hermes
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Cingular 8525, BlackJack now for sale
Hey you -- yeah, you. Cingular 8525, you know the one, right? Ok, and the BlackJack? The i607? Right, those two hype HSDPA WinMo handsets are now officially for sale, $400 and $200, respectively, after two year contract (with unlimited data) and rebates. Just save some for the kids, ok? They're tired of getting coal in their stockings because of your sick device addiction.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Cingular 8525 released, reviewed
So, Cingular's finally announced their 8525 -- what a relief. As we suspected, it'll set you back $399 (with two year contract -- sorry, no price yet listed with 1 year or no contract) when it launches November 16th but LAPTOP has the first official review of the unit, which resulted in a 4/5 star rating. There isn't really much to tell here that one didn't already know (except that the ok key underneath the wheel is now a deactivated Push-to-Talk button), but just in case you hadn't been following the Hermes, it's generally regarded as a pretty slick piece of kit. Outside of the usual software package, you can, of course, hook up with MobiTV, Good, and any other supported services on Cingular's network. We definitely take issue with the five hour talk time, though, our Hermes is lucky to get a couple (and with data, forget about it). Still, for your $400 you're unlikely to find a hotter Pocket PC phone on the US market.Read - releaseRead - LAPTOP review
Cingular 8525 reviewed
So, Cingular's finally announced their 8525 -- what a relief. As we suspected, it'll set you back $399 (with two year contract -- sorry, no price yet listed with 1 year or no contract) when it launches November 16th but LAPTOP has the first official review of the unit, which resulted in a 4/5 star rating. There isn't really much to tell here that one didn't already know (except that the ok key underneath the wheel is now a deactivated Push-to-Talk button), but just in case you hadn't been following the Hermes, it's generally regarded as a pretty slick piece of kit. Outside of the usual software package, you can, of course, hook up with MobiTV, Good, and any other supported services on Cingular's network. We definitely take issue with the five hour talk time, though, our Hermes is lucky to get a couple (and with data, forget about it). Still, for your $400 you're unlikely to find a hotter Pocket PC phone on the US market.Read - releaseRead - LAPTOP review
Cingular launches 3G-enabled 8525, sort of
It's still forwarding us back to the old-skool 8125's product page at the moment, but a tipster has managed to coax Cingular's site into giving up the goods on the 8525 -- Buy Now link and all. We're guessing it has something to do with region or Premier account status, we're not sure, but the point is that a select few are able to place their orders for Cingular's first HSDPA smartphone as we speak. Breaking out the wallet might be hard to justify for folks in 2G areas coming from an 8125, but if speed and power are top priorities, lick your chops as you read the full specs (highlights include a 400MHz Samsung core, 2-megapixel cam, and that fabulous 3G radio) after the break.[Thanks, John]Update: Judging from commenters' experiences, it's sounding like there's some buffoonery going on behind the scenes over at Cingular HQ -- the phone may not be shipping to anyone yet after all. In the meanwhile, enjoy the literature and imagery we've scooped, and we'll let you know what's going on as soon as we do.
Palm Treo 680 and Cingular 8525 price and release!
