The HTC Advantage X7500 So Far…(a serial review)

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I’ve been using the HTC Advantage for five days, which is definitely not long enough time to pass true judgement on the device, but it is enough time?to talk about some of my likes and dislikes.

Ready?

The screen is glorious…absolutely fabulous. 5″ of diagonal goodness that is clearer, and easier to read from, than any other available Windows Mobile Device. If a lot of screen isn’t important to you because you aren’t reading eBooks, editing documents or entering data in a spreadsheet, then you will most likely be turned off by the overall size of the device.

With the keyboard covering the screen?and wrapped in its included brown leather case, the Advantage measures exactly 5.5″ tall x 4.1″ wide x 1.2″ thick and weighs one pound 0.4 ounces. Yeah…I said one pound!

Frankly, it doesn’t bother me. I carry it in my bag and?I don’t see this as a mobile phone replacement; I see it as a mini-laptop with wireless capabilities. I could make a call from it in a pinch with a BT headset…but is that very likely? Not so much.

The keyboard is “okay”. I would not want to tap out a novel (or a 3000 word review for that matter), but it is more responsive and better overall than I had?first thought it would be. If the buttons could have been a bit more raised, I would have been more pleased…but you can’t always get what you want. I’ve had questions as to whether or not the device feels top-heavy when holding it and tapping with my thumbs, the answer is a possibly surprising “not really.” The base stabilizes the top very nicely, and the magnets have such a tight grip that I have not yet had a fear that the entire package might topple over. Tapping the keys on a tabletop is certainly easy enough, too, but this is not really something I would want to use to do a bunch of texting, emailing or any other things that I do without thinking on my Treo 700wx’s thumboard. It just feels awkward, for lack of a better word.

The clear plastic ring around the joystick (in the upper left hand) corner glows orange while charging, and green when complete. Since I don’t have the Advantage plugged in for these photos you miss that glow, but you can see how the “OK”, Start Menu, and Internet Explorer buttons have a lovely orange glow.

But do you see anything missing here? Right – the keyboard is not lit up at all. Although the screen does cast a light?glow on the keyboard, it is barely enough to type by.

Here is a left side-view showing the volume slider, speaker, VGA Out, miniUSB sync & charge port, and earphone jack. Instead of a volume slider, I wish this was a scroll-wheel, which would make reading and other one-handed uses so much more convenient, especially when using the Advantage in tablet mode without the keyboard.

This is the right side-view showing the stylus in its silo, the camera button, speaker, voice recorder button, and power button.

The brown pebbled leather case is really wonderful – it has a metal plate sewn in between the layers which the keyboard’s magnet?strongly grips against.

The Advantage?almost looks like a favorite leather-bound travel journal, doesn’t it?

HTC and its logo is embossed on the side which holds the Advantage; a cutout allows the use of the camera when in the case.

The Advantage is held in place by three black plastic clips.

It looks like the keyboard is just lying on top of the leather flap – and in essence it is, but the magnets are keeping it very secure.

The keyboard can also be removed if you would prefer to travel without it, or use the PDA mainly in portrait mode.

This is generally my favorite way to carry it…so far.

But since the Advantage will primarily be seen by many as a landscape oriented device, I’ll start with screenshots reflecting that…

This is a view of Gear Diary in?the included Opera Browser…

…and Pocket Internet Explorer.

This is the landscape view when reading a book in eReader. It’s an absolutely amazing reading experience because the screen is so large and clear. I’m quickly becoming spoiled, except for one thing…turning pages. 🙁

The itty-bitty?joystick is the weak link in all of this: turning pages in landscape mode is easy enough, but in portrait mode it is rather awkward; I guess it is too much to?ask for a proper scroll-wheel or even a usable D-pad.

Here are some screen shots in portrait mode, which I think help illustrate why I am willing to deal with doing whatever it may take to make scrolling pages work…look at the screen real estate!

So that’s it for now…any questions? 🙂

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About the Author

Judie Lipsett Stanford
Judie is the co-owner and Editor-in-Chief of Gear Diary, which she founded in September 2006. She got her start in 1999 writing software reviews at the now-defunct smaller.com; from mid-2000 through 2006, she wrote hardware reviews for and co-edited at The Gadgeteer. A recipient of the Sigma Kappa Colby Award for Technology, Judie has written for or been profiled by nationally known sites and magazines, and she has served on multiple industry hardware and software award panels. She is best known for her device-agnostic approach, enjoyment of exploring tech, gadgets, and gear, and her deep-diving, jargon-free reviews.

20 Comments on "The HTC Advantage X7500 So Far…(a serial review)"

  1. It looks awesome!! That screen is just so big, really is like a tiny tablet PC!!

  2. Chris Magnusson | May 28, 2007 at 10:31 pm |

    Not too big really. I just got out my Vaja Morpheus IV case (the one thing I kept when I sold my iPaq 5550 and all its accessories) and it’s almost exactly the same size as the Advantage in its case.

  3. It looks amazing! I completely fell for the leather book style and feel. If this is a glimpse of things to come with the Shift, I am thoroughly excited!!

