Cingular 8125 Pocket PC

The Cingular 8125 Pocket PC is an up and coming device...for some. I have heard a lot of mixed reviews on this device but one thing is for sure: You either love it or you hate it.

Hate may be a strong word. I am partial to the device. It has some nice features but it also has some features that drive me up the perverbial Pocket PC wall.

The Camera: 1.3 mega-pixel camera. When you face it out to take a picture it actually looks like a small digital camera. The camera also has some nice template features built in. You can frame your subject in a Man of the Year magazine, a heart or just some other neat frames they include. I got bored with it after a few pictures. I think the younger crowd will like this. They will also like the vanity mirror that for some reason has caught on. Unless you have a head the size of a meatball, this vanity mirror will do no good.

The Sliding QWERTY Keyboard: Nicely sized (even for the larger thumbed of us) and easy to type on. Slides out way to easy though. When I attempt to take pictures the keyboard comes flying out. The Blackberry users are accustomed to using one hand with their device, this really requires two at all times. If I flip the device to the camera using both hands I have no kamikaze keyboard issues.

Touch Screen and Windows Mobile Software: This is fine. Nothing special. If anyone has used a Smart Phone in the past, it is the same. The stylus navigates (again, takes two hands and no I am not complaining because I want to use it in the car) through the Windows Mobile 5.0 Smart Phone Edition software in a responsive manner. I easily gained access to all the Smart Phone had to offer. However, I would like to see a link to Internet Exporer on the main page.

I really knew I was dealing with a Microsoft OS when, on the second day I tested it, the device froze on me. Tears of joy welled in my eyes as I re-booted the phone. I knew I was home. Thank you Microsoft. Like McDonalds, a Big Mac is a Big Mac no matter where you eat it, just as it is with Microsoft operating systems. **Sniff**

Connection Speed: Poor. I expected better with competitors like Verizon coming through with their high speed VCast. The surfing was painful (equivilant to a 56.6 modem...ick. That was so 2 years ago). I gave up trying to find Olympic Hockey scores while feeding my face at the Rain Forest Cafe in the Mall of America. Great coverage, crappy speed. They need to get this on the EDGE network as soon as they can.

Button Placement: Ok at best. It is really much to easy to hit the camera button, the connections button and the volume control. Nine times out of ten when I pull the device from the holster (ohh, sounds dirty) I end up looking at the volume control on the screen.

More to come including WiFi access and E-mail.