Cingular 8525 PDA Review

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The Cingular 8525 cell phone (now AT&T) is the first UMTS/HSDPA smart phone in the US. It debuted in Europe as the HTC 8525. In addition to these broadband cellular technologies, the Cingular 8525 has one of the highest resolution cameras (2-mega pixels) available in a cell phone. Bluetooth 2.0 as well as Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 b/g) technologies are also featured in the 8525. The predecessor to the 8525 is the Cingular 8125. The Cingular 8520 is the same as the 8525, but comes without a camera.

Being a Pocket PC phone, the Cingular 8525 is not a razor thin, sleek cell phone, but at 4.4x2.20x0.8 inches, it’s not a brick like some of the other Pocket PC cell phones on the market. The 8525 weighs in at 6.2 ounces. A 2.8 inch (diagonal) touch screen provides a rich display of 64K worth of colors and a resolution of 320x240 pixels. The viewing experience is easy on the eyes with text and graphics sharply rendered. You can navigate the features of the smart phone either via the touch screen or available controls and shortcuts. If you don't like the controls, there is also a scroll wheel, which makes navigation a snap.

The screen slides out to cleverly reveal a full QWETRY keyboard. The bubble style keys have a nice tactile feel and are large enough for people with bigger hands. The keyboard is backlit making typing in low light situations possible. Texting on the keyboard is smooth and doesn't feel cramped.

The camera has eight capture modes: photo, video, MMS video, contacts picture, picture theme, panorama, sports, and burst and four still photo quality settings: basic, normal, fine, and super fine. There is an 8X zoom and a self-timer. You can also record MPEG-4 video clips with sound. The video quality is certainly not equal to a camcorder, but will serve if you need capture a fast-breaking news event. Where the camera really shines is with the quality of still photos. The images are sharp and the colors sparkle.

Let's also not forget voice performance -- after all, this is a cell phone. The voice clarity of the Cingular 8525 is excellent and people at the other end of the call will often not be able to tell you're on a cell phone. The sound quality of the speaker phone is also quite good. The GSM quad-band support allows you to use the Cingular 8525 both in the US (GSM 850/1900) as well as Europe (GSM 900/1800). However, UMTS coverage in the US is not fully rolled out so you'll want to check with AT&T to see if your region is covered.

Specifications:

Processor - 400MHz Samsung processor
ROM - 128MB
SDRAM - 64MB
Operating System - Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Phone Edition
Bundled Applications:

Microsoft Office Mobile suite with full editing capabilities and a PowerPointpresentation viewer.
ClearVue PDF viewer
Calendar, contacts, tasks, and notes.

Battery Talk Time - 4 hours talk time; 8.3 days standby time.
Cellular Protocols/Bands - GSM 850/900/1800/1900; EDGE; UMTS; HSDPA
Dimensions - 4.4" L 2.20" W 0.8" Thick
Weight - 6.2 Oz.

At a retail price of $399, the Cingular 8525 is certainly not cheap. However, if the features it provides are not frivolous toys or gimmicks either. Broadband connectivity speeds, a powerful processor and full-featured smart phone OS bundled with corporate quality productivity applications, and not to mention entertainment features such as the MP3 player and video capabilities makes the Cingular 8525 is a worthy companion to high-achievers on the go.

You can save quite a bit on the Cingular 8525 by receiving a $150 rebate from TIMWireless.com: Details. There are also some great deals on new and used Cingular 8525 phones at eBay. Check out some the of the auction listings below for these deals.