  4. TrvlngDrew | May 29, 2007 at 1:26 am |

    Wow! I do love the screen! Still trying to figure out whether to sink my dough into it.. Looking forward to the data throughput part of your review.. Very exciting!

  5. My burning question is, when will this become part of the famous Judie Giveaways….(pant, pant, pant…..) */*

  6. Jerry Raia | May 29, 2007 at 10:29 am |

    Ok, I was pretty skeptical about this thing. Now that I have been playing with Judie’s for a while, I WANT ONE! Thanks a lot hon!!

  7. jobdejonge | May 29, 2007 at 3:27 pm |

    is using this machine as a cell phone really so hard as it looks?

  8. @ChrisMagnusson – I totally agree on the size. I used to carry an iPAQ with DUAL PCMCIA sleeve. That was a brick. 😉

    @Elo – Yeah, I am really amped about the Shift, too. Just concerned about battery life and price. Hopefully neither will be too disappointing.

    @TravlngDrew – more later!!

    @GreatDay – I wish. I had to lay out the $1200 clams for this baby, and I can’t afford to give it away. 🙁

    @jobdejonge – No, you can totally use it as a cell phone, but it is automatically on speakerphone so holding it up to your head would not only be awkward, but impractical. However, it is the Pocket PC Phone Edition that so many of us are familiar with, and it is certainly easy to use. 🙂

  9. I’m still very sceptical about this device.
    Yes it has great HW features for WM device, but aside for beeing very nice reader and I guess GPS, what other uses are there.
    Judie, what are you using it for (aside for reading)?

  10. Alese – I am skeptical about it, too. It is definitely a cool doo-dad, but I am trying to decide if I like the Advantage because the larger screen is more practical for me, or if it is simply because it is a shiny new gadget and I am suffering from “magpie syndrome”. That’s why I want to really use it for a while before passing any true judgement. In the end, I don’t want to pay $1200 for an eBook reader that doesn’t turn pages as easily as I would like, knowwhatImeanvern?

  11. Judie, that’s exactly my problem with the device. A $1200 eBook reader is really too much, so I would need to find few other “excuses” why it is good to have it before putting down that much money.
    But the problem is, that whatever I come up with, can be done just as easily (or better) on UMPC for basically the same amount, and you don’t have to make as much compromises on the UMPC…

  12. Don't Panic! | May 31, 2007 at 7:48 pm |

    $1200 clams is a bunch of money. Thanks for laying it out Judie.

    How’s your internet connection data speed? Is it verizonwireless CDMA-like without using Wi-Fi? Which mobile carriers support this device in the US?

  13. @Don’t Panic, I’ll talk more about data speeds in another post, but basically either T-Mobile or Cingular can support the Advantage in the US.

    In the meantime, here is a quick rundown: HSDPA/UMTS Tri-band 2100 MHz and 850/1900 MHz, GSM/GPRS Quad band 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

    I am not in a high-speed area, so my speeds are similar to dial-up (or yes, Verizon’s CDMA) quite frankly – unless I am using WiFi. People in high speed areas should be pretty thrilled. 🙂

  14. Don't Panic! | May 31, 2007 at 8:20 pm |

    I’m in a uber-urban area Judie. I can get GSM/GPRS on my t-mobile devices and CDMA from my VZW and Sprint (USB Modem for laptops and UMPC devices] in Boston, MA. I’ve found CDMA trumps both of the t-mobile services available in my part of the world. Haven’t used an EDGE device yet though. [sighs]

  15. Chris Magnusson | May 31, 2007 at 9:25 pm |

    @Judie: 100k people in your community, and not even Edge? 😯 And I thought the Canadian carriers were bad. :/

  16. @DP, I should probably clarify: I feel that the T-Mobile GSM/GPRS data speeds I get in San Angelo, Texas (population <100K and in the middle of nowhere) is similar to the 1x speeds I get from my Sprint Treo’s data plan. We don’t have HSDPA, UMTS, EDGE or even EVDO here. However, slow wireless is better than no wireless, and when I travel I get to take full advantage.

  17. Yeah UMTS and HSDPA are really great. I love HSDPA on my BlackJack for both on-device surfing and BT tethering, and the speed is awesome. Standard UMTS on my Universal is pretty good too, definitely a bit step up from EDGE. I feel for you that you can’t get it 🙁

  18. Do a carrier search for 76901 some time, if you want to see what decent coverage at SLOW speeds looks like. 😛

  19. modernrocko | June 1, 2007 at 9:34 am |

    I’m really looking forward to this. Is the date of release announced yet?

    Also, any idea on the differences between the X7500 and the X7501? I compared their individual product details on the HTC mainsite but there doesn’t seem to be much difference, apart from slight cosmetics.

    Also, first time posting here. Nice to find a tech review site with informed and interesting reviewers. 🙂

  20. Wow, absolutely fantastic review that I’m sure will help many people looking into this device.

    I’m waiting for this or the Dopod U1000 version to hit our fare shores…

    Thanks again.

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