AT&T Tilt 8925 Review
By Mike Kobrin
March 14th, 2008
Summary
The AT&T Tilt (a.k.a. the HTC TyTN II 8925) is one of the most versatile and powerful Smartphones we've run across. Powered by Windows Mobile Pro 6 and a capable 400MHz Qualcomm processor, the phone is bulky thanks to internal goodies like GPS, WiFi, and Bluetooth, as well as a 3-megapixel camera with an autofocus lens. But it works in GSM and WCDMA modes and supports HSDPA plus EDGE for data services. Add to that its slide-out QWERTY keyboard and tilting 2.8-inch LCD screen, and the Tilt tempts us to leave our laptop at home. It's a worthwhile upgrade from the HTC 8525 (Hermes), and although a few minor kinks need working out, we're mostly in love.
Full Review
Features and Design
At 4.41 by 2.32 by 0.75 inches and 6.7 ounces, the chunky Tilt is clearly not built for iPhone-chasers. The 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen slides out from the matte black body to reveal a roomy QWERTY keyboard. And as the phone's name indicates, the hinged screen tilts up to make for a more laptop-like experience.
The earpiece is above the screen and has a few tiny LEDs around it to indicate the status of various components. Below the screen is a four-way directional pad with center select button, as well as keys for send, end, Windows Start, Internet Explorer, email, OK, and "soft" buttons. All of these functions are also available via the touchscreen, but it's nice to have hardware access too.
On the left side are a pushable scroll wheel, a Push to Talk button, and a secondary OK button that activates the Windows Start menu. Buttons for power (which also toggles the screen's sleep mode) and camera are on the right side, along with a slot for the stylus. The USB/charging port, phone mic, microSDHC slot, and reset hole are on the bottom.
On the back, you'll see the 3-megapixel camera lens and a speaker, as well as a port for connecting an external GPS device. We like that the SIM card tray is behind a door on the back of the screen instead of underneath the battery as on many other phones.
Note that the unlocked version of the TyTN II has a small video camera lens on the front face next to the LCD screen for video calls. AT&T does not support that feature, so HTC left the second camera out of this version.
Image Courtesy of AT&T
Giving the Tilt a Whirl
The Tilt takes an agonizingly long time to start up. We clocked just over a minute from pressing the power button until major functions became available. That's an expected trade-off for such a complicated device, but it still made us think twice before turning the unit off.
The touchscreen is surprisingly finger-friendly, but HTC thoughtfully includes two styli for larger-fingered folks. The main screen is well laid out and features a handy shortcut bar for quick access to settings for power, screen rotation, and wireless features, as well as text messaging and voice-activated dialing. Below that are shortcuts for email, calendar, IM, GPS, and Windows Media Player.
We mostly operated the phone without the stylus, except for typing on the touchscreen's tiny keyboard. The side wheel should is not very precise for scrolling through email or music files, so we wound up just using our fingers instead.
The backlit QWERTY keyboard has domed buttons, and the screen automatically rotates to landscape mode when you slide it out. The slightly textured keys have a good tactile feel, but the spacebar has a double-click that occasionally threw off our typing. Also, the two buttons at the top that control the on-screen soft keys are too close to the top row of the keyboard, so we kept accidentally pressing them. Thankfully the number keys are a distinctly different color than the rest of the keyboard making numerical entry quick and easy.
Applications
The list of software programs preloaded on the Tilt is impressive: Aside from AT&T's music, shopping, and video offerings, you get Microsoft Office Mobile (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Google Maps, Internet Explorer, Windows Live Search, and TeleNav (GPS). The IM client supports AIM, Windows Live Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger, while the email client handles any POP3 or IMAP accounts. Games include Ms. Pac-Man, Solitaire, Midnight Pool, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07, and several more, plus access to many more over-the-air downloads. Other entertainment options include widgets for MobiTV and MySpace.
The functions we used most often were text messaging, Word, Internet Explorer, and email, all of which worked extremely well. We especially like Windows Mobile 6's push email, alerting us to email messages as soon as they hit our inbox. Web surfing was consistently solid thanks to the relatively quick HSDPA/EDGE data speeds, though we got noticeably better performance when connected to a WiFi network. The phone's internal WiFi antenna is reasonably good at detecting wireless networks.
The 400-MHz processor didn't have any trouble maintaining normal operating speeds even when we had Word, email, Google Maps, and IE open. Microsoft's ActiveSync, which automatically syncs your phone's data and email with a PC and/or a Microsoft Exchange server, is a godsend for Outlook users, though it can slow down the phone a bit if left on.
