My Best Windows Mobile Device Experience

I have been a Windows Mobile user since the days of Windows CE 1.0 and have used WinCE-based devices too numerous to list. I have eagerly anticipated the release of each successive version of the operating system, seeing it evolve from a mere Palm knock-off with a confusing Windows-like GUI tacked on to a refined always-on Internet-connected mobile business organizer and occasional recreational device that the Windows Mobile 6 has become.

As a consequence of this evolution, I believe I currently own the most advanced Windows Mobile device that has culminated in this trajectory. The HTC Advantage, aka HTC 7500+, aka Athena, represents the best Windows Mobile 6 Professional hardware platform on the market today, though not without its problems.

The HTC 'Advantage'
The advantages of this device are numerous. The first and most striking feature anyone who sees it notices the large, bright, high-resolution screen, typically attached to the removable magnetic keyboard that also serves as the screen's cover when not in use. The many I/O ports for USB and even external monitor output are rare to see on a Windows Mobile device. The built-in GPS is a cool hidden feature that works with the majority of GPS-enabled Windows Mobile applications, including Windows Live Search and Google Maps. The copious system RAM and 8GB storage drive offer plenty of space for applications, music, videos, photos and the like. The high resolution camera captures both still and moving pictures.

The HTC 'Disadvantage'
While the device sports the very latest in mobile technology, it comes at a cost both in terms of fiscal expense and annoying shortcomings. One could successfully argue that a price conscious mobile enthusiast could buy 2 Asus eee PC's for the price of a single HTC. The Advantage is also bulky, negating any possibility of calling it a 'pocket' PC. Using all the bells and whistle 3G, WiFi and GPS radios dramatcially reduce the device's already weak battery life due to the juice required to simply keep the screen on and bright enough to see in daylight. But perhaps the most annoying problem I've encountered are the frequent lock-ups. Granted, I'm a Windows Mobile power user and I've taken advantage of the gobs of memory and storage the Advantage has to offer, but even before loading up these applications, the device occasionally locks up during synchronizations, network file transfers and worst of all, incoming phone calls. I've been waiting for a while for a ROM update to fix these numerous problems plaguing the device with little hope that they'll come soon, if at all.

The Final Word
Even with the host of negative issues, the HTC is still my top Windows Mobile device of choice and its the leading example of cutting edge mobile technology available today. If the talented engineers at HTC can take the size, battery life and sexy design of the Apple iPhone and retain all the high-end features at a reasonable price that the Advantage currently delivers, HTC will have a killer product that will appeal to mobile enthusiasts beyond those wealthy (or rabid) enough to afford one today.