HTC P3600 Review – Introduction

HTC is one of the biggest manufacturers of Windows Mobile Phones in the market. We like HTC products and we recently reviewed HTC TyTN (first 3G phone with a slide out QWERTY keyboard) and HTC P3300 (pocket pc phone with built in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS receiver). In this review we take a look at another device from HTC, the HTC P3600 (Trinity). The device is available for sale at aprx 450 GPB.

HTC P3600 Review – Design

The HTC P3600 comes in two colour cases, a white and a black. In both colours the device looks very good. We prefer the white edition because the black one is too glossy and marks of your fingerprints are all around the device.

The dimensions of the device are 108 x 58.2 x 18.4 mm and the weight is 150g with battery. Compared to HTC P3300 (108mm x 58mm x 16.8mm) you can see that HTC P3600 has similar dimensions. It has the size of most pocket pc devices today that have no QWERTY keyboard. It is a compact design that makes the device portable enough to be carried around easily. The display of HTC P3600 is 2.8 inches supporting a resolution of 240 x 320.

The overall design and setup of the phone buttons is very good and minimal. Below the display you can find a set of buttons which includes the ‘Start Call’ and ‘End Call’ buttons, the Windows Mobile 5.0 dedicated keys (Start and OK), two Soft keys (on left and right) and in the middle there is the handy navigation control button which can be used to navigate to every direction and make selections using the middle button.

Above the display you can see the second camera (VGA), used for taking self-portrait images and also used for video calling (HTC P3600 has support for 3G). There is also the speaker surrounded by two led indicators.

On the left the indicator shows:

• A blinking Blue light for Bluetooth system notification of powered-up and ready to transmit radio frequency signal.
• A blinking Green light for Wi-Fi status.
• When both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are enabled, their lights blink alternately.

The right indicator shows:

Green and Amber lights for UMTS/GSM standby, UMTS/GSM message, UMTS/GSM network status, notification, and battery charging status.

On the left side of the device there is the Jog Wheel. This is a very useful feature of HTC P3600 and it is something that is very useful while working with a Windows Mobile device. You can use the Jog Wheel to navigate through the different menus and make selections by pressing the wheel. You can also use the jog wheel to adjust the sound volume while on call. It is a very handy feature that can also help in speeding up the process of finding an application. It is much faster than taking the stylus and try to navigate through the menus.

Just below the Jog Wheel there is also an OK button, which can be used to confirm any data entries or to exit the program in use. This button can also be used to activate the Windows Start Menu so when used in combination with the Jog wheel you can really use the device using only your thumb.

On the back of the device there is the main 2.0 mega-pixels camera and the car antenna connector.

On the right of the device (starting from the top) you can find the Power button, voice command button (when you press the button once it starts the Voice Speed Dial; press and hold to record a voice note), the miniSD card slot, the dedicated camera button, the stylus holder, and the strap holder.

On the bottom of the device there is the USB Slot, the reset button, the infrared port and the microphone.

HTC P3600 Review – Features

HTC P3600 has a very good set of connectivity features including Quad-Band GSM, 3G and HSDPA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, and infrared. The only connectivity feature missing is a built in GPS. Nevertheless since the device has no built-in GPS support you can still use an external Bluetooth GPS device and still experience the features of GPS on your device. It would be nice if the GPS was built in but still there are other advantages the HTC P3600 than can offer. The support for 3G networks and the built-in Wi-Fi can enable fast data transfer rates and fast access to the Internet wireless. The Bluetooth can be used to connect your device to any Bluetooth enable device such as a GPS or external keyboard.

The HTC P3600 has two cameras. One is located on the front (just above the display) and can be used for video calling and taking self portrait pictures, and the second one is 2.0 mega-pixels and is located on the back .The camera can be activated using the dedicated camera button located on the right hand side of the device. The primary camera does not have flash or macro mode but it can be used for recording both video and images. The camera application has a lot of options including:

• Photo: Captures standard still images.
• Video: Captures video clips, with or without accompanying audio.
• MMS Video: Captures video clips suitable for sending via MMS.
• Contacts Picture: Captures a still image and gives you the option to immediately assign it as a Photo ID for a contact.
• Picture Theme: Captures still images and places them within frames.
• Panorama: Captures a sequence of still images continuously in one direction, and allows stitching of all the images to create a panoramic view of a scenery
• Sports: Captures a sequence of still images (3, 5, 7, or 10) automatically.
• Burst: Captures a sequence of still images (maximum 30) as long as the CAMERA button on the device or the ENTER button on the NAVIGATION is kept pressed.

The available capture modes of the 2nd camera are Photo, Video, MMS Video, Contacts Picture, and Picture Theme.

HTC P3600 Review – Software

HTC P3600 is running Windows Mobile 5.0. The software bundled with the device besides the standard applications offered by WM 5.0 include:

Acrobat Reader LE: Reader for viewing PDF files

MIDlet Manager: MIDlets are Java applications that can run on mobile devices. The MIDlet Manager allows you to download Java applications, such as games and tools that are specifically designed for mobile devices. Although some Java applications and games have already been installed on your device, the Java MIDlet Manager gives you the flexibility of installing and managing additional J2ME applications from the Internet.

