Cingular releases slick Smartphone

Jonathan Blundell
Staff writer

After playing with the new Cingular 2125 Smartphone for a little more than a week, I haven’t decided which I love more, the phone itself or the new Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system.
This is slick Cingular branded phone operates on GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks worldwide and is only available to Cingular customers.
One of the first thing most people will notice is the beautiful 2.2-inch 64k color screen (320 x 240) that shows crystal clear graphics and text, including pictures taken from the 1.3 mega pixel camera on the phone.
The only downside with the screen is the screen ratio, it’s longer than it is wider. Web pages will likely load by default in columns, rather than the entire width of the page at once. But users can change the way pages load to suit their personal preference.
You’re also likely to notice the absence of a rocker button (pad) to move between options and menus.
The rocker button most users have likely become familiar with on other phones, is replaced with a cool directional joystick, similar to the TrackPoint mouse found on old IBM ThinkPads.
It takes a little getting used to, but I really missed it when I went back to my old Motorola phone.
With the Windows Mobile 5.0 OS, you get a number of Windows standards built in, including Windows Media Player 10, Internet Explorer, Pocket Hotmail and MSN Messaging, as well as the option to sync with your desktop Outlook for e-mails, calendars and contacts.
While traveling, you can also use Xpress Mail, Goodlink, or a POP3 service to get your e-mail on the go.
And the phone comes with ClearVue software, which lets you view Microsoft Office files from Word and Excel.
And as part of the Mobile 5.0 OS, you can customize nearly every part of the phone, including sounds, backgrounds and images to display for each caller.
The Internet Explorer web browser is quick and effective for surfing the web.
On the Cingular EDGE network, average download speeds are from 70 Kbps to 135 Kbps, much faster than a dail-up connection.
Utilizing the TI OMAP 850 processor (200 MHz), I was amazed to see some pages, such as Myspace.com profiles, load much faster than they do on my desktop computer running Mac OS 9.
The Windows Media Player played Microsoft media files and Mp3’s flawlessly. Unfortunately the phone only has a 24MB hard drive to store files on, but you can add additional space with a mini-SD card expansion slot.
Mini-SD cards currently come as large as 2GB for $150, which is larger than many basic Mp3 players on the market.
This phone may not replace a Trio or Blackberry just yet, but it’s a great mid-range model, for those not ready to shell out hard earned money for the high priced devices.
And at a light 3.74 ounces and only 4.57-inches tall, 1.81-inches wide and .69- inches thick, you won’t mind the extra padding left in your wallet.

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Features:
Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 software
TI OMAP 850 Processor (200 Mhz)
64MB Flash ROM/ 64MB SDRAM
GSM/GPRS/EDGE Network Compatible
Mini-SD card slot
2.2” 64K Color LCD Screen (320 x 240)
1.3 Mega Pixel Camera with camcorder
Bluetooth/Infrared/Mini-USB connectivity
Speakerphone
1150mAh Li-ion Polymer battery