular 8125 and QTEK 9100) and I must admit I was not expecting much of an improvement in the 8525.
Thankfully I was wrong.
The 2MP digital camera is much improved over previous HTC-based devices and offers still images, rapid-fire still images, photo contact-sized still images, MMS video and video recording. For fun, you can also have a picture frame of a magazine cover added to an image! The camera also sports a manual macro mode which does a fair job although is a bit tricky to determine exactly how close or far away you need to be from an object.
Like most built-in cameras, the one in the 8525 is still not outstanding but is a substantial step forward in quality.
Figure 4: Unedited 2MP image from the Cingular 8525's built-in Digital Camera. (Click for Larger Image)
Figure 5: Unedited image from the Cingular 8525's built-in Digital Camera in Macro mode. (Click for Larger Image)
Conclusions
For the power user, the 8525 should be on the short list of devices to investigate. The battery life, device feel and look, easy-of-use and much improved keyboard and digital camera make it one of the more well-rounded devices I've reviewed recently. Even if you you aren't a power user or frequently traveler, the 8525 could be a good choice for many of the same reasons. It is a solid, well designed device with a lot of potential now and in the future as Cingular adds features via ROM updates. With Push-to-Talk coming in early 2007 and 3G support already included, the 8525 could become Cingular's Flagship device.
Clinton Fitch is a Microsoft MVP in Mobile Devices and lives in the Dallas, Texas area. He is a member of the DFW Mobile Device User Group and is active in the Microsoft public newsgroups. Clinton owns and operates Clinton Fitch (Dot) Com! and HPC:Factor. He has been writing reviews on Windows-based mobile devices since 1999 and has been published many times in Smartphone & PocketPC magazine.
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12-07-2006, 04:10 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 6,305
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I really like mine. So far I haven't been able to experience 3G though. 
Push to Talk is supposed to show up as a ROM upgrade or patch in January I read someplace.
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12-07-2006, 04:23 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,183
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Looks like a great candidate for VGA ;-)
More seriously, I havbe to disagree with the opinion o fhte camera. The sample photos show that the image quality is as awful as any other typical phone camera. My Nokia 6682 is lots better, but still crappy compared to a cheap camera ...
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12-07-2006, 04:25 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 147
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by SteveHoward999
Looks like a great candidate for VGA ;-)
More seriously, I havbe to disagree with the opinion o fhte camera. The sample photos show that the image quality is as awful as any other typical phone camera. My Nokia 6682 is lots better, but still crappy compared to a cheap camera ...
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Compared to the 8125 the camera is massively better. It isn't the greatest but it is a huge step in the right direction.
__________________
Clinton Fitch ~ MVP-Mobile DevicesPrincipalClinton Fitch (Dot) Com!
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12-07-2006, 04:35 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 740
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Just an FYI... the 8125 is $74.99 at Amazon. The 8525 is $299. I noticed the price on the home page at PPCT, headed over to Amazon (thinking I was going to get a HUGE deal), and noticed that the link you're using is mistakenly pointed at the 8125.
__________________
Kind Regards,
Christopher Spera
Gear Diary Review Team
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12-07-2006, 04:57 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,183
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Clinton Fitch
Compared to the 8125 the camera is massively better. It isn't the greatest but it is a huge step in the right direction.
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Obviously both are better than my tpying  ops:
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12-07-2006, 05:10 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 26
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Ya no kiddin!!!! $74 I wish! Try $299!
I just got my TyTN last week and absolutely love it (worth the $550 I paid for). The 8525 button are not as well placed (having used one for about a week from work) but it does the job.
The Cingular network is also very speedy, I was getting around 550/150 in the DC metro area!
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12-07-2006, 05:19 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 190
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I love my Cingular 8525.
A couple of observations though, the scroll wheel would've been better placed in the right side rather than the left. I'm right handed and I find it easier to use the scroll wheel with my right thumb than with my index finger.
Also, Cingular should've kept that video conference button and used it as an okay button or something. I find myself constantly pressing that little hump instead of the left softkey button. They should've kept it and made it available for something else. Dont' case much about it missing the front camera since video conference isn't that hot with the people I talk to. Actually, I think I'm the only one in my group of peers and family that actually gives a rat's you know what about video conferencing.
Thirdly, why oh why do these PDA/Smartphone manufacturers keep pushing these products with only 64mb available for RAM which is then cut in half because the other half is used for storage? I miss the old PPC days when one could change the amount of RAM available by moving a slider where I could allocate more to RAM than storage. But then again, why can't they move up to 128mb already?
Finally, it may be the fact that I've loaded a lot of programs in mine, including Wisbar Advanced 2 with a Vista Lite theme file, but, I find myself having to soft-reset quite a bit. My device tends to lock-up quite a bit when I turn it back on after a few minutes of inactivity. Also, Activesynch 4.2 seems to keep asking me, every once in a while, to create a new profile because it doesn't recognize the one it just synched with a few minutes ago. Do any of you experience this as well?
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12-07-2006, 05:42 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by samw5
Ya no kiddin!!!! $74 I wish! Try $299!
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My apologies - I take full responsibility for having the wrong price and product selected. When Clinton finished the review, it was my job to put in the Amazon affiliate link and price - and I screwed up by linking to the 8125 rather than the 8525. ops:
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12-07-2006, 06:13 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 23
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I was upset by the lack of a standard headphones adapter on my new 8525 until I found this hack:
http://www.tracyandmatt.co.uk/blogs/...e_adapter_hack
It's great if you have soldering skills. I can now listen to internet radio in my car!
Be aware that the "mini usb" connector on the 8525 is non-standard (I understand it contains extra pin-outs that carry the audio). I don't know whether non-HTC miniUSB connectors would work with this device. Maybe Cingular will come up with their own audio adapter some day.
This is a great machine though.
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