Friday, October 12, 2007

Friday, October 12, 2007

Hi, I've been away from the blog for awhile. First I had a bout of illness, then I was in Barcelona, Spain for about a week (where I had a horrible experience syncing my 7501 with my Sony UX UMPC with Vista, more later). Next week, I'll be in Berlin most of the week, but I'll try and work on the blog over the weekend.

Today, I received a fantastic response to the Blog, I'll just post it below, and try to get to some of the specifics later:

Hi George, I'm interested in the HTC Advantage. I found your fantastic blog today, although I thought I'd discovered all sites that refer to the Advantage. What I really like about your blog is exactly what you yourself put in the heading - it is made by a real user, who paid for his device and who's going to keep it for a while. This makes it much more interesting to read about your detailed experience of using it - all the little ins and outs. I do not (yet) own a Windows Mobile device. I've been using a Symbian based SonyEricsson P800 for the past 3-4 years or so. And prior to that I was using a (non phone enabled) Palm V. If I get the Advantage I'd be getting the X7500, simply because I'm based in Europe, and that front cam could be fun to use in a video call. When I first saw the X7500 I thought - "Wow it's got everything I need including the webcam!" However I've since learned the webcam is blocked by HTC unless it's opened specifically for the mobile carrier (such as T-mobile who sells the X7500 under the Ameo name). I had fancied using the cam with Skype, calling my three year old when I'm out travelling on business. BTW I was in Prague all last week. What a beautiful city it is. Are you looking for stuff to report on for your blog? You're a photographer, I'm a management consultant. One of the reasons I'd be getting this device is the VGA out - the ability to show images through a projector onto a screen. No one has yet been able to show that - only on computer screens or TVs. To be able to judge the quality I guess your video cam would need to be pretty high resolution. And perhaps you could also pass judgment on the quality based on your discerning eye, if you have access to a projector+screen. If I get the device I'd actually be looking to use it without the keyboard. I would like to use an on-screen keyboard. If you are looking into that area, I'd be curious about a comparison between Teksofts Fingertouch http://www.teksoftco.com/; Tengo (check out their video -the typist is typing 75 WORDS a minute albeit with a stylus) http://www.tengo.net/tengo_videos.html; and finally the new entry, cootek's touchpal http://www.cootek.com/. Just a thought in case you are looking into this stuff. A couple of other minor comments: I believe it would have been easier to find your blog had you used the word "Advantage" in your X7501 title as well, since I've been searching for the X7500 I have not come across your blog until now. Your review of the keyboards, I would have liked to have seen more of the smaller one as well, and what would it be like to put the X7501, without the magnetic keyboard, against the little support that is provided with the igo stowaway smaller keyboard? Finally, a couple of thoughts. I read about your having to soft reset the device every now and then. You can program both hard and software buttons for this using for example AE Button Plus software. Are you familiar with http://www.xda-developers.com/ ? You'll find a whole thread there dedicated to the Advantage/Ameo/X7500/X7501. Looking forward to reading more on your blog. Very best regards, David

Hope to post more at the weekend and below is my quick response to the comments above:

Hi,

Thanks for this fantastic post. I've been busy with work and haven'tbeen able to work on the blog for awhile. I'll try to devote severalhours to it this weekend before going to Berlin this weekend.I want to address several of your questions on the blog. Some of themare beyond me.I'd like to say in this short note, I've changed the name of the blogto reflect your suggestion. Very good idea.

Next I highly recommend the HTC 7501. I am writing the blog in hopesthat HTC will market future versions of the 7500 and not abandon the platform.

I have a really wonderful camera, the Sony R1. Apparently salesweren't good enough on this model, and Sony stopped making it after a year. I rushed out and bought six of them. But I will always be stuck with old technology.

I think the 7500 is aimed at a niche market, serious people, not at kids who want toys like the IPhone. Hopefully, I can help to pointout the advantages of this device so that HTC will continue to upgrade it in the future.

My advice is to buy the 7500, but try to make sure it has WM 6.0 not 5.0. WM 6.0 is much better than 5.0. I had 5.0 on my Qtek 9000.

