Definitely get the firmware upgrade from HTC | AT&T Tilt Smartphone (AT&T)

All In One Cell Phone. Also, see UPDATE at bottom of review. | AT&T Tilt Smartphone (AT&T)

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	• AT&T Tilt Smartphone (AT&T) AT&T AT&T, 2007 average customer review:based on 98 reviews view larger image
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Do It All Device - Think Twice About Upgrade from 8525

I'm surprised Amazon reviews seems to be on average lower than CNET Reviews. CNET Users are known to be sticklers when it comes to giving high reviews and as of today this had an 8.3 on CNET which is really good for CNET. But I'm probably more inline with the Amazon reviewers...

Don't get me wrong, this is a definite step up for users of the previous version of this phone, the 8525, but other than the GPS and double internal memory (128MB instead of 64MB) all the other improvements are relatively minor compared to those two major improvements. If you are a power user looking for a phone that "does it all" this is basically the best choice on the market - it blows the iPhone which is more of a mainstream - multimedia oriented phone than a power user PDA phone.

I won't go into the details on all the minor improvements - the gadget freaks that live for the latest device can rant and rave about all the bells and whistles on this device until the cows come home. It is quite a feature packed device, the closest thing I've seen so far to a device that "does it all."

I was going to wait for an even better version to come out before upgrading from my 8525, although I really was attracted to having a built-in GPS, but it's too expensive and time consuming to keep upgrading PDA phones every 18 months. However I dropped and broke my 8525 and that made the decision for me.

Luckily the phone can now be had for $199 refurbished with contract renewal with AT&T and the phone is basically just like a new phone and comes in plain white box with 90-day warranty instead of 1-year. These things are solid-state, no internal moving parts like a hard drive, so if they're going to fail, they'll fail in the first 90 days in my experience. Plus credit card doubles warranty anyway. So no worries saving $100 buying refurb.

If this phone didn't have a GPS, I would have repaired my 8525 with new screen for $99 or bought a refurbed 8525 for $125. The Tilt is definitely the better phone overall, but when you are a power user it costs not only the money but more importantly the several hours of loading all your applications, configuring them and all the settings, email accounts, etc. It's can be a BIG pain a very time consuming if you have a lot of apps and customizations on your phone.

So overall I like it better than the 8525 due to the GPS, but there are several dissapointments:

1) Probably the biggest drawback of this phone is they took the camera flash out. The 8525 had a great little flash that allowed close-up low-light indoor photos and you could use it as a flashlight. Not on the Tilt.

2) Even though the camera is 3 megapixel instead of 2 megapixel, it doesn't take better pictures, even outdoors. In fact, the pictures sometimes look worse! I'm into digital photography also. If you understand how digital camera CCD's work, you will know more megapixels doesn't always mean better picture, usually worse (more noise), but from a average consumer marketing standpoint, everyone assumes more is better.

2) The battery life on this phone is average at best. Not as good as 8525, and abysmal if you use the GPS a lot. That's I guess a drawback of having such a powerful phone. Be interested to see if higher capacity batteries are available.

3) The tilt screen is a bunch of hype. With the screen tilted it is actually harder to use the keyboard then when it isn't tilted as there is less finger room at the top of the keyboard. The two soft keys are virtually unusable for all but the smallest hands if the screen is tilted, so I don't even tilt it. What a stupid gimick.

4) The keyboard overall is not as nice as the one on the 8525. While I like the finish of the keys, they don't stick up as much or press down as much, hard to tell as the 8525 so the keyboard is not as comfortable to use in my opinion.

5) The change to the buttons are a step backwards in my opinion for two reasons: a) they moved the e-mail and IE buttons down so that everything is crowded in one clump of buttons now making the buttons more difficult to press for the average size or larger finger/thumb, and b) the chrome finish is cheesy looking and just shows fingerprint smudges.

