Photos: Cingular 8525 (a.k.a. HTC Hermes)

The Cingular 8525 is the carrier's first HSDPA/UMTS smart phone, so you should enjoy broadband-like connection speeds on this device. In other words, it's fast.

... but it's also a phone. The Cingular 8525 is a full-featured smart phone running Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Phone Edition and sports a 2.8-inch touch screen.

The right side of the device hosts the power on/off button, a shortcut to the Communication Manager, and a camera activation button.

On the bottom of the 8525, you have an infrared port, a battery release switch, a reset hole, and a mini USB port.

Pocket PC phones have a tendency to be clunky and unwieldy, but the Cingular 8525 is actually quite manageable. It has a solid construction and feels comfortable to hold.

Though you get the standard array of navigation buttons, the controls and layout are fairly cramped so take care not to press the wrong key.

At 6.2 ounces, the Cingular 8525 is on the heftier side, so it'll add some weight to your bag. The smart phone also comes packaged with a belt holster.

The Cingular 8525 boasts a fairly spacious QWERTY keyboard with tactile buttons for easy messaging. However, the two soft keys above it are a bit too close to the slide-up cover.

The smart phone features a handy scroll wheel (a la BlackBerry), so you can easily navigate the 8525 with one hand. Nice. There's also a push-to-talk key, but this feature won't be activated until early 2007.

Though the micro SD format isn't widespread, we still appreciate the expandable media.

The Cingular 8252 one-ups its predecessor, the Cingular 8125, with its 2-megapixel camera. There's also a built-in flash, a self-portrait mirror, and a lever to switch to macro mode for close-up shots.