IT'S MADE FROM CHEAP PLASTIC THAT EASILY BREAK
Written: Feb 07 '08 (Updated Oct 12 '08)
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Pros: Play movies & MP3, MS Office, Email tools, Wi-Fi, easy to use
Cons: TERRIBLE WARRANTY, CHEAP PLASTIC PARTS THAT BREAK EASILY
The Bottom Line: The phone is made from cheap plastic parts that break easily & htc won't honor the warranty
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| ejeffrie's Full Review: AT&T 8925 Tilt Smartphone |
Introduction
I bought my HTC 8925 from AT&T wireless. I paid $180 with 2 years service contract. Then I had to pay $400 to replace the unite that was broken. The phone was $499 if I decided to buy it without the contract.The reason why I decided to buy the HTC 8925 Tilt because I really need a cell phone with a PDA/WI-FI Access so I can organize my appointments and I needed money management software and client contact management tools. I also wanted a phone that let me check my emails and view the world wide web.
Reliability
I have to tell you this reliability part even though I still recommend the phone. The HTC screen durability is BAD! I pulled my HTC 8925 out of the leather case and I had a phone cover protection on, but somehow something happened to the screen. Half of the screen became white and it showed colors lines. I called the AT&T Warranty Department and they told me that HTC 8925 screen is very sensitive and the phone itself is very sensitive. I may have pressed the screen too hard while it was inside the case. I told the person on the phone "How could I press the screen too hard while it was still inside the leather case?" She said "We will send you a replacement phone, but if your old phone showed damaged screen, we have to charge you $400!" Yes, $400 for a replacement HTC 8925! I was so happy to have this phone until the screen was damaged by itself. IPHONE screen is a lot more durable compared to the HTC 8925.
HTC 8925 is a great phone, but the replacement cost is EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE.
The Screen Quality
I am very impressed with the screen quality. It colors are vivid and the graphic quality is pretty good. The only thing that I hate about any PDA screen when you are trying to look at it under the sun light! It is hard to see the screen outside when it is very sunny! I have to go somewhere to find a shaded area to be able to see the screem clearly.
About the Phone
I used to own a RAZR V3, it was light and thin but the sound quality wasn't that great compared to the HTC 8925, the sound quality and clarity of the HTC 8925 is very good. The HTC 8925 is not a light phone, but it is not that heavy either, I can barely feel the weight, but it is not a small and thin phone.
To access the phone feature, you have to press the phone button. You can either use the touch screen keypad or the keyboard to dial the number, but I love the touch screen feature a lot better than the keyboard. Your MS Outlook contact information is connected to the phone feature, so it is very easy to find phone numbers.
Now I will tell you the annoying thing about the phone. If you talk on the phone for a long time, the screen will turn itself off to save the battery's life. You still can talk on the phone, but your screen light will be turned off while you are talking. You have to press the power button to bring it up again, so you can use the screen phone keypad. After a while, I got used to it, so it is not so annoying anymore.
The phone is very easy to use! To hang up the phone there is a hang up button and you just have to press it :)
The phone has a great speaker phone feature which I love very much. Let say I am talking to a client using a speaker phone, and my client wants me to take notes. I can switch to Windows screen, open Microsoft Word, open the phone keyboard and hear my client's dictating what they want me to type over the speaker phone. This one is an AWESOME feature. You can talk to anybody over the speaker phone while you are typing! You can't do that with a regular cell phone!
Operating System
The Phone with the latest Windows 6 Mobile version. I used own a Toshiba PDA and the Toshiba PDA with Windows 2003 mobile and the PDA didn't give me warning if the battery life is almost gone, it will just turn itself off and all my data on the Toshiba PDA was wiped out clean when the battery was out. I called Toshiba about it, so they told me to syncronize the PDA everytime. I sold the Toshiba PDA on Ebay. Why did I tell you this, because I don't want you to lose your important data by buying and using a terrible PDA.
OK, let's go back to the The HTC 8925. The HTC 8925 comes with a Windows Mobile 6 and I love it. Why? It is because it comes with a lot of new gadgets and it gives a better settings control. The Windows 6 mobile version is a lot more stable operating system than the Windows version 5. The HTC 8925 will warm you when the battery life is almost out with a message "You may lose your data if you continue to use the phone, please recharge the phone," something like that. Unlike the Toshiba PDA, HTC 8925 at least warns you about it before it goes dead on you.
Easy to Use Keyboard
The HTC 8925 is very easy to use and I love the keyboard and the tilting feature, it fees like having a tiny laptop. The keyboard makes texting and typing very easy. I also can type a full MS WORD document by using the keyboard very easily. If you have big fingers, using the keyboard may be a little bit hard.
Mobile Software
There are a lot free mobile software for this phone on the internet. I can install a lot of mobile phone software on the HTC 8925 like MS Money mobile version, Real Media Player, and the phone comes with Office Suite for Mobile Phone that includes MS WORD, EXCEL and Power Point Viewer.
I do a lot of public speakings and I used to carry a small yellow pad and a pen around to write any inspirations or any new information that I can use for my speeches. Now, every time I want to write something, I pull my HTC 8295, go to MS WORD, tilt the phone and use the keyboard to write what ever it is that I need to write. This feature is really making me very happy. I can save on the files on the phone and transfer them to my computer later.
