Cingular 2125 Windows Smartphone Review

The Cingular 2125 is the successor to the popular Audiovox SMT5600 Windows smartphone, featuring faster EDGE data, an updated OS, QVGA screen, and much more.

Although it's Cingular branded, the 2125 is designed and manufactured by High Tech Computer of Taiwan. HTC is famous for manufacturing nearly all the Windows-based phone devices on the market. This includes the 2125's predecessor, the SMT5600, also known as the HTC Typhoon. The 2125's code name, for those who like to know, is the HTC Faraday. Unlike most of HTC's designs, though, the Faraday is currently only available from one source: Cingular. The Faraday is also available in a camera-free variant, called the Cingular 2100. Since the lack of a camera is the only difference, the contents of this review are also applicable to the 2100.

Design & Construction

The 2125 resembles its predecessor in a general sense, retaining the overall shape of the 5600, but drastically revamping the controls and adding several new design refinements. The most noticeable of these is the change to the top of the phone. Instead of the flat top that the 5600 had, the 2125 features what has become popularly known as a "hump," a bulge located on the top rear of the case. The hump is supposed to be an antenna housing, allowing for better radio performance than other similar phones. From my experiences, detailed under Communication, it does this quite well. So just think of it as a signal-boosting hat for the device.