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March 5, 2007
CINGULAR 3125 Smartphone
This is the best looking flip phone I have seen or had the pleasure of using. It is very thin, black, and has some weight to it so it feels well made. Dimensions are 3.87 by 2.02 by 0.64 inches and it weighs 3.82 ounces. Before I continue I need to mention that Cingular (The new ATT) is the provider of my personal cell phone (a Motorola) and service here in Key West. I find their tower coverage gives me the best connection of any other company in the Keys at this time and I happily pay the monthly fees.
The Cingular 3125 came in a box with the following accessories:
• Stereo headset • AC power adapter
• USB sync cable • Quick Start Guide
• Getting started CD-ROM
Cingular also pre-installed a 512 MB Micro SD memory card for my review. I charged the phone and was ready to begin
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The 3125 is a phone that will work well for anyone but it is targeted and equipped for those who want access to their Outlook contacts, update and refer to their calendar, send and receive emails, play music, text messaging, Internet browsing, and to use it as a sort of mini notebook computer. Using the included ActiveSync software and a USB cable connecting with your PC to copy MS Outlook contacts and calendar information is a much easier task than manually entering each contact’s information. I have found using any phone keyboard to enter more than a few characters is a real pain. You can easily sync your music files using Sync and Windows Media Player 10. It is best to use Sync instead of just copying files when attempting to place protected music on your Cingular 3125. Syncing allows the licensing to be transferred with the file.
The full manual, in PDF format, and the required program called ActiveSync 4.2 were on the CD. I copied the manual to my desktop computer and installed the sync software. I then proceeded to set up the phone. Windows Mobile Version 5.0 is the software used to run the 3125. It looks and acts like any Windows product so most users will find it easy to understand. The lack of a printed manual will require you to copy the PDF to your office/home computer as well as your notebook if you travel. There are many functions provided with this phone and you will need to refer to the manual until you get familiar with them.
Looking at the front external of the clamshell there is a camera lens at the top, a set of three controls at the bottom for use when playing music, and a 1.2 inch square screen in the middle that can display a really nice analog clock as well as other features that you feel you need.
There is an external monaural speaker on the closed front. The only way to listen to Stereo is by plugging the included earbud head set into the universal accessory connection. This is one of the sacrifices required to make a very thin phone. The earbuds that come with the phone have very large earpieces. I would love to use my personal earbuds as they fit well enough to block out most of the noise at the gym but that cannot happen due to the proprietary connector. Cingular does have a large selection of Bluetooth head sets that should work well with this phone. When opening the phone I kept activating the earpiece volume control on the side of the case so that was what greeted me on the internal screen. A minor problem that is most likely due to my fumbling hands.
The internal display, a 2.2 inch TFT-LCD - 320 x 240 at 65K colors, is much easier to view in daylight than other phones I have checked out. The battery will give you 3 to 7 hours of connect time and 146 to 220 hours of standby time. That seems better than most phones.
 The camera and video functions are fairly basic with a 1.3 MP camera. Photos and videos seem a little dark even in daylight conditions but they will be fine if you want to catch that fleeting moment and don’t have another camera available. There is no flash
If you plan much music downloading you may want to do that to your desktop and then Sync them to the 3125. Cingular might decide to create a proprietary site similar to VCAST Music at some point but, for now, Napster is the place you will be sent if you use your 3125 phone. After picking your song and buying it Napster Mobile will send an email to your PC with a link to your purchase. You will still have to download the music to your PS and then Sync it to your phone. If you are not a Napster member Cingular gives you a complementary 60 day membership. At least that is mentioned in the email.
Overall I find the Cingular 3125 to be a solid and very usable phone for most people who do occasional remote work using their phone for some tasks. If you are a person who needs to enter massive amounts of text, and write long emails you might want to look at Cingular’s other PDAs or Smartphones that have some sort of expanded keyboard. Like BlackBerry 8800 - Samsung BlackJack - Palm Treo 680 or Nokia E62
I found this phone easy to use and great looking. It fit flat in my pants pocket, was easy to use as an MP3 player, and all functions were well supported. Since I am coming to the end of my two year contract I will include the 3125 in my list of possible phones when I have to start making a final decision.
Pricing on the Cingular site this week $449.99
2-yr Contract Price $299.99
Online Discount- $100.00
Mail-in Rebate- $100.00
* Your final Price $99.99
Go to Cingular for more details on this and other products.
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