HTC TyTN II / Kaiser / P4550 / Tilt / 8925 Wiki

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General Information

HTC codenamed this phone the Kaiser in development, and this continues to be a common reference point for the various versions. In production, it has a variety of names:

HTC TyTN II (unlocked version)
AT&T Tilt/8925
MDA Vario III

Pricing for the phone has been seen as low as $99 after all rebates with a 2-year contract, and as high as $800 for an unlocked version as of October, 2007.

What is the difference between the Tilt and the unlocked TyTN II?

Hardware

Regardless of the name, the phone shares the following common features:

Windows Mobile Pro 6
400Mhz Qualcomm 7200 Processor
Radio CoProcessor (I don't know the model)
128MB RAM
256MB ROM
32 bit data bus
240x320 resolution screen with support for portrait & landscape in 65536 colors
Slide out qwerty keyboard
802.11b/g wireless with WPA/WPA-PSK support
Integrated GPS chipset
Bluetooth 2.0 with support for many profiles (including A2DP)
Mini-USB connector that does double-duty for charging and synching. Also supports peripherals (like a wired remote or headset adapter).

Many of the differences between models have to do with cameras:

The HTC TyTN II 130 (currently shipping) has a low-res front camera and 3MPixel rear camera.
The Tilt and Vario III have only the rear camera
The Tilt can be purchased without any camera at all

The device is relatively compact and fits pockets nicely - 112 mm (L) X 59 mm (W) X 19 mm (T). That's 4.5" X 2.3" X .75" for those of us that are metrically challenged. Weight is fairly beefy at 190g (around 6.7oz) with the battery.

Battery life is rated at up to 350 hours of standby time under the best circumstance, down to 120 hours for the worst. With usage these will be significantly shorter (I routinely get 12-16 hours out of a battery with light call volume).

The phone has many shortcut buttons - 8 on the face (talk, end, left & right soft buttons, start menu, IE, messaging, "OK"), two on the left side (PTT or VoiceSpeed Dial depending on model, "OK"), and one on the right (camera). The left side also has a scroll wheel, while the right has the power button.

How do I reprogram the PTT (Push To Talk) key on the Tilt?

Software

Far too varied based on the carrier in question. For a fairly comprehensive list, see the Tilt/TyTN II comparison referenced above.

Current Issues

Again, quite varied. Some have reported problems with bluetooth volume, but this isn't across the board.

The largest issue that appears to be hitting consistently is the refusal of some registry settings to "stick" between soft resets. This seems to happen without too much rhyme or reason, and is being investigated.

Internet / Email / Messaging

WM6 obviously has integrated platforms for all of the above, and provides support for Microsoft's Direct Push syncing of Exchange data. HTML email is supported for the right platforms (Exchange, POP3, IMAP).

The various models are also generally shipping with a Java virtual machine, and Opera Mini or other replacements are being used successfully.

AT&T is shipping XPress Mail with their version, which gets somewhat mixed reviews depending on the user.