Officially announced in January 2007, HTC X7500 Advantage also known as HTC Athena has been made available in February through T-Mobile and Dopod operators. The price of the device starts from 1,200 USD and can reach almost 1,500 USD, depending on the location and the sales package.
Design
At first glance, you will surely notice that this is no ordinary phone or PDA. It doesn't look like neither of those two, but still it embeds both and even more. When the user combines the two independent parts, the device becomes a miniaturization of a notebook. If you don't need the detachable QWERTY keyboard you can easily handle the device with your stylus because of the extra-large display. Moreover, if you are by any chance a trekkie (Star Trek fan), then you'll be thrilled to own the device that has been the well-known multipurpose tool used by Spock. Even if it's not, it surely looks like, so are you prepared to communicate, scan, search or localize (with) your target ?
Somewhere between a Pocket PC and a notebook, Advantage weighs no more than 359 grams (battery included) and measures exactly 133.5 mm x 98 mm x 16 mm (20 mm with keyboard). The main part of the device is actually a huge display framed in a black polished compound. Useful in both modes, landscape or portrait, Advantage has a few external keys more or less intuitive. I will describe those by handling the device in landscape mode as it seems to be the "default" mode.
On front left of the display, users can find 3 intuitive buttons: the OK and Start buttons plus the 5-way navigation controller. Opposite these, on the right side of the display, you can find the Internet Explorer button which enables users’ access to the Web and the secondary video call camera. Above the display there are 3 small LEDs that alert the user for missing calls/messages, Bluetooth/WiFi or GSM connections. On the back of the device, there's only a very small Reset button and the 3 Megapixel main camera. There's a big slot on the bottom of the device where you'll discover the miniSD slot card, the SIM slot and the 2200 mAh battery.
Display and Camera
HTC's Advantage features an unusually large display that makes texts easy to read just like on a regular PC or notebook. It uses an ATI W2284 graphic chipset which doesn't seem to visually improve the quality of the display, but it's there and definitely adds to the reliability and stability of the device. The TFT touchscreen display supports 65k colors and 640 x 480 pixels resolution. Perfectly visible in any kind of environment (day or night), the display can also offer a complete gaming experience through its size and powerful graphical chipset. Because of the large screen, it's a real pleasure to use it as a GPS device when you're driving your car.
The main camera can take pictures in 6 different resolutions ranging from 160 x 120 pixels to 2048 x 1536 pixels, and in 4 different qualities (basic, normal, fine and super fine). A full range of functions can be accessed and set for the camera such as: shutter sound, shoot option, backlight, contrast, hue, saturation and many more. The pictures are saved in .jpeg format on the main memory of the device or right on the 8GB microdrive.
GPS and TeleNav
The Advantage has a SiRFstar III GPS inside, and that's a full GPS, not a 911-only version. The 20 channel GPS managed to acquire 9 satellites from a cold start under partly cloudy skies in a minute, with faster warm starts. The Advantage held onto 4 to 5 satellites on the first floor of a two story brick-front home as long as we stayed within 10 feet of a wall with a window. To speed up acquisition time, HTC includes QuickGPS which downloads basic satellite data over 3G/GPRS, WiFi or ActiveSync (we couldn't get a download most of the time over a solid HSDPA connection, but WiFi worked fine, though a bit slow). The machine doesn't ship with mapping or navigation software, though there is a link to download TeleNav which is a very good product, though it requires a $9.95 monthly subscription fee and a data connection. TeleNav is a joy to use on the Advantage, with large intuitive icons that are perfect for finger control and viewing in-car. Though like most Windows Mobile Professional devices, the Advantage's screen isn't fantastic outdoors, the screen remains viewable in-car (turn up the display brightness as needed to improve readability). Even if you haven't used a GPS before, you'll get going with TeleNav in no time; it's one of the most friendly navigation applications available. The only drawback is you can't load maps on the device, instead they're downloaded as needed over HSDPA, EDGE or even WiFi if the Advantage is in range of your hotspot.
When you launch TeleNav, you'll see large icons for Drive To, Search, Maps and Traffic and Tools/Extras. Maps and Traffic are likely where you'll spend most of your time, and these include Current Location, Favorites, Recent Places, Intersections and more (see screen shot below). TeleNav's POI database isn't the best we've seen for some categories: Shopping/Electronics shows lots of Radio Shack and local software companies but not the several Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA or Fry's locations within a 7 mile radius). That said, we could easily search by business names to find each of these stores. When you select a business, you can route to that location or call that business. We did note one bug: there are two icons for Gas Station and Gas Stations under the Business POI screen-- oops.
Software
The HTC Advantage X7501 runs Windows Mobile 6 Professional Edition (formerly known as Pocket PC Phone Edition). This isn't a Windows Vista machine, for those of you who were still wondering. Instead it runs the Windows Mobile OS and programs made for Windows Mobile (of which there are plenty). Our X7501 is running the first release version ROM (not pre-release): 2.19.453.4, dated June 28, 2007 with radio version 1.47.51.00 for you hardcore HTC fans.
Standard for Windows Mobile is the mobile version of Microsoft's Office suite which allows you to view, edit and create Word and Excel files as well as view and present PowerPoint presentations. Windows Live which includes Live Search, MSN Messenger and Hotmail support is there along with MS Pictures and Videos, a file manager, clock with alarms, Voice Recorder, Search, Solitaire, Bubble Breaker, Internet Sharing and ActiveSync. The mobile version of Outlook, called Messaging, handles POP3, IMAP and MS Direct Push email as well as text and MMS messages. It syncs email, calendar, contacts, tasks and notes with Outlook on the desktop or with an Exchange server. For those new to Windows Mobile, note that you must use ActiveSync 4.5 or newer on Windows XP and Windows Mobile Device Center on Vista to sync information with the Advantage. No Mac syncing software is in the box, but Missing Sync for Windows Mobile 6 is now in public beta for those who wish to sync with the Mac. ActiveSync 4.5 and a 60 day trial of Outlook 2007 are included on the companion CD.