A colleague has the Nokia E90. IMHO the 7501 runs circles around the E90. I like the 7501 so much, I've quite carrying my equally tiny Sony UX with me except when I travel. The 7501 is so much faster than the Vista machine. I'd like to do a speed test for the blog sometuime. Ido find the UMPC to be better for surfing the web than the 7501. Opera works very well on the 7501, but it is still not as good as a desktop browser, especially when you have to fill in forms and passwords. I bought the 7501 because it was first out with WM 6.0. Otherwise, Iwould have gotten a 7500 here in Europe. HTC has since released an update for the 7500 to WM 6.0. I bought m7 7501 from Amazon in the USA and had someone mule it over to me. Guess what?, it came with pre release software, and I had to reflash it here.

The 7501 is not perfect. After all it is a phone. But I've gotten used to it's drawbacks and have found workarounds for most of them. That's something my friend with the E90 cannot always do.

Again, thanks,George Fisher

Sunday, September 23, 2007

HTC 7501 Bluetooth Keyboards

Hi, I've been away for awhile with a bout of flu. Below are two videos on using the HTC 7501 with Stowaway Bluetooth keyboards.




And Part Two:




Wednesday, September 5, 2007

HTC 7501 Using the Camera

September 5, 2007

Here is part of a question I received yesterday:

"I like the text and the movies.couple of questions--- my exterior camera button won't start my camera. Must go to start menu and proceed from there..."

I must admit I haven't previously successfully used the camera on the HTC 7501, so I decided to do what everyone hates: RTFMS. I went back to the manual. The camera takes a little bit of learning, but once you're comfortable with it, I believe it is a very useful tool.

I've prepared a video tutorial on the camera which is split in two parts because of the time limitation on YouTube:

Part One:






Part Two:





Please send your comments or questions to drakeseu@gmail.com or post a comment on this blog

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Sim Card Contacts

Today, I received the following comment:



"What a great blog!I just bought my 7501 on 8-31. Got the "beta version"and downloaded the new Rom. I have replaced a phone, pda, camera and Ipod. My purse is feeling pretty light right now.I like the text and the movies.couple of questions--- my exterior camera button won't start my camera. Must go to start menu and proceed from there. Also, do you know a way to separate my sim card contacts from my outlook contacts. I don't want them to come up together. I have several hundred contacts in Outlook and don't want to scroll down thru all of them to find my brother's phone #.Am loving my new toy. Just need to get used to it. Already used some of your tips. Keep up the good work"



I spent a little time and researched Sim Card Contacts. Below is a small YouTube video on how to make calls using contacts on SIM card. I have a very nifty phone management program, and I'll do a video on that soon.



I must admit, I'll have to research the camera question.



The direct link is:






If you have questions about the 7501, please send them to me at drakeseu@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer them.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Second Hard Reset

05:30 Friday, August 24, 2007
Yesterday, I did a hard reset on the HTC 7501.
When the phone first arrived pre release software was installed. After consulting the HTC website, HTC service, and receiving an email from Amazon.com recommending the reinstall, I did it.
With this reinstall, Opera did not install. I just changed IE to the default browser. There was no TelNet GPS software, and I couldn't set up a hotmail email account.
On the 21st I installed a Newsreader program from an extremely trusted source. It wouldn't download it's catalog, and my internet connection stopped working. I installed the software, and deleted the internet connection and set it up again. The Internet worked for awhile, and then stopped working. Redid the connection again. It would work for awhile, and then stop working. When I did a backup, I noticed the backup was saving some files from the uninstalled reader program.
That did it. Time for a hard reset. My only question: Would the pre-release software come back? I thought, If so, I'll just reinstall the updated OS from HTC again. Fortunately, the pre-release software didn't come back.
I spent all day yesterday reinstalling and tweaking the HTC 7501. For some reason, it seem to be working smooth as silk now. There were a few glitches with the first re-install.
I've been busy working all week. Hopefully, on Saturday and Sunday, I'll have time to prepare some mover YouTube videos on this remarkable phone

Monday, August 20, 2007

Switching between open programs

August 20, 2007

I've done another YouTube video on how to switch between open programs in the 7501 using SPB Pocket Plus, can save a lot of time.




