HTC XV6900 Cell Phone

Over the last decade, I've owned almost every version of HTC's 6000 series - since the xv6600.  I have to say that this phone, while more advanced and slimmed way down, is better in some areas but lacks in others.

Smartphone:  The smartphone differs from a regular cell phone by its use of data configuration and features.  On a cellphone, you can store phone numbers and names but can't store their personal information like you can on a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).  I prefer the term Personal Data Assistant because that's where it excels.  It's like having an assistant travel around with you to remind you of meetings, birthdays, anniversaries and important appointments.  A smartphone can also utilize add-on applications like home inventory, diet plans, car maintenance, your favorite team's schedule and so on.

If you're not techno-savvy, don't need a phone that operates on CDMA 800/1900 and don't need all these bells & whistles, an every day cell phone will suffice.  I would prefer to carry an all-in-one device rather than a cell phone and PDA and camera.


What Comes in the Box:

The Phone
1100 mAh Lithium ion Battery
Quick Reference Guide
USB Splitter
Mini USB cable
AC Adapter (wall charger)
A Stylus
A Carry Pouch
Getting stated CD
VZ Access Manager CD


Accessories I'd Suggest: 

A Car Charger- Being able to charge the phone on the go is crucial, especially if you have the 1100 mAh battery.

An Extended battery- This 1400 or 1800 mAh battery comes with a replacement door to house the thicker battery and adds a bit more weight and size to your phone.  But the extended time between charges is a huge plus.

A Micro-SD Storage Card - Since the phone only comes with 128 mb, I'd suggest at least a 2 gig card for storing pictures, video, personal files and programs.  A 4 gig card would be optimal.  Just make sure you program anything being stored goes to the card and NOT the phone's internal RAM.  The more the internal memory is filled, the more lethargic the phone operates.

Screen Protectors- This phone does not fold or slide open so the large display is vulnerable to scratches and other damage.  These clear screen protectors are an inexpensive insurance policy.  They can also be used for camera displays, PDAs - virtually anything with a display that you'd like to protect.

Horizontal Carry Case - This case rides on your waistband or belt and protects the phone even more.  It's even comfortable when driving because it sits horizontally.


How I Rate the Phone:  3.5 out of 5 stars

For me (on Verizon) I have had only a handful of dropped calls and most of which were in my own house.  I love the interface and the Bluetooth connectivity.  I can use my Bluetooth ear piece or even rig it to send and receive calls through the Bluetooth in my GPS.  Caller IDs actually flash on the GPS screen and I can answer it with the GPS speaker phone - very cool.  Especially when holding a phone while driving is now illegal.

People who like to text often might not like that there's no physical keyboard, but I've adapted.  MMS, SMS and E-Mail are supported.

With the supplied 1100 mAh battery, I got around 2-1/2 hours of talk time.  If you upgrade to the 1400 or the 1800 it will be considerably longer.

UPDATE 8/13/09:  I lowered the rating for the phone because I am experiencing an annoying issue.  Recently, if I try to make a phone call, the phone dials a number that's similar but the number I wanted.

How I Rate the Camera: 3.5 out of 5 stars

While it may be 2.0 megapixels there is no flash.  Most of the time (especially in bright sunlight) the quality of the images are pretty decent but, then again, some are awful - especially in lower light situations


How I Rate the PDA:  3 out of 5 stars

The display is sort of a hybrid between the i-Phone, a Palm OS and Windows.  This time around, they elected not to include a slide out or drop down physical keyboard.  For data input, you do get the option of a touch QWERTY keyboard, a 20 key, a touch keypad, and a transcriber and a block recognizer which is the old Graffiti program where you write letters and numbers and it recognizes it - most of the time anyway.  So losing the physical keys is not that big of a deal for me - but a huge negative for some users.

