HTC Advantage now available, $899 at retail

HTC today announced official US availability of its mobile monster (and we do mean "monster"), the Advantage. Known alternately as the Athena and X7501, the sucker rocks pretty much every feature one could want in a pocketable device: 256MB of onboard ROM, 128MB of RAM, 8GB hard drive, HSDPA 850 / 1900 alongside quadband GSM, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, 3 megapixel autofocus cam, integrated GPS, and an incredible 5 inches of VGA display madness sitting atop Windows Mobile 6 Professional. Coming in at a hefty 134 x 98 x 16mm (20mm with keyboard attached), the term "svelte" doesn't exactly apply here -- but for folks who think power trumps pocketability, this may just be their soulmate. Find it now at CompUSA and Amazon for a buck under $900.

[Nubaeus @ Aug 7th 2007 5:35PM]

...256mb?

[Sandy @ Aug 7th 2007 5:39PM]

8GB microdrive with 256MB ROM/128MB RAM. Correct that please.

[JohnTitor @ Aug 8th 2007 4:21PM]

well it is a Microdrive but it's built in and works like a standard Harddrive
also they should also mention the intel Bulverde PXA270 and the ATi Imageon 2284 processors

[Jeff @ Aug 7th 2007 5:39PM]

"...rocks pretty much every feature one could want in a pocketable device..."

I just came in here to see how long it would take before someone bitched about a perceived shortcoming, thereby proving that comment wrong. And, damn. Only took one post.

Just wait. There will be more.

[B @ Aug 7th 2007 5:40PM]

Only worth it to those people who have an insane need to be cellularly mobile and are willing to spend 900 bucks, but are somehow unwilling to pay the 1500 for a sony UX series.

[Aura Mae @ Aug 7th 2007 6:13PM]

The Sony is not a phone.

[js @ Aug 7th 2007 5:43PM]

omg they copied the Apple keyboard!


hah.

[joe23521 @ Aug 7th 2007 6:02PM]

Heh, I was going to say the same thing earlier, but was somehow distracted. 8)

[Mike Saad @ Aug 7th 2007 7:20PM]

Too bad Apple couldnt use it with the iphone. GO HTC!!!

[Jon Rick @ Aug 7th 2007 7:46PM]

They didn't copy crap. HTC has had this device out in other markets way before apple came up with their "new" keyboard.

[js @ Aug 7th 2007 8:48PM]

Jon Rick: you sir, are an idiot.

I was being sarcastic hence the "hah" comment.

[Eriq @ Aug 7th 2007 5:49PM]

I fail to see the appeal in this device. It's the same size as an ultra mobile PC (that run Windows XP or Windows Vista), so why not buy an ultra mobile PC? It runs the same operating system as my T-Mobile Wing with slide-out keyboard. If you're going to have a device this big, you should have Windows CE 6.0 or Windows XP/Vista installed instead.

[Jon @ Aug 7th 2007 6:46PM]

Ultra mobile PCs are more expensive, uses more energy, slower and isn't instant-on.

Plus this does runs Windows C.E. with WinMob 6 GUI over it. But I get your point.

[eren @ Aug 7th 2007 5:51PM]

It's $850 at Amazon

[Frankenstein Black @ Aug 7th 2007 5:53PM]

SWEEEEET SHAAAAMONY! SlingBox in the ride (or wherever)! All my DVR shows are belong to me where and whenever ;^)...

[tazm0n @ Aug 7th 2007 5:59PM]

Has been available at this price at the CompUsa in San Rafael, CA for about a month now. Dunno if anyone has purchased yet.....

I don't plan to.

[kevin rummelhart @ Aug 7th 2007 6:03PM]

Seems a bit overpriced... But I thought that about the Nokia n770... which can now be had new for $130

[kc @ Aug 7th 2007 6:11PM]

Next we'll be going the opposite way, and the promotion will read....."It has a display the size of your thumbnail! Place your nail on your opened eye, and you'll place yourself right IN the computer! (Not responsible for any corneal abrasion or related damage) Powered by a pea sized self contained nuclear power cell, you control the SUKR-2100 via voice recognition. This state-of-the-art computer/phone/GPS/I-POD/texting device/NSA tracking device/DNA scanner..................................."

[Chris @ Aug 7th 2007 6:17PM]

This has been available from CompUSA for a month or so at least.

[paakofi @ Aug 7th 2007 6:30PM]

Please digg down. double post

[bob e @ Aug 7th 2007 6:38PM]

sweet jesus, thats a nice little device.

[nabil shahid @ Aug 7th 2007 6:54PM]

fair warning: i put a pre-order in for this device, but cancelled it when i found out it didn't have a) vibrating alert and b) a headset speaker. this means that you have to either use a wired headset or the speakerphone for the phone part of the thing.

[nabil shahid @ Aug 7th 2007 6:57PM]

sorry, meant to say wired/wireless headset.

[Mike Klein @ Aug 7th 2007 6:57PM]

To my knowledge no umpc provides voice/phone capability...carriers make sure of this as they want lockdown.

If I had to carry a single device...this w/be it.