Here is the direct link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1K9azei8R4

Next, I'll post some other reviews of the 7501 and one of the HTC Shift and make some comments on them.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Setting up Email on the HTC 7501

August 19, 2007

I've seen posts on forums from folks who are having trouble settng up email on the HTC 7501. Couldn't be easier, at least for Gmail.

I've done a little YouTube video showing how:






The direct URL is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLlCOpkiFsE

Closing Videos in HTC 7501 You Tube Video

I have decided to make some quick YouTube videos with tips and advice. The first one is how to keep the system running cleanly without too many programs runninging in the background. If you don't close inactive programs, crashes will happen, even on a beast like the 7501.



Or the URL for this video is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrJkAZurjVY

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Wed., August 15, 2007

I received one response asking permission to link to this blog. Answer: Sure! Go ahead and publish the link. I still have many questions about the 7501. The learning process goes on. Perhaps readers can answer some of my questions or correct me where I'm wrong. Also, here is my email address so readers can contact me directly: drakeseu@gmail.com

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Front Facing Camera

Hi, just to confirm, 7501 does not have front facing camera. I could only guess as to the reason why, but the reason posted in a comment seems to make sense. I've not missed the front facing camera.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

HTC 7501 August 11, 2007 # 2

Well, unfortunately, I just had a question answered about GPS on the 7501. This is a review posted on the CompUSA site:

Had it almost 2 weeks now... July 23, 2007
JustClaire (Madison, WI) (read all my reviews)
Gender: Female
How do you typically use CompUSA products?: Home and Work
Technology awareness: Technology Guru

Pros: Almost a PC, handsome, nice screen, good tech support (& they speak English), good sound quality, nice photos
Cons: Cramped keyboard, was shipped with premarket software (had to update w/help of tech supp), no GPS incl!!
Overall 4
Features 5
Performance 5
Price-Value 4



Everyone thinks it's a miniature computer. It sure acts like one. It's also a pretty clear sounding phone - okay a BIG phone. But paired with my Bluetooth headset I don't really have to worry about the size of it. The operating system is fast. Has MS Word, Excel & a viewer for Powerpoint. Also, I have never seen such a nice leather case INCLUDED with a phone or pda before. GPS requires a monthly fee to a 3rd party service.
I actually LIKED talking to their tech guy. Did not have the usual communication issues with tech support. They answered promptly, were friendly (but not fake or scripted) & they spoke American English which really helps since I was pretty anxious to get this working fast. My software said "test only, not for sale" each time the unit was turned on- which is the reason I called tech support. Turned out that all I had to do was update the software using my home computer. But I think my unit was one of the first that was shipped. Hopefully they'll fix that issue before the next shipment.
All in all, I LOVE this pda, phone, umpc thing- uh,.... whatever it is.

I bought a stand alone GPS unit from Amazon, and have not been able to pair it successfully with the 7501. This will require a call to tech service in the USA from Prague.

First Impressions HTC 7501, August 11, 2007









Photos

1. With case closed as much as possible

2. 7501 in Lowepro case with top open

3. Macally IP A481 in Lowepro D-Res 120 case

4. With Samsung Bluetooth Headset

5. With 7501 closed

6. 7501 with Macally IP A481

HI,

Unfortunately, the blogging software put my photos in reverse order at the top of the post rather than the bottom.

The patch solved the sleeping phone issue. The activating the WEP200 Bluetooth headset always wakes up the phone. There is still an issue that I had with the HTC Universal: When a notification comes in at the same time I am opening or switching programs, the device freezes, and I must do a soft reset (a new text message, email notification, or reminder). This doesn't happen too often, but often enough to be a pain. I am sure this is a Microsoft issue, not an HTC issue.

The WEP200 claims up to 200 hours of standby time. I've never run its battery down. However, keeping Bluetooth on with the 7501 is a big battery drain. So, when it is on, I plug in an auxiliary battery charger charger. I use the Macally IP A481. I can attach it to the phone very easily while sitting at a restaurant table, as I am now, or when walking around with both device and extra battery in the Lowepro case. For me it's not a problem. It should be noted, I am not a 'suit,' and the Lowepro case is rather large on the belt. So, the size factor doesn't bother me.

The battery of 7501 has never run down with auxiliary power attached. When I leave the external battery supply off and bluetooth on, the 7501's battery discharges rather quickly. I become alarmed when it gets down to about 35%.

