The AT&T Tilt (aka HTC Kaiser, TyTN II, etc)

The device under the brand and name of the AT&T Tilt came into my possession when a friend informed me that the local CompUSA store was going out of business and that the PDA Phone was 30% off MSRP. The Tilt runs $500.00 at full price, which when the math is applied, brings my price for the the device to $350.00 plus tax. I just couldn't pass up the offer.

I have quite the history with this series of devices, as I was watching the news feeds about a month before it even came out. Unfortunately, the model that came out back in August, known as the HTC TyTN II, runs for $800.00 MSRP. That was far more than I could justify spending on just the device. About 4 month later, I have my hands on the Tilt. The only difference between the two devices is the absence of the VGA camera on the Tilt. I had a short phase where I didn't want to buy any of the "watered down" models, but I got over that quickly.

Ok, enough of my personal background, let's start looking at the Tilt in both it's fame and failures. The Tilt runs on a 400 Mhz Qualcomm 7200 processor and comes with 128MB of RAM and 256MB of internal storage. The screen resolution runs 240 x 360, features a full 93 key mini-qwerty keyboard. It has the full 65536 bits of color to display everything in vibrant detail. It is one of the first devices to be released with Microsoft's new Windows Mobile 6 operating system. The most impressive of the hardware features include an internal GPS unit, a quad-band GSM unit, access to HSDPA, stereo bluetooth 2.0, wifi and a spectrum of other connectivity protocols.

Some of the things I've done with the device and expect to continue using the device for: email, web surfing, mp3 player, video player, excel spreadsheet editor, word editor, finance tracker, note keeper, sensitive data storage, mobile blogging, instant messanger, phone, contacts manager, task manager, calendaring, GPS with mapping, camera, and I'm sure that I've left something out...

Now, let's talk about the bad. The Tilt comes preloaded with crapware from AT&T. Thankfully, these kinds of phones are much like PCs which means you can flash them, upgrade them, and change out the applications. So this is not a problem with the device so much as the specific model being distributed by AT&T. One thing I haven't exactly diagnosed yet is the odd fact that I can no longer receive picture messages. My phone service plan has not changed, and I could receive them on my last phone, but not on this power house of a PDA Phone. Strange. Thes pros certainly outweigh this little con.

So more subjective remarks on the Tilt. The keyboard is nice, though it may scare some people at first. It really is helpful, and makes data input for emails, documents and blogs much easier. I personally can't stand how small microSD cards are, but I suppose have no intent on removing it from the device. The software that comes with the Tilt is disappointing and requires users to spend time customizing it, but for those users who are willing to take the time, the device can become even that much more powerful.

ARF Rating: 9.0 / 10.0

-Alex
(sent from mobile device)

iPhone woes

Since this is technically my first post in this new blog, titled "Technologic Review", I will preface this blog entry with a little foreward.

I am by no means attempting to mascarade as a reporter of any kind, nor am I pretending or hiding any concept that I am otherwise NOT biased. Hear it from me, myself, right now: I like what I like, and I dislike what I don't like. My entries WILL be biased... but it is important to factor in what kind of an individual any one is, when you look to judge their bias. Everyone has got to have a reason, and the reasons that separate useful bias and otherwise should be considered. If nothing else, I can reassure you that I do have my reasons, and if at any point in time, you'd like to hear them, you've but to ask.

Alright, enough. On with the first entry! As many of you know, Apple Inc. recently launched their latest in product ultra-hype: the iPhone(tm). I've read a fair number of things written on the device, both prior and post the launch. I've also had the opportunity to use one that a co-worker had purchased on launch day. It is a nice little device, but really, it is Apple's hype that everyone is being sucked into, over. At $600, I can't really see the sensibility factor in purchasing an overloaded MP3 player/cell phone. But it will be worth it to some, no doubt. I would rather pick up a PDA myself, but that's because I've extremely business/professional oriented, and that market has been around perfecting that need segment for years.

It wasn't a huge surprise to start reading "the Cons" of the iPhone, only a matter of hours after the launch. Customers are realizing some of the interesting quirks that is has, along with how Apple and AT&T's customer support handles under heavy load. Two of the biggest issues I've read, are the lack of 64-bit OS support and activiation woes. Anyone with WinXP 64 or WinVista 64, apparently, cannot use the device in tandem. And while a good majority of customers did not have any trouble using one of Apple's activiation methods, there were enough to make a scene. About 1/8th of customers who purchased an iPhone found trouble in activating it. Apparently, Apple is working on a one-by-one case basis to resolve the issue.

Lastly, a quick search on YouTube for iPhone brings up some interesting videos... people have already begun experimenting on the little guy! I'm a little shocked by this - I mean, I myself am of the inquisitive nature, but some of these guys acquired this $600 device, and then immediately - their first thought - was to smash it open on the pavement. No, don't misread, these were not acclaimed Apple-haters... these are typical people, who wanted an iPhone, so that they could open it and figure out what makes it "tick". Interesting. Bravo guys, but having worked in the commercial device product industry (Kodak) I know that through the entire manufacturing process, there are plenty of extra devices laying around that could be used for this purpose, rather than a brand new one that broke a bank account, use one of the scrap models that are being shipped off to the Apple recycling center as I type this. Of course, acquiring these is not a walk in the park, of course...

Any way, that's all for now.
Alex, signing off.