Cingular 8125 PDA Phone (Cingular)

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• ASIN: B000FENIIW
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142,122 in Cell Phones & Accessories (See Top 100 in Cell Phones & Accessories)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

If you're looking for one compact device that can do it all, here's the answer. The Cingular 8125 combines a quad-band phone with a Windows Mobile 5.0 PDA with all the bells and whistles: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a miniSD card slot, support for EDGE high speed data, and more. And don't forget the unique slide-out QWERTY keyboard that makes messaging, note-taking, and other writing tasks a breeze.

The Cingular 8125 lets you do things you'd typically need a PC to do. View larger.

The 8125 lets you do things you'd typically need a PC to do, like email, text messaging, instant messaging and web browsing-- all from one integrated device. What's more, the phone's software is designed to sync seamlessly with email, contacts and calendar information on your PC. The 8125 also offers great mobile music and video options, thanks to Windows Media Player.

Design
Under the hood, the 8125 features 128MB of RAM and a 200 MHz processor. Up front, the 240 x 320 LCD touch-screen supports 65,000 colors, while the rear of the device houses a 1.3 megapixel camera. The design of the 8125 is clean and uncluttered, with just a few buttons for mail, Internet Explorer, and contextual menus. Meanwhile, call answer and end buttons surround a a five-way toggle that allows you to navigate and control the Windows Mobile interface. As mentioned, a full QWERTY keyboard cleverly slides out from underneath the screen. This allows you to hold the device horizontally, and the screen is automatically placed in landscape mode when you're using the keyboard. A mini-SD memory expansion card slot is provided, as is an infrared port and a 2.5mm headphone jack. A mini-USB port is also included for wired data transfers.

Calling and PDA Features
The 8125's phone and PDA functions are designed to provide an integrated, seamless experience. A single main screen summarizes all the important information you need to make it through the day. Here you'll get message notification, upcoming appointments, dialing functions, tasks, and more all in one spot.

As a phone, the 8125 features all the functionality folks expect from a cell phone, including a handsfree speakerphone, polyphonic ringtones, a vibrate mode, and picture and ringer ID. Microsoft Office Outlook Mobile combines email, calendar, contacts, tasks, and notes into a single application that seamlessly integrates with the 8125's phone functions. Meanwhile, headsets, car kits and other wireless peripherals can also be paired with the unit via Bluetooth (the Bluetooth 1.2 specification is supported).

Staying productive on the road is made possible by the Microsoft Office Mobile suite, which includes Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, and PowerPoint Mobile. Meanwhile, the File Explorer application makes it easy to browse the files on your 8125.

With a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, this Smartphone is just your type.

Messaging and Internet
Using Cingular's EDGE-powered internet service, you can surf the Web with the bundled Internet Explorer application, or use MSN messenger to stay in contact via instant messaging. Plus, the inclusion of Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) in the 8125 allows you to surf the Web or check your email at blazing speeds when you're connected to a Wi-Fi network. Lastly, robust SMS and MMS functionality is built into the Windows Mobile interface, too.

One of the most important tools bundled with the 8125 is Microsoft ActiveSync, which allows you to quickly synchronize your device's tasks, calendars, email, and contacts with your desktop. You also get Exchange ActiveSync, an application that lets you synchronize data with an Exchange server. Syncing can be done via USB, or wirelessly via Bluetooth or infrared.

Imaging and Entertainment
Another great feature of the 8125 is that it supports Windows Media playback right out of the box. With Windows Media Player, you can play streaming and downloaded video and audio content in a variety of formats, even purchased music from "Plays For Sure" supporting stores. You can also keep your tunes loaded on a memory card and listen to your music wherever you roam.

As mentioned, the 8125 can take 1.3 megapixel (1280x1024) pictures, and while the camera is great for taking stills, it can also function as a camcorder, allowing you to capture video to the unit's memory. An integrated media application organizes your captured photos and videos. For gamers, the phone supports Java-based and Windows Mobile games.