6) You can't store e-mail on the storage card without removing the Messaging plug-in from the Today screen. There are a number of registry hacks to make Windows Mobile operate better and use memory more efficiently. One of the most popular are the three hacks that allow the phone to use the Storage Card to store e-mail messages, e-mail attachments (that's also a setting in Windows), and My Documents folders on your storage card. This works fine and dandy with the 8525, but with the Tilt, the phone boots differently so that it loads the Messaging Today plug in before it recognizes the SD card. What ends up happening is that if you do the e-mail hack to store email on the card, the phone will create a folder in main memory called Storage Card and call the SD card Storage Card2. LUCKILY, the phone has 128MB of internal memory instead of 64MB, so even users who store entire copies of 1000 or more Outlook e-mails on their phone, there's now enough memory to not worry about storing the email on the storage card instead of internal memory. So I just store the attachments on the storage card with no worries. So essentially this isn't really a drawback that you can't store email on the card due to the larger internal memory, but I though I should include this for power users who uses the registry hack previously so they know they can't do it on the Tilt without disabling the Messaging Today plug-in.

With all the nit picking, I still would highly recommend this phone to anyone looking for the most advanced, feature packed phone that does everything.

HOWEVER, if you are coming from an 8525 or similar device and the GPS is no big deal to you and you are satisfied with your device, don't waste your time and money. Wait one more version to get something even better, more worthy of the cost and time to upgrade.

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Definitely get the firmware upgrade from HTC

PHONE: This is my first PDA phone, although I've had several PDAs over the past 7 years without phone capabilities. Another review spoke about the difficulty of using this as a phone without the stylus, and I have to agree. This is not a phone you'd want to use while driving. It really needs larger on-screen buttons, more sensitivity to touch like the iPhone, and the screen needs to light up when touched. As it is, it blacks out seconds into a call and you have to press the green phone button to get the screen back on.

I'm going to try the Microsoft Voice Command software to make the phone more usable on the road. The voice tags you can assign to each contact work great to initiate calls, but once you're in a call (like voice mail), it is challenging to use the on-screen keypad.

INTERNET CONNECTIVITY: The high speed internet is as fast as a home DSL line, and it's great getting real-time Exchange email with all calendar appointments, tasks, and contacts synchronized! This phone will automatically back down to the slow EDGE data network in remote areas, but that seems worse than dial-up speeds (a good reason to avoid the iPhone until it can use the 3G networks).

This device can also be used as a cellular modem with a laptop computer connected by a USB cable or bluetooth connection. This is especially helpful if you have any "real" internet surfing to do, as it is very difficult to navigate most regular web sites using the 320x240 resolution screen.

BLUETOOTH: Initially, the bluetooth connectivity with my Motorola headset and JVC stereo in my vehicle were abismal, however I upgraded the firmware (to Mobile 6 Professional (CE OS 5.2.1622) from the HTC web site which was billed to fix a number of bluetooth issues, and it did. You'll definitely want to get that firmware upgrade installed.

BATTERY: I am an IT professional, but I don't turn on this PDA more than maybe 6-8 times a day, and I'm a relatively light telephone user. Because I want this to pair with my car and headset automatically, I keep Bluetooth on all the time. With that level of use, the battery fades to about 57% in a single day, so plan on charging this thing every night if you expect similar use. The good news, is all the Motorola mini-USB connection cables and wall or auto chargers I owned from an earlier RAZR charge this device without a problem. Gotta love standardization.

The battery is removable, so it is possible to carry a spare and replace it should it ever start to lose it's ability to hold a charge. Again, something I like versus the built-in cell on the iPhone.

KEYBOARD: As a former programmer, I'm a fast touch-typist, and I chose the AT&T tilt because the keys are far easier to type on - you can almost touch type - as opposed to the Blackjack or Blackberry units where a fingertip can easily cover two keys. Still, you won't win any speed typing contests with this. Now that I've had the phone for several weeks, I find I still use the handwriting recognition built in to Windows Mobile 6 and it decodes my writing with amazing accuracy. If in doubt, go to an ATT store and try before you buy.

AUDIO: Microsoft Windows Media Player works great, plays very good quality through my vehicle bluetooth stereo connection, but the device DOES NOT have a 1/8" jack for old fashioned headphones. You'll either need stereo bluetooth headphones with A2DP or some kind of USB to 1/8" adapter which I've seen advertized but haven't tried.

SOFTWARE: Unlike iPhones which have a very limited application set (at least right now), the Windows Mobile PDAs have a rich selection of virtually any kind of application imaginable. The device comes standard with Word, Excel, and many other applications and games. Some of the more interesting games and utilities are trial versions, however.