It stores contacts with numbers, names, birthday reminders, email, a myriad of numbers, anniversaries, home & work addresses, notes and much more.  Synching with your computer allows these contacts to be saved in Outlook and other contact management software.  Backing up these contacts is highly advisable since this phone likes to randomly erase contacts for some odd reason.  And since there is no battery back up in this phone, you really run the risk of data loss unless you do back them up frequently.

A word to the wise: Back up your data OFTEN!  There seems to be a glitch with this phone where some contacts disappear at random.  Back up your contact list in a contact manager program on your computer and then back that up on another hard drive or other storage device.  The last thing you need is to lose numbers.

How I Rate the MP3 Player: 4.75 out of 5 stars

With the large storage card, I can take some of my music with me.  For those times that I don't have my MP3 player with me, this is a perfect back up.  The sound is great considering it's a cell phone primarily.  It operates on Microsoft Windows Media Player 10.

I love that it comes with a lain version of Microsoft Office.  Word and excel document can easily be transferred back and forth.  Being able to create Word and Excel documents on the phone and then transfer to the PC is a huge plus.


How I Rate it as a Video Player: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Unlike previous versions, this version can be told to play videos in horizontal mode as a default.  The picture is crystal clear and quite smooth.  The sound replication is okay.


How I Rate the Internet Surfing: 3 out of 5 stars

To be honest, it's a bit lethargic.  And unless you pay for a data plan, surfing the net with a phone can get very expensive.  While there is no Wi-Fi, there is EVDO which only okay in the grand scheme of technology.



What I Like:

This time around the user interface includes a fancy "Apple i-Phone-esque" feature.  If you put your finger at the bottom of the display and wipe it up to the top, a window slides into place that shows your top 9 friends and allows for their pictures to be stored in each window.  A simple tap of a picture initiates a call to that person.  Looks kind of like a Hollywood Squares thing.  You really do get used to using both your fingers and a stylus to navigate.

If you then wipe your finger from left to right, another window slides into place.  This time it shows launch icons for Music, Photos and Videos.  Another wipe to the right, reveals a window with launch icons for Email, Text, Internet Explorer, Notes, Comm Manager and Voice Recorder.  Very nifty, indeed.

I like the large 240 x 320 (1-3/4" x 2-1/4") TFT active matrix display.  It's great for watching videos and slide shows. 

I like that I can create Microsoft Word or Excel documents on the phone and it has seamless connection with my computer thanks to the phone's included version of Microsoft Office.

I like that I can charge the phone with either the wall charger or the USB port on my PC.


What I'm on the Fence About:

It operates on Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 - the newest version is 7.

With Verizon, this phone only comes in white, while this same phone with other carriers comes in black.  The white might be okay for the ladies, but I don't like the white for me.  My solution was to find decal skins on eBay to cover up the white shell.  It looks so much better with diamond plate covers.  (Can I get a Tim Allen grunt?)


What I Don't Like:

Verizon elected to remove the Windows Live integration and it doesn't support any of the multi-media services like the same phone on Sprint does.  Sprint's 6900 also includes instant messaging applications.  Add the fact that Sprint's 6900 phone is black and I feel as if I have been wronged!  I mean, Sprint's version of the same phone is a better value.

There's no Wi-Fi.  This is the reason surfing the net is so slow.  There's no camera flash.  At this point in time both of these features should be standard.

While I love the fact that there's a door to protect against losing the storage card (I've done this a few times with earlier versions) it's bloody annoying to open this door.  And then you need surgical tools just to remove the tiny Micro SD card.


All in all, this a sleek (mostly) well-designed phone that works (for now) but could use some design upgrades for future models.

Update 7/25/09:  I have been noticing (with increasing regularity) that random contacts simply disappear from the phone.  I can retrieve them from my PC, so I know it's the phone selecting people or businesses to get rid of and it's quite infuriating.  Because of this issue, I can't recommend this phone to people who rely on the contact management part of the phone otherwise it's a great product.

For the three issues mentioned in this review, I can't (with good conscience) recommend this product to anyone until the bugs have been worked out.