Good Stuff. It's the next step!
Pros:
Everything in one place, and functionally!
Cons:
Not perfect, but as good as you can get right now.
The Bottom Line:
If you like gadgets, use Windows, Windows Media Player, and Outlook this thing syncs up well with your life. I would highly recommend it!
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I had been waiting for a true "All-in-one" smart phone that had:
Phone
Camera
HTML Web Browsing
WIFI
Full Keyboard
PDA
MP3 Player
This phone fills all of those roles well!
I have been using it for a couple of months, and do far I am happy overall. I'll break it down by category:
Phone: Great sound and reception. People can actually hear me in the car with the windows down! Good speakerphone, and you can assign whatever MP3 you want to the ringtone. Personally, mine rocks some good old James Brown. One issue I ran into was that I have a borderline 3G signal at my house, and the phone would constantly drop calls to switch to GSM mode, where I have great signal. That bugged the crap out of me until I got a free program called Bandswitch which will let you lock the phone into GSM mode. Now I pretty much leave it there. If you are in a area with good 3G, use it. If not, get Bandswitch.
Camera: Pretty good, but requires good light. One really cool feature is the LED light which can double as a flashlight in dark spots or when your power goes out (like ours did last night.) Lots of shooting modes and sizes, and the video camera works great!
Web browsing: The 3G works well, but the reception is not very consistent, especially on the move. I usually leave it on GSM which isn't blazing, but works fine for casual browsing.
Most sites work fine on the 8525, but some don't, usually becuase they have a large number of mini advertisements in separate windows on the page. I would say it's about 85/15 work/don't work. I have even bought stuff online on my phone. Cool!
WIFI: I thought this would be great, but it hasn't been that useful. The WIFI is hard to set up, and sucks battery life. That said, it IS quite fast, but I find that the GSM and 3G work well-enough. Overall, you should plan on getting an unlimited data plan and only using the wifi occasionally if you move around.
Full Keyboard: Great keyboard. Like it a lot. easy to type day or night.
PDA: Syncs up great with Microsoft Outlook, and though it isn't the full version, it works well.
MP3 Player: Gotta have a memory card, but my 2GB Sandisk that I got for about $45 from Ebay works great! The stock headphones are crappy, and use the mini-usb, but you can buy or rig up and adapter. Nice to have tunes handy.
OVERALL: I have been very pleased with this device. I don't use a case, and don't really notice it in my pocket. I have a discounted plan from Cingular, and get unlimited data, 1000 texts, and 500 minutes for about $67/month. That works for me! It is a very progressive step in the all-in-one market, and though it isn't perfect, it works very well overall.
Here are some must-do tips:
1) Install Magic Button! It is a program that will actually shut down a program when you hit the 'x' on the screen instead of pushing it to the background and slowing performance. This is a must-have.
2) Use this site: http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Hermes
It will REALLY help you get to know your device, and has a bunch of programs to tweak your preferences.
3)GET A SCREEN PROTECTOR! You can buy generic ones and cut them to size, or get some off of Ebay. Just get some, they work great and will protect your investment.
