On the Cingular 8525
My Treo 650 has been slowly dying, and it was time to buy a new phone. This time, I wanted a phone with an OS that could mulitask and handle 3G WCDMA (UMTS and HSDPA) networks. That narrowed the choice down to Symbian OS and Windows Mobile. I wanted a touch screen, so that narrowed it down to Windows Mobile Phone Edition devices. Since Cingular did not have the Treo 750, that left the Cingular 8525, AKA HTC TyTN.
I’ve used Windows Mobile in the past, so the learning curve was not too steep. My thoughts so far after using the device for about a week:
1) Using the 8525 as a phone is definitely not as easy as the Treo. The biggest thing is the lack of a front-mounted keyboard.
2) I am learning to use the Phone version of the OS. In reference to point #1, I found that typing on the the on-screen phone numeric keypad will bring up names that match.
3) The keyboard is superb when it comes to actually typing out an email. I am pretty fast on the Treo’s keyboard, but nothing compared to the speed I can attain using the 8525 keyboard.
4) I have not used the WiFi feature at all. At home and at work, I often have my laptop near. Out and about, I just ride UMTS/HSDPA. If I could get a free Cisco 3000 VPN client, that might change my usage.
5) I have a learned method of using the Treo 600/650 one-handed, and getting around that can be trying at times. The functionality that Palm built into getting around with solely the 5-way D-Pad is missed. Again, though, I am learning to work with the system, but I am unsure if I will ever get to the same level of functionality.
6) The jog-wheel is awesome. If they could put that Logitech Revolution wheel in it, it would be portable paradise….. In any case, I like jog wheels, and this is the way to go. Much improved over the methods available on the Treo.
7) Touchscreen is great. This model just reinforces my dependency on having a touchscreen. I am unsure how quickly I would adapt to a non-touchscreen model at this point. Every time I use a Q or the Blackjack, I end up poking the screen to no avail.
8) Going back to the keyboard – one side benefit is that I don’t even think about sending an SMS while driving. While I don’t do that very often, it’s still not safe to do, even at a red light.
Reports are in that the 750 is going to be in stock with Cingular any day now. I am going to have to test that device and see…. 
