INTRODUCTION


The Qtek 8500 is another
branding of the first flip phone made by HTC
codenamed the HTC StrTrk or Star Trek or Star100
depending on who you ask. You’ll find the same phone
available as the i-mate Smartflip and Dopod S300 at
this time, but it’s sure to be re-branded when
picked up by other mobile carriers.
When I bought the Qtek 8500
from
Smart Mobile Gadgets, I was very excited about
this breakthrough form-factor… not to mention
finally getting to play with the Smartphone edition
of Windows Mobile 5. It turns out the Smartphone
flavor of Windows Mobile 5 has a lot of differences
from the Pocket PC Phone version. As for the Qtek
8500 and it’s HTC Star Trek variants, read on for
all the details on this beautiful little Smartphone.

I asked Patrick Stewart what he thought about HTC
code-naming this phone the "Star Trek" but he wasn’t
in the mood to answer ‘stupid questions.’

WHAT’S HOT


The Qtek 8500’s most impressive features
are it’s sleek style and thin body. In terms of it’s
specifications, it’s got Bluetooth 1.2, 195Mhz TI
850 OMAP
CPU, USB 1.1, 64Mb ROM, 64Mb RAM, Windows Mobile 5 (AKU
2.3), 2.2" 240x320px 64K color screen, 1.2"
128x128px color external screen, Quadband GSM/EDGE and a 1.3MP camera.  
(all images link to high resolution)

What’s hot about the HTC Star Trek
is that it’s not just for geeks…
This phone’s got sex appeal.

Device (no cover)
Size (inches)
Weight (grams |
ounces)
Qtek 8500
3.88" x 2.02"
x 0.62"
99  | 3.49
4.18" x 2.31"
x 0.68"
150 | 5.30

Palm Treo 700w
4.40" x 2.30" x 0.90"
180 | 6.40
Motorola Q
4.56" x 2.48" x 0.45"
115 | 4.05

HP iPAQ hw6515
4.60" x 2.79" x 0.82"

165 | 5.82
4.25" x 2.28" x 0.93"

160 | 5.64

i-mate PDA2k
4.92" x 2.81" x
0.71"
210 | 7.40

i-mate JAM
4.18" x 2.31" x 0.68"


150 | 5.30





PROS




  • Very thin, small and lightweight


  • Beautiful design


  • Flip phone with lovely external screen


  • Quadband 850/900/1800/1900mhz GSM and EDGE

  • Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone AKU 2.3

  • Push Exchange 2003 email
    & PIM

  • Bluetooth has functional A2DP, AVRCP
    profiles


  • Very thin, small and lightweight


  • Beautiful design


  • Flip phone with lovely external screen


  • Quadband 850/900/1800/1900mhz GSM and EDGE

  • Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone AKU 2.3

  • Push Exchange 2003 email
    & PIM

  • Bluetooth has functional A2DP, AVRCP
    profiles


  • Very thin, small and lightweight


  • Beautiful design


  • Flip phone with lovely external screen


  • Quadband 850/900/1800/1900mhz GSM and EDGE

  • Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone AKU 2.3

  • Push Exchange 2003 email
    & PIM

  • Bluetooth has functional A2DP, AVRCP
    profiles


CONS


  • MicroSD
    card slot is behind the battery cover underneath the
    SIM card
  • A2DP
    implementation is very difficult to manage
  • Possible
    reception issues on the 1900Mhz GSM band
  • Bluetooth
    radio not as good as the HTC Prophet

Value
Ease
of Use
Features

Overall



What
do these ratings mean?

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OVERALL IMPRESSION


The
main point in this phone’s design is it’s good
looks and thin body.
It doesn’t have WiFi. It doesn’t have a great
bluetooth radio or decent camera like the Prophet. What it
does have is a great eye-catching design, sleek
keypad, useful external screen, and a very thin
lightweight form factor. I sincerely like it
a lot!
In terms of how a
Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone compares to a Windows
Mobile 5 Pocket PC Phone, there are a number of
differences. In many ways one is better than the
other, but both could learn a lot from each other.
For example, the Smartphone OS has great one-handed
hardware button usability for all of it’s
applications. Pocket PC Phones have improved in this
aspect, but still aren’t quite there. The Smartphone
OS also has much better profiles integration on the
Today screen. The ability to automatically change
profiles based on your calendar schedule is another
nice feature missing from the Pocket PC Phone. On
the other hand, if you’re a big data-inputter with
your mobile devices, the Smartphone OS is very
lacking in this respect. The Notes application
doesn’t sync with Outlook, the Messaging app doesn’t
suggest contact names as you type, and you can’t
multi-select objects. In terms of the phone
application, the Smartphone OS certainly trumps the
Pocket PC Phone version. The Smartphone phone dialer
suggests contact names as you begin typing without
any need for a clumsy 3rd party application.
 If you’re
jealous of all those superficial people out there
with those shiny thin good looking Motorola RAZR
phones, but still wish you had something with more
personality like the

HTC Prophet
… then the HTC Star Trek (Qtek 8500)
could be a good balance between beauty and brains.
Hopefully HTC’s next generation Star Trek Smartphone
will have more impressive specifications though.
*Appearance by Patrick Stewart
courtesy of Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in Times
Square, New York City. Photograph by Ray Doan.