PDA's on Cricket: My UTStarcom xv6700

[berry_lthird]

All,

I recently purchased a UTStarcom xv6700 (a.k.a. HTC Apache) branded by Verizon. It is a PDA phone (Pocket PC platform) powered by Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0.

Flashing it to Cricket was really quite simple.

Telephony and MMS (Text Messaging) worked right away without incident.

With some settings I got from Howard Forums, I was able to get WAP (Internet/Info & Email) to work flawlessly and MMS (Picture Messaging) to work on occasion (but not consistently).

My previous phone was a Nokia 6265i, which was the most media-rich handset I have ever owned. (In fact, the 6265i still has some multimedia features unique to it, such as FM radio and Video Ringtones.) However, with the xv6700, I have a suite of productivity tools, such as Microsoft Office Mobile, that allow me to work seamlessly with the desktop versions of Office. Moreover, I can expand my software library by adding thousands of available freeware applications written for the Windows Mobile platform. And Microsoft ActiveSync allows me to backup my contacts, schedules, appointments, notes, files, media, etc. just by connecting the handset via standard mini-USB to my desktop machine. (The unit even charges by mini-USB.)

Sure, the 6265i used Java and could sync using Nokia's PC Suite--a free download from Nokia's website. But this pales in comparison to the robust software architecture of the xv.

The thing I love most about the xv6700 is its form factor, sans the "antenna", which jots out clumsily like a big, black thumb on top of the unit. The style of the phone is elegantly utilitarian, with nice, symmetrical lines and rounded rectangular edges. I especially love the sliding keyboard, touchscreen, and mini-navigation stick input options.

The xv6700 isn't exactly the trimmest, smallest handset out there--it feels solid in your hand. But it isn't entirely too large, either: It's about 1/2" taller than a deck of cards (sans the aforementioned antenna) and only slightly thicker.

The xv also boasts a 1.3 Megapixel camera and a subject light guaranteed to blind you if you stare directly into it. I'm exaggerating, of course, but just barely! The camera does well for capturing images and video. But there's a load of options for both still and video capture.

Like the 6265i, the unit also accepts mini-SD memory cards of up to 2GB. (I have a modest 512MB mini-SD in mine.) I am able to hold a several hours of music and a few full-lenght episodes of my favorite cartoons. (Yea, I said CARTOONS. ) The device boasts plenty of on-board RAM for storing themes and programs.

Connectivity includes Bluetooth and WiFi. The latter is especially useful if you want high-speed data without having to connect through Cricket's WAP portal.

Applications like Microsoft Voice Command enhance functionality by allowing you to speak commands to the phone to launch applications or select music tracks.

This phone leaves nothing to be desired. Of all the handsets I have owned, the xv6700 answers all of my needs and then some. It is the most versatile portable device I have ever used, and I honestly find myself playing with it almost every hour of the day.

It has been rumored that Cricket might be adding the Motorola Moto Q to its current lineup. But the biggest selling factor of the xv was the touchscreen (for natural handwriting recognition) and a keyboard that tucks away to make the unit smaller, leaving a large, vivid display with only the most important keys on front and the thumb stick. With its cheesy navigation wheel and fixed "brick-style" keyboard, the Moto Q pales in comparison to the xv6700. (I have the same feelings on the Palm Treo as well.)

My only complaints with my xv are the gaudy antenna and the sliding action of the keyboard has gotten noticeably a tad loose. (The 6265i by comparison has a spring-loaded mechanism that keeps the sliding action locked firm.)

If you can't wait for Cricket to get their act together on a PDA offering, then strongly recommend you get an xv6700. They are a breeze to Flash to Cricket, and well worth the investment. They can be as little as $200 on eBay, but caveat emptor, which goes without saying. (I bought mine new from Verizon but I have an inside connection. )

Good hunting!

[cricket]

Great post, thanks.

[mr.candid]

sounds awsome ! good luck with everything....

you are one that understands how to flash this phone, great job !

[badutahboy]

As another Cricket user who switched to the XV6700, I've got to agree with most everything berry said... THis phone is AWESOME!!!!

He covered the high points, so I'll hit on the very few low points I've found....

1. It seems as though the antenna isn't as strong as some other phones. For example, sitting on my bed, my old phone has a solid 4 bars of service... The XV6700 shows 1 or 2 bars... That said, I haven't dropped any calls or had issues with the reception. I'm merely giving this advice to those who may live on the fringes of cricket areas, or if your market's coverage isn't exceptionally strong.

