HTC 8125 / 8100 / MDA (USA) / K-JAM / P4300 (Wizard)
Phone Scoop Review
May 3, 2006 by Eric Lin
In-depth review of T-Mobile's feature-packed MDA Windows Mobile PDA phone, AKA the HTC Wizard. With Video Tour. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
TREO WHO?
I'm gone from Motorola 2way, Sidekick 2, Treo, PDA2k, and and Nokia 6230. And this Wizard (8125) is the Best by far!
Actually better than I had expected. The only reason I didnt give it a 5 is because I'm a Mac user and I still can't use it to its full potential. (but i knew that going in)
Ppl complain that its slow, I have yet to find that a problem.
They also say that its not one handed. But I that should be obvious but the form factor. You should know that going in, therefor why complain now. I actually find myself using it in open mode because its just more confy.
There are a few navigational short comings, but I'd blame the OS, not the device. (thats the only edge that the Treo has over it, in my opinion)
It does everything thing I expected it to do. No complaints.
Pros:
⢠Size
⢠Wifi works greats
⢠Keyboard is wonderful (more confy than the Treo)
⢠Screen
⢠WM5 is a welcomed upgrade
⢠I can actually browse the web and check email without it crashing (like some other Palm OS devices that remain nameless)
⢠Didn't break my pockets
⢠More fun than a Blackberry
Con:
⢠a Microsoft OS
⢠Camera sucks...but who cares.
So if you're debating on whether or not to get it (like i was), You can get this one confident that it wont disappoint. Its a keeper.
Hope this helps.
Kicking Treo's A**
I recently acquire the 02 xda mini s version of this phone (exact same thing as k-jam). I am completely blown away by this phone. I used to have a treo 650 and after playing with this for a few days, I dont know how I ever put up with the treo. The biggest thing is I have yet to have to reset this phone. Windows 5.0 is so fast and everything works just like it should. The screen is beautiful and the keyboard layout really fits well in your hands. The only draw back to the keyboard is that you do have to use 2 hands to text. As for third party programs, there are 2 out there that I definitely recommend. The first program is Handyswitcher 2.5. This program gives you the ability to close programs running in the background because you cant do that on the phone without this program. The 2nd thing I recommend is getting a reg edit tool(regedit.mln_arm). With this, you can go in and get rid of the confirmation when you send a text msg. Without this, annoying popup confirms msg sent and its a real nuisance. Besides that, everything else is flawless which is why it gets 4.5 out of 5. There is also a handwriting recognition tool so you can write instead of typing. Speaker phone is very loud. Full HTML browser is awesome. And even though it only has 200mhz processor, it is very fast, much faster than treo. MS has left palm in the dust with Mobile 5.0. For once I gladly say thanks MS.
VERY FREGGIN IMPRESSED
After having darn near every pda and smartphone that has darn near came out thru every carrier I am satisfied. I purchased this phone thru T-mobile a little over 24hours ago and have yet to put it down. I almost switched carriers to get this phone but their data plan prices detoured me from doing so. Never the less this phone does it all. I dont know where to begin but I highly recommend it.
This device blows the TREO away!
As a professional that travels constantly, I needed a device that can provide email and phone access constantly! Well I am here to tell you that this phone is the real deal!
Pro's
1. Wi-fi connectivity (connected w/ no problem)
2. EDGE/GPRS connectivity great as well (Cingular)
3. Synced my contacts w/ outlook effortlessly.
4. Phone clarity (with or w/o headphones) awesome!
5. Signal strength Great.
6. Voice commands clear and concise.
7. Camera pictures and video great given that it is a camera phone!
8. Windows Mobile 5.0 is pretty nice! Interface customizable.
9. Speaker is nice and loud.
10. Sliding keyboard a plus!
11. Bluetooth! Bluetooth! Bluetooth!
12. Messaging works great (once you get it setup - see below)
Con's
1. Setting up the messaging app by moving in and out of the settings can lock up the phone and requires a reboot. This was the only app that I noticed locking up. (minor)
2. Media player will not play mpg's only Windows media formats. (minor)
That is it! Once you get this thing set up, it rocks. I love this device!
The Best Cingular has To Offer
I have had many phones in the past year, with the best one being the Nokia 6682. UNTIL NOW!
This PDA/Phone leads the league in features. It takes a while to get used to a new platform, but if you have ever used a PDA,(I have a Dell Axim, then the adjustment is not that hard. I have Cingular service in Miami, and the RF on this phone is amazing. I have tried the Treo 650, the Razr V3, Motorola V551, Motorola V400, Nokia 6620, Nokia 6230i,and a few others. If you are a professional in any type of business where contacts, appointments and e-mail are extremely vital....This is your device.
PROS:
Sturdy casing
Solid feel
Bright and Sensitive Touch Screen
Very Good battery life, not better then Nokia, but very few batteries are!
