There are many reviews of pretty much everything on the internet so I will try and keep away from replicating the standard stuff in my reviews. I will focus on my experiences and opinions and share why I acquired things and how I used them. Hopefully this may be relevant for others. Please feel free to share your own thoughts.
So the Ameo \ HTC X7500 (also 7501 and the upgraded 7510) \ HTC Athena as it is called in different areas of the globe, what makes this a good phone for a photog?
Up until BIG file sizes the following was possible after shooting
- plugging the card reader into the phone (via a 4-in-1 cable)
- convert to jpeg
- do basic editting (saturation, image size etc)
- view on a TV (pal or ntsc) or a computer monitor
- email or upload via ftp
Now it isn’t a full laptop so dont expect photoshop but for basic previewing and sending of shots to clients \ family this is a laptop replacement. The 5 inch touch screen is a joy to use and sets it above many other phones. The resolution is fairly high compared to other phones ( 640×480 ) and using a usb hub means you can use a larger keyboard and mouse to speed up the process. I have been on several trips where I left the laptop behind and just used this phone, saving plenty of time getting a laptop in and out of a bag at airports and saving previous room in carry on.
The phone isnt cheap, off the shelf its around 1000-1200 USD or approx £600. On contracts it can be had for less but it is not cheap. It has all the usual toys, accelerometer, good video playback, gps that people expect from a phone these days (even though the phone has been out for years and is about to have its 3rd gen replacement with a higher reoslution screen and better keyboard). Speaking of which is has an actual qwerty keyboard that attaches magnetically. Many people believe the phone is ugly, I would tend to agree, it is also large for a phone but that is the price you pay for a large screen .
The phone runs Windows Mobile 6 from Microsoft which like the Iphone and Gphone mean you have a large library of programs that you can download. XNview for example has a pocket version compatible with WM6 to allow you to edit your images. You also get Office Mobile and an email \ calendar facility. It also sports push email. In fairness it covers pretty much all the bases but does run the risk of being a jack of all trades without truly having the grunt of the resolution to match a laptop. Some would argue that the small Fujitsu lifebooks make a compelling alternative for a similar price but you then need a wireless dongle to bring the same functionality andf they aren’t solid state like the X7510 ( the x7500\01 use 8GB microdrives).
I plan to hang onto my phone for a long time, unless of course there is a shinier version coming out soon!
HTC X7501 Home Screen
This shows the unique method by which the phone is used with its keyboard. The phone shown is the X7501 which in reality is just the x7500, the Ameo is the same but coloured in silver not black.
Additional pictures are below.
X7501 Keyboard
X7501 Ports
