So I finally got a new phone! I've upgraded my MPX220 to the Cingular 3125, also known as the HTC Star Trek. I've had the phone for a few weeks and so far I've been very happy.
Phone
First and most importantly, let's talk about the phone features. It's thin and light, comparable to the RAZR, and has metallic textured exterior so it doesn't slide around. The call sound is solid - definitely loud enough. It's comfortable to hold when making a call, one thing I didn't like about the Q or BlackJack which are wider than a typical phone. The buttons are flat, but have dividers so you know what button your pressing. The joypad in the middle is a bit small for my fat thumbs, but I've adjusted pretty well. The screen is clear and bright and in general the Windows Mobile 5.0 OS seems to keep up.
Battery life, another complaint among owners of the afore mentioned QWERTY phones is not an issue with the 3125. I don't have to religiously charge it everyday and that's with some MP3 use and over air ActiveSynching. The phone comes with both a wall charger and a USB charger, also used for synching. This is great because I keep one at work and one at home. The one downside, though, is that USB charger is definitely slower.
Predictive dialing works well, with one complaint. My speed dial numbers used to display at the top of the list on my old phone. Now when I press 5, the J's, K's and L's from my recent history now show above my #5 speed dial, where as with my old phone, the speed dial number was at the top. It still works the same (press and hold 5 and it calls that speed dial) but I miss the visual feedback.
MP3 Player
UnAmerican as it may be, I don't own an iPod and instead use my phone as my MP3 player, just like I did my old one. This is where the 3125 picks up steam. The media controls on the outside are the killer feature I've been waiting for. It shows you what song is playing on the cool exterior display and I can pause and skip to different songs. Only once have I accidently hit the buttons hard enough to inadvertantly start the media player. The included earbud headphones have good sound and a volume control next to the microphone.
While it still lags behind the iPod when it comes to usablity, the new version of Windows Media Player Mobile is a big improvement over previous versions. It has a library concept allowing me to browse by artist, album or genre. Synching through Media Player on my PC is better than it used to be, but still craps out every once in a while. I haven't figure out why yet.
In general the MP3 capabilities are what make this phone great. With a 2GB micro-SD card added, it has a pretty good capacity. I can use it on the train or at the gym. I just need to get the right adapter and hopefully I can get it working in my car.
Organizer
Lastly, there's the productivity side of the equation, and the reason I got a smartphone. I can sych my calendar, email, contacts. MSN Mobile works pretty well for checking my Hotmail, too. The only big upgrades I got here are Exchange Push Notification and synchronization of tasks. The former doesn't make a big difference for me, but the latter was big for me - I'm a big list maker. The interface ifor tasks is still pretty prehistoric, but synching over the air is great. I still may look for better task management software, though. The phone also shipped with the ClearVuew suite of software for viewing documents, pdfs, and presentations.
Overall I think the 3125 is a great phone. It has solid phone features, makes for a good MP3 player, and satisfies all the organization needs of someone who would rather carry a small solid phone over a a brick with with a QWERTY keyboard and a stylus.
So SQL Server Compact Edition has been released officially. Remember? It's that product that was called SQL Server Everywhere...or was it SQL Server Mobile?
Jim Wilson has a nice post that summarizes where you can get all the goods:
http://pluralsight.com/blogs/jimw/archive/2007/01/15/45704.aspx
For more on the naming see Steve Lasker's blog:
http://blogs.msdn.com/stevelasker/archive/2006/10/31/sql-server-everywhere-gets-yet-another-name.aspx