The AT&T Tilt is one of these smartphones, but what makes this model stand out in comparison to its rivals is its long list of connectivity options and features. The Tilt has built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) and 3G (thirdgeneration) wireless connectivity in the form of HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access). The Tilt also has a built-in GPS receiver. You can use a free applications that can interact with the GPS receiver to provide directions, such as Windows Live Search or Google Maps. To keeping you connected on the road, the Tilt can provide entertainment for downtime with its music player, AT&T Mobile Music, and Cellular Video capabilities.

Because the phone has Bluetooth 2.0 stereo support, you can listen to your music wirelessly, if you prefer. Youll also find an instant messaging client installed on the phone that can connect to Yahoo, AOL, and Windows Live Messenger. Should a Kodak moment strike while you’re out, you can capture the action with the Tilts 3MP camera and 10X digital zoom. Although the pictures I took with the camera were acceptable, you must have a steady hand in order to get a decent picture. To input commands or text, the Tilt has a large, 2.8-inch touchscreen display along with a QWERTY keyboard that is revealed when you slide the screen horizontally. For easy viewing while using the keyboard, you can tilt the screen up to 40 degrees to a notebook-like viewing angle. The tilted screen is handy for watching videos or reading email while the phone is resting on a desk.

The keyboard is comfortable to use, although the two small softkey buttons at the top of the keyboard are slightly hard to access when the screen is tilted a full 40 degrees. When its time to work on the road, youll find Microsoft Office Mobile preloaded on the device with support for Word, Excel, Power- Point, and Outlook. AT&T claims that the phone supports a talk time up to four hours and standby time up to eight days. Although the Tilt may not be quite as thin or stylish as other smartphones on the market (such as the Apple iPhone), it is still very stylish and has a reasonable size, at 6 ounces and 4.4 x 2.3 x 0.73 inches (HxWxD). Overall, the Tilts true strength comes in the form of functionality. For that reason, its definitely worth considering for new smartphone owners or for current users looking for an upgrade to their AT&T 8525 or other device.