Vital Statistics
The Cingular 8125 weighs 5.3 ounces and measures 4.25 x 2.83 x 0.93 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 5 hours of digital talk time, and up to 7 days of digital standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies. The phone comes with a one year limited warranty.

Product Description

The AT&T 8100 and 8125 provides access to familiar Microsoft applications at the speed of EDGE on the fastest national wireless data network. With worldphone capabilities, Windows Mobile 5.0 support, and access to various mail and messaging solutions, the Cingular 8100/8125 will keep you connected while on the go.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

124 of 132 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Still Deciding, May 8, 2006

By 

L. A. Thompson "The Next Big Thing" (New York baby!) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cingular 8125 PDA Phone (Cingular) (Wireless Phone)

I've had this phone for about 2 weeks now and am still evaluating whether or not it is worth keeping (you have 30 days to try it out).

The PROs:
*) Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 familiarity. If you know Windows, then using Outlook, Word, Powerpoint and all of the other Microsoft programs it comes with will be a cinch.
*) I can keep track of my appointments with ease. Outlook is great and the 8125 will display your next appointment right on your phone's "Desktop" - the Today screen.
*)The QWERTY keyboard, while seemingly tight and a pain to use initially (i'm not used to PDA phones-this is my 1st one), is something i've gotten used to and is a GREAT feature when texting and sending emails. Also, the screen adjusts automatically from portrait to landscape mode when you're using the keyboard.
*) Email Accounts- I'm an Actor, a Web Designer, and a night club Manager; I have a few different emails that I need to access throughout my day, and i needed a device that would allow me to function on all areas of my life with ease. It allows you to have up to 5 POP3 email accounts. You can also program it to alert you when you have new messages. Very convenient from 1 device!...
*) All in one convenience- Rather than buy a PDA and a separate phone, I can keep all of my phone numbers, addresses, emails, appointments, notes, tasks, etc all in one device! You can't beat that.
*) Smaller than it looks- it's the same size as a Treo 700, though it looks a heck of a lot bigger in press photos.
*) Bluetooth and WiFi- this is the only device (along with the T-Mobile MDA and Spring 6700- these are all the same device, made by HTC) that features both WiFi capability and Bluetooth connectivity.

The CONs:

*)Battery Life- Like I said before, i'm not used to PDA phones so I keep seeing reviews that say the battery life is GREAT and such. I'm not so sure about that. After a full charge, I'll use this phone sporadically and moderately over a period of 6 hrs and it seems like a good portion of the battery goes. Again, i don't know if this is normal for a PDA phone.
*)Speaker phone- basically useless in environments with even a moderate amount of noise.
*)ActiveSync- It even says on your user manual "There are known Activesync problems with this product..." There have been times when i'd connect this device to my computer w/ the USB cord and nothing happens! No recognition, nothing! Definitely a reliability issue.
*) The camera- worthless. The pics are unbelievably subpar! Unless you're outside, everything appears dark. The little flashlight doesn't work more than 6 inches away. A little disappointed because they really tout this phone's "AMAZING 1.3 MP Camera." I mean, who buys a phone for a camera anyway, but it reads like a great feature but doesn't produce great quality.
*)Other Reliability issues- Prone to freeze even when there are no other programs open.
When in email/text messaging program, screen will appear in landscape mode even when the keyboard is not in use! (This is SO annoying).
At times, when trying to switch accounts (for instance, when trying to switch from my Outlook email to Text messages), i will hit "Switch Accounts" and a little square box will appear on the screen, but that's it. (When working properly, it's supposed to give you a list of the email accounts on your phone and you select from that list).
1st day I had it- it would not let me configure my email. I would select "Edit account," but nothing would happen. I had to call customer service and they had me reset the device and had to call me back 45 minutes later because i had no other phone for them to direct me through the call.

Again, overall, i don't know if the reliability problems are specific to my phone and whether I was unlucky or not, but overall I gave it 3 stars because it is a good all-in-one device. The quirks, however, take away from enjoying this product fully. With that in mind, I have 14 more days to decide whether this is worth keeping for 2 MORE YEARS. I'll let you know if I return it or not...

