Cingular 8125 Reviewed By Mobile Tech Review

[Jon Westfall]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.mobiletechreview.com/cingular-8125.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.mobiletechreview.com/cingular-8125.htm</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Cingular and T-Mobile are fighting for Pocket PC phone lovers' business with their respective versions of the HTC Wizard, both released in Feb. 2006. Cingular got a few weeks' jump on T-Mobile, getting a few into consumers' and business users' hands by the second week of February while the T-Mobile version is officially available Feb. 21. What is a Wizard? It's HTC's codename for this device, and Taiwan-based HTC is the largest ODM of Windows Mobile phones. There's usually very little hardware variation for a given HTC model, only the carrier's software customizations set them apart. For example, the HTC Apache, the Wizard's CDMA cousin for Sprint (PPC-6700) and Verizon (XV6700) in the US are identical other than color. But Cingular's version of the Wizard, differs from T-Mobile's, i-mate's and QTEK's in casing and keyboard (only the Dopod 838 sold in Asia uses the same design). Take a look at our review of the i-mate K-JAM (an import version of the Wizard released last Fall) and you'll notice the difference. Change is often for the better, and the Cingular 8125 looks more polished and has a much more usable keyboard."</i><br /><br /><img src=http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/westfall-20060224-8125.jpg><br /><br />While I'm not a big fan of the boxy look of the Wizard 100's vs. the curves of the Wizard 200, I do like that style keyboard more. What is your opinion - is this something that would make you sell your K-Jam and buy an 8125?

[szamot]

Personally I would not bother with either. I think that the best bang for the buck and the best all around usability comes from the Treo 650. The single fact that everything on that device can be done with one hand and more so without the aid of the stylus just does it for me.

If any win powered device comes close to matching that sort of operational ease and usability I will gladly go back but for now I will stick with Treo. It simply works which is more that what I can say for the PPC Phones I tried to make work.

[adamz]

Personally I would not bother with either. I think that the best bang for the buck and the best all around usability comes from the Treo 650. The single fact that everything on that device can be done with one hand and more so without the aid of the stylus just does it for me.

If any win powered device comes close to matching that sort of operational ease and usability I will gladly go back but for now I will stick with Treo. It simply works which is more that what I can say for the PPC Phones I tried to make work.

I don't like how you can't multitask on the Treo 650 though. I mean, you have to specifically turn on Bluetooth Dial Up Networking in order to connect your laptop... and then your bluetooth headset won't work when that's on. Also, it can only sync the Calendar and Email with Exchange over the air... and even then the calendar syncing is a bit buggy. Plus you have to run a different program for text messages than emails... there's no voice dialing, much less voice recognition or any kind of voice dialing via a Bluetooth headset.

Personally, I'm way beyond the Wizard devices at this point. They're too thick. The Prophet is where it's at! (http://www.pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&amp;t=reviews&amp;id=783) The only thing missing from the Wizard is the slide out keyboard, but yet you get so much more; more powerful Bluetooth implementation (headset functions behind walls with no static!), way way better camera, non-slip hard rubber body, better screen, and a much more user-friendly hardware button layout optimized for one-handed usage. Granted the HTC Apache and Palm 700w have the same button layout, but the Prophet is much smaller and lighter.

[jasondearyou]

i like this device, it has a large screen and seems to be a solid. may choose it over the loox 800. 0X

[Raphael Salgado]

For the first time today, I held an 8125 in my hand, and I actually thought it was much nicer in person than the pictures led me to believe. It still screams "prototype," but it definitely is a worthwhile contender.

HOWEVER, I walked over to the Verizon Wireless booth, and while the Treo 700w was decent, it was the 6700 that really made me consider returning to the Dark Side. The Wizard is the GSM equivalent to the Apache in the CDMA world, and I must say, the GSM world got shafted with this one. The design and feel of the Apache, not even mentioning the true XScale processor, is superior across the board to the Wizard. When I powered on the camera and saw the frame rate, I was stunned. When the rep allowed me to surf around using EV-DO, I felt envy that I haven't had in a long time.

The rep even offered me an extra $100 if I bought it today with an unlimited data plan. It comes out to $79.99 with 450 minutes, which is decent, but I couldn't make the decision just yet...

[Thinkingmandavid]

I am considering this ppc from Cingular because I am tired of carrying two devices. This would meet my needs for outlook syncing, email, and IM. I have always enjoyed Cingular service so another carrier does not interest me.
Spending $299.99 is better than the $$$ for the HP Messenger.

I have not been by the store yet to check it out, that will make a big difference in my final decision. I do not want to spend a lot of money right now on a new device.

I do not like the treo.

[inteller]

i really tire of the "well the 650 is better so nyaaaaa.." The 650 is going away. end of story....palm OS is dead. So I really hope for all the 650 users' sake the 700w is perfect for them.

