UPDATE! The Raddest Phone You Can’t Can Get! ($300)

(UPDATE: Since I posted about the lack of availability of the Cingular 8125 I’ve since found out from my contact at Cingular that the shortages were simply due to the device’s popularity (which is understandable) and that Cingular should be receiving more units from HTC (the phone’s manufacturer) sometime this week. So rest-assured would-be smart-phoners. You’re in luck.)

Let me start off by saying that I love the Cingular 8125 (also known as the HTC 8125). You see, there are three devices that I always have with me at all times: cell (smart) phone, MP3 player, and digital camera; and the 8125 does two of these well (the smart phone and media player functionalities are awesome) and one good enough for most occasions (the 1.3-megapixel digital camera is decent but not great).

One look at the 8125’s laundry list of features and you can understand why I’m so excited about it: Windows Mobile 5.0, full QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, EDGE support, and a MiniSD slot for all of my media files. This thing is bad ass. I got a 1GB MiniSD card from Kingston and I’ve packed it with photos, videos, as well as music from Rhapsody To Go. Accessing the wireless web via Cingular’s EDGE data network is super-fast and the keyboard is great for sending text and email messages. Whenever someone sees me using the keyboard they inquire about the phone before immediately falling in love with it. Which begs the question: why isn’t Cingular selling the device in their stores or their website?

I visited Cingular’s web site and found the 8125’s product page. The thing is, while there’s a button that says, “Buy it online today!” you can’t actually buy the phone. Additionally, calls to a local (Los Angeles-area) Cingular retail store were likewise fruitless, as the sales person simply stated that they didn’t have the phone and didn’t know when they would.

If I uncover any more details ill be sure to keep you all posted.