HTC includes bundles a few third party applications including Opera 8.65. Opera is a very full-featured web browser that supports multiple windows, setting the user agent string (you can tell it to identify itself to web servers as a desktop browser if you wish) and in general does an excellent job of desktop-like rendering. It has a variety of view settings and runs in a VGA-like manner which means you can see a large portion of a web page. Excellent inclusion, HTC! Also bundled are Adobe Reader LE, a link to get TeleNav (an excellent mapping and directions application that works on a monthly subscription model) and Tao Group's MIDlet Manager for Java.
The usual suspects are here for an HTC device: Comm Manager and their WLAN applet to manage wireless connections, Clear Storage (reset the device to factory specs and wipe out data in flash memory), a Today screen plugin with shortcuts to brightness, GPS Assist, Comm Manager and TV Out along with a battery meter, HTC Task Manager which allows you to exit applications rather than minimize them with the close box and a utility to format the microdrive.
New on the Advantage is HTC's VueFLO that works in conjunction with a G-sensor inside the device to determine motion. This feature is only for IE and Opera (why?) and allows you to scroll simply by tilting the device in the direction you wish to scroll. It works well and my only wish to is see it used for more applications. Don't worry: if you're in a bumpy bus or SUV, you can turn this feature off.
Bluetooth and WiFi
WiFi is the usual HTC stuff, with their full-featured WLAN utility and overall good performance. With the power saving set to middle, the Advantage had average PDA phone range and with the radio power set to high performance, its range equaled our notebooks'. We saw 1370-1450k average download speeds using IE. Opera, though a more sophisticated browser in most all respects is slower than IE for data transfer speeds, averaging 700-800k (Opera is also slower over EDGE and 3G connections). Given the HSDPA connection and its relatively good performance, we found little need to switch to the more power-hungry WiFi connection (we're in a metro area that's well-blanketed with AT&T 3G).
The X7501 has Bluetooth 2.0 (not +EDR) and uses Microsoft's Bluetooth stack and software. With a device that's shaped like a mini-notebook, a headset is imperative, especially if you prefer to not host all calls on speakerphone. For those who are allergic to wires or carry the phone longer than the headset's cable length away from the head, a Bluetooth headset is a must. Happily, the HTC Advantage X7501 behaved well with Bluetooth headsets and the plug-and-play (non-integrated) Bluetooth car kits in our test arsenal. We tested the Platonics Discovery 655, Platonics Explorer 330, Advantek multi-purpose hifi speakerphone/car kit and the Jawbone, all of which paired easily, had good range and sounded clear and loud for both incoming and outgoing voice. For stereo A2DP we tested the Advantek which didn't work (the Advantage would not send music to the speaker even though it discovered and used the A2DP profile), the Platonics Pulsal 590A stereo headset with inline mic (it worked great for calls as well as music, with good sound quality and AVRC playback control) and the Motorola S9 stereo headphones which worked well and sounded good other than their usual background hiss.
Bluetooth profiles include headset, handsfree, A2DP stereo with AVRC, serial port, SAP (used primarily with integrated car kits), HID, BPP and PAN. The PDA uses Microsoft's Bluetooth stack and driver which lacks friendly wizards, but is stable and gets the job done. The Advantage has the WinMo Connection Sharing applet to make it easier to use the phone as a modem for a notebook or desktop.
Battery Life
The X7501 has a 2200 mAh Lithium Ion battery that's user replaceable. Unlike most PDA phones, the battery isn't under a door on the back, but rather there's a plastic door on the bottom edge of the unit that conceals the battery. Lift a metal slider-latch integrated into the battery's end, and slide the battery out. The Advantage uses HTC's usual 5v, 1 amp world charger, but it's a more compact travel charger design with US prongs. You can use chargers from other recent HTC devices like the TyTN/AT&T 8525, HTC Universal (e.g.: i-mate JasJar) and HTC Wizard (Cingular 8125, T-Mobile MDA).
For a powerful device with triple wireless and a 5" display, the Advantage has excellent battery life. Put the Advantage in flight mode overnight and the battery level doesn't drop at all. You can literally read eBooks all day and into the night with the screen brightness set low. It can play MP3s with the screen offer for over 11 hours. For business use (email, web, Office docs), it should last all day with the 3G radio on and in use. That's certainly better than a UMPC or notebook. We'll update this section as we have more time to test the battery under more scenarios, but so far it looks very good by handheld computer standards.
Conclusion
Repeat after me: this is not a phone. OK. Yes, it has a phone radio inside-- and a capable unlocked quad band GSM one with EDGE as well as a 3G HSDPA. But this is a handheld computer first of the "honey who shrunk the notebook" genre. For those who travel frequently and need instant-on access to the web, email, MS Office documents, music and video, the well under a pound HTC Advantage X7501 might well be a godsend. It's not for folks who need the full Windows experience, say to run a database written in Access or to run QuickBooks on the go. If you don't need that kind of thing and want the smallest, most usable device with wide-area networking available, the Advantage is an excellent choice. It's fast-- much faster than Vista UMPCs and micro-computers, isn't beset by Windows Updates and viruses, doesn't take 2 minutes to boot or waken from hibernation and it's half the cost of the OQO model 2 and Sony Vaio UX. The Advantage is especially appealing if you travel frequently and get lost too often, thanks to the integrated GPS, which most competing Vista devices lack.