The phone comes with MS Outlook that helps me organize my contact information. When you have a business, it is a great tool! You can synchronize your MS Outlook data on your computer to the HTC 8925. You can put people's birthday on the phone and remind you about it, like, the phone will make a BELL sound "Ding" and a text annoucement comes up "Tuesday, Your wife's birthday, you had better get her something or else." I am sure that feature alone will save a lot of marriages by reminding them their spouse's birthday. "Ding" You forgot your Boss's birthday! "Ding" You are fired! "Ding." "Ding" Make sure tonight you call the girl that you are going to date tonight Suzy, not Anna. Anyway, the bell feature thing is very cool, it does get annoying and you just have to snooze it.
Wi-Fi Access and Internet Access
With the built-in Wi-Fi feature, you can say "Good Bye" to the expensive cell phone internet connection charges because with the HTC 8925, you no longer need the cell phone AT&T 3G internet connection that costs a fortune to go on the internet.
I can now check my email every where I go as long as there is unsecured wireless public Internet access! The phone comes with MS Internet Explorer. You can set the phone up to receive emails from your email POP account every 2 hours, 3 hours or every morning, in the morning, I can hear a beeping sound that shows me that i have new emails.
I can read the latest news, weather forecast and check the balance on my online bank accounts. I really love using Google.com mobile version, it gives you news, weather, jokes and finance report updates.
I can use my Yahoo Instant and Google Messenger too to talk to my friends which is really cool.
This is the cool part that I want to share with you. More and more web sites today are designed to be compatible with Mobile Windows Internet browser and believe it or not I could place a bid on Ebay, pay for my item by using Paypal mobile and check the balance of my money through online banking by using HTC 8925.
I have to tell you this. The most annoying part of this phone is, that you have to turn if on and off every time, you want to connect to a new wireless Wi-Fi connection. That part is very annoying but the phone restarts pretty fast.
Multimedia Capability
This phone is awesome because you can play videos on this phone. I can rip a DVD movie, convert it to a media files using your computer and watch a full length movie on this phone.
My daughter loves it very much because she can watch her Duck Tales movies on the HTC 8925. It is a great thing to have when you have kids, because you can give them an entertainment when they get bored. Since it can tilt, you can just place it on the table and watch your favorite movies.
This phone can play MP3 music, the only problem is, there is no headphone jack, but you still can listen to your music. You really can't watch movie at work because other people can hear the sound of your movies. I guess that's a good thing, you are not supposed to watch movies anyway at work.
I bought the Holy Bible software for this phone and it is awesome, now I don't have to bring my Bible to church anymore because I have the NKJV Bible on my HTC 8925. It comes with easy Bible chapter and verse feature.
GPS
The phone comes with a built-in GPS receiver! Yes, it has GPS built-in on it! I can see Google Earth map on this phone and the traffic report. The only thing I hate about the GPS receiver, in order to use the live directions report on your phone, you have to subscribe to a TeleNAV GPS service subscription and it is very slow, but I found a cheaper way to do to get a direction.
I use Google Earth or MapQuest before I leave a destination and save the driving directions on MS Word format, so I don't have to print anything.
Memory Storage
You can add extra memory to the phone! There is a expansion memory slot on the phone. I bought 2 gigabyte MicroSD card to add more storage space to the phone! I love it because now I have plenty of storage space for my media files and work files. I think, you can put 8 Gigabyte MicroSD card on the phone. The reason why I bought the 2 Gigabyte, it is because the 2 Gigabyte MicroSD flash memory was only $1.99 on Ebay and the 8 Gigabyte costs $79 each! I couldn't say no to $1.99 deal.
Camera & Video
The 3.0 Mega Pixel built-in digital camera that comes with the HTC 8925 is not that great, because it is a mobile phone camera and it is not the real digital camera. The camera produces very acceptable quality digital photos. I am happy that the phone has a built-in camera and a little bit disappointed by the quality of the camera. If you expect to have a GREAT digital camera by buying the HTC 8925, you will likely to be disappointed. You can see a Youtube Video about the quality of HTC 8925 camera. The reviewer wasn't happy about it.
You can use the HTC 8925 to create MP4 motion video which is very nice, the quality of the video is not bad. You can send the videos to your friends via text messaging system or via email attachment.
Battery Life
Now the battery life is very impressive for a PDA phone. The battery life is around 3 to 5 hours of talking time. If you use it to watch movies, it will last around 2 to 3 hours. The cool feature that I love the most is, that you can charge the phone with USB computer connection while you are synchronizing your data with MS Outlook on your computer.
Will I recommend this phone to my friends and family?
Yes, I will recommend this phone to anyone. This is just a miracle phone, I can do a lot of things with this phone like I can read my NKJV Bible on this phone, I can watch movies, I can read online news, use Microsoft Money 2006 to balance my bank accounts, use Microsoft Outlook to synchronize my calendar and contacts, I can play MP3 music, play games, and do many other things with the HTC 8925. So you have my blessing if you want to get one.
Conclusion
The HTC 8925 is IT'S MADE FROM CHEAP PLASTIC THAT EASILY BREAK
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 400
Recommended for: Professionals On-the-Go - Internet and Email is a Must!
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Epinions.com ID:
ejeffrie
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Location: USA
Reviews written: 51
Trusted by: 20 members
About Me:
I work as a Web Analyst, Web site designer & developer.
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