The Cingular 3125 stands out from this crowd with its ultra-thin clamshell design - still a rarity in the smartphone world. Although the 3125 offers software similar to that of its predecessor, the Cingular 2125, the 3125 mixes smartphone technology with a slim clamshell design and a reasonable price to create a new entry in the mobile phone universe.
The 3125 operates under Windows Mobile 5.0 and features a plethora of applications, messaging, and connectivity options. Microsoft programs such as Outlook and MSN Messenger are easily accessed, while the browsing of third-party email and other websites is facilitated through the phone's high-speed GPRS / EDGE internet capabilities. The phone features both simple and multimedia text messaging.
In addition to the phone's PDA system, the 3125 features extensive multimedia capabilities, including both MP3 and video download / playback. The phone's 1.3-megapixel camera is nothing special, but should be satisfactory for creating custom wallpapers and sending fun photos and video to friends and family. J2ME games round out the entertainment package. Video playback and other visual media are enhanced by a large, full-color 240 x 320 px internal screen. To add to the visual capabilities of the phone, the 3125 also features a full-color 128 x 128 px external screen.
Design
The most striking aspect of the 3125's design is its clamshell form. Since most smartphones use the arguably bulkier candy-bar design, the Cingular 3125 stands out as a flip phone. Furthermore, at an ultra-slim 99 x 51 x 16 mm, the 3125 takes up a lot less room in the typical pocket, purse, or briefcase. Even folded, however, the phone is a bit longer than the average clamshell phone, which may cause an awkward fit in some pants pockets. Still, this longer length is not particularly extreme, so most users should find the 3125 a lot less cumbersome than many phones. Similarly, the 3125's ultra-slimness is somewhat mitigated by the slightly-bulging battery, but again to a negligible extent. With its ultra-thin clamshell design, the 3125 is still one of the smaller smartphones on the market.
Cingular 3125 ClosedThe front face features a 128 x 128 px TFT external screen which usually displays a variety of clocks and the usual phone status features such as battery or reception. The square screen is surrounded by a black circle in order to give the convincing illusion of a circular clock when the clock is set to analog mode. The media-player can be controlled when the phone is closed via three buttons (play, fast forward, rewind) beneath the screen towards the bottom of the phone. Centered towards the hinge of the phone above the external screen is the VGA-camera lens. At the bottom of the phone by the Cingular label is a speaker. With the small camera lens circle above the larger clock-circle above the rounded-off media buttons, the front face design flows beautifully.
The back face features the almost-seamless battery slot, in which is found both the battery and the SIM card. In a design that might bother some users, the memory card fits in behind the SIM card, so that the latter must be removed in order to access the former. Dedicated side-keys control volume, voice notes, and the camera. The phone has a single port located on the side edge, so all cables will have to be specially-designed to fit the phone. Happily, the phone comes with a special USB cable and special headphones in addition to the power cable.
Upon flipping open the phone, the user discovers the 240 x 320 px TFT internal screen above and the standard keypad layout below. The keypad, which is completely flat, features a five-way navigation button flanked by the hang-up / pick-up keys, two soft keys, a "back" key, a "home" key, and large, rectangular digit keys. The large number buttons make for easy dialing, while the flat design makes for a cool look.
The ultra-thin clamshell design of the 3125 is a largely a success, though users may find the unusual length a drawback. In general, however, the slim black design, combined with a full-color external screen, large internal screen, and flat keypad, makes for a classy, professional-looking handset.
Out of the box, the Cingular 3125 comes with a 1100 mAh Li-Ion battery, Power Cable, USB Cable, and Headphones. Some users may despair the lack of a hardcopy of the manual, which is only available in digital form.
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Straighten your ties and button your suit jackets, RIM's promiscuous debutante -- the Blackberry 8800 -- is up and dancin' on on Cingular's website. $500 list, or $300 after $50 mail-in rebate and 2-year contract, the 8800 brings everything we expected: quad-band EDGE, GPS, microSD expansion, Bluetooth 2.0, push-to-talk suport, and 5-hours talk / 24-days standby in a 0.55-inch device weighing just 4.73-ounces. 3G data? No. WiFi? Not this time. For that we'll have to hold tight for the anticipated mid-year launch of the 8820.