MEMORY UGPRADE: This phone supports MicroSD memory up to 8GB, available from SanDisk and others.

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All In One Cell Phone. Also, see UPDATE at bottom of review.

I have had two cell phones, but was not happy with either of them. So, for weeks I researched cell phones. I read reviews and even downloaded manuals to see what the various phones would do and not do. I finally decided to try the ATT Tilt.

Battery life: Several reviewers complained about short battery life. So, this was my first test. On day one I turned up the brightness and set the backlight to stay on longer. Then I played with it by going to every program and application. I also went to all the settings and played around getting them how I wanted. I also placed a few brief calls. Then I spent a while online using WiFi. I even took a few pictures. I put this phone through its paces for 6 hours and had 17 percent battery life left. The next day I completely drained the battery and recharged it to condition the new battery. Then I put it to work again for another 3 hours or more. I had 40 percent battery life on the second day after a full charge. Of course, if I had been on phone calls most of the time, I am sure that the battery would have only lasted 3 or 4 hours. Therefore, because of my experiences thus far I would rate the battery life as fair when compared to some other smart phones. For power users they do make an extended life battery available online.

Camera: Many reviewers also said the 3mg camera does not take very good pictures. This is true. Even though there are some settings to help improve the picture quality, I found that it really did not help much. So, I rate the camera as average to poor.

Performance: Again some reviews I read complained about screen refresh rate or lag. I found this does happen sometimes. The lag time can be from 1 to 4 seconds. However, there are ways you can minimize this. As with any computer, the more programs you have running the more memory they use and the slower the response time. Try launching a few programs then tap on the memory icon. There you will see how much storage you have on the main unit and SDcard. You will also see how much memory the programs are using. To help with response time touch the Quick Menu at the top right of the screen and close all open programs that you are not using. Plus, wait a couple of seconds for a program to fully load before you try to navigate within the program. Also, files such as MP3s, photos and documents should be moved to the SDcard to free up space on the device itself.

Keyboard: I love the slide out QWERTY keyboard. It is much easier and faster to use than the tiny keys on most other smart phones. Of course, having a large keyboard means you have to use both hands which most users do anyway. I give this feature a very high mark for convenience and usability.

Microsoft Mobile: Personally I love this system because it is like my home computer, complete with a Start Menu. I find it familiar and easy to use.

Sound quality: Addressing some reviewers concerns about low sound when playing MP3s, this is what I found. There are 2 sound settings. One is for the ring tones and the other for the device itself. Tap the Speaker Icon on the top right and you will see these settings. I turned both of them up all the way and launched the music player. The sound was loud and clear. I set a Blackjack II next to it and found that the Tilt was actually slightly louder.

Size: I almost did not get the Tilt because of the weight. Plus, it is a little thicker that most other phones. While in the ATT store I picked up a Blackjack II then a Blackberry then held the Tilt in the other had. The weight of the Tilt was a little more that either of the other two, but not enough to matter to me. Although, this might be an issue for some that want a smaller or lighter cell phone.

Voice quality: While on a call I found the sound quality clear and loud. There is a scroll wheel on the upper left side that will adjust volume while on a call which comes in handy. I also handed the Tilt to someone and called it to see how it was from both ends of receiving and placing a call. The quality was better than my cordless landline phone. I rate the call quality as excellent.

Helpful hint: When on a call the screen turns off in about 10 seconds. However, you can still use the Talk key to mute the call or End key to disconnect the call. If you want the screen back on, simply press the Power button on the upper right side of the phone. Or, you can use the Scroll wheel, but this will also adjust the volume at the same time. Also, when the screen is off in idle mode none of the keys will turn the screen back on except one. To turn the screen back on from idle either press the Power button or slide out the keyboard.

Word and Excel: You can create and edit in these programs without Documents To Go. Then you can either import or export them to your computer or email them. This is a great feature.

WiFi: I do not text or get online that much with a cell phone. But, when I do get online then this is the only way to go. Plus, I can save twenty or thirty dollars a month by not getting the data plan. I simply get online at home or in hotspots. I also disabled the Media Net so that I do not accidentally get on line and get charged a fortune for it.

