Cingular 8125
Sunday, April 16th 2006 | Ismael Ghalimi
I have been using a BlackBerry device for a couple of years now, and even though nothing can beat the user interface for reading emails, I was getting ready for a change. I have been looking for something that would have a better web browser and a Wi-Fi connection, and here is what I found.
While reading through Guy Kawasaki’s list of Goodies, I stumbled upon the Cingular 8125, which seemed to have all the right attributes: small form factor, readable screen, decently-sized keyboard, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and a convenient Mini-SD expansion slot. The later is one of most desirable features when upgrading from a BlackBerry 8700, which does not offer one, and only has 64 MB of memory. My contact database barely fits in there…
I did some additional research online and concluded that the upgrade would make sense indeed. I went to a nearby Cingular store and bought one. I then created a separate POP3 email account with Yahoo! Mail, to which my Gmail account forwards all incoming emails. I then added the Yahoo! Mail account onto the Cingular 8125’s email client. I could have enabled POP3 access from my primary Gmail account, but my experience with it is less than stellar, so I decided to go for a safer option. Also, having all emails available both from Gmail and Yahoo! Mail ensures that I could get access to my email in the unlikely event that one service should fail.
So far, I must say that I really like this new device. I lost the ability to get emails pushed to it, but setting up pulls at 5 minutes interval provide a similar experience, especially when one realizes that emails that are sent to your corporate email account are pushed to BlackBerry devices with a 10 minutes delay. The Cingular 8125 is thicker than a regular BlackBerry device, but it’s also narrower, therefore I would expect it to remain as portable. Next step will be to add a 2 GB Mini-SD card where I’ll put some music.
Many thanks to Guy Kawasaki for his recommendation.
Entry filed under: Office 2.0
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Wonder how you’ll like it as a phone…
Zoli,
So far, I like it, especially when using it with a Bluetooth headset.
Wow! what a coincidence — I just got my Cingular 8125 the weekend before this one and am still playing around with it. The Cingular EDGE connection rocks. I don’t know why I need Wi-Fi — except for Skype — but that’s a different story as Skype doesn’t support the processor on this phone very well.
Other than that, this device works great as phone — decent voice quality, very loud speakerphone, great address book and voice dialling. As a PDA it really is the best out there. I guess the only one better than this might be the Verizon XV6700 (same thing but with a faster Intel processor — better support for Skype) but I prefer GSM for my travels to Asia where I can by cheap prepaid cards instead of paying roaming charges.
I already added the 2GB miniSD card. I use direct transfer to card using a card reader rather than using the slower sync for copying my music to the card.
Now, the only thing I need to add to this is a bluetooth GPS receiver and navigation/map software. But I know this feeling won’t last. I hear that HTC — the maker of this phone — has already come out with a UMTS version — much faster than EDGE and even a little faster than EVDO.
I just upgraded from a Blackberry to the 8125. I have an IT consulting company and me and my staff are in the field all day. When I first bought the Blackberry, people kiddingly referred to it as my office. Well, the 8125 is my office times ten!
At first I thought the camera was something I’d never use. But one of my guys has the equivalent Spring phone (an Audiovox, I think). When one of us is stumped with a problem, we take pictures of screens and MMS to each other. Unbelievably handy!
I’ve had the phone for 3 weeks and I keep finding more and more features, tricks, etc. For example, the other day, I was stuck in traffic, looking at an email quote from a supplier. I had a question about the quote. Without thinking, and without closing the email, I pushed the phone button and was about to go to Contacts. But, voila, the phone had already put the supplier’s number in the dialer.
The voice dialing is very good. And the ability to scratch in print or handwriting in every application and have it transcribed is extremely useful for people on the go.
I can’t say enough good about the phone. The only negative, and it’s a Windows Mobile negative I think, is that when you “close” an app, it doesn’t really close. Every now and then I either have to soft reset the phone or go to settings/memory/running apps and close them. Small price to pay for all the positives!
One think I’m curious about. I saw in Sanjay’s post that HTC is working on a UMTS version of the phone. When I bought this one, Cingular told me they were upgrading to UMTS here in St. Thomas sometime in the next year, and that this phone would work with UMTS. Was I misled?
The application closing problem can be remedied with a small program called Magic Button. It has some neat functions such as “close all open programs” and remains in your title bar, if you so desire. Highly recommended. I’m pretty happy with the 8125 myself, especially running Zagat while on the go has come in handy more than once…
[…] Mac OS X is a fantastic operating system, but I cannot use it for accessing our corporate bank account at work, nor for synchronizing my contacts between Salesforce.com and my phone. My past experience with Virtual PC was enough to convince me than any solution other than a native one would be the shortest path to ultimate frustration, so I finally decided to get a Windows laptop, and because I might have to carry it alongside my MacBook Pro, I opted for something very light: the Sony VAIO VGN-TX790P. At 2.76 lbs with standard battery, it’s really hard to beat. […]
[…] After getting lost one time too many for an important meeting, I have decided to get a portable GPS. And because my new phone runs the Pocket PC operating system and supports Bluetooth connections, I went for a TomTom NAVIGATOR 5. It’s extremely small, weights almost nothing, and has the best user interface you can get today. It is not certified yet for the Cingular 8125, but I had no problem installing it and getting where I wanted to go for dinner tonight. Outstanding! Many thanks to Dave and Hugues for recommending the brand. […]
I have been forced to leave my Blackberry and go for the 8125. How did you transfer your contacts?
I need help. I just got the 8125, and have absolutely no idea how to work it, or what it does at all. Any one willing to tutor me?
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