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best PDA cell phone yet, June 17, 2006

By 

Ultimate Realist (Sugar Land, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cingular 8125 PDA Phone (Cingular) (Wireless Phone)

I have had a Cingular cell phone for over 10 years (known as Houston Cellular in years past). I have also had a PDA for the past 10 years, including Windows Mobile based HP IPAQ's for over 5 years. I have always longed to combine the two devices into one. However, for the most part, cell phone PDA devices were not up to the quality offered by the HP IPAQ's.

Recently, I took the plunge and tried out a few PDA phones from Cingular. First I tried the new Nokia PDA in the store - this one has the long horizontal screen. Unfortunately, the keyboard is not lighted and I decided to opt for the latest Palm Treo instead. I kept the Palm for about 3 days - it is a very nice phone with a sharp screen but the Palm operating system pales by comparison to Windows Mobile. I did like the one button switch on the top of the Treo that turns vibrate mode on. However, I felt that the exposed cramped keyboard was not the best for a tall man with big hands.

Mainly because of my bias in favor of the Windows Mobile platform, I exchanged the Palm for a Cingular 8125. For those who are not aware, this phone is Cingular's incarnation of the HTC Wizard and the T-Mobil MDA.

I have now had this phone for about 6 weeks. For starters, I need to state that I have not tried e-mail connectivity - I paid the full price for the phone and Cingular did not require a data contract, just a 2 year agreement for the cell phone services. I work for a large energy company and getting company e-mail on a private PDA is still in the future for security reasons.

However, I use it to connect to the internet using the Wi-Fi that I have set up at home with a Time Warner Roadrunner cable. The 8125 took me about 15 minutes to set up and reliably connects to BBC Pocket PC version every day in a matter of seconds. By contrast, my HP IPAQ 4705 running Windows Mobile 3 has hiccups every third day that needs me to ping to the server, re-enter the password, etc. Of course, you cannot compare the 8125's display to the IPAQ - the 4705 has a gorgeous 4 inch display. Having said that, I must add that the 8125 has a sharp 2.8 display that is quite adequate if not quite as spectacular.

I have read a review on CNET that states that the 8125 gives reception problems in Sugar Land, Texas. I live in Sugar Land and I can tell you that this phone has a clear strong reception everywhere in Houston. The Palm Treo was much inferior by comparison - I had difficuly hearing in my car with the Treo pressed against my ear.

As I wrote above, I do not have a data plan with Cingular and so I cannot comment on this aspect of the phone. It does have an excellent voice dial feature - as long as ambient noise is low, the phone reliably picks up all my voice signatures and dials the appropriate contact. This is the best way to dial with this phone as using the hidden sliding keypad is not easy, especially if you are driving (it is usually best not to use a cell phone at all while driving). Bottom line, I am quite satisfied with the 8125 as a cell-phone. Note that it is not as bulky as it appears in the pictures.

Now for the PDA capabilities. Again, do not compare the screen to a 4705. It does not have the real estate that the 4705 does and therefore all fonts will be that much smaller. Other than this, the 8125 is the equal of the 4705. I added a 2 GB mini SD SanDisk card that I got from Amazon at an incredible price. It works beautifully and I am able to load large applications including talking dictionaries on the card, thus freeing up phone memory. I have SciCalc, Pocket PC Chess Grandmaster, Pocket Stars, Lextionary, MSDict with Slovo-En, Pocket Music, Resco File Explorer and Today add-in, Pocket Quicken and Code Wallet among other apps running smoothly. The keyboard is as good as it gets for such a small device - it is backlit and the keys have a nice reassuring feel.

The sweetest feature is the sound quality from the stereo speakers. With Pocket Music and the AAC add-in, I am playing Bollywood music at about half the volume level. The sound is very sweet - of course do not expect bass from the teeny speakers! This device beats the hell out of the IPAQ 4705's mono speaker. By the way, the camera on this phone is not much more than a toy - I would only use if I did not have a regular camera around and had to take a picture for some reason. There is a flash but I doubt that it makes any difference to the picture quality.