With an HTC Advantage docking station, you can charge the device and an additional battery at the same time. For those who are concerned about space, this would be a good solution. But I don't like pulling flat batteries out of a device and replacing them with fully charge ones.

The phone is now really stable. I love it a lot. Later I will post several items that are now missing after I installed the the update patch to the trial software which came installed on the device.

Thursday, August 9, 2007

HTC 7501 August 9, 2007

It's taking me awhile to learn the 7501 and each day I love the phone more. It took me quite awhile to learn the QTEK 9000. I try to avoid the advice RTFMS. Every now and them, I'm digging through the manual.

I now almost trut the 7501 enough to use it as my sole mobile, and retire the HTC S-710 for emergencies. So far the phone has performed perfectly with the Samsung Bluetooth 2.0 headset. Yesterday, I was working on a photo location, and I realized I'd lost he tiny headset. Frantically, I looked around, then, embarrassed, I asked some other crew members if they'd seen where I put it. "In your ear, stupid." Yes, I was wearing it, and couldn't feel it. I don't really trust the headset to stay put in my ear, and try to keep it in a case. Time will tell.

I've run into a problem with the 7501 that I experienced frequently with the Qtek 9000, or HTC Universal: If I am opening a program, and a notification comes in at the same time, such as incoming call, new sms message, or email notification, the phone will freeze. I then have to soft reset it using the tiny reset hole on the back. That's very annoying and it happens more often than you'd think. I believe this is a MS issue, and I hope they will address it in a newer version of WM 6.0.

I recently installed PhatNotes 4.7 Professional Edition trial version. It is a very powerful notes program, with a desktop version included. Your notes are synchronized to your desktop. You also attach files and images to notes. Today, I cam across a 'Back to School' sale, with a price of $23.97 instead of the full boat of $39.95. I quickly bought a registration. The link for the sale is:
http://www.phatware.com/backschool2007.html

It will take awhile for me to master PhatNotes, but already it has been very helpful in my work. I just have to go in an unscrew some of the mistakes I made when starting out.

That's it for today. We'll see what new adventures I have with the 7501, which went on sale in the USA officially as of yesterday.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

HTC 7501


07 08 07

As each day passes, I learn more about my HTC 7501 & the more I love it.

First I bought a Samsung Bluetooth Mono Headset WEP200. I did a search on Amazon.com for bluetooth 2.0 headsets. This was the only one I found. I got it overnighted to a friend who came to Prague the next day. Two days ago I paired it with the 7501. For some reason my wired headset quit working. The WEP200 has worked flawlessly. First of all, the sound quality is fantastic. All of the other bluetooth headsets I've tried are version 1.2 and have a scratchy sound. The WEP200 has a sound like you're holding a very good mobile phone directly to your ear.

The second nice surprise, is it works with the 7501 even in sleep mode. If a call comes in while I am walking the dogs, I pull out the WEP200 from it's little pouch, press the button and answer it. When I'm through, press the button again and disconnect. Even better, voice dialing has NEVER failed. I can click the button, wait for the appropriate sounds, say the name of the person whom I want to call, and the 7501 places the call.

I've also discovered that I can turn the 7501 off with the power switch on the right hand side, and it will come to life when a call comes in, and I can answer it with the WEP200 headset. Also with power off, I can still make a call using voice dialing through the WEP200. I'll keep testing for a couple of days. If there are no problems, then I'll leave the HTC S-710 at home.

At the moment, I'm a very happy camper.

On the dark side, I've still not been able to connect the bluetooth GPS receiver to the 7501. One of the tech guys in our office, will work on it for me today.


Saturday, August 4, 2007

HTC 7501 First Impressions

I live and work in the Czech Republic. For about a year I owned a QTEK 9000. It was a wonderful phone. But it wasn't fast enough for me. I pretty much filled it up and when I would add a program it slowed down the phone a lot. I had been watching the HTC Athena very carefully in all the development stages.

I bought a Sony Vaio UX series UMPC with Vista installed. The QTEK was always somewhat problimatic when using it as a modem for a laptop. The long and short was I couldn't make it work as a modem at all with the Vista machine.

