Mobile Devices
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AT&T Tilt aka HTC TyTN II
I had been using an AT&T 8525 [HTC TyTN] for about 14 months and very recently decided to upgrade to the Tilt.
The device sports a dual corp QualComm 7200 processor operating at 400mhz, Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE; tri-band UMTS/HSDPA 3.6 Mbps, moves data via Edge, UMTS and HSDPA [where available], a GPS receiver, 256MB ROM; 128MB SDRAM of memory and supports up to 32 Gig Micro SD cards. It also has a 3Mpix camera. A 240x320 QVGA screen at 64K colors. It is 4.4 x 2.3 x 0.7 inches in size and weighs in at about 6 oz.
Here is what it looks like open with the screen not set tilted up:
In tilt mode:
The fact that the screen, when opened, can be tilted to 40 degrees so that its face is pointed up at you when the other part of the unit, with its keyboard exposed, is level is how it got its name. It allows the unit to function on a desk top for multi-media as well as making some typing chores easier for many folks.
I've put the unit through its paces and found that, over all, it handles data a bit faster than the TyTN [AT&T 8525], which it replaces.
It's GPS receiver worked well. I picked up 8 satellites in short order using Google Maps and it pin pointed me to within about 1/4 mile of my location.
Using Windows Live Search Mobile put me almost spot on to my location. If it was off at all I couldn't tell.
With the use of either of these free services you can get turn by turn directions. Live search will use the speaker of the unit to give you voice prompts before turns as well.
Both will find local eateries and other POI, but I find Windows Live Search does a more complete job of it. BTW, the gas price function of WLS, finding me the cheapest gas station in the area, has been saving me about $5 a fill up, about $15/week, since I started using it. In short order the $299 I paid for the unit will be made up and the unit will be turning a profit at this rate.
Calls made from the unit are similar in quality to the 8525 and the Windows Mobile 6 software looks and feels the same as it WM5 version that preceded it. Quality is good but I'd like the speaker to be a bit less tinny when using speaker-phone. WM5 & 6 have good call history and contact features. You can select photos for contacts and specific ring tones should you care to. More important to business users is the info collected and associated to specific contacts. You'll find just about everything you need here, including space for free hand notes. All which syncs readily with Outlook via Windows Active Sync for XP or Windows Mobile Center for Vista.
The gee-whiz factor of the Tilt is fairly high. It has the ability to pull in entertainment material from Fox News and CNN, as well as other fair that would normally be considered cable or satellite TV via "Mobile TV" [an extra fee service which has a 3 day free trial once you activate it. Once you wait a few seconds for the unit to buffer it pulls in a fairly crisp picture which, if you have a 3+ bar signal, doesn't drop frames but once in awhile and remains constant [no pausing to re-buffer the feed]. Another app, supporting another service with yet another fee, brings in content from HBO and other TV outlets. There is also the ability to receive XM streaming radio content. This is quite the little entertainment unit, but all at a price.
The unit has good support for push mail and is fairly straight forward to set up with an enterprise mail server. It won't give your IT manager a headache supporting it. New for this unit is the ability to support Blackberry style ****** mail. So if your IT guy told you that your company only supports Blackberry that no longer stands in your way from using a Windows based mobile unit.
TeleNav is supported and while it does a bit more than Windows Live Search Mobile it doesn't do so much more that it justifies paying extra for it. I like the price of WLS Mobile [free] much better.
Pros: Usually when you try to make a convergence device that does everything for everybody you wind up with something that does everything not particularly well. The Tilt is different. It isn't the very best of everything but it does everything well enough to be the convergence device [mobile phone, PDA/PIM, multi-media unit, portable camera] that lets you keep all your specific units at home in a draw and just carry the TyTN II [Tilt].
Connectivity options out the wazoo. Quad band world phone, GPRS, UMTS, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth.
