[General Topics] P996:
1. this thing is HUGE and when I mean HUGE, I mean REALLY HUGE.

Just forget anything you ever new about a Pocket PC, the P6500 Sedna beats it all

in size, with the exception of the HTC X7xxx/Advantage series. Kind of a Pocket PC on steroids. ;) I have small hands and I hardly(actually I can't at all) use this thing with one hand only, simply because my thumb isn't long enough.

2. the P6500 Sedna build quality is impeccable, this thing is really made of nice materials. The casing is black(not brownish as some pictures may indicate), it is a dull black, "stealth" like, not glittery at all and it feels well in your hand, kind of semi-soft material. This makes sure that this thing doesn't slide out of your hand accidentally.

3. the HUGE display which by the way only HTC and maybe god know why it is QVGA low resolution, is a bit dull and colors look washed out. Not really the display you want to use for video playback or viewing pictures. On the other hand, the display can be used outdoors, even in bright sunlight. Not as good as the display on my Blackberry Curve regarding direct sunlight but still very good. Also worth mentioning: you can easily use this display with your fingers only, simply because it is HUGE and because, surprise surprise, your fingerprints don't seem to stick to it. I used the P6500 for a couple of minutes with my fingers only and I wasn't able to see one single fingerprint on the display, very impressive.

4. can't say much about video playback capability, I didn't try it yet(my bad). The device feels responsive and fast though, not as fast as a homecooked WM 6 edition but still not bad at all.

5. the speaker is pretty loud, very nice. Ringtones and the speakerphone deliver a very good loudness, I like that. Not so nice: the speaker on the P6500 sounds a bit metal can like, not as pleasant as on other high quality phones.

6. reception is very good, I get a HSDPA connection most of the time and it is at par with the Nokia E90 I'd say. Very impressive seems to be the GPS reception quality, I got a FIRST fix(using Tom Tom 6) in about 15(!) seconds and even more impressive: I got this first fix under a covered(!) and closed roof windows...8(!) satellites. I was still able to receive the signal of 4(!) satellites around one meter away from the windows. WOW!

7. it is a pitty that HTC didn't supply some sort of belt holster for the P6500. The little cheap looking pouch supplied with the unit is pretty much useless. It will be difficult to find a fitting holster for this "little" giant.

8. the HTC P6500 comes pretty much naked, no navigation software installed, nothing special either. Just the fingerprint scanner software is supplied, nothing more.

9. the fingerprint scanner works flawlessly and it is very fast, it is fun to use, definetely.

I don't know how safe this baby is but it works so far very well.

10. the built-in 3MP camera delivers decent pictures but it annoys the user with a countdown from 3 to 1, seriously, no kidding. It is almost impossible to take fast moving pictures at the highest quality setting...well, maybe you could take a picture of a snail moving. HTC definetely needs to take some lessons in the camera department because so far, most of their cameras on their devices STINK.

11. the built-in 1GB NAND memory is a nice feature but with two SD(IO) slots, I wonder if this really was necessary. I don't understand why HTC didn't offer 256 MB RAM and 1GB Flash instead but anyway...1GB NAND is not bad at all, it is fast and you can't loose it. ;)

What HTC could improve:

1. VGA instead of QVGA resolution

2. less "dull" and more colorful display

3. built-in phone speaker should sound more natural

4. camera without the annoying countdown

5. reduction of length by aprox. 1 cm, reduction of width by aprox. 0.5 cm and reduction of depth by aprox. 0.5 cm. This would improve the handling of the P6500 with one hand only

6. touch flow or similar would be actually perfect for the P6500, don't have a clue why it isn't even optional

Seriously, I got almost a shock when I saw the P6500 for the first time. It is SOOOOO HUGE. Still: the size has some sort of coolness factor, can't describe it with words.

Some retailers in Germany advertise the HTC P6500 as the perfect tool for the police, security forces, emergency services, etc. I'm not sure if this has to do with the built-in fingerprint scanner or if the unit is more rigid than other HTC units(no info here) but I still wonder what this giant could do more or better than other WM6 units. Yes, the P6500 has two SD(IO) slots, they come very handy and you may be able to install various tools like scanners, laser taggers or whatever. HTC eventually needs to launch a completely new accessory line for the P6500.

Is it worth buying it? Well...I don't know. Most dealers over here in Germany are asking around 750-799 EUR(incl. VAT) for the P6500, the dealer I played with it at asked 699 EUR for it, not bad compared to the others but still a lot of money. I own the Samsung i780 which is a VERY FAST Pocket PC with a gorgeous display and a great video playback capability, GPS, etc. etc. etc. I paid 450 EUR for this little thing, I just don't see the advantage of the additional 249 EUR for the P6500, especially since there don't seem to be homecooked ROMs available yet.

One things seems to be sure though: you won't see the P6500 Sedna in many hands, making it a pretty exotic Pocket PC in my opinion.

As soon as I have some testing results regarding video playback, etc., I'll post them here.

Sorry, no ROM dump since this isn't my property.

The unit I tested has ROM version 1.10.407.3 dated 01/23/08.

Radio ROM was 1.58.21.23.

The CPU is a Qualcomm 7200 at 400 MHz speed.