The AT&T Tilt is the most powerful Windows Mobile device you can get right now from a U.S. carrier. Thick and beefy, this chunk of portable computing plays up Windows Mobile's multimedia and messaging strengths and emerges as the current leader in the Microsoft field. World travelers should take note, as the Tilt is one of the few high-speed world phones—able to hit voice, Wi-Fi, and HSDPA data networks in more than 100 countries across the globe.

The Tilt looks like a whole bunch of other Pocket PCs out there, including the Sprint PPC-6800, the AT&T (formerly Cingular) 8525, and the T-Mobile MDA. It's a thick (4.4 by 2.3 by 0 .7 inch, 6 ounces) PDA that slides open to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard of tightly spaced but decent-size keys. The device is festooned with buttons, a cursor pad, and a scroll wheel, all of which can make Windows Mobile's click-heavy interface faster to use if you master them. A stylus to tap on the 320-by-240 touch screen tucks into the lower right-hand corner of the device.

The Tilt's signature feature is its tilting screen, which turns the whole handset into what looks like a mini-laptop and lets it sit on a desk comfortably. Despite this capability, the keyboard isn't designed to be typed on like a laptop keyboard: The small keys will make you want to pick up the device and use your thumbs.

But the tilting screen does turn the device into the best little mobile media gadget ever. Whether you're into SlingPlayer Mobile, AT&T's own RealPlayer-based Cellular Video system, the XM Satellite Radio service, or any other media app you can hunt down, you can plant the Tilt on a table and stare at the little screen comfortably. It's the second coming, now Internet-powered, of the pocket TV.

And fortunately, with its two high-speed networking modes, a 400-MHz Qualcomm processor, 125MB of storage memory, and 101MB of program memory, the Tilt can handle aggressive Windows Mobile applications without breaking a sweat. SPB Benchmark test results bear that out, making it the fastest of the mainstream smartphone pack right now. SlingPlayer Mobile looked smooth over both an HSDPA 1.8 and an 802.11g Wi-Fi network with WPA2 encryption. Audio played well over the built-in speakers and a Bluetooth headset, but to use wired headphones you need a proprietary adapter, sold separately. You store music and video on a microSD memory card accessed through a hard-to-use slot on the bottom of the phone (ironic, because the SIM card is unusually easy to replace). The Tilt supports SDHC cards up to 32GB, and my 4GB Kingston card worked just fine.

Multimedia capabilities apart, this offering lets you do more than have fun: It has the best e-mail options of any Windows Mobile handheld yet, and it's the first Windows Mobile phone to come with BlackBerry Connect software on board, ready to install. BlackBerry Connect is designed to deliver push e-mail to your phone from any BlackBerry plan, but that feature comes at a price: The app makes the whole device crawlingly slow. Fortunately, you have two other options that aren't as poky. Cingular's Xpress Mail, powered by Seven, handles Yahoo! and POP/IMAP e-mail. It also integrates well with the built-in Windows Mobile e-mail program, which handles Exchange (with direct push) and POP/IMAP (without push). An on-board Yahoo!, AIM, and MSN IM client handles more instant messaging. The device also handles AT&T's infrequently used push-to-talk system.

GPS is on board. The only approved GPS app, however, is AT&T's $9-per-month TeleNav, which I wasn't able to test for provisioning reasons.

A 3-megapixel camera delivers the most detailed images of any mainstream Windows Mobile device. It doesn't replace a dedicated digital camera, though; the slow autofocus causes a 1.5-second shutter delay, and the camera tends to wash out bright areas in outdoor shots. Even so, photos are definitely detailed compared with the standard 2-megapixel feature on other devices. The movie mode can shoot 352- by 288-pixel, MP4-format videos, but on my tests the device recorded at a very low frame rate. In addition, the MP4 files it captured wouldn't play in QuickTime, though they did play in the free VLC video player on my Mac and PC.

Yes, the Tilt is a phone, too. Voice quality is rock solid, with very steady reception and an unusually loud speakerphone. There's no background hiss, and transmissions sound clear and realistic. But since there's no noise cancellation, you hear some background noise on the receiving end of calls. