August 28th, 2007
Is the HTC Advantage really the most powerful mobile office?
Software - Windows Mobile 6: The HTC Advantage X7501 is loaded with the latest Windows Mobile 6 Professional operating system. There were apparently a few units that made it to the retail stores with test ROMs on them, but HTC quickly took action and posted a ROM update for buyers to download and remedy the situation.
This flavor of Windows Mobile 6 includes the standard PIM suite, Internet Explorer Mobile, Messaging, Office Mobile applications, Solitaire and Bubble Breaker games, Windows Live Messenger, lame calculator, weak File Explorer, voice recorder, Internet Sharing, a Java Midlet Manager (good for Gmail), Pictures & Videos, Windows Media Player, and Windows Live.
Software - included 3rd party applications: HTC generally includes some 3rd party applications or HTC branded applications and the first one you may find is Opera Mobile 8.5 that is set as the default browser for the Internet Explorer button. It took me a bit of usage to figure out all the settings and options, but I found this browser to be MUCH better than Internet Explorer Mobile and I was actually able to access just about every site I wanted where IE would joke much of the time. I am a huge fan of tabbed browsing and on a display this large it is a real treat, especially since the browsers tend to work in a more truer VGA mode.
Adobe Reader LE is included so you can view PDF documents and email attachments. IA SIM Manager is there to help you manage your SIM card contacts. The Zip program lets you open and create Zip files of your documents. Voice Speed Dial is included rather than Microsoft Voice Command 1.6 (like you get on the T-Mobile Dash) and at first I was a bit disappointed. Then in MobileTechRoundup show #108 James pointed out you could initiate calls via a Bluetooth headset with this program so I became a convert.
Lastly, TeleNav Navigator is included on the HTC Advantage X7501. You may have seen sites talking about the inclusion of TomTom and that is only for those devices bought from U.S. importers and not through the “official” U.S. retailers. This is a subscription service that costs about US$10 per month. You can also use other 3rd party GPS applications, even Google or Nokia Maps, with the GPS receiver, but after using TeleNav for 2 weeks I personally think the monthly cost may just be worth it due to the traffic alerts and rerouting, fuel finder (finding diesel can be tough without this system), and easy operation. There are a few things I would like to see differently on the software (better contact integration, data on the driving display, and Home screen option. I actually used the software during my daily commute since there was major work on I-5 and the traffic alerts (checks conducted wirelessly every 5 minutes, but only audibly alerted me about every 15 to 20 minutes if traffic wasn’t much of an issue) helped reroute our vanpool around trouble spots. I also found the fuel finder (searches for lowest cost fuel in the area and even lets you select diesel only) valuable while driving my truck. The Points of Interest works very well and the large buttons that let you map or call the destination were helpful. All the buttons and controls on TeleNav are large so you can easily manipulate the system. Check out all of the screenshots in my image gallery for a good look at TeleNav Navigator. The software also works on lots of other devices so you may want to check out the software for yourself.
Software - additional 3rd party software tried on the Advantage:
One application I reviewed a few years ago on Pocket PC Life (http://www.pocketpclife.co.uk/featureddetails.asp?article=130) that now makes even more sense with a device like the HTC Advantage with 8GB drive is MightySync that you can try for 7 days or purchase for only US$5.95. MightSync lets you sync any folder on your PC to any folder on your device so I had it setup to sync my iTunes podcast folder directly to the 8GB microdrive when I connected the device.
Since the HTC Advantage has such a large display and accommodating hard drive I think it makes a perfect mobile writing platform and to really help turn the device into a UMPC/laptop replacement you need to try the SoftMaker Office Suite that gives you a full desktop quality and feature packed word processor (TextMaker) and spreadsheet application (PlanMaker). I plan to take a deeper look at these powerful applications in the near future.
I love using 3rd party applications, another reason I probably keep coming back to the Advantage over the iPhone, and have also loaded and tested Pocket Informant (PIM application), Agenda Fusion (PIM application), Google Maps (works well with the GPS receiver too), ListPro (database application), Mobipocket (my favorite ebook reader), Laridian’s PocketBible (loaded the hard drive with Bible translations too), Ilium Screen Capture (for taking all of my screenshots), Skype (does pretty well on the Advantage), SlingPlayer Mobile (watching TV via HSDPA is actually pretty enjoyable), Spb Menu and Spb Shell (apps that can really make the interface much more touch friendly and iPhone-like), Sprite Backup (the best backup solution IMHO), and the Stowaway BT keyboard and mouse drivers.
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Matthew Miller is an avid mobile device enthusiast who works during the day as a professional naval architect in Seattle. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 08/28/07