2. Onboard memory - Personally, I don't think it's enough. It's frustrating that they can put 2GB in a miniSD card, yet a phone, which has significantly more room for storage, comes with a mere 128MB of space. I've had my phone for a week and my phone memory is already maxed out.

I'd like to keep my SD cards primarily full of music, pictures, etc, and possibly keep one card full of apps I use, but not constantly.. However, it appears that I'm going to have to install some applications on every card I use, and then use the remaining space on that card for it's intended use.

for example, I installed GPS software on my phone, but the maps for my state and the 4 surrounding use approximately 500mb of space (4 times the phones internal memory)... so, if I want to use the phone as both a GPS and a MP3 player, I'll have to copy the GPS maps onto each card I have, taking away potential memory for MP3's, pictures, etc. Otherwise, I'd be limited to using whichever card held the maps..

3. Phone capabilities. This is the one thing this phone has been ripped on about.... The built in phone is nothing great. It's fairly quiet, and the speakerphone is as well. However, the only time I've had a problem with it is in my car with lots of road noise. buying a bluetooth headset also solves the problem... just make sure you buy a good one. I bought a cheap one and it's worse than using the phone itself.

4. Lack of certain accessories/stupid design of some accessories. I want to buy an aluminum case for my phone, but the door on front hinges to the left on every available case. THe problem with that is that the hinge is right where the keyboard sits. I'm totally baffled why no one has created a case that hinges the other way, so that the screen sits over the case door when you've got the screen open.

There is also not a good secure car mount for this phone, only the normal lame compression style mounts. This is not necessarily a bad thing for 99% of people. It's no big deal in a car. However, I want to use my phone as a GPS for my motorcycle, and I have yet to figure out a good way to mount it to my handlebars securely.




This post isn't meant to bash the phone.... I absolutely LOVE this phone... However, I didn't want people to have the false impression that this phone is the perfect tool. It's great, and I wouldn't trade it for any other phone on the market, but it does come up lacking in a few areas.

However, the areas this phone is lacking in, don't even exist on most phones... so my complaints really should be addressed to the manufacturer, in hopes of having them fixed in the next upgrade to this model line.








PS. Thanks to all those who invested the time into researching and solving problems to make this phone work correctly on cricket. Berry_lthird, healthman, and many others gave a lot of themselves to make this phone do everything it should. I tip my hat to them.

[Healthman345]

what gps software are you using?...and how did you set it up?...thanks

[badutahboy]

what gps software are you using?...and how did you set it up?...thanks

Holux 236 BT adapter, and a copy of the dell GPS navigation system I had laying around from my old Axim... Went together seamlessly, but for some reason it's a damned chore getting the BT adapter and the GPS software to see each other. I've got to erase and recreate my outgoing connection every time I use the software..

[berry_lthird]

Got it to work as a USB modem today! Connected @ 230k. For now, I'm stuck using Cricket's WAP Proxy, so that means I have to Google around any sites that would give me a 403 error.

But it works!

[berry_lthird]

I just dropped my handset onto the pavement and into a 1" puddle of rainwater today.

Mind you, I'm 6'7", so that's a long way down for my phone to fall!

I am pleased to say that the only physical damage is a tiny scratch about 1mm, barely visible on the bottom right corner if the phone is facing you.

The phone itself worked without incident. However, the touchscreen wasn't responding correctly. I took the battery out and about 1 hour later the touchscreen was working fine again.

This. Phone. Is. Awesome!

*update: I recently noticed one of the fins on the battery cover is broken off, making the battery cover only slightly loose. Meh.

[berry_lthird]

This morning around 3 a.m. I performed a ROM update to AKU 3.3.

OMFG!!! As another member of HoFo put it--it's like having a different phone! Everything is faster now than ever. But the most major difference is the BlueTooth functionality. I am not only able to do stereo over BlueTooth, but I'm also able to control my music tracks (prev. track, next track, play/pause) from my headset! No registry tweaks needed. (In fact, a lot of registry tweaks were included in my update.)

THIS PHONE ROCKS!!!

Only one small glitch: The image browsing app (Pictures & Video) freezes, forcing me to reset my phone whenever I open it. Meh.

Other than that, everything is gravy, baby! This is without exaggerating the most awesome phone I've ever owned/used.

[Healthman345]

hey you can fix the pics and video problem....copy the two files from Windows/OEM to the windows folder...it will ask you if you want to overwrite the files...hit ok...then the pics and vids should work