[Mark @ Aug 7th 2007 7:21PM]

The Raon Digital Everun UMPC can be used as a phone. Check out the video here: http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jkontherun/2007/06/hugo-ortega-unb.html

[Aaron S @ Aug 7th 2007 7:11PM]

I bought this "phone" about a month ago (it's branded in the uk as the T-Mobile Ameo... The best thing about it is the internet access, in London I regularly get 1.3mbps download speeds, coupled with a good strength WiFi receiver it worked a dream, the screen is stunning as well... However, it has a whole bunch of problems, cheifly, the keyboard that acts as a "base" for the unit weighs absolutely nothing, and everytime you touch the screen the whole thing falls over. and that keyboard is awful to use, it's actually much easier to use a thumbboard. Another problem is the motion sensing technology they tried to implement- you're supposed to be able to tilt the screen to scroll up and down pages, it just doesn't work, sticky and unresponsive. It doesn't know whether it wants to be a Smartphone or a UMPC. Seems to be looking for a niche that just isn't there. Don't be fooled by the camera either... It's outperformed by Nokia & Sony Ericsson mid-range phones (let alone the cybershots) and for a phone that costs this much it should be much better.

I really don't reccomend getting it, mine went back to T-Mobile to be replaced by a Vario2 (HTC Hermes), a bluetooth GPS unit and a SDHC Card, and it does pretty much everything this does in a much neater package, and saves a lot of money- Alright the Hermes has a screen half the size, but it's a similar size to the iPhone and is more than okay for casual browsing...

[Richard Lai @ Aug 11th 2007 3:31PM]

Just wait for the HTC Shift or the HTC Kaiser. :D

[booger62 @ Aug 7th 2007 7:50PM]

I just got the e-ten 500 while traveling to HK, which has some great features, at a better pocketable size. WM6, Bluthth, Wifi, even GPS! It's been pretty stable for a
smartphone.

[Merovingian @ Aug 7th 2007 9:02PM]

CompUSA has had this for well over a month and i have personally sold two of them. To the fanboi who willingly guzzles the gizz from Jobs, HTC did not copy the new Apple keyboard. Know your facts before you come up for some air. Oh and get some tissues too.

[M @ Aug 7th 2007 9:27PM]

I don't get it, this phone has been in stores for a few months. I even went to try it out at CompUSA so I know it is in stock. I decided to wait for the SHIFT!!!
M

[Joseph Calamita @ Aug 7th 2007 10:40PM]

This was already tried before (see NEC Windows CE devices) and I never really took off, and that was when ultra portables were a fortune. Maybe at $400 or under, but come on, $900?

-jocal

[Sirocco @ Aug 7th 2007 11:14PM]

"...an incredible 5 inches of VGA display madness". Indeed. When will the madness end? In the meantime, I shall enter a self-induced coma.

[johnnyg0 @ Aug 8th 2007 8:26AM]

Suddenly, the iPhone's price doesn't seem so high anymore (not that I would buy one).. you can buy a complete laptop for that price.

[nuphanton @ Aug 8th 2007 2:16PM]

anyone know what's the difference in windows, and windows portable?

I was thinking of getting one, but I didn't know if regular applications(games) could be installed in it like windows.

[Ron @ Aug 8th 2007 4:27PM]

This is kinda big for a phone, it would probably look awkward holding it up to your head.
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http://www.webyaa.com/category/technology

[mayureshmisra @ Aug 8th 2007 5:55PM]

Check out HTC Shift, which is an update to this. Much better with Vista Business.

[keithwwalker @ Aug 9th 2007 11:32AM]

I got one of these as a replacement for my Sony Clie NX. It is more for the power PDA user. Spec wise it beats the iPhone (EDGE, bwah ha ha!), except for user interface, but is it really hard to beat Windows Mobile 6?

The first disappointment is the lack of GPS software or maps preloaded on the machine. Shovelware with a monthly fee is included instead (TeleNav)

The phone is unlocked, which explains the high price, unlike Europe, no USA carrier will sell this. Luckily my sim card plugged right in and no new contract needed (at&t).

It works best without the keyboard, the Palm/graffiti like text input with the stylus works well and the predictive text feature learns words and word groupings super fast!

Biggest gripe so far is the VGA screen. What they don't tell you is that the screen hardware is VGA, but the software resolution runs at QVGA, except for websites.

There is a shareware app that allows true VGA resolution but not all apps like it.

Jabra sells a stereo bluetooth headset (bt8010) that has caller id and a vibrate mode, so as long as you can stand a pda sized phone in your pocket, phone functionality is not sacrificed. and btw, call quality is excellent.

[digger @ Aug 18th 2007 6:48AM]

Very pleased with my HTC 7500 which worked fine out of the box. Then a problem set in after I installed and uninstalled the Tom Tom application.

Under 'Settings - My Connection' I set a password to go with my user name and go to 'Finish'. The 7500 tries to connect (over WiFi or GPRS) but then shows that 'the answering modem has disconnected' (check settings etc).

No matter what I put password I have entered, the device always shows 16 asterisks in the password box no matter that the password I entered is shoreter.

Does anyone know how I can remove this, apparently, 'embedded' password and get me back online?

There is nothing on the HTC website FAQ to cover this and they haven't responded to an e-mail query (surprise, surprise!)

many thanks

Clive

[carlos @ Aug 26th 2007 1:29PM]

The 7501 DOESNT HAVE GPS! I bought one from Tiger because the specs listed a Sirf Star III GPS chipset. When I got it, there was a baffling lack of refernce to anything GPS so I called HTC and sure enough, the tech guy said it "has an antenna, but no GPS" and "you need GPRS anbd a data plan to use GPS". So I returned it immediately and ordered the 7500 for $50 more from another retailer, which does have GPS, as well as the second videoconferencing camera. Other than that it is a beautiful masterpiece of technology.

[carlos @ Aug 26th 2007 3:47PM]

CORRECTION: HTC tech support gave mne bad info, but when I called the REAL advantage support people, we got the GPS going. The 7501 does in fact have sirf star 3 chipset, a full built-in GPS. sorry for the confusion but I was given incorrect info by HTC