Specifications

FIRST LOOKS CONSUMER ELECTRONICS
HTC Advantage
$899.99 list
lllmm
PROS Stunning, bright screen.
Includes basic document editing
and robust keyboard. Built-in
HSDPA, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.
CONS Too large to be a primary
mobile phone. Occasional
OS glitches. Sluggish system
performance. Pricey.
For more:
go.pcmag.com/ advantage
HTC ADVANTAGE
Phone, Laptop in One
At 12.7 ounces, this massive device is meant to be an über-
PDA—a handheld for adventurous computer enthusiasts
who wish they could inject their Treo with steroids. It
can replace a laptop in more situations than any other
smartphone on the market, but it doubles as a phone only
when you wear a headset or use the speakerphone.
Though the Advantage’s top-end 624-MHz Marvell
PXA270 processor aced our benchmark tests, the unit still
felt pokey. But built-in HSDPA and Wi-Fi didn’t disappoint,
grabbing speeds approximating 700 Kbps on the AT&T
network. The device’s keyboard is big, but fl at and soft.
The Advantage makes a handy in-car GPS, thanks to
its big 5-inch screen and TeleNav’s built-in GPS Navigator
5.1 software. One button press gets TeleNav to reroute you
around tie-ups. The device runs Windows Mobile, so you
can sync e-mail, calendar, and contacts with Microsoft Out-
look 2003 and 2007, and the unit can receive push Exchange
e-mail. Offi ce Mobile still needs work, though: I saw format-
ting errors in some documents, which limits the handset’s
usefulness when editing important fi les. You can save data
to the internal 8GB hard drive or to a miniSD card.
The Advantage could bridge the gap between handhelds
and laptops, but for $900 you might as well buy a laptop and
get a free phone from your carrier.—Jamie Lendino
Best smartphone
keyboard yet
MOTOROLA Q9M (VERIZON)
Sophisticated, but Sluggish
This latest smartphone for Verizon pairs excellent call quality
with a top-notch keyboard, making it a strong Windows Mobile
choice. I just wish it felt a little quicker.
The Q9m’s keyboard is the biggest change from the old
Motorola Q. The larger, rectangular keys are easier to settle your
fingers on (which helps prevent mistyping), and they depress
with satisfying clicks. All but the most ham-handed will fl y over
this smartphone's keyboard.
A superior phone, the Q9m has very strong reception. The
earpiece and especially the speakerphone are unusually loud
and clear, and ringtones sound terrifi c.
Verizon has updated the Q9m with a lot of useful new soft-
ware. At the head of the pack is DataViz DocumentsToGo for
Windows Mobile 6, which lets you view PDFs and view, edit,
and create Microsoft Offi ce documents. Also, its Word-, Excel-,
and PowerPoint-compatible apps are refreshing oases of cutting
and pasting. Verizon’s new media-player home screen is less
accommodating, but you don’t have to use it.
The Q9m’s one problem is that it feels a bit laggy. When
typing an e-mail message, I sometimes had to wait for the screen
to catch up with my typing, and PDF fi les took quite some time
to open. Still, the new Q is a powerful, fl exible mobile offi ce.
—Sascha Segan
Motorola Q9m
(Verizon)
$199 to $349.99 list
llllm
PROS Excellent phone
quality. Top-notch
keyboard. Ability to
read and edit Microsoft
Offi ce documents.
CONS Feels slow. Lack-
luster camera. No GPS.
No cut-and-paste in
e-mails.
For more:
go.pcmag.com/q9m
Detachable
keyboard
Joystick or
touch screen?
You choose!
2.3 x 3.9 x 0.5 inches
38 PC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 6, 2007