I also tire of all the one handed jibe....are all 650 users one armed? There is nothing that you could possibly doing with that other hand that is so important that you need one handed operation. (self gratification doesn't count)

The 8125 is super. Coming from Sprint I miss the voice quality, but other than that I can't complain at all about the device.

[jeremyjoslin]

Just sold my Treo 650 and picked up the 8125. Best decision I've made in a long time. I've also used the x50, x50v, and Blue Angel w/ WM5. The 8125 feels about as fast as my x50 and slightly better than the BA. This is with minimal apps installed and no Today apps.

Maybe it is still the newness of it, but I think this may be may favorite phone/PDA yet. If they could increase the specs on the cam and double the processor speed, this would be perfect. Until then, it's pretty darn close.

Just my two cents from the last week of heavy useage.

[DuaneAA]

When is Cingular going to come out with one with a VGA screen and 3G data rate? That's what I want. (And preferably without a camera so I can carry into my office.) Hopefully such a device will be out before the end of the year and I will just wait.

Duane

[Kursplat]

All of the "this device is better then that device" is all fine and good; but we really need to address the important issues...

What the heck is an ODM? :D

HTC is the largest ODM of Windows Mobile phones

[Darius Wey]

What the heck is an ODM? :D

ODM = Original Design Manufacturer

Here's a quick explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_Design_Manufacturer

[drocque]

Hey, I have an 8125 and I believe that it is almost a one-handed device, but they did make some mistakes.

Here is what it needs to be perfect:

- A dedicated "hard" OK key and Start menu key while the device is in portrait mode. Why would they leave this out?? Mapping to the two keys up top is annoying and hard to reach. It just sucks.

- They didn't allow the left directional button to go "Back" in the Windows Media Player application's Library. You actually have to touch the screen to click the "Back" button to navigate within the Library app. The 2125 smartphone has this functionality. Just because the 8125 has a touchscreen doesn't mean we should have to touch the screen. That's what Palm understood with the Treo.

- The screen does not "black out" while using Windows Media Player to play anything - but in particular MP3s. Can a brother not put his 8125 in his pocket while he's jamming to the Black Eyed Peas - or does he have to hold it in his hand the whole time? I know the screen "darkens" but that doesn't stop the touchsreen. It should be like Pocket Tunes on the Treo and allow the screen to be black.

- Also....the power button is hard to press. It's recessed into the design of the device. The power button on the Verizon and Sprint versions are great.

- Last thing.....the Camera hard key is awkward. When holding the device while using the camera, the button is at a slight slant. This puts pressure at an awkward angle causing either your finger to slide off of the key or the keyboard to slide out, causing a not-so-swift jerk while the shutter clicks. Not good pics that way...

If anyone knows of any ways to fix any of these please let me know!!

[tut00]

Well, here is my .02

Coming from a long time user of the POS (since they were made by us robotics) as well as a short term user of PPC (os 2003 se for about 6 months) and then back to palm because I wanted an all in one device (treo 650), and now to the 8125, I have to say that this is an awesome device.

Was the treo easier to use one handed? Yes. But I only did that in the car anyway, and the roads are probably a safer place because I do not d that now.

But that is the only area where the treo has a leg up. Not being able to multi-task is an enormouse weakness as well as palms unwillingness to incorporate wifi, a decent browser, and build a stable device. My treo crashed almlost daily and had to be manually reset almost as much. That is totally unacceptable.

Since getting this phone a week ago and using it non-stop and loading it with all kinds of stuff I have only had it reset once!!

As a previous poster said, palm is dead and while I am not a fan of micrososft at least they were able to provide us with something that works in todays environment.

-----
To the poster who wanted one handed use while in portrait mode, you need to download and install smartkey.

[Jason Lee]

- The screen does not "black out" while using Windows Media Player to play anything - but in particular MP3s. Can a brother not put his 8125 in his pocket while he's jamming to the Black Eyed Peas - or does he have to hold it in his hand the whole time? I know the screen "darkens" but that doesn't stop the touchsreen. It should be like Pocket Tunes on the Treo and allow the screen to be black.


in media player go to the settings menu and tap buttons. this will bring up the settings where you can map media player functions to hardware keys. map any key you want to screen toggle. this will totally turn off the display and touch screen. i also map the d-pad to previous/next, volume up/down and the action button to play/pause so i can control everything i need with the screen off. i even mapped buttons to stop, mute, full screen... the blueangel has so many buttons. :)

[thenikjones2]

i really tire of the "well the 650 is better so nyaaaaa.." The 650 is going away. end of story....palm OS is dead. So I really hope for all the 650 users' sake the 700w is perfect for them.

