The 8100 is a Cingular-branded version of Taiwanese ODM (Original Design Manufacturer)High Tech Computer's (HTC) Wizard design: T-Mobile plans to release its own Wizard in the U.S., as the MDA, later this month as well.

As with many other Pocket PC Phones hitting the market — like Sprint and Verizon's 6700 models - the 8100 features a QWERTY thumb-keyboard. In the 8100's case, the design is for thumbsters who prefer their keyboards to slide out from underneath their handheld's display, a 2.8-inch, 64k QVGA (240 x 320 pixel) resolution type.

As a Windows Mobile device, you'll be able to choose either portrait or landscape viewing. Nonetheless, you can only use the smartphone in landscape mode when the keyboard is extended. With keyboard retracted it would seem to make more sense for the screen to be viewed in portrait mode.


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Additional features of the 4.32 x 2.32 x 1.0 inch, 5.25 ounce 8100 series include a 195 MHz Texas Instruments OMAP850 processor, 64 MB of RAM, 128 MB of ROM, a minSD slot for additional storage, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE cellular network support. EDGE (Enhanced Data for Global Evolution) is a 2.5G standard that delivers download speeds averaging around 125Kbps, with bursts up to 200 Kbps or so.

While Cingular has the most widely deployed EDGE network in the United States—13,000 cities and towns along nearly 40,000 miles of major highways, the operator says—the technology delivers half to a third the performance, speed-wise, of 3G networks like Verizon and Sprint's EV-DO offerings or Cingular's own fledling HSDPA type.

As is the custom with smartphones nowadays, Cingular will offer versions of the 8100 with and without a 1.3-megapixel camera: the 8125 with and the 8100 without. Corporate gatekeepers view features like integrated cameras with an increasingly jaundiced eye. They simply make it too easy for employees to share with others what the enterprise would prefer to keep private.

The device supports multiple audio formats including MP3, AMR, AAC, WAV and WMA, as well as MPEG-4 video streaming through Windows Media Player 10 Mobile. Cingular rates the 8100's 1250mAH Lithium-ion battery for five hours talk and up to seven days standby time.


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Mob-e-mail options enable the 8100 to sync to Microsoft Exchange Server, GoodLink from Good Technology, Cingular Xpress Mail and MSN Hotmail. In addition to e-mail, the 8100 serves up wireless messaging applications like MSN Messenger and Cingular's multimedia messaging service (MMS).

And, as a Windows Mobile 5.0 device, Cingular will upgrade the 8100 series to support the Microsoft Messaging and Security Feature Pack for the software giant's version of push e-mail when that becomes available later this year.

The Cingular 8100 series Pocket PCs should be available to the general public by the end of the month for $299 with a two-year service contract and qualified data plan. It will ship tomorrow to corporate customers via Cingular's B2B channel.

Stay tuned for our upcoming reviews of the Cingular 8125 Pocket PC Phone and Cingular 2125 Windows Smartphone.