Today Screen: The home screen desktop is called the Today Screen on the Tilt. I did not like the looks of this desktop at all. For one thing there is a lot of wasted real estate that could be used. The European version of the Tilt is different. I found a free plug-in that is the same as the other version and installed it. There was no editing the register, you just click on the file then reset and that is it. Now, the Today Screen is fully occupied with great looking icons and shortcuts that you can customize.

Navigation: There are a few choices when it comes to navigating. You can use the scroll wheel, the touch screen or the navigation buttons on the front bottom of the phone. I also found that I can use my finger on the touch screen 90 percent of the time and with very good accuracy. I seldom use the stylus.

There are a few other features you can discover for yourself. I just strongly suggest that you read the manual and experiment with the different setting to see what all it will do. I have not seen a cell phone yet that was perfect, and the Tilt is no exception. However, if you are aware of the quarks from the start then you simply learn how to work around them. Therefore, if you want a cell phone that does it all then this is a device to consider.

UPDATE: I only had my Tilt for a few days and it kept locking up when in standby. It would not turn back on by pushing reset or the power button. I could only get it working again by taking out the battery then replacing it. The phone would lock up about every 2 or 3 days. So, I took it back and got a brand new one and it did the same thing. I returned it for a refund because I have no use for a cell phone I can not depend on. Therefore, I can only say that my 5 star rating was for everything I listed above, and I stand by it. However, I have to give it 1 star for reliability.

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You win some, you lose some

I was a little skeptical when AT&T pushed this phone to me. I was looking to get a Blackberry at the time but was open to any type of PDA phone. They showed me this one and got a real good deal on it.

Pros:
The full size keyboard and tilt screen - I really like the full size keyboard. It is very tactile. It's very easy to type on because you feel each key when you type on it. The title screen also makes it nice when it's sitting on a table. You don't have to keep picking it up or looking over it to see the screen.

Bright screen - It has very bright screen. The brightest I've ever seen. I even use it as a flashlight as time to navigate around the room.

Nice variety of software - I love that I can check multiple email accounts with the email software package that comes with it. It comes with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. These can even read the .docx format which is very exciting. The Word documents show up very well. The 100% view is rather big. I have to back it down to 75% zoom and the text shows up wonderfully.

Sturdiness - The casing seems very sturdy, solid. It doesn't seem like it's made of cheap plastic

Cons
No individual ring tones for text messages - My previous phone was the Motorola Krazr and I loved that I could attach a specific ring tone to each contact. I receive more text messages than phone calls and it really helps me to know who is sending me a text message so I know how important it is :). I hope they add that in future upgrades

Internet Connectivity - For some reason the phone will not connect to the Internet through its Internet Browser or MediaNet after so long. I'll reboot it and it will connect fine. I don't receive any errors, I'll pull up the browser and just get a blank screen.

Poor Video Performance - One reviewer mentioned that the driver didn't seem up-to-date and that the video performance seemed choppy. I decided to check this and yes, it was very choppy

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A great phone made by a great company.

HTC is a global leader in micro pc's and micro pc/cell phones.

I was happy to learn they'd be making the AT&T tilt.

Running windows mobile 6, this phone is packed with features and power.

The ONLY con is that it is still shipping with its old ROM version 1.5... Updating to version 1.6 on HTC's website will improves performance and battery life and make the unit much faster.

The At&t tilt is basicallly a micro notebook, that happens to be a cell phone too.

USB connectivity, Bluetooth, WiFi, and cell phone access give you more ways to connect to the net. The unit is fast on 3G cell phone networks for internet media, even faster on a wireless network.

The design is genious, the keyboard is ample.

It comes with 128MB memory upgradable to 32GB micro SD... twice as much storage capacity as the iphone.

In case you're wondering, 32GB microSD cards are not sold yet in the U.S., though they were made by Toshiba in 2007, they (and the 16GB versions) should be out later in 08 or 09. Until then, Amazon sells the 8GB microsd cards which should suffice until the larger cards come out.

This phone is the ultimeate for ultra high end phones. Great for students, business professionals and healthcare professionals.

I can't say enough about this device... if you can afford it, it is worth it.

Geek tested and approved.

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