HTC 3125 / Smartflip / 8500 (Star Trek)
Average Ratings
WOW - what a PHONE!
This review is for the Cingular 3125.
I rarely give the max on any rating system. But that changed here. It's based on the fact that this is a great phone first and foremost. Other features are a nice bonus and I can live with a few idiosyncrasies. It's amazing how tough it is for mfr's to make a great PHONE!. But HTC has succeeded here.
Pros:
Earpiece and mic sound quality is superb. Earpiece volume is more than adequate.
RF is great.
It's easy to use out of the box as just a phone.
Battery life is simply outstanding.
Clamshell makes for a large keypad compared to non-Qwerty smartphones.
Display is bright, crisp, and very clear.
WM5/Smartphone platform gives the flexibility to easily add apps to and customize your phone.
Option of Stereo Bluetooth
At least for now, not everyone has one.
Cons:
Proprietary connector
Speakerphone is so-so, have to keep phone open to use it
Love this phone!
My wife and I have the Cingular 2125 and the 8125. However, I wanted a smaller form and she wanted a flip phone; that's just our thing. So we bought 2 Cingular 3125s'.
As far as the phone however, it is great. The reception is as good or better than either other phone we've had and that includes Nokia 6620, Motorola MPX220, Audiovox SMT5600, 2125 and 8125. Very clear, holds calls well even at 1 bar.
We've not had any freeze-ups, the screen is very nice, seems plenty fast and responsive, and looks great. I don't have a complaint on the speakerphone either.
Internet connection via MediaNet works great; yes I realize most phone screen sizes are not good for internet use at least for extended times.
The camera is acceptable for a 1+ megapixel camera, probably because I didn't expect great pictures.....it's a phone and I have good camera equipment.
The best thing so far is battery life; the Cingular has a 1100 mA battery and it last much better than any of the other phones I've had. A 2 hour call only used about 20-25% charge at most and I've gone 5 days with regular use (mixture of calls, IE, playing around, etc.) and still had about 15% battery left.
Others usage will vary!!
Overall, I'm very happy with the 3125. Best phone purchase I've made in several years. For me, no negatives worth mentioning; all positive responses.
Now THIS is a great phone !!!!!
Coming from the Cingular 2125, there wasn't the learning curve for WM5, but it is a lot different that regular cellphones, so bear that in mind when thinking of giving this phone to your mom or tech-challenged signifigant other. If you've used other smartphones before, you'll find this one to be familiar.
Appearance: the phone sports a nice combination of metal, plastic and a rubber grip surface near the tips of the phone. The external Windows Media controls are a great plus, but depending on your case (or lack thereof) you may need to disable them...luckily, you can do that. The internal screen is identical to the 2125 at 240x320 pixels and is very readable, except under sunlight, however few newer color cellphone screens are. The external screen is great and VERY viewable even in sunlight.
Performance: The 200 Mhz TI processor handles most tasks nicely. I have not seen the incredible slowness that others have reported, but this phone is a smartphone running windows...it's not going to be as fast as a Series 40 Nokia for example. That's kind of like comparing DOS to Windows performance on the same PC...more overhead in the case of Windows Mobile is going to do that. RF performance seems to be on par with the 2125, which is to say, VERY GOOD. The only difference I have seen is that I think the signal bars on the 3125 are calibrated differently than the 2125. A low signal area that had 2 bars in the 2125 have maybe one bar on the 3125 now, but the calls on the 3125 seem to go thru quicker and sound less choppy on low signal.
Pros: good reception, slim and sexy like the RAZR (in fact some RAZR cases even fit it). WM5 support for DirectPush email.
Cons: like everyone else has said...the non-standard connector and the microSD slot ender the battery. The microSD isn't really that much of an issue, as I ordered up a 1 GB card from NewEgg.com, and I don't think I'll ever fill it.
I feel like Captain Kirk
Stupid tagline, but as I was holding it open and talking on the speakerphone, it's the only thing most people can assume.
I have the Cingular 3125. I am impressed. I've used the 2125, I-mate sp5, sp5m, and also the Audiovox smartphones.
Pros:
Size - RAZR with WM5, love it.
Calls are very clear, works better with my headset than my SP5
Media buttons, I don't use them much, but I like having them
Cingular's extended battery and OS fixes make this much better than the other versions floating around
Cons:
Connector - Why is it that HTC went this direction? all other models use mini-usb, and that was handy. Although, I won't fault the phone seriously, I wish it were different.
No where to plug in stereo headphones, of plug into a sterio. Not an Ipod killer.
Overall, this is a FANTASTIC phone, but I miss some feature of the larger phones.
Wifi would be a nice addition for version 2, but I decided not to comment becuase I didn't use it on my sp5, but for the very few times I used it, I'd like it.
I don't think you'll be disappointed with this phone
Thin and Smart? Hmmmm...
I have used the Cingular 3125 for about two weeks, upgrading from a RAZR.