I decided not to buy the HTC 7500 because it was WM 5.0. And it was my experience that WM 5.0 was just incompatible with Vista, certainly using the phone as a modem. Also, with 5.0 it was impossible to set up a bluetooth pan on the phone.

Blogs announced that the 7501 would be available in the states, first thorugh amazon.com with WM 6.0 installed. I preordered one through Amazon Prime. Fortunately, it arrived at a friend's house in New York the day before he came to Prague. He brought it to me along with a Nokia E90 for a work colleague.

Right out of the box, I was very pleasantly surprised by the size of the 7501. I thought it would be a lot larger than it is. It doesn't seem that much bigger than the QTEK 9000. I'd fretted about how I would carry around the 7501 beast. It fit perfectly in the Lowepro case I'd used for months with the Qtek 9000 (Lowepro D-Res 120) One problem solved.

I fired the 7501 up. Up came the dreaded message: Test Only, Not For Sale. I'd learned about this by watching forums.

First thing I noticed about the 7501, it is like the QTEK 9000 on steroids, crack, and speed all combined. It is very fast. Oh, I forgot to mention. The Qtek died and had to go in the shop. To get by, I bought an HTC s-710, a tiny phone with WM 6.0. It's a SmartPhone. And only connects to the internet at 'G' speed. I made a Bluetooth PAN connection right away to the Vista Vaio, worked perfectly and was easy to set up.

I sat up the Internet with the 7501 and it just flies when your are in an area with fast coverage. It is also very easy to connect to WiFi hotspots. I LOVE the Comm Manager on the WM 6.0 devices. It is quite easy to turn on and off Flight Mode, mode, WiFi, and syncing.

I connected the 7501 to my XP desktop and it snyced up very easily through Active Sync 4.5. It transferred all my contacts, bookmarks, calendar, tasks, and notes. I now have everything completely up to date on both the 7501 and the S-710.

A lot of reviewers have noted there's not much difference between wm 5.0 and 6.0. They are full of balony. There are so many more features on WM 6.0 that aren't on 5.0. For example setting up an email account, you just enter your email address and WM 6.0 offers to try and find the settings for you. Took about two seconds with my gmail account. When I filled in user name and password gmail worked flawlessly. I sat it to sync gmail every 10 minutes. It's just as good as Blackberry as far as I'm concerned and costs nothing. (Over a year ago, I tried to get Blackberry and it wasn't avialable at that time in CZ. Who cares whether it is now?)

I then sat up my my hotmail and windows live accounts. They worked fine.

I work in photography, so I am on the move all day. The 7501 is perfect for me. In the morning, I download my favorite US and UK newspapers into memory. I save all ariticles into text files. Then I take my dogs to a coffee shop, where I read all the articles that interest me. After that we trek up Petrin Hill (where Prague Castle is located) and down again. I used to load the articles on the Vaio. That ended the first morning with the 7501. The Vaio takes ages to load up. With the HTC 7501, you just open it up, and it's running.

I also installed all my SPB programs on the 7501, they work flawlessly. I have the same layout as I had on the QTEK, except I've changed to a windows green color scheme from an artic blue one on the QTEK. Agile messenger did not work. I had to buy a new lifetime service for it, and it took two days to active. Once it was activated, it's worked flawlessly.

So, far, the Achilles heel, if there is one, with the 7501 could be the magnet attached keyboard. When I am taking the 7501 out of or putting it into the case, I feel the two might possibly slip apart, and the phone go crashing to the floor. I am very careful, but mistakes can happen. That said, I think HTC had to face some very severe design choices. I don't see how the 7501 would work with a hinge. Maybe they could have done something like they are showing on the prototypes of the Shift.

A lot of people don't like the 701's keyboard. I think it's great. There is no backlight which is a problem. It does have a very nice tactile feel when punching the keys, regardless of what others have found. The predictive text works wonderfully. It's not a full keyboard, there are many keys that can only be accessed after pressing a function key. These keys are all colored blue, impossible to read in dark lighting. Already, I've memorized the ones I use over and over. Another nice thing: It is quite easy to type handheld. If you require a function key, you depress the function key, and it remains active until after you have pressed entered the key. So, if you have to enter a number, press the function key, you can take your finger away, and then press the number. Same thing happens with the Caps key, it remains active until after you have pressed the next key. You don't have to turn on and off caps lock.