Watching videos and listening to music in Windows Media Player and via MobiTV would've been a lot more fun if HTC had included earbuds or at least a standard headphone jack. Instead, we had to use Bluetooth headphones, which paired very easily with the phone and sounded as good as current Bluetooth technology can be expected to. The speaker on the back of the phone is quite loud, but when the phone is sitting on a desk, the speaker is obscured, bringing down the volume significantly.
Image Courtesy of AT&T
Calling
Call quality is adequate, with clear sound and a reasonably consistent signal in New York City, which isn't one of AT&T's strong spots in our experience. The on-screen dialing pad that pops up when you hit the phone button could be a bit bigger, and response time isn't instantaneous, but this wasn't an issue since we mostly called via the contacts menu.
The full-duplex speakerphone feature works great, though the speaker's location on the bottom of the phone means the sound is muffled when the phone is sitting on a desk. AT&T's Push To Talk feature requires a subscription, and you can't use it unless you've got friends or colleagues who subscribe. But it's safe to say the sound quality is equal to that of the speakerphone.
Extras
The Tilt's 3-megapixel still camera takes decent pictures, as long as there's enough light to eliminate the need for a flash. The autofocus works well and with enough speed in most conditions, and the 2.8-inch screen makes a roomy viewfinder. But the lag between shutter press and image capture makes it tough to shoot even slow-moving subjects. We like that it has plenty of on-board effects, shooting modes, and editing options.
Video capture suffers from so much motion blur as to make it virtually unusable. We tested in a well-lit classic car club in Manhattan, and all we saw were blooming and streaks unless we held the phone extremely still and objects moved very slowly or not at all. That the Tilt has video features at all, including MMS video messaging, does trump the iPhone, however.
The GPS is one of the Tilt's highlights. The very capable receiver works with various GPS apps like Windows Live Search, TeleNav, and Google Maps. We had no trouble locating ourselves and getting very good turn-by-turn directions in New York City, though it took a little longer than we'd like to reacquire the signal after going through a tunnel. You can also connect an external GPS antenna for a stronger signal.
Battery
One major drawback of a device with this many hardware-enabled features is battery drain. (The other, of course, is bulk.) We wiped out the battery nearly every day with normal use of email, text messaging, and calling. When we went on a trip and used the GPS and Bluetooth headset features along with some Web surfing, texting, and a few camera shots, the phone's battery was nearly empty after only half a day. This makes sense based on HTC's battery life ratings of 264 minutes of talk time for UMTS-based networks and 420 minutes for GSM networks. Luckily you can charge the phone via USB, so most in-car charging adapters will be able to juice it up while you're on the go.
Conclusion
Despite our minor kvetching about occasional typing difficulties, camera performance, and battery life, we really like this phone. Windows Mobile Pro 6 is an excellent platform, and HTC included every feature we could think of. Pricing is fairly competitive, too, at $299.99 USD with 2-year contract and after the $100 mail-in rebate. If you're the least bit tech savvy and want a PDA/phone with literally all the trimmings, the Tilt should be on your short list.
Pros:
• Broad feature set
• Large QWERTY keyboard
• Responsive touch screen
• Screen tilts for laptop-like viewing
Cons:
• Features drain battery quickly
• Long startup time
• Still/video camera is slow
Specs
NAME
HTC TyTN II 8925 (AT&T Tilt)
CARRIER
AT&T
PRICE
List: $549.99
$399.99 with 2-year contract from AT&T
$100 mail-in rebate available
PROCESSOR
400 MHz Qualcomm MSM 7200
OPERATING SYSTEM
Microsoft Windows Mobile Pro 6
SCREEN
2.8-inch 240 x 320 touch-sensitive TFT LCD
DIMENSIONS
4.41" x 2.32" x 0.75"
WEIGHT
6.7 ounces
BATTERY
264 minutes talk UMTS
420 minutes talk for GSM
350 hours standby for UMTS
365 hours standby for GSM
MEMORY
256MB internal ROM
128MB SDRAM
microSD slot
CELLULAR MODES
WCDMA, GSM
Quad-band 850, 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz
Tri-band 850, 1900, and 2100 MHz
DATA NETWORK
HSDPA (3.5G) plus EDGE
WIRELESS
WiFi (802.11b/g)
Bluetooth 2.0: HSP, HFP 1.5, DUN, OPP, FTP, A2DP, AVRC, SAP, PAN, HID, BPP 1.2
GPS
MESSAGING
SMS, MMS
EMAIL
POP3, IMAP
IMAGING
3-megapixel still/video camera with autofocus
MUSIC FORMATS
AAC, AAC+, eAAC, MP3, WMA, WAV, MPEG4, AMR
VIDEO STREAMING
3GPP