Cingular 8125

Cingular 8125
Originally uploaded by Geis.

I recently decided that my Sony Ericsson T637 just wasn't cutting it. I've been looking around for awhile at a number of "smarter" phones to handle my desire for internet access on-the-road.
Furthermore, I've been itching for a PDA to keep track of my meetings and email, while allowing me to browse the internet over WIFI.

Enter the Cingular 8125. Although not necessarily the best thing since sliced bread, it has definitely taken care of both of my prerequisites so far. The use of WIFI is perfect for checking my POP3 gmail account when at home on my couch or at work during a meeting, and the ability to dial in to Cingular for a quick price check while perusing through Best Buy has been crazy delicious.
Being the absented-minded, forgetful, internet-dependent nerd that I am, I find the soothing presence of internet access stashed in my pants to be blissful.

Enough about that. Let's take a tour around the extremeties of the Cingular 8125.



The top is relatively boring. Power button and a Mini-SD slot.



The right side of the phone, from top to bottom, contains a soft key for voice dialing; the stereo-right speaker; an infrared port; a reset button which I believe resets the soft keys; and the camera button.



The bottom of the phone, from right to left, contains the stylis pen inside its holder; a USB charging/syncing port; and the headset jack for hands-free or simply listening to mp3 and movies.

The syncing process is relatively painless with the provided Microsoft ActiveSync software.



The left side of the phone, from right to left, contains the stereo-left speaker; the volume adjuster; and the WIFI/Bluetooth soft key which basically just allows you to access appropriate menu for turning on or off WIFI and Bluetooth.



The camera is 1.3 Megapixels and is accompanied by the typical mirror and the soon-to-be-typical "flash" which is really just a bright light that gets brighter when a picture is taken. Its more of a flashlight than a flash though.



Probably the coolest physical feature of the Cingular 8125 is the pull out full-QWERTY keyboard with plenty of thumb room. When the keyboard is slid out to the left of the phone, the screen rotates 90 degrees to allow for a widescreen view. I apologize for the face that has been left on the screen in this photo. The one down side to using the phone is that the screen you then plan to use to browse your email is smeared with face-grime.

Other than the physical features, there's not too much more to talk about. The Cingular 8125 runs Windows Mobile CE version 5.0 and has a typical interface to most CE devices. The audio through the external speakers is relatively impressive. The dual speakers allow for some stereo quality, although since they face directly outward from the phone, its likely that you will receive a stronger left or right signal than a fully stereo signal.

Anyway, thats all I've got for now. I may post more later if I discover some amazing feature I have forgotten about.