Review of HTC’s X7510 Advantage

By Michael Oryl • May 21, 2008

HTC X7510 Advantage

The HTC X7510 Advantage is a hard device to label. Technically it is a smartphone, because it runs the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS and has the ability to make voice calls. But the fact that calls can only be made with the built-in speakerphone or a headset hint at the fact that it was not designed primarily as a voice device. Its size drives the point home even further, since it weighs as much as 3 normal sized smartphones at 375g (13.2oz). That’s a lot of hardware, no question.

So what is the Advantage? It is a media and data-centric device that also happens to make calls. Think of it as one part smartphone, one part laptop, and a dash of media player voodoo for good measure. Its 134mm x 98mm x 20.5mm (5.3″ x 3.9″ x .8″) size without the keyboard means it is pocketable, but only barely. Compared to a laptop computer, though, the Advantage will run for hours without a charge (300 hours of standby, 5-6 hours of talk time) and can be easily toted around. And it can make that emergency phone call if you need it to.

The X7510’s large 5″ VGA resolution touchscreen display is great for web browsing or video watching. The included Opera 9 browser makes the most of the huge touchscreen, allowing users to scroll with a finger or stylus and double tap to zoom in or out. It is a true laptop-like browsing experience, though perhaps a bit less zippy at times.

The zip factor depends largely on how the Advantage is getting its connectivity. On WiFi or an HDSPA 3G network (850/1900/2100MHz), it is pretty quick. HSDPA can provide 1000Kbps data downloads, while WiFi can double that as long as the X7510’s 624MHz processor and generous 128MB of RAM aren’t juggling too many other tasks. If there is no high speed data available, you’ll be stuck with quad-band GSM/EDGE support and sub-100Kbps download speeds. That might not be awe inspiring, but it will keep you in touch with the world. it is worth mentioning that the Opera 9 browser appears to ignore the WiFi connection if the WiFi system was enabled after Opera was already running, which is unlike how the Pocket IE and other apps behave.

Of course there is more to a device like the Advantage than just downloading web pages. Sometimes you need to give back a little. To that end, Advantage users can create and edit Word, Excel, and OneNote documents, and view PowerPoint presentations. To get the most of such abilities, though, you need more than the Windows Mobile on-screen QWERTY keyboard. That’s where the X7510’s 104g (3.7oz) detachable keyboard comes in. It connects to the main body of the Advantage through a few brass contacts, and the keyboard is held in place with a pretty strong magnet. I am always surprised at how easy it is to get the keyboard into position - it just wants to go to the right place on its own.

Compared to the earlier Advantages, the keyboard that comes with the X7510 is quite different. For starters, the keys are molded into the top membrane of the keyboard (think Atari 400 for those of you old enough to remember back that far). There are ridges that separate each key, and a soft click and accompanying vibration greet each key press. It seems that the sound itself is somehow causing the haptic vibration, and as such there is no way to get the reassuring vibration feedback when the keyboard sound is muted. The click might be annoying to others when in a quiet room, but when there is any kind of ambient noise around at all, nobody will be the wiser.

Like all Windows Mobile smartphones, the X7510 Advantage supports over the air synchronization of email, contacts, tasks, and calendar appointments when linked up to a Microsoft Exchange server. I use a hosted Exchange account for email, and I love having push email delivered to the Advantage. It supports other push email systems when loaded with the appropriate software, and can also be used with more traditional POP and IMAP based email servers. And with the keyboard in position, you can really blast through email in a way that most smartphones could only dream of.

The second half of the review and a gallery of photos are available on the next page.