For a couple of days, I thought I'd be able to use the 7501 as my sole phone. It hasn't worked out that way. It pairs quite easily with bluetooth headsets. The voice dialing works pretty well. I like the corded headset, sort of. Quality is much better than Bluetooth. HTC in trying to be helpful, put a 3.5mm headphone jack on the device. That means you can use your highquality earphones with the 7501. Trouble is: All of the corded headsets I've found have come with a 2.5mm jack. While there are lots of adapters for the the 3.5mm female to the 2.5mm male, I'm having a very hard time finding an adapter going from 2.5mm male to 3.5mm female. Hence, I've not been able to use a third party corded headset with the 7501.

With the phone calls, the problems began. Some forum posts stated that with the pre-rlease software, the 7501 would go to sleep and wouldn't come out of sleep unless you hit the hard reset. That wasn't true, it would go to sleep, and you could hit the soft reset button on the back, and it would come back alive. (If you have to hard reset a device, it returns it to factory condition, ereasing everything you've put on the device. Not something that should be done every time a device crashes.) I think it did this to me a couple of times. I am not sure this is true. The 'on off' button on the right side of the device is very easy to press, and I might have accidentially pressed it when putting the device into the pouch. I'm not sure, but I'm keeping an eye on from now on.

I thought I would be able to carry the device in the pouch, and make a phone call by using voice dial from either bluetooth or wired headsets. All my problems would have been solved. Unfortunately, once the device has gone to sleep, voice dialing no longer works until you wake the device up again. Meaning, if you're walking, you have to take it out, assemble the keyboard, and press any button. That's a real bummer. So, far, I've found when there's an incoming call, the 7501 will wake up, and I can answer it from the headset. It has half of what I want.


I contacted HTC support, they wrote back a very helpful letter:

'Thank you for your inquiry in regards to the start up display message "Test Only, Not For Sale" and your HTC advantage X7501.



I can understand your concern to resolved these problems, We'll be more then happy to assist you.



It appears the HTC 7501 you purchased, is running a test version of the Software ROM. To remove this message, please install the software ROM download for this device. This download can be found at: http://www.america.htc.com/support/advantage7501/software-downloads.html

Please make sure to synchronize your device before doing so. All personal settings and data will be lost. Please download Microsoft Activesync 4.5 (for Windows XP & lower) or Windows Mobile Device Center 6.1 (for Windows Vista). Both software works together with Microsoft Outlook to synchronize your data. The link for all three software can also be found at the website link above, please make sure you are using the compatible version.

Please inform HTC if you are still receiving the test display message on boot up. To investigate the matter further, please send your IMEI number and S/N from the back of your device.



We're very sorry to hear once your HTC Advantage X7501 is in sleep mode it is frozen unless the battery is removed. This can be caused by a software or hardware glitch. Please complete the following troubleshooting steps to resolve this issue:

Turn on/ off power save mode.
Soft reset.
Hard(master) reset.
To turn on/ off Power Save:



1. Tap start and select Settings,
2. Select the Systems tab,

3. Tap Power and select the Advanced tab.

4. Under the: On Battery Power option, check/ uncheck: Turn off device if not used for,

5. Select: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 minutes for time out to power save.

6. Once your device has entered power save, please press the power button on your device to re-power your device.



To perform a soft reset

.

Use the stylus to press the RESET button found on the back of the device. Your device restarts and displays the Today screen.


To perform a hard reset

Warning!

Your device will be set back to factory default settings. Please ensure any additional installed programs and/or user data are backed up before a hard reset is performed.


1. Slide the Volume slider down and at the same time, use the stylus to press the RESET button at the back of your device.

2. After a brief period of time, two choices will appear on-screen. Press the CENTER OK button to perform the hard reset.

3. Press the POWER button.

Note If you do not want to perform a hard reset, press the CAMERA button to exit.



You ca locate complete instructions in your User's Manual. For your convenience, This is the direct link: http://www.america.htc.com/support/advantage7501/default.html.

For further assistance with your HTC Advantage X7501, please feel free to contact HTC Advantage Technical Support at: 1-877-878-7922.