I previously had the Cingular 8125, which I really liked...except for the fact it was so bulky.
The 3125 is like a combination of the 8125 and the RAZR..thin and smart.
So far I have found only one con. Sometimes the Windows Mobile 5 software is sluggish in responding to a command.
Great signal strength, even in a known dead-spot in my area. The speaker is loud and crisp, even for people like me who have some hearing loss. Overall my experience has been pro, pro, pro!
Thanks, Cingular, for a great product!
Microphone sound quality not good enough
I would really like to keep this phone but I'm sending it back to Cingular.
I have been using a V3 that has recently developed the infamous buzzing sound that often is loud enough to make it difficult to carry on a conversation. As soon as I saw the 3125, I figured it would be a great replacement and a great way to get away from Motorola's lack of reliability.
Unfortunately, the sound quality is just not the same as the V3 for those whom I am calling. I even called my own home voice mail and left messages with both the 3125 and the V3. The V3 clearly sounded better and more like a landline phone. The 3125 sounded muffled. People I call on a daily basis can tell I have changed to a different phone, but unfortunately, it's not because the new phone sounds better.
Great phone - couple of issues
I think this is a great phone and I've had other Smartphones and PocketPC's. (K-Jam, Cingular 2125, Blackberry) What I don't get is why the heck every phone manufacturer has to make different power/headphone jacks, its retarded. Although there are 12-pin -> miniUSB converters available at mobileplanet.com, I have not found a 12-pin -> 3.5mm headphone jack converter yet -- annoying if you want to listen via anything other than the crazy headphone/mic thing that they give you. I guess you could listen with a bluetooth stereo headset, but I don't have or want a pair!
Otherwise, this is a great phone that comes with great Windows components for viewing attachments and listening to music -- probably web browsing too, but we don't use it for that.
Pros:
- Many
- microsd
- sound is good
- slim & sexy
- Windows Mobile
- etc.
Cons:
- 12-pin thing is inconvenient
- only 1 alarm (i think)
- no wifi (easy to include - probably a Cingular flaw)
- microsd card behind battery (why?)
Cheers,
miershpedankl
Great phone! (warning: only had it for a few hours so far)
I just bought this phone a few hours ago. I may do a post-mortem later on after I've had it a while, but here's what I have so far (since there are very few reviews here, as of yet):
- Windows Mobile. Nice. Very usable.
- Syncing with Windows Media Player works fine. I hate Windows Media Player, but other than that, fine.
- Memory. It comes with 64MB. Not bad at all (of course I'll be picking up a MicroSD soon).
- Camera seems to do a good job. Haven't played with the video recorder yet.
- Accessories. Very nice. The setup CD does a good job, it comes with headphones (proprietary USB connector), and the USB connector for the computer. I had an MP3 playing in 5 minutes.
- Outside display is crazy nice. Does a good job. It can be a bit slow on the response, but other than that, very cool.
- Buttons. Similar to the RAZR, but I think easier to press/nagivate without looking.
- Reception. Seems good. I'd say probably 4/5 here (nothing spectacular, but definitely not bad).
- Volume. Really nice. Especially for music (the speaker on the phone is really quite nice).
I guess that's all I got for now. You can get this at Cingular's store online for $150, no rebate. If you go into the store, just show them you can get it for that at one of their kiosk's, and they'll give it to you for that price, no rebate. They'll make you take a data plan, so you'll have to pay for that for a month, after which you can cancel it.
Really nice phone. I gave it a 4.5 out of 5 only because it is missing wi-fi. If it had wi-fi, it would be (in my opinion), the perfect phone.
What are you waiting for?! Go buy one! :)
Great PDA on Mobile Phone
This is great PDA phone, I was looking for a sleek PDA and now its here. Great, it have all U need for a Phone and PDA, Internet/data transfer is great. Hot Sync with Contacts/Emails. Just need some help with screen brightness and litte bigger screen would help. Otherwise, this a best one in Town for PDA on mobile. Way to Go.
Just What I Was Looking For!
This is a very good phone that does exactly what it is supposed to do: combine Outlook on your PC with a really slim phone that's easy to carry. It also gives you media player and tons of other stuff to play with.
Pros:
I like the feel of it.
The keys are large and easy to use.
Reception is great.
The display is fantastic.
Better than average camera.
It is very loud. I had to turn down the ear piece volume.
It has a very strong vibrator.
Cons: Hmmm...I am sure there are some, but I have not encountered any. As I said I really like this spartphone...It allows me to carry my Outlook stuff and easily sync it with my PC. I have had three previous PDAs (Palms and an Ipaq), but they were always just to large for me to carry on my belt comfortably. I just could not bring myself to get one with a phone in it. And I really don't need a thumb keyboard.
The 3125 is like carrying a Razr (yes, I had one) but with lots more features and it syncs with my PC. I am very happy I no longer have to lug the PDA around.