ZIP: This feature allows you to save memory and increase the storage capacity of your device by compressing files in the conventional ZIP format. You can view and extract archive files received from various sources. You can also create new *.zip files on your device.

HTC P3600 Review – Performance

The device has a Samsung SC32442A processor running at 400 MHz. The Samsung is a very powerful processor and that enables applications to run smooth and without problems. The device can be used to run very demanding applications (like Skype) and Games with out any problems. The reception and voice quality during calls is also very good.

The battery lifetime can last up to 2 days, normal use. This of course can vary depending on the use of wi-fi, Bluetooth and 3G.

Overall we like the HTC P3600 because it is a device that can satisfy the demanding pocket pc user. The present of the Jog Wheel can make the device truly used using only one hand, the design is very good and the performance is excellent. The HTC P3600 is the physical successor of I-mate JAM and JAMin and if you decide to purchase one we are sure that it will keep you satisfied for a long time.

HTC P3600 Specifications

Product Model No.

Features

Microsoft®  Windows Mobile®  5.0

V

V

V

V

Processor

TI’s OMAP™ 850,
201 MHz

TI’s OMAP™ 850,
201 MHz

Samsung® SC32442A,
400 MHz

Samsung® SC32442A,
400 MHz

Memory

ROM: 128 MB     RAM: 64 MB SDRAM

LCD display

2.8” transflective TFT-LCD, 240 x 320 with 64K colors

GSM/GPRS/EDGE

Quad-band 850, 900, 1800, 1900

3G

X

X

Tri-band HSDPA/UMTS:
2100 (EU), 850/1900 (US)

Tri-band HSDPA/UMTS:
2100 (EU), 850/1900 (US)

Java enabled

V

V

V

V

QWERTY keyboard

V

X

X

V

Device control

5-way Navigation Control

HTC RollR™
(Trackball & Track Wheel)

5-way Navigation Control
Jog Wheel

5-way Navigation Control
Jog Wheel

Phone

Polyphonic ring tones

V

V

V

V

Vibrating alert

V

V

V

V

Smart Dialing

V

V

V

V

Voice activated dialing

V

V

V

V

Voice commands

V

V

V

V

Speakerphone

V

V

V

V

Voice recording

V

V

V

V

Video call (with 2nd camera)

X

X

V

V

Connectivity

Bluetooth® 2.0

V

V

V

V

Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g

V

V

V

V

Infrared

X

X

V

V

USB

HTC ExtUSB™

Memory expansion slot

microSD™

microSD™

miniSD™

microSD™

Car antenna connector

V

V

V

V

Messaging and Organizer

Microsoft®  Direct Push

V

V

V

V

SMS / MMS

V

V

V

V

Microsoft® Office Mobile

V

V

V

V

Save contacts and SMS to SIM card

V

V

V

SIM contacts only

SMS over GPRS
(carrier dependent)

V

V

V

X

Camera and Multimedia

Digital camera

2.0 mega pixels

2.0 mega pixels

2.0 mega pixels

2.0 mega pixels

Video recording

V

V

V

V

FM Radio

X

V

X

X

Windows Media® Player

V

V

V

V

Internet

Internet Explorer® Mobile

V

V

V

V

WAP

V

V

V

V

GPS

Built-in GPS receiver

X

V

X

X

GPS software

X

TomTom NAVIGATOR 6

X

X

External GPS connector

X

V

X

X

GPS Usage (up to)

X

4.5 – 5 hours

X

X

Other Value Added Applications

Comm Manager

V

V

V

V

Pictures & Videos

V

V

V

V

Bluetooth Explorer
(for file sharing)

V

V

V

X

Zip

V

V

V

V

PDF viewer

V

V

V

V

Backup software
(on Application CD)

V

V

V

X

GPRS monitoring software (on Application CD)

V

V

X

X

Specifications

Standby time (up to)

150 – 200 hours (GSM)

150 – 200 hours (GSM)

200 – 250 hours (GSM), 180 – 250 hours (UMTS)

200 hours (GSM),
180 – 250 hours (UMTS)

Talk time (up to)

3.5 – 5 hours (GSM)

3.5 – 5 hours (GSM)

5 hours (GSM),
4 hours (UMTS)

4 – 5 hours (GSM),
2 – 4 hours (UMTS)

Dimensions (L x W x H)

109mm x 59mm x 17mm

108mm x 58mm x 16.8mm

108mm x 58.2mm x 18.4mm

112.5mm x 58mm x 21.95mm

Weight (with battery)

168g

130g

150g

176g

Rechargeable battery

Lithium-ion polymer 
1130 mAh

Lithium-ion 1200 mAh

Lithium-ion polymer
1500 mAh

Lithium-ion polymer 
1350 mAh