I have a car charge adaptor and the USB cable auto charges when connected to my laptop. Regarding Auto-Sync issues, there is no problem as long as you do not have a fire-wall like Zone Labs running. Shut down Zone Labs and the auto-sync works just fine. Windows Mobile 5 is an improvement over Ver. 3 - it does not need re-booting much and it is easier to manage apps from your laptop.

I have taken one star away because I think the PDA/phone marriage has still not fully matured. I know that people have connectivity issues. Furthermore, HTC could have improved the ergonomics on this phone. Turning on vibrate mode needs a few screen taps - I have not figured out how to use a single buuton to do this yet.

All in all, I must say that this phone is worth the $400 that it costs. Unfortunately, Cingular unlike T-Mobile and Sprint will not offer phone insurance on their PDA phones. So I lose this phone and I am out of luck....

To conclude, this is an excellent PDA phone for those comfortable with the Windows Mobile operating system. If you have realistic expectations and recognize that the PDA/phone marriage is stil evolving, you will not be disappointed. Kudos to HTC for a well-thought out and executed device.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this phone!!!! (minor detractions below), December 15, 2006

By 

Chino "Chino" (Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cingular 8125 PDA Phone (Cingular) (Wireless Phone)

OK, I've recently realized that I tend to write long reviews, so here are the pertinent points: (full review to follow)

Pros:
Windows Mobile 5.0/Activesync/MS Office support/PDF/Windows Media(Mp3/video player)/etc.
WiFi/Bluetooth
Screen resolution/brightness
Full keyboard
Touchscreen
Battery life (for a PDA/Smartphone)
Mini SD card slot placement
mini USB port
Quad band (and easy to unlock)

Cons:
Windows Mobile 5.0/Activesync/etc/etc
Slowish processor
Bulk
Keyboard "slide" mechanism loosens over time
No "voice commands" out of the box


Ok, here goes the detailed version:

I should state that I'm not a Cingular fan (forced over after ATTWS was bought out by them), but between the GSM providers (them and T-mo) in this country, it's IMHO the better choice. This isn't a Cingular review, however. It's a phone review (apparently, some of the other reviewers here have missed that point!), so... I originally got this phone (08/2006) because it was the only Cingular phone with WiFi built in. I haven't kept up with Cingular phones lately, so I don't know if that has since changed.

Form:

Weakest link of all. I am waiting for someone to make a Win Mobile 5.0, full keyboard, Bluetooth, WiFi, touchscreen PDA/phone that's approximately the form factor of a moto Q or similar (new blackjack?). Since it doesn't exist, I guess this is the next best thing.

The phone is large. Period. While it's no "brick" or "bag" phone (from the days when we had 3 watt jobbies that weighed 8 pounds), it is by modern standards a bulky phone. It's almost an inch thick and weighs a lot (official specs 0.9" thick and 6.1 ounces). HOWEVER, the bulk does allow for a georgeous 3.5" touchscreen display that takes up the majority of the front of the phone.

The keyboard. Love it and hate it. Size of the keyboard is (relatively) huge and because of the size, the designers had to hide it away using a sliding mechanism. The problem is that the sliding mechanism loosens itself after a few months of using the phone such that after a while, the phone slides open if you're holding it up to your ear on a call. Sucks. Solution: use bluetooth! Otherwise, the keyboard is functional and can function for touch typing as it has raised bumps over the home keys of "f" and "j". It includes its own set of soft buttons to actuate the menus and such and it also actually has its own "windows" key for accessing the start menu. The keyboard backlighting is a nice touch as well, but it seems to turn off too quickly.

Love that the memory card (miniSD) slot is accessible from the outside (not hidden behind the battery like in some phones).

Other gripes: the phone has a 2.5mm earphone/audio out jack instead of the more common 3.5mm jack. Standard headphones with a minijack will NOT work without an adaptor. The volume button (upper left side) is a slider (slide up for vol up, down for vol down), and I think would be better served with a multipurpose "jog" wheel with push it to click functionality. Would help with one handed operation.