Cons: Expensive. MSRP on the unit is $599. AT&T sells it for $399 with a $100 rebate and a new two year plan. If you are an existing AT&T Premier [business class] customer you can twist their arm at get it for $299 without having to go through the rebate process.
Other than that the only cons are the proprietary mini-usb earphones you need for stereo listening that don't come with the unit but have to be purchased separately. If you have a set from your 8525 you will find that it, as well as all your other 8525 accessories, work just find with the Tilt.
Battery life could be a bit better. Its all those radio transceivers the unit has and the GPS receiver. Turn off what ever you can that you aren't using at the moment to increase time between charges.
Slightly tinny speaker-phone.
I had been using an AT&T 8525 [HTC TyTN] for about 14 months and very recently decided to upgrade to the Tilt.
The device sports a dual corp QualComm 7200 processor operating at 400mhz, Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE; tri-band UMTS/HSDPA 3.6 Mbps, moves data via Edge, UMTS and HSDPA [where available], a GPS receiver, 256MB ROM; 128MB SDRAM of memory and supports up to 32 Gig Micro SD cards. It also has a 3Mpix camera. A 240x320 QVGA screen at 64K colors. It is 4.4 x 2.3 x 0.7 inches in size and weighs in at about 6 oz.
Here is what it looks like open with the screen not set tilted up:
In tilt mode:
The fact that the screen, when opened, can be tilted to 40 degrees so that its face is pointed up at you when the other part of the unit, with its keyboard exposed, is level is how it got its name. It allows the unit to function on a desk top for multi-media as well as making some typing chores easier for many folks.
I've put the unit through its paces and found that, over all, it handles data a bit faster than the TyTN [AT&T 8525], which it replaces.
It's GPS receiver worked well. I picked up 8 satellites in short order using Google Maps and it pin pointed me to within about 1/4 mile of my location.
Using Windows Live Search Mobile put me almost spot on to my location. If it was off at all I couldn't tell.
With the use of either of these free services you can get turn by turn directions. Live search will use the speaker of the unit to give you voice prompts before turns as well.
Both will find local eateries and other POI, but I find Windows Live Search does a more complete job of it. BTW, the gas price function of WLS, finding me the cheapest gas station in the area, has been saving me about $5 a fill up, about $15/week, since I started using it. In short order the $299 I paid for the unit will be made up and the unit will be turning a profit at this rate.
Calls made from the unit are similar in quality to the 8525 and the Windows Mobile 6 software looks and feels the same as it WM5 version that preceded it. Quality is good but I'd like the speaker to be a bit less tinny when using speaker-phone. WM5 & 6 have good call history and contact features. You can select photos for contacts and specific ring tones should you care to. More important to business users is the info collected and associated to specific contacts. You'll find just about everything you need here, including space for free hand notes. All which syncs readily with Outlook via Windows Active Sync for XP or Windows Mobile Center for Vista.
The gee-whiz factor of the Tilt is fairly high. It has the ability to pull in entertainment material from Fox News and CNN, as well as other fair that would normally be considered cable or satellite TV via "Mobile TV" [an extra fee service which has a 3 day free trial once you activate it. Once you wait a few seconds for the unit to buffer it pulls in a fairly crisp picture which, if you have a 3+ bar signal, doesn't drop frames but once in awhile and remains constant [no pausing to re-buffer the feed]. Another app, supporting another service with yet another fee, brings in content from HBO and other TV outlets. There is also the ability to receive XM streaming radio content. This is quite the little entertainment unit, but all at a price.
The unit has good support for push mail and is fairly straight forward to set up with an enterprise mail server. It won't give your IT manager a headache supporting it. New for this unit is the ability to support Blackberry style ****** mail. So if your IT guy told you that your company only supports Blackberry that no longer stands in your way from using a Windows based mobile unit.
TeleNav is supported and while it does a bit more than Windows Live Search Mobile it doesn't do so much more that it justifies paying extra for it. I like the price of WLS Mobile [free] much better.