I hope we have answered your question in detail. Feel free to contact us again if you have any further questions.



Thank you for contacting HTC Technical Support, Have a excellent day Mr. Higgins.




http://www.america.htc.com/ - HTC's website.

http://www.htcwiki.com/ - HTC's User's base forum '

The problem with this solution is, I would have to hard reset the 7501 and then resinstall everything again. I decided to soldier through with the prerelease software. Then I had what appeared to be a crash, where I had to soft reset before the device would come back on.

Then I received the following email from Amazon.com

Greetings from Amazon.com.

We're writing about your recent purchase of an HTC Advantage 7501 purchased from Amazon.com. We've learned that some units were shipped out with pre-production software. If you received an HTC Advantage from Amazon.com and are experiencing any problems or errors, please be sure to upgrade to the latest firmware/software to avoid issues.

The download URL and instructions can be found on the right side of the following page:

http://www.america.htc.com/products/advantage7501/default.html

We hope this information is helpful. Thank you for shopping at Amazon.com.


Sincerely,

Customer Service
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/

After that I decided to bite the bullet and do he software update. It took about 15 minutes. Then I had to reinstall all programs and settings. Surprisingly, the entire operation took only a couple of hours.

There were two hitches: I couldn't set up the hotmail and live account again using the WM 6.0 wizzards. Guess they don't want me to use Hotmail and Live.com. I will look on the Live website, when I get around to it, and look for ways to set the account up manually.

With the test software, included was an Opera web browser. I couldn't find it on the final version. However, the IE button was set to Opera, and I'd get a message every time I pressed it saying Opera couldn't be found. That was easy enough to solve, I went into settings and remapped the button to IE.

Then I downloaded the Beta version of Opera. It is valid until October. Truthfully, IE on WM 6.0 has been so improved, I'm not sure how much I'll use the Opera browser. Oh, yes, I downloaded the Opera program over the phone and installed it while having coffee, without using Active Sync. It is also possible to uninstall programs from the 7501 without going through Active Sync. There are some nice things about the Opera Browser 8.65 Beta: Grab and Scroll. Works well! Import IE Bookmarks, also works well. I have not found out how to copy text yet. It was not possible to do this with previous versions. I just did a Google search and found out how to select and copy text with the Beta Opera. Unfortunately, to do this you have to disalbe grab and scroll. Bummer. But the select and copy feature works well.

I'd read that it is not possible to create new Word documents with WM 6.0. Not true. I create them all the time.

I use the Stowaway Sierra Bluetooth keyboard with the 7501. First I bought the Stowaway Ultr Slim Bluetooth keyboard. The Sierra is virtually a full sized keyboard. When the two keyboards are folded up, the have virtually the same profile. True the Ultra-Slim is slimmer, but it has greatly reduced functionality.

I type very long documents with the Sierra keyboard. Works wonderfully with the 7501.

The 7501 is power hungry. I bought a Macally external battery. When I am sitting with bluetooth and wifi going I plug in the external battery, and it keeps me going for hours and hours.

I'm sorry I haven't posted any photos with this blog, but will do so soon. This is particularlly bad because I am a photographer.

I love the HTC 7501. Yes, there are problems. But if you are heavy into office uses, on the go and don't want to carry a laptop, this is the beast for you. It is great for Internet. Speeds are very fast. It's easy to connect to wi-fi. Email and IM are fantastic. Oh, yes, the screen is fabulous.

The problem is the phone. Speaker phone works great, but speaker phone in a public place? I tried once holding it to my ear, never again. The cord headset works well, unfortunately it is stereo, the cord is too long, and just gets in a tangled mess. I have not found an adapter so I can use third party corded headsets. HTC please make one 2.5mm female, 3.5mm male. It is not really possible to make phone calls when the phone is in its case. Bluetooth works OK. I don't like to leave Bluetooth running all the time because of battery drain. After a few days, I got out the HTC S-710 again, got a second number, and use it for making phone calls when I am not stationary. I hope I can find a soluton to the phone call problem.

Otherwise, I love the HTC 7501. I was planning on buying an HTC Omni when it comes out. I don't think I will now, because the screen on the 7501 is so much nicer.

I'll update this blog as I find out more about this amazing device.