We made the move... to the Cingular 8525 Windows Mobile 5 phone

After weeks of considering different phones, including the new T-mobile Dash and latest Samsung BlackJack Windws Mobile Smartphones, we decided on the new Cingular 8525 with Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Phone Edition. (CNET has a review of the phone here.)

We both like the form factor of the Cingular 8525 (also the HTC Hermes) and the feature set: the 400MHz processor and 64MB of RAM, bundled Office Mobile applications and Windows Media Player 10 Mobile make for a good customer experience. The unit is supported by Cingular's 3G network, and I've seen the difference this week in sync'ing email and web sites. The support for both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 is very solid, with my BT headset and USB adapters working right out of the box.

The ergonomics and design of the device is good and feels solid in your hands, and the key travel for thumb typing is IMHO better than I found for my fingers on the Dash or the BlackJack: controls are easy to use and access. And as it's essentially a Pocket PC, I find that the addition of a stylus and touch screen makes it easier to navigate around. 

The clincher on this deal? Over the holiday shopping weekend last week, Cingular offered a "Buy One Get One Free" deal and the phones were essentially half price: not only was Cingular's family plan comparable to what I had on T-Mobile, their pricing on devices was better. (The lowest tier of Internet access is a couple of dollars more a month than T-Mobile's WAP access, but affordable.)

Also, we both like the 2-megapixel camera, which takes nice shots and is easy to use.

Comments

• Anonymous
  December 26, 2006
  Really great site.

• Anonymous
  January 15, 2007
  Made the move here as well. Considered the Treo 750, but the lack of wifi sold me on the 8525. The only downfall i've experienced is the horrendous battery usage on the 8525

• Anonymous
  June 15, 2007
  I would like to know if the 8525 can be paired with the TomTom navigator and gps bluetooth.  I had it for the Treo 650 and want to know if I can still use it.  If so, would you be kind enough to give specific instructions on how to install the software and bluetooth gps. Thanks in advance. Kauve

• Anonymous
  June 19, 2007
  You should be able to make the 8525's BlueTooth discoverable by turning it on using the side button and making it discoverable. See http://supportcingular.atgnow.com/cng/tutorials/KB71229.html

• Anonymous
  June 25, 2007
  This post has nothing to do with customer and partner satisfaction at Microsoft... but the news that

• Anonymous
  June 29, 2007
  If you hadn't had enough already about the iPhone, Denise Pappalardo wrote for PC Advisor that AT&T

• Anonymous
  June 29, 2007
  The price just doesn’t get better than free, especially when the device is this awesome. I just picked

• Anonymous
  August 28, 2007
  A quick post as I run off to lunch... a question I received yesterday from a friend as I was doing mail