Pros: Usually when you try to make a convergence device that does everything for everybody you wind up with something that does everything not particularly well. The Tilt is different. It isn't the very best of everything but it does everything well enough to be the convergence device [mobile phone, PDA/PIM, multi-media unit, portable camera] that lets you keep all your specific units at home in a draw and just carry the TyTN II [Tilt].
Connectivity options out the wazoo. Quad band world phone, GPRS, UMTS, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth.
Cons: Expensive. MSRP on the unit is $599. AT&T sells it for $399 with a $100 rebate and a new two year plan. If you are an existing AT&T Premier [business class] customer you can twist their arm at get it for $299 without having to go through the rebate process.
Other than that the only cons are the proprietary mini-usb earphones you need for stereo listening that don't come with the unit but have to be purchased separately. If you have a set from your 8525 you will find that it, as well as all your other 8525 accessories, work just find with the Tilt.
Battery life could be a bit better. Its all those radio transceivers the unit has and the GPS receiver. Turn off what ever you can that you aren't using at the moment to increase time between charges.
Slightly tinny speaker-phone.
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I should also point out that, like the 8525, the Tilt supports PTT [push to talk] mobile service. It is very handy for things like construction sites and having to contact multiple field agents all at the same time as contacts can be grouped and called simultaneously.
I also know several police departments that use similar type devices in the field to back up their police radios or keep contact with each other when public airwaves aren't the best choice for communication.
Why anyone else would need a service like this I don't know but the folks [mostly kids] talking out loud next to you on the subway, with their PTT contacts on speaker so everyone can hear both ends of of a conversation they have no interest in [complete with that annoying roger beep they all make], seem to think otherwise.
I also know several police departments that use similar type devices in the field to back up their police radios or keep contact with each other when public airwaves aren't the best choice for communication.
Why anyone else would need a service like this I don't know but the folks [mostly kids] talking out loud next to you on the subway, with their PTT contacts on speaker so everyone can hear both ends of of a conversation they have no interest in [complete with that annoying roger beep they all make], seem to think otherwise.
Yes, well...
The only thing that can be said for AT&T pricing on their business class hardware is that it is a little retarded.
I stay with them because their data service: with its pricing [I pay $39.99/mo for unlimited access], ability to use both their data and talk networks simultaneously [they are the only service you can do this with in the U.S.] and fastest [HSDPA-3.5G, UMTS-3G, where rolled out] data speeds is the best currently available. I put up with the nutty pricing on hardware and the occasional "I have to know more about your business than you do to get anything done with you folks" aspect of dealing with their business support staff.
The only thing that can be said for AT&T pricing on their business class hardware is that it is a little retarded.
I stay with them because their data service: with its pricing [I pay $39.99/mo for unlimited access], ability to use both their data and talk networks simultaneously [they are the only service you can do this with in the U.S.] and fastest [HSDPA-3.5G, UMTS-3G, where rolled out] data speeds is the best currently available. I put up with the nutty pricing on hardware and the occasional "I have to know more about your business than you do to get anything done with you folks" aspect of dealing with their business support staff.
Is this a growing trend? I've noticed I have to correct customer service people quite a bit lately. I have to inform the Cablevison staff that they do offer a partiocular service even if they insist they don't carry it. After 30 minutes then they realize "ohh"
I have to tell my phone company that there is a problem. They insist it's my phone even though I explain to them that the problem only happens when it's windy. What does that tell you? After months, they finally send someone out to fix the problem.
I have to go back to the pharmicist 3x who has no knowledge of my insurance policy even though it's one of the most common in NY.
No. Its just straight-forward run of the mill stupid.
It is simply the result of cutting costs by hiring front line customer service reps who aren't familar with the company's product line.
It is even worse in tech-support.
When I call tech-support it it is because something beyond the norm is happening, or it is something on their end that needs to be addressed. If it was run of the mill and I could fix it from my end it would be done without them hearing from me.
