The actual setup itself is relatively simple; it's just finding the info that's a bit difficult. I suppose a Verizon rep could set it up for the customer at the time of purchase, but I recommend that Verizon include a printout of this information in the box.

The camera
As I mentioned earlier, the XV6700 includes a 1.3MP digital camera, with flash. It's not so much a flash in the traditional sense, it's more like a floodlight. This is no garden variety $20 Wal-Mart digital camera. This one can shoot in resolutions from 160x120 to 1600x1280 with digital zoom ranging from 1x to 8x.

In addition, it can shoot stitched panoramas, sports burst from 5-30 frames, continuous burst up to 30 frames, pictures for Contacts, and even video. The video mode will even capture audio, or a format suitable for sending via MMS.

You aren't going be Spielberg or Lucas, nor will you be Helmet Newton or Annie Liebovitz with this camera. But it does offer more features and settings than you'll find in most economy digital cameras. It's perfect for those occasions you wish you had a still or video camera. It even has a tiny convex mirror near the lens for shooting self-portraits. In Figure F you can see a picture I shot of my dingo (actually an Australian Cattle Dog), Sheila.

FIGURE F


It's not a digital SLR, but is good for snapshots, like this one of my dog Sheila. Roll over picture for a larger image.

To go along with the camera/video, the XV6700 has an image/slideshow viewer and the mobile version of Windows Media Player. The image viewer in Figure G, allows you to rotate the image and apply rudimentary exposure compensation.

FIGURE G


The Windows Mobile image viewer takes care of your viewing needs. Roll over picture for a larger image.

The media player acts just as it does on the desktop, playing MP3s, WMAs, WAVs, and MIDI audio, as well as MPEG, WMV, and ASF video files.

The review
This article is getting a bit long in the tooth, so I better wrap it up. I just wanted to make sure I covered as many features as possible. Have I covered them all? No, because there are just too many to be able remember them all.

Two of my biggest concerns with the XV6700 were the screen size, which is considerably smaller than the one on my Palm, and switching to a Windows Mobile device. I quickly realized the latter was of no concern. Navigating WM5 is just like using Windows XP. I did end up spending about $200 to replace my Palm apps with ones designed for Windows Mobile, but it was worth it.

As far as the screen, it took very little time to get used to. It would be "nice" if the screen were larger, but if this is the price we have to pay in order to lure more mobile phone users to the world of converged devices, then I'm willing to accept that.

I found Verizon's XV6700 to be an excellent pairing of a PDA and a mobile phone. In many cases, a device like this tries to be too many things and fails miserably at all of them, not so with the XV6700. Any of it's functions, PDA, phone, or camera, could be extracted from the unit and be a fully functioning device in its own right. Not only is it an excellent converged device, it's also a great first-time Pocket PC for the uninitiated.