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Features
As we've noted before, the HTC Advantage X7501 isn't really a UMPC. Case in point, the Advantage doesn't run a full Windows Vista operating system but instead uses Windows Mobile 6 Professional Edition like the T-Mobile Wing and Sprint Mogul. You get full viewing and editing capabilities for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents, as well as Windows Live integration and an enhanced Calendar application. (You can learn more about the operating system in our Windows Mobile 6 review.) Outlook Mobile and Microsoft's Direct Push technology are on board to handle your e-mail needs, and it also works with POP3, IMAP4, and Web-based accounts.
Other PIM tools include Adobe Reader LE for opening PDFs, a calculator, a tasks list, a voice recorder, a notepad, and a ZIP manager. The device is also built to handle the demands of a mobile professional, as it's powered by a fast 624MHz processor and an ATi Graphic Chip W2284 and has an 8GB hard drive with 256MB of ROM and 128MB of RAM. There's about 123MB of user accessible storage, and 70MB of free program memory.
The Advantage comes with the full gamut of wireless options: Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), 3G, and GPS. Supported Bluetooth profiles include A2DP for stereo Bluetooth headsets, hands-free kits, dial-up networking, and wireless synchronization between the device and your PC. The Advantage didn't have any problems finding and connecting to our test access point for easy Web browsing. And we enjoyed the same seamless experience when surfing via AT&T's HSDPA network, averaging speeds of around 400Kbps to 700Kbps with the potential to hit up to 2Mbps. Road warriors will also be pleased with the integrated SiRFStarIII GPS receiver that you can use with a location-based service, like TeleNav GPS Navigator, for turn-by-turn text- and voice-guided directions, color maps, and local business searches.
You have your choice of two Web browsers: Internet Explorer and Opera. We preferred the latter because of its excellent ability to optimize Web sites for mobile devices and its tabbed window browsing. The Advantage also has a unique feature called VueFLO that lets you scroll through Web pages by tilting the device up and down, or side to side. It's certainly an interesting way to navigate sites, and it worked as advertised, though it's quite sensitive as it rapidly moves around a page and doesn't quite stop when you want it to. There is an option to adjust the sensitivity in the Settings menu, but you can't turn the feature completely off. Instead, you can choose which browser you want VueFLO to work on, so you could, in theory, just activate it for the browser you are not going to use. Still, I really have to wonder about this technology's real-life practicality. I just can't imagine browsing sites by moving a device in your hand like an Etch-a-Sketch.
Given its design, one wouldn't really think of using the Advantage as a cell phone, but it does have voice capabilities. The speakerphone-only, quad-band world phone has smart dialing, voice commands and dialing, and text and multimedia messaging. The address book is only limited by the available memory and the SIM card holds an additional 250 contacts. You can store up to 12 numbers for a single entry as well as home and work addresses, e-mail, IM screen name, birthday, spouse's name, and more. For caller ID purposes, you can pair a contact with a photo, a caller group, or one of 25 polyphonic ringtones.
Performance
We tested the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; GPRS/EDGE; UMTS/HSDPA) HTC Advantage X7501 in San Francisco using AT&T service, and call quality was OK. There was a hollowness and a tinny quality to the speakerphone, and we sometimes had a hard time hearing our callers. On the flip side, our friends said we sounded clear, but there were a few occasions where the audio would cut out. We were able to interact with our bank's voice-automated response system, but really had to speak up to be completely understood. We had no problems pairing the Advantage with the Logitech Mobile Traveller Bluetooth headset.
General performance was quite snappy. We rarely experienced delays when opening various work documents and multimedia files, and we had no problem synchronizing our Outlook e-mail, calendar, and contact information with the device using ActiveSync. Multimedia performance was OK. Songs sounded weak through the device's speakers, lacking any sort of richness or bass, and turning up the volume only blew out the audio. Fortunately, the Advantage is equipped with a 3.5mm jack, so we were able to plug in a nice pair of headphones and enjoy better-sounding tunes. Videos looked pretty good, except when we switched to full-screen mode, and then the picture became quite pixelated.
The Advantage's 2200mAh lithium ion battery is rated for 5.5 hours of talk time for GSM or 4.5 hours for UMTS and up to 12.5 days of standby time. In our battery tests, we were able to get 6 hours of continuous talk time on a single charge. According to FCC radiation tests, the HTC Advantage has a digital SAR rating of 0.836 watts per kilogram.
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