Still I have to run through the script with the "junior tech", who isn't actually a tech at all but just some guy reading from a script, before I can get bounced up to the next level of support. Frequently this can kill as much as 30 minutes. Quite frustrating.
And when the support is halfway around the world and the guy has an accent that is so thick I can't understand what he is saying, and the policy of his company is to insult my intelligence by insisting that he tell me that I am speaking to some guy named "Robert Martin" [how many guys born in Bombay or Islamabad do you know named Robert Martin?]... It really chaffs the patience department.
It is simply the result of cutting costs by hiring front line customer service reps who aren't familar with the company's product line.
It is even worse in tech-support.
When I call tech-support it it is because something beyond the norm is happening, or it is something on their end that needs to be addressed. If it was run of the mill and I could fix it from my end it would be done without them hearing from me.
Still I have to run through the script with the "junior tech", who isn't actually a tech at all but just some guy reading from a script, before I can get bounced up to the next level of support. Frequently this can kill as much as 30 minutes. Quite frustrating.
And when the support is halfway around the world and the guy has an accent that is so thick I can't understand what he is saying, and the policy of his company is to insult my intelligence by insisting that he tell me that I am speaking to some guy named "Robert Martin" [how many guys born in Bombay or Islamabad do you know named Robert Martin?]... It really chaffs the patience department.
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The Tilt sounds very, very impressive so I don't want my question to detract from your review; my question is not a counterpoint.
Background: I have a Treo 650 for my personal life and a Blackberry 8700 (with BES) for work. The blackberry is very convenient for pulling out and sending a quick e.mail. It seems like you wouldn't pull out the Tilt unless you were going to spend a bit of time with it. Is this a fair understanding?
Background: I have a Treo 650 for my personal life and a Blackberry 8700 (with BES) for work. The blackberry is very convenient for pulling out and sending a quick e.mail. It seems like you wouldn't pull out the Tilt unless you were going to spend a bit of time with it. Is this a fair understanding?
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I too use to use a Treo, up until I switched to a Sieman's unit I had shipped from Germany [still the best screen I ever had, though limited compared to newer units... it does have GPS though so I am converting it to a portable marine navigation unit for when I am out sailing].
The Tilt is a convergence/productivity enhancement unit. It works for quick down and dirty and more in depth use. I can, and have, received and edited work product on it [Word Docs], viewed PowerPoint presentations and extended ****** use. Though I have also done quick SMS, MMS, ******, quick check of calander and to-do notes, etc [both by visual and having the unit verbally read it to me via "voice command" through the speaker or into my bluetooth ear peice - I use a Jabra BT5010] and some entertainment use of it as well. It is my primary connectivity device, including phone, and all around PDA/PIM when on the road. It also functions, via GPS and software [Windows Live Search, Google Maps] as my 'find what I need' device, whether that be directions, a movie, food, POI, etc.
It supports Blackberry style ****** so it can fully replace your 8700 if you wanted it to, adding Windows functionality and compatibility your 8700 doesn't offer.
It is my electronic Swiss Army knife.
Hope that answers your question.
The Tilt is a convergence/productivity enhancement unit. It works for quick down and dirty and more in depth use. I can, and have, received and edited work product on it [Word Docs], viewed PowerPoint presentations and extended ****** use. Though I have also done quick SMS, MMS, ******, quick check of calander and to-do notes, etc [both by visual and having the unit verbally read it to me via "voice command" through the speaker or into my bluetooth ear peice - I use a Jabra BT5010] and some entertainment use of it as well. It is my primary connectivity device, including phone, and all around PDA/PIM when on the road. It also functions, via GPS and software [Windows Live Search, Google Maps] as my 'find what I need' device, whether that be directions, a movie, food, POI, etc.
It supports Blackberry style ****** so it can fully replace your 8700 if you wanted it to, adding Windows functionality and compatibility your 8700 doesn't offer.
It is my electronic Swiss Army knife.
Hope that answers your question.
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