[Advantage X7500, MDA Ameo General] P996:
I just got the T-Mobile Ameo today, the branded version of the HTC X7500.

With the exception of the silver casing (instead of black as on the X7500), the Ameo is the same.

Here are the first impressions:

1. build quality excellent, display quality very good (but not at par with the Sony Vaio UX "micro"-laptop for example), speed is very good too, the programs just "fly".

2. GSM/GPRS reception is pretty good, I didn't have the chance to try out UMTS/HSDPA yet since I'm living outside the city and we get only Vodafone UMTS over here

3. you can't use the unit like a normal cell phone, you need to use a headset or the built-in speaker phone. This is pretty annoying, making the Ameo actually more a kind of a internet working machine, not a cell phone. If you're planning to use this baby for everything, including "classic" cell phone operation, forget about it

4. if you think that the new magnetic keypad is interesting, wait until you actually see the WHOLE "system" working incl. the leather protection casing.

You can't actually use the magnetic keypad without the leather casing since the Ameo itself may "fall down" sooner or later, causing a lot of damage to the unit if it falls down from a higher height. Use the leather casing, it provides the necessary "grip", so the Ameo doesn't move at all to the back.

It is a pretty interesting and well thought through combo, you have to see it for yourself to understand how it works. The pictures you may have seen on the internet, showing a woman holding the Ameo in her hand, attached to the magnetic keypad are actually CRAP. The Ameo has no support in the back and if this woman would move her hand a bit, the Ameo would fall down. I don't understand why T-Mobile doesn't advertise in pictures the whole "system" with the leather casing, so people understand how it is working and how WELL it is working.

5. inserting the SIM card was kind of a pain in the a.., it wasn't too easy and you can't swap SIM cards on a regular basis, this would be too annoying.

6. the new Opera browser is a treat, it works great compared to the also supplied Internet Explorer. The Opera 8.6x browser was a good choice for the Ameo.

7. the built-in 3 MP camera is easy too use, it uses an autofokus which works pretty well and it even has a flash. Picture quality is pretty good when there is enough light but the object has to stay steady if you want to get a good picture. Video quality pretty much sucks, if the object moves, you just get a blurr, nothing else. That said, the specs of the camera are more impressive on paper than in reality but it is pretty "usable".

8. since the keypad system uses a strong magnet, you have to be careful where you transport/keep your unit in the leather casing. If your credits cards, etc. are close to it, you may have them corrupted.

9. after installing my "usual" programs (Worldmate, AgendaOne, WiFi Companion, Subsembly Wallet and GPS Meter), the Ameo started to be kept in an incontinouus booting cycle (like a soft reset). I had to hard reset the unit and start all over again installing my programs, pretty annoying. So the firmware DEFINETELY isn't bug-free yet. :(