Function:

As a PDA:
Windows. What can I say. It's a love-hate relationship. Love that it's got the same familiarity as XP, and has (basically) the same functionality in a superportable package. You can do Word/Excel/Powerpoint/Outlook out of the box. You can read PDFs. There's Windows Media for Mp3s and videos (the phone comes with a pretty decent set of headphones with volume control and call answer/hangup control on the cord), there's mobile IE (no need for WAP based browsing), there's a file zipper (like pkzip, winzip, etc), there's email and SMS, there's a great contacts/calendar PDA type setup, and there is also a pretty straightforward, easy to use syncing program (Activesync). You can do Powerpoint presentations from the thing (either via Bluetooth, IRDA, or a SDIO adapter!); how cool would you look hooking up your PHONE to the LCD projector instead of a laptop? Bottom line, anyone already using a Windows Mobile device will feel right at home and anyone who has used a Windows PC (who hasn't?) will pick it up rather intuitively. WiFi is awesome. I can basically use IE just like a PC over WiFi. However, surfing the internet on this thing can be a real battery killer!

HOWEVER, it's Windows. It's a memory hog. Programs don't end when you "quit" them, and even if you go into the system menu and "stop" them via the memory manager, there's still a significant amount of leak. Gotta reboot every now and again to get the memory back. Also, I've had some hangs. Didn't expect that out of a phone, but, hello... it's Windows. Oh well. Hoping that the next generation of Win Mobile gets even better. As I've heard, this version is leaps and bounds better than 2003. (This is my first Windows "CE" product). There is an easily accessible "reset" button that can be actuated by the stylus or a straightened paperclip just below the IR window. Also, the processor is not the fastest. You'll notice switching apps or anything somewhat processor intensive (video/music) will cause your other apps to slow down.

As a phone:
Signal strength is good. Not Nokia levels, but good. Maybe a bit better than Motorola levels. Sound quality as a phone is great; as a speakerphone it's excellent as speakerphones go (those tiny stereo speakers do remarkably well). Microphone picks up accurately, and there are no complaints of vocal quality on the other side of the line. Dialing is via touchscreen. Sucks for touchtyping, and since there's not a voice dial function (out of the box), it's your only option for calling anyone not programmed in as a contact with a voice tag. There ARE aftermarket software solutions for voice dialing (e.g. "DIAL 0-0-0-5-5-5-1-2-3-4 SEND"), but come on...depending on carrier subsidies, spending between $300 to $700 on a phone, I expect the functionality to be built in! By the way, I use my fingernail to dial to be more precise when pressing the "keys" on the touchscreen. That way, you don't have to pull out the stylet everytime you make a phone call.

Contact search is a delight. You can just start pressing keys (as numbers or letters), and the phone will automatically bring up the contacts which match. Example: you can press 2-4-5 and the phone will bring up anyone whose number begins with "245" or all the entries for "BIL" (like "Bil"l, "Bil"ly, pay my "Bil"l, etc.) or some other combination like that (like "BI J" for "BI"ll "J"ones). Quite amazing

Bluetooth paring is easy and bluetooth works well with my headset. Above average range and clarity.

Battery life is excellent. I usually go 4-5 days inbetween charges on moderate phone/bluetooth usage, light internet/WiFi usage. If I'm heavy on the internet, maybe recharge in 12-16 hours or so (adequate for a day's work). Anyway, recharging is simple. Just carry a USB to miniUSB cable with you. Plug into any PC or USB power adapter and you're set.

All and all, it's a unified device, with it's inherent limitations. A jack-of-all-trades cannot be perfect at everything it does, but the 8125 does everything well and with only a few drawbacks. I would MUCH rather have this one device on my hip than a phone, a palm device, a MP3 player, and still have to carry around a laptop. 5/5 (if I could, 4.75/5). Can't wait to see what HTC(the manufacturer for Cingular) has around the corner.