Ah yes, this is what we've been so eagerly awaiting. Enough pussyfooting around with the Palm Treo 680 and HTC Hermes / 8525 coming to Cingular -- we know they're due. We need prices, we need dates. And according to what appears to be a recent Cingular marketing presentation, we've got 'em: Treo 680: $424.99 straight, $349.99 one year, $249.99 one year with unlimited data (and $100 rebate), $274.99 two year, $174.99 two year with unlimited data (and $100 rebate; their ad, however, shows a $200 list price, but it's good to know we can count on around two Benjamins. Expect it November 5th (tentative). Cingular 8525: $559.99 straight, $484.99 one year (not including $50 rebate if included with unlimited data), $409.99 two year (also not including that same rebate); expect it October 29th. See, now that wasn't so bad, was it? Both came in right around where we'd expected and hoped; between the Dash, the Q, and the 680, it looks like that $200 price point is the sweet spot for ever-slimming smartphones. And the 8525 ain't too bad either, considering what you're getting.[Thanks also to djnth]
ASUS goes Hermes style with Mars II
If imitation is truly the sincerest form of flattery, HTC must be turning beet red right about now. The Mars II from ASUS follows the HTC Wizard / Hermes formula down to the letter, featuring that fabulous side-opening QWERTY keypad we'd now be lost without, an Intel Xscale PXA270 core making haste at 520MHz, 128MB of ROM, 64MB of RAM, UMTS, 802.11g, Bluetooth 2.0, 2-megapixel shooter, and a 2.8-inch QVGA display (why no love for the VGA?). As you may recall, we were able to correctly call all the specs out last month with the exception of the name and the ODM, which we'd heard would be HTC -- and given the Hermes-esque dimensions and feature list, who could blame us? Look for the Mars II to grace O2's networks before too long as the "Xda Zinc," but thanks to the old-skool tri-band GSM radio sans 850 support, we're going to be putting our import plans on hold.[Via phoneArena]
Cingular hooks up with TeleNav for LBS
Following its CDMA and iDEN competitors headlong into the hot location-based services game, Cingular is finally poised mark their first wide-scale LBS deployment by hooking up with TeleNav to offer turn-by-turn navigation to its customers. Though the service will be marketed mainly toward the carrier's business users, pretty much anyone with a lousy sense of direction stands to benefit, with both auto and pedestrian modes included in the box. It'll be offered starting at $5.99 a month for 10 uses or $9.99 for unlimited use on the HP hw6920, Treo 650, Cingular 8125, and the just-'round-the-corner 8525, though handsets without GPS receivers (that is, pretty much anything but the HP) will need to hook up to an external Bluetooth unit to make it all happen.
Cingular 8525 spotted (again)
Thar she blows. We're not going to pretend like there's any surprise left here -- it's the 8525 in all its tri-band UMTS / HSDPA glory, it was on Cingular's page, and it looks like they're about ready to go. Yep, all we're waiting for is a price and release date. Yep, just gonna keep on waiting. Cingular?[Thanks, JeShUa, Matt, and jetfxr]
HTC Herald unmasked
Try as they might, no HTC phone stays hidden for long, and it looks like the QWERTY-rific HTC Herald is the latest of their smartphones to fall prey to a rather convenient leak. As previously rumored, the Herald brings all that HTC Hermes spec love, but in a 17mm-thick form factor. According to hands-on action going on over at SoloPalmari, they're measuring 18mm of thickness, but minor quibbles aside, the phone does seem to be in possession of a 2 megapixel camera, 2.8-inch QVGA screen, miniSD slot, 64MB of RAM, 128MB of ROM and of course that lovable QWERTY keyboard in a notably thin form factor. Unfortunately, nothing much could be verified as far as radios go, such as WiFi and 3G data, but we'll keep our fingers crossed for the Hermes' full complement of 802.11b/g, UMTS and HSDPA. Keep reading for a couple more pics.
O2 Mars and Jupiter, followup to Hermes, Breeze
Oh hell yes, did we call it or did we call it? That mystery device has a keyboard, and it turns out that HTC's totally sick successor to the Hermes / TyTn is the O2 Mars which nails the aesthetics where the Hermes suffers so, and will supposedly come equipped with a 520MHz XScale, GPRS / EDGE / UMTS (sorry, no HSDPA), 64MB ram, 128MB flash, WiFi, Bluetooth, miniSD, and a 2 megapixel camera. Ok, so maybe we're only excited about this thing because it's one of the only QWERTY devices we've seen lately out of HTC that wasn't a little hard to look at (Excalibur, we're lookin' at you, buddy), but we don't need to excuse our love of gadgets, so if you'll let us continue our fawning. Thank you.P.S. -Sorry, we didn't mean to gloss over the Jupiter, which appears to be the successor to the Breeze -- there's just not a lot of info there. Click on for some pics.[Via the::unwired]
Cingular 8525 (HTC Hermes) in the wild
It's with mixed feelings that we greet the Cingular 8525's first live shots in the wild. Yes, it's apparently real, and yes, it matches the renderings we posted not long ago, but these pics also seem to sadly confirm our fear that this particular rendition of the Hermes will be coming to American buyers sans front-facing cam. There's no crying in cellphones, though, so we're going to do our best to concentrate on the positive: the 8525 should improve significantly on the 8125's speed thanks to a new processor, and of course, it's hard to argue with HSDPA. We don't have ship date for this puppy, but given the pics, the state of Cingular's 3G network, and the general availability of Hermes variants worldwide, we'd say that "real soon now" is an appropriate attitude to take.[Thanks, Notorious Jatt]
Cingular 8525 (HTC Hermes) renderings leaked?
