Cingular 8525 Spotted in the Wild

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.howardforums.com/showpost.php?p=7813458&postcount=529' target='_blank'>http://www.howardforums.com/showpos...8&postcount=529</a><br /><br /></div>There was some debate about the recent press-quality pictures of the 8525 put up as to whether the 8525 was as shown, considering the poor Photoshop job in covering up the regular HTC Hermes' front camera. Now there comes some blurry in-the-wild snaps of the 8525 that do indeed suggest that the 8525 is real, and front-cameraless:<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/parekh-20060831-Cingular8525.jpg" /><br /><br />Personally, the lack of a second camera, while a little unfortunate, wouldn't dissuade me going for the Cingular-branded device; if HSDPA coverage is good, I'm seriously tempted to pick one up this fall when it comes out. Hit the link above for a few more blurry pics.

[BoxWave]

I saw this over at pocketpcaddict. Very nice, but the lack of a front facing camera also bothered me. And I thought this would be the phone for me...

[Darius Wey]

I saw this over at pocketpcaddict. Very nice, but the lack of a front facing camera also bothered me. And I thought this would be the phone for me...

There are other variations of the Hermes with a front-facing camera, so it's worth remembering that your options aren't just limited to Cingular (unless you want the whole phone/plan contract deal).

[Bacco]

It's unfortunate that Cingular is not considering video calling in the near future. I guess it's another unlocked phone for me. At least I'd have the ability for video calling while traveling.

[martin_ayton]

Well, it's weird looking at a PPC/'phone which is almost, but not quite like your own. Looking at the button layout around the D-pad makes me do a double take - *my* 'phones start and end call buttons are on the middle row...

Personally, the lack of a second camera, while a little unfortunate, wouldn't dissuade me going for the Cingular-branded device; if HSDPA coverage is good, I'm seriously tempted to pick one up this fall when it comes out. Hit the link above for a few more blurry pics.

Janak, if you can wait until 'they' issue a ROM upgrade, I would: I really like the Hermes, but it's current inability to run bluetooth and Wi-Fi concurrently is beginning to annoy me.

[beq]

The photos were also posted in the previous thread by someone, who claimed he heard the ETA as being early Sept (ie. this month) 8O

That would be great news, I've been waiting out of contract for months.

I hope it won't be like the official Motorola Razr V3i release on Cingular though, which people have been expecting since earlier this year, and where it seems like every week throughout the whole summer the rumor is that it would finally be released "next week". It's still not released by Cingular yet. Meanwhile other people have enjoyed unlocked V3i's since last year, and can already look forward to the (unlocked) KRZR, RIZR, 3G MAXX, etc, later this year.

[beq]

BTW, how does the Nokia N80 Internet Edition compare to the TyTN &amp; Trinity? :)

http://news.com.com/Nokia+unveils+N80+multimedia+phone/2100-1041_3-6111295.html

[stsanford]

You can't run WiFi and Bluetooth simultaneously on the Hermes?
This means if I get a Hermes and am on the phone and want to jump on a Hotspot, I have to hangup the phone call or plug in the wired headset? That's ridiculous. Now with my much maligned M600, I talk on the phone and look up information at the same time over WiFi. What a step backwards that would be!

[Janak Parekh]

Janak, if you can wait until 'they' issue a ROM upgrade, I would: I really like the Hermes, but it's current inability to run bluetooth and Wi-Fi concurrently is beginning to annoy me.
You are, of course, assuming Cingular's going to use the same ROM. ;) Even if it weren't, though, this wouldn't necessarily be a deal-killer for me. As it stands, I haven't used WiFi for quite some time, thanks to my 700w... although it would be nice to have simultaneous. Well, let's see what happens; when the 8525 comes out, I'll reevaluate my choices.

--janak

[martin_ayton]

You can't run WiFi and Bluetooth simultaneously on the Hermes?

Correct. I can't run them simultaneously at all, some have reported that whilst they can do so, they have real problems (dropped connections, poor audio on bluetooth etc.). It has to be a software issue (OK, I may be being self-delusional here,but I've got this thing for the next 18 months so I really want to believe its a software issue) and so I'm hpoing that it will be sorted with a ROM update soon.

You are, of course, assuming Cingular's going to use the same ROM.
True. But since it isn't only T-Mobile customers reporting this issue, but Orange customers and HTC TyTn owners, it looks like an HTC problem rather than something introduced by a carrier tweak, so Cingular's version of the Hermes might well suffer too. However, if it isn't going to bother you then go to it - in other respects this is a great device.