As promised, today we’ll examine the rest of the hardware differences between the elderly 8125 and it’s upstart son, the 8525.
One of the most exciting features of the 8525 is its scroll wheel. Due to the “push in to select” navigation, and the positioning of the secondary “OK” key beneath the wheel, it is a tremendous boon to one handed usage on a PPC. With these keys, I can view my emails, and quickly scroll through them with one hand! In this case I bow to to Blackberry users, and admit that this potent combination really works! Oddly though, HTC placed the wheel on the left side of the device, thereby making usage slightly more awkward for right-handed users.
The 8525 also has a PTT (Push to Talk) rubberized button under the “OK” button on the left side of the device. Unfortunately, the PTT service is not accessible yet. Cingular claims availability beginning Q1 2007.
The memory card expansion slot now only accepts Micro-SD, a smaller format than the old Mini-SD, which consumes less power. As such, if you are thinking about upgrading from the 8125, bear in mind the added cost of purchasing a new memory card. The expansion slot has been moved from the top of the device to the bottom left. HTC seems to have improved the securing mechanism of the slot, as the memory card doesn’t pop out every so often, as with the 8125.
On the right side of the device, you will find the Power and Communication Manager buttons towards the top, and a camera button near the bottom.
The bottom of the unit has the new mini extUSB jack (more on that later), an IR port, soft reset hole, and battery cover latch.
When it comes to speakers, the 8125 with its stereo sound clearly bests the 8525′s mere mono. The 8125 had two stereo speakers on either side of the device for music playback, while the 8525′s lone speaker is located on the back of the device beneath the self portrait mirror of the camera.
The camera has been upgraded in several ways- we’ll talk about that tomorrow.
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