I also tire of all the one handed jibe....are all 650 users one armed? There is nothing that you could possibly doing with that other hand that is so important that you need one handed operation. (self gratification doesn't count)


Then you are clearly a fool. When using a phone, of course one handed use is important, when you're carrying something like a briefcase, shopping bag, etc then needing to use 2 hands to operate a phone [as I do on my iMate JAM and Universal devices] is a pain. Palm addressed this issue well and I'm currently using a 650 for this reason. MS realise that one handed use is important - that's why they made the Smartphone operating system - so you must be "special". Bless.

Oh, and the 700w is of little interets to a 650 user, as both Palm and Windows Mobile need 3rd party apps in many cases and most people baulk at buying 2 sets of extra apps. The Sony Ericcson Symbian phones [P800, P900 etc] are similarly good at one handed [i.e. PHONE] use but Idislike using memory stick to such an irrational degree that I won't go that route agan.

[jngold_me]

A dedicated "hard" OK key and Start menu key while the device is in portrait mode. Why would they leave this out?? Mapping to the two keys up top is annoying and hard to reach. It just sucks.

Install this little app, and you're on your way to a perfect device:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=41060&amp;start=125&amp;postdays=0&amp;postorder=asc&amp;highlight=[/quote]

[inteller]

i really tire of the "well the 650 is better so nyaaaaa.." The 650 is going away. end of story....palm OS is dead. So I really hope for all the 650 users' sake the 700w is perfect for them.

I also tire of all the one handed jibe....are all 650 users one armed? There is nothing that you could possibly doing with that other hand that is so important that you need one handed operation. (self gratification doesn't count)


Then you are clearly a fool. When using a phone, of course one handed use is important, when you're carrying something like a briefcase, shopping bag, etc then needing to use 2 hands to operate a phone [as I do on my iMate JAM and Universal devices] is a pain. Palm addressed this issue well and I'm currently using a 650 for this reason. MS realise that one handed use is important - that's why they made the Smartphone operating system - so you must be "special". Bless.

Oh, and the 700w is of little interets to a 650 user, as both Palm and Windows Mobile need 3rd party apps in many cases and most people baulk at buying 2 sets of extra apps. The Sony Ericcson Symbian phones [P800, P900 etc] are similarly good at one handed [i.e. PHONE] use but Idislike using memory stick to such an irrational degree that I won't go that route agan.

hey guess what you should be doing when you are carrying a briefcase or a bag of groceries.....CARRYING THE BRIEFCASE OR BAG OF GROCERIES! I have seen so many IDIOTS...er I mean "businessmen" in airports trying to do as you report. Half the time they are bumping into people or walking too slowly because they are looking down at their device bungling with it. a device doesn't need to be one handed, it needs to be hands free as in voice controlled. You get that with the 8125 and MS voice command. I just hit my bluetooth headset and say "call home" or "launch media player" and it works. I've found people that try to multi task are doing it to look cool or seem busy but in reality look like fools. Anything that is important enough to need one handed operation is important enough to stop and get your full undivided attention.

[drocque]

A dedicated "hard" OK key and Start menu key while the device is in portrait mode. Why would they leave this out?? Mapping to the two keys up top is annoying and hard to reach. It just sucks.



Install this little app, and you're on your way to a perfect device:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=41060&amp;start=125&amp;postdays=0&amp;postorder=asc&amp;highlight=[/quote]

what little program? I couldn't find the download link or even the name of it...

[Janak Parekh]

I've found people that try to multi task are doing it to look cool or seem busy but in reality look like fools. Anything that is important enough to need one handed operation is important enough to stop and get your full undivided attention.
Please, lose the attitude and stop the name-calling. (That goes for thenikjones2, too.) The simple fact is not everyone works the way you do. Bluetooth/voice command is certainly convenient for some situations, but work poorly in others. I've found that I much prefer the one-handedness to VC, and I've used both extensively in different form factors.

--janak

[Covert]

what little program? I couldn't find the download link or even the name of it...
You have to register on those forums. Once you do so, you'll be able to see the link in the first post of the thread.

[drocque]

what little program? I couldn't find the download link or even the name of it...
You have to register on those forums. Once you do so, you'll be able to see the link in the first post of the thread.

Yeah, I found out that after searching FOREVER!!

The SmartSkey program has changed the way this device operates in a big way! These are the functions that HTC or Cingular should have intergrated to begin with. Water has done a great job!

Ok, I've got a fix for:

- the black screen in WMP
- Reachable hard keys for Start and Close/OK

Anybody got a fix for:

- Going "Back" in WMP Library using a hard key?

[Jerry Raia]

I have an 8125 on the way. Should have it in my hands on Tuesday.

[JMac]

All of the "this device is better then that device" is all fine and good; but we really need to address the important issues...

What the heck is an ODM? :D

HTC is the largest ODM of Windows Mobile phones

I love it, Kursplat!

I hate to admit it, but I thought the same thing when I read the article.

Hopefully, it's a case of great minds thinking alike! :D