he HTC Hermes also known here as AT&T 8525 is my trusty Pocket PC phone that I got while traveling abroad and thus, thankfully, unlocked. I fell in love with the AT&T 8525 not because of its looks coz let's face it, when compared to the iPhone, the 8525 is like Ugly Betty that had one too many Big Macs, but rather I fell in love with the features. The AT&T 8525 (HTC Hermes) is UMTS / HSDPA compatible which is beyond 3G and I would delve into that topic much more later. The AT&T 8525 (HTC Hermes)is also Wi-Fi compatible, has micro SD expansion slot, 400 MHz processor, 128 MB of ROM with 64MB of RAM, Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Edition, has Bluetooth 2.0 and a 2 megapixel camera which unlike the iPhone, can actually record videos. Most of all the AT&T 8525 (HTC Hermes)has a Pocket Office Suite included that lets me edit Word and Excel files and view PowerPoint Presentations. You can also add other third party applications that would further juice this baby up.
Form Factor
Like I said, the AT&T 8525 (HTC Hermes) cannot hold a candle to the iPhone when it comes to looks. It's a lot more bulky and heavier, weighing in at 6.2 ounces. But it has a nice polished look to it and has a 2.8 inch screen that has a standard 320 x 240 resolution. Although the screen is standard to any pocket pc, it does deliver bright and sharp images. Oh, I forgot to mention that the AT&T 8525 (HTC Hermes) has a touch screen although I don't recommended doing any finger swiping on the phone since that's what the stylus is for. However, you don't have to always take out the stylus since the phone has a handy scroll wheel like that of the Blackberry that allows you to scroll through menus and press it to select items. At the bottom of the AT&T 8525's screen are two soft keys, the call and end button and the start button that lets you easily access the start menu as well as the ok button to easily close a window. In the middle of these buttons is a five-way toggle button.
What's very cool about the AT&T 8525 (HTC Hermes) is that when you slide the screen, you will see a full QWERTY keyboard, perfect for typing emails or editing documents on the go. The QWERTY keyboard is okay since it has large, tactile buttons which is very easy to use.