Stereo Headset is awesome
Loud speakerphone-great volume
Excellent Bluetooth Sync w/Moto 850
Great sync with Microsoft's ActiveSync 4.1, (PC suite is a better program)
Tons of memory built in, optional mini sd to add more.
Sliding keyboard is cool, helps answer e-mail rapidly. It is NOT A SIDEKICK! This is a professional device.
Great priceonline from Cingular, that is rare! Hundred's more bought elswhere.
None of the dreaded Cingular-got-a-hold-of-me-Software Bugs, yet!!!
CONS:
Camera is a tad bit less then 1.3 MP,for sure
Display is a little hard to read on a sunny day.
Would have been better if they included a mini sd, even 128mb's would have been nice.
Overall, this is a very nice phone. A great camera would have deserved a 5, but I did not buy it for that. Good investment for the $$$$$.
Steven2420
Amost an A
I've had this phone for about 3 months now. The phone works good on cingular and the features on the phone are very decent.
Pros:
good screen
128mb sdram
expandable memory
reception
slider keypad is the best
WI-Fi is very dencet
Syncs very good with other devices
speakerrrrrrrrrrrrrsssssss are loud
Cons:
Horrible camera for its price
Processor is very slow
flash and the zoom and the camera suck as well.
Thats is. Over all its a good phone if you dont care about the camera or the speed of the processor
Cingular 8125
Have the phone for abit over a day, like anything it's a learning curve, especially from using a regular phone (Nokia 6230, 6270) and a PalmOS device. Of course there is a learning curve. I used to hate Windows CE and it's later versions, Msft. has done a good job with this version of the OS.
Pro's: Love the screen, both landscape and portrait. Everything connects (after a trip back to the Cingular store because couldn't get web pages to display. 5 mins. later, working.) Keyboard is very good considering it's size and it being a PDA. On the phone side seems as good as my regular phones, no dropped calls, no weak signals in areas which I wouldn't have with my Nokia's.
Con's: Battery life. Could be better, but chatting on the irc for several hours doesn't help. Slow start up and slow syncing.
As Good As It Gets...(For A Phone, That Is...)
What do people really want in a phone? Some people like having a decent camera...Some people like having a text messaging machine...some people like phones that can make and receive calls. Nowadays, convergance devices have become more and more popular; people want phones that can do EVERYTHING.
A Taiwanese company, HTC, is famous for releasing phones based on the Windows Mobile operating system. One of the newest devices is the HTC Wizard. This pocket PC is released under many names, as the I-Mate K-Jam, the Qtek 9100, MDA Vario, and soon the 8125 for Cingular.
The Cingular version is not yet available, but I will review this phone based on the Qtek 9100, which is based on the same hardware.
The Qtek motto is 'Keep the World in One,' and boy is that true! The 9100, aka 'Wizard' is capable of doing just about everything. It operates on Windows Mobile 5.0, which is relatively new.
The Wizard is equipped with a large 2.8" LCD screen. The screen is very bright and displays 65K colors beautifully. The touchscreen reacts well when pushed, and serves as a viewfinder for the 1.3MP camera.
Push the phone on the left side to reveal the full QWERTY keypad. This is a big plus to all the avid text-messagers. The keypad is very well spaced, which allows room for larger fingers as well. It's incredibally easy to use.
The phone has a Quad-Band radio (850/900/1800/1900), supports EDGE (good for the Cingular users!), and has a built-in Wi-Fi module. Of course it comes with bluetooth and infrared as well. I found all these services to function quite well on the phone.
Multimedia-wise, the Wizard does it all: MP3, video, games...the works! You can never get bored of it. Much media can be stored on a mini-SD card.
Even though it's a PPC, it functions extremely well as a phone. The 6 hour talk time is sufficient, and call quality is top notch for both the talker and the listener.
This phone does it all...It's as good as it gets...for me at least...
Don't Buy This Phone From T-Mobile
This is the worst phone i have ever encountered in my life. I switched from Sprint-biggest mistake bc i thought this phone was excellent. But i was wrong.It looks great and has alot of features, but when you cant actually connect to people, its annoying and then theres no point in having a phone at all. When ever i would not have service, i would go outside and still it would show that i have no service. I don't know if its the Phone or just stupid T Mobile. I would have to shut my phone off and turn it on again just to have service. VERY ANNOYING. The camera is horrible, texting is very easy, but when you don't have service you can't send anny messages duhh..Save your money people and go to Sprint and get a Sanoy 8400 you won't regret it!
More than meets the eye!
This phone looked very bid to me so that is the thing that i didn't like about it. When i bought it I soon found how many things you could do with it, i set up my email on it, used the INTERNET all day, watched movies and listened to music. this phone does it all, the call quality is good, reception is fair, and it is very user friendly. Speaker phone was another con that i didn't like about the phone, but overall it is a great phone.