If you're familiar with the Hermes and you know that it's coming to Cingular 'fore too long, these supposed renderings of Cingular's variant (henceforth known as the 8525) should come with no surprises -- except one, that is. Note that the Hermes' front-facing cam is conspicuously missing here, allegedly removed at Cingular's request since their video calling infrastructure isn't quite ready for prime time. Of course, we would've preferred that they leave the cam in, disable it, and cut a new firmware down the road to re-enable it when video calling is live rather than ask HTC to cripple their hardware, but we're sure the corporate suits had their reasons.[Thanks, anonymous tipster]
HTC Hermes launch roundup!
A spectrum of HTC's highly-anticipated Hermes variants are finally coming around in the retail pipeline, and what better way to celebrate than with a launch roundup? Regardless of your continent, odds are one or more of these flavors are available in your parts -- and if not, your friendly local import shop shouldn't have a difficult time hooking you up. As you come across other launches, do your fellow readers (and us) a favor and post 'em in the comments. Thank ye kindly![Thanks, Leigh]Read - Orange SPV M3100Read - T-Mobile Germany, UK MDA Vario IIRead - Vodafone VPA Compact III / v1605Read - HTC TyTNRead - HTC ZRead - Dopod 838ProRead - Dopod CHT9000
HTC builds Hermes-like "Z" for NTT DoCoMo
When you're trying to console yourself after perusing NTT DoCoMo's extraordinary lineup of hotness, it looks like the "at least we're getting the Hermes" argument no longer holds much water. HTC and NTT DoCoMo have teamed up to put together the "HTC Z," a Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC with rather obvious Hermes roots. The FOMA-compliant handset shares all of the Hermes' critical stats -- right down to the secondary cam for video calling -- and sports a Japanese cut of Windows Mobile to make things easy on the home crowd. Okay, so maybe you're thinking "at least we get our Hermes first." Not even: the Z allegedly drops in late July, so unless you're one of the lucky few, it looks like NTT's got you beat every which way. Typical.
Up close and personal with the Qtek 9600 (Hermes)
French site PPCReviews has managed to score a Qtek-branded copy of the hotly anticipated HTC Hermes, and thanks to some decent Google translation, we've managed to take away quite a bit from the thorough review. Many folks are expecting the Hermes to be a superstar compared to its already good older brother, the Wizard, but PPCReviews is a bit bummed out about the switch from miniSD to microSD expansion, the lackluster battery performance, rather portly 175 grams, and lack of true VGA display. Of course, we all know the good stuff the Hermes brings to the table by now, and the review ends on a happy note, confirming that the 3G and fresh 400MHz Samsung core work wonders for the device. Pardon the interruption, everyone; you can go back to incessantly refreshing Expansys' TyTN product page every few minutes in the hope of an early shipment.[Via kaitech.hk, thanks Ajit]
Vodafone Germany to snag Hermes, Star Trek
Looks like Cingular customers aren't the only ones expected to get an HTC windfall this summer; according to The Unwired, come July and August it appears that the Hermes and Star Trek will be launched on German Vodafone as the Vodafone VPA Compact III and Qtek 8500, respectively. Apparently the VPA Compact III will set you back as much as €900 ($1,150 US) without contract, or €409 ($522 US) with a two-year, whereas the 8500 will go for €600 ($766 US) and €170 ($217 US) the same ways -- something tells us they want their customers to snag these subsidized.
