Last Updated November 18, 2007   Product Rating   Lots of Connectivity Options Easy-to-Use Keyboard Brilliant Screen Excellent call quality   Camera quality is mediocre Bulky design

 

Perhaps the most widely known Windows Mobile 6 smart phone right now is the AT&T Tilt (HTC 8295). It is one of AT&T's newest smart phones running the brand new Windows Mobile 6 operating system from Microsoft. The design of the Tilt puts it in a league of its own as well. The connectivity options that are included will keep you connected regardless of where in the world you are. It comes packed with many other business-like features and won't leave you wanting more at all.

To start off, the design of the Tilt sets it apart from the rest of the smart phones on the market. The screen actually slides up and over at a 40 degree angle to reveal a landscape-layout QWERTY keyboard. This allows you to comfortably type with both thumbs while holding the phone in your hands. While in "tilt" mode, the screen rotates 90 degrees so you can view it head-on while the keyboard is exposed. The keyboard buttons are flat, large, and really feel tactile, so typing on the Tilt is a breeze. The number buttons for dialing are colored silver, so they are easily seen apart from the black-colored letter keys. There is one caveat, however, you must tilt the screen out and dial using the QWERTY keyboard and numbers and then slide the keyboard back in while the phone is dialing because there are no numbered keys on the screen side. This isn't a huge problem, but it can get annoying at times. Below the screen on the face of the Tilt are talk and end buttons, two soft keys, an OK button, a five-way navigational pad, and shortcuts of Internet Explorer Mobile and the start menu. The front controls, like the keyboard, are very well designed and are easy to use. On the right side of the phone is where a scroll wheel is(controls volume while during calls), camera button, and stylus. The mini USB port and microSD card slot are located on the bottom edge of the Tilt. We liked that the microSD slot is accessible at all times and is not located under the battery like some smart phones. On the back of the Tilt is a 3-megapixel camera (sans self-portrait mirror and flash) as well as the speaker and port for an external GPS. There is no headphone port because instead you have to buy the special headphones that plug into the charging port or use a Bluetooth headset. The SIM card area is under the screen part of the phone and the battery is under the keyboard and we have read online that some have found the battery cover a little difficult to remove.

The Tilt's screen is very vibrant and is massive. It's a 2.8-inch measured diagonally screen with 65,536 colors at 320x240 resolution. Images and text looked very vibrant and clear in all types of lighting and conditions...even direct sunlight. The Tilt is a little heavy and bulky, measuring in at 4.5 x 2.3 x 0.7 inches and about 6 ounces, which makes it very large even for a pants pocket. However, the construction of the Tilt is very sturdy and feels very nice when it is in your hand.

As being the first AT&T smart phone is come with the new Windows Mobile 6 operating system, it comes with the complete Microsoft Mobile Office, which allows you to view, edit, and create Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents. There is also a PDF viewer as well as other business-oriented apps. Some of the new features included in Windows Mobile 6 includes a new calendar view that more effectively shows your schedule and appointments in a colored agenda view. The Tilt comes with Outlook and supports Microsoft's Direct Push technology. The Tilt will sync with your PC's Outlook mailbox and calendar and works with POP3 and IMAP e-mail servers as well as Exchange. AT&T preloads the Tilt with several instant messaging apps, including AOL AIM, Windows Live Messenger, and Yahoo Messenger. The Tilt also supports regular SMS and MMS messaging as well.

The Tilt comes also with 256MB of ROM and 128MB of SDRAM. The best part of the Tilt we thought was the huge variety of connectivity options. The Tilt can use Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), UMTS/HSDPA, Bluetooth 2.0, and GPS. For browsing the Internet, you can use the Tilt's built-in Wi-Fi connectivity or if you are in an area without Wi-Fi, you can use AT&T's 3G broadband wireless network to get speeds of upward to 2.0Mbps as well. You can also subscribe to AT&T's TeleNav GPS Navigator ($9.99/month) to give you turn-by-turn directions alone with colored maps with points of interest right on your Tilt. Because the Tilt is 3G-enabled, you can subscribe to AT&T's Video and Music services to watch sports broadcasts and TV shows along with music services, such as XM Satellite Radio streaming to your Tilt.

The 3-megapixel camera is decent, but not the best. Because it doesn't have a flash, taking pictures in dark conditions is pretty difficult. Overall, the pictures are decent for e-mailing and MMS, but not for printing. The call quality is outstanding and really sounds clear and loud. The Tilt is a quad-band phone as well, so it can be used anywhere in the world. The Tilt's 1,350mAh lithium ion battery is rated for up to 4.4 hours of talk time for UMTS and 7 hours for GSM and up to 14 days of standby time for UMTS and 15 days for GSM.

The AT&T Tilt costs $299 with a 2-year contract.