HTC's latest mobile device crams a PC into a strange but useful package, as Rupert White reports


Any regular reader of the IT pages in the Gazette will know that we generally frown on attempts at being the 'jack of all trades', so to like the HTC Advantage was a bit of a surprise.



It seemed inevitable that the Advantage, previously codenamed the Athena, sold by T-Mobile as the Ameo (though with a subtly different set-up), and strangely living a double life under the moniker X7500, would fail to deliver anything well, trying so hard to be all things to all men. But several things save it from ignominy and the Advantage is, in fact, rather good.



It is an odd mix of the very different and very familiar. Its dimensions are almost those of an ultra-mobile PC (UMPC), but it is actually a huge Windows Mobile device. It weighs more than 350g, ships with an 8GB hard drive and has a vast screen (640x480). There is a full keyboard that connects to it but, being a Windows Mobile device, you can fairly easily use the Advantage without it. But it is the addition of a 'proper' keyboard, and how that is done, that saves the Advantage from the reviews dustbin.



Not all information-browsing needs a keyboard but, realistically, most emailing does. No one really wants to use Word files without being able to type in them. Other power-user PDAs, such as O2's Xda Exec and Orange's SPV M5000, both panned by the Gazette last year, are often just very big phones with less than impressive, tiny keyboards. There are exceptions to the rule, but very few.



The Advantage bypasses all this with what has to be the most innovative keyboard/screen solution since the Sidekick: a magnetic connection for the keyboard that then props up the main unit. When you carry the Advantage around, the keyboard adheres to the screen, protecting it.



The keyboard is also surprisingly usable, though far from great - someone at HTC will eventually realise that on a mobile device, the @ sign should have its own key, on the right, where it should be. Apart from that, we wrote emails and even some notes for this review on the unit, and it was much easier to use than the Xda/SPV.



Video-calling quality was good and the processor is easily quick enough to handle Skype, so voice-over IP calls should also be a breeze.



At the moment, the Advantage does not come with Windows Mobile 6, but when it does, this will be a very desirable little device. But even running Windows Mobile 5, the combination of a big screen and a proper keyboard made programs such as Excel actually usable on what is, fundamentally, a connected PDA. This is no mean feat.



Downsides: being extremely magnetic must have an impact on magnetic media. USB memory sticks glue themselves to it at the first opportunity, though it appears to do no damage to them, but it might be best not to keep the unit next to floppy disks, or even perhaps your iPod. The magnet is not idiot-proof, and it is possible for the main unit to detach itself if tipped over while being held, which could be catastrophic. The Advantage is also heavy, so it belongs in your bag, not in your coat. Lastly, taking out the battery requires fingernails of steel.



The hard drive is protected from this to an extent by a system that shuts the drive down if a fall is sensed. This works technically using an accelerometer in the Advantage. This gizmo is also utilised to enable a technology called VueFLO in the Advantage; in brief, this allows you to scroll around a browser window by tilting the device about. This has had several thumbs-up from the IT press, but we found it to be absolutely redundant. Once tilted, the screen is often not readable, making the whole exercise frustrating.



But those things aside, we liked it. A big screen, a usable keyboard, a nifty and quirky design, and mobile connectivity make it well worth looking at. The Advantage is a device that is far too large to be used as a mobile phone but still is one, just too small and underpowered to be a full PC, but it can do many of a PC's tricks, ticks every connectivity box and fits into a small bag. As jacks of all trades go, it sits head and shoulders above the rest.



HTC Advantage X7500: currently ranging from £625 without contract down to around £330 with contract (prices from Expansys.com) on all major operators. The Gazette's Advantage was tested on Vodafone's network.



Specifications: 3G/HSDPA mobile comms; Bluetooth 2.0; WiFi; 3-megapixel camera; miniSD memory slot; 8GB microdrive; 128MB SDRAM; 359g; 133.5x98x16-20mm; 624MHz processor; 5" screen.



l The Gazette is not paid for reviews and all equipment is returned.