HTC TyTN (Hermes) gets a possible ship date
We may not be able to pronounce the name of HTC's self-branded variant of the Hermes -- TyTN -- but we will be able to rock one toward the end of this month, if Expansys' UK site is to be trusted. Expansys is showing an alleged July 17 availability date for the device, and while our European friends are already well-acquainted with its imminent availability in several flavors of carrier, this could be the only shot Americans have at 1900MHz UMTS smartphone goodness until it officially drops on Cingular in the fall (knock on wood). The Hermes is physically a dead ringer for the Wizard it replaces, but mercifully upgrades the woefully underclocked OMAP to a 400MHz Samsung piece, adds a second camera for video calling, and bumps the primary to 2 megapixels. The price north of $1,000 USD might seem stratospheric to most of us, but we suspect we can find a few Wizard-toting folks willing to shed it to get themselves out of EDGE purgatory.[Thanks, Daniel S.]
HTC Trinity revealed?
We've just spotted what purports to be the HTC Trinity, and while it's looking quite a bit different (and a bit less sleek) than the last time it surfaced, the specs are just as spiffing. The Windows Mobile 5.0 actually doesn't look too much different than HTC's Hermes, with the main addition of GPS and some reworked face buttons. There's 64MB of RAM, 128MB of ROM, a 2.8-inch QVGA display, Bluetooth, WiFi, EDGE, HSDPA and a microSD slot. Just like the Hermes there are VGA and 2.0 megapixel cameras, and the phone is similarly slim at 0.7-inches thick. No more info as to when this will be out, and we can't say we aren't disappointed about the fairly generic look, but there's always a chance (hope) this report is a bit off.[Thanks, Sean]
Boy Genius strikes at Engadget Mobile: Canary (KRZR), BlackBerry Stealth, StarTrek, Hermes, etc. coming to US
It was a long day for the Boy Genius, but dude hooked Engadget Mobile up with a veritable cornucopia of launch plans for Cingular, including releases for the Motorola KRZR (aka Canary), V3i, HTC Hermes and StarTrek, the new BlackBerry Stealth, the Treo Nitro and Treo Lennon, HP iPAQ hw6920/25, and Nokia E62. Go check 'em out over at Engadget Mobile, you won't be sorry.Treo Nitro and Treo Lennon coming to Cingular in OctoberThe Boy Genius Report: BlackBerry StealthThe Boy Genius Report: Canary is KRZR, getting launched SeptemberThe Boy Genius Report: Cingular snags Motorola V3i, Sony Ericsson w810 The Boy Genius Report: HTC Hermes & StarTrek, and iPAQ hw6920 coming to USNokia E62 to drop for $599/$399 in September/October
The Boy Genius Report: HTC Hermes & StarTrek, and iPAQ hw6920 coming to US
Field report tidbits from Engadget's mobile insider, the Boy Genius.If this latest Boy Genius scoop is correct, then Cingular's also launching a slew of Windows Mobile phones this summer, some less surprising than others. The HP iPAQ hw6920/25 was more or less expected any time now, and should have WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, EDGE data, and MSFP / AKU2, as expected (you probably already knew the rest). The HSDPA-equipped HTC Hermes is also making its way to these shores, not exactly to the surprise of anyone at Engadget who've been expecting this phone on Cingular for quite some time -- but all the same it's pleasant knowing we'll finally wrap our mitts on a Hermes of our own some time in the September / October range. But what we weren't expecting (at least not so soon) was Cingular to launch the HTC StarTrek in August / September, which will quickly shame all you early adopters and RAZR-haters who wanted to get their hands on an import as quickly as possible. Keep an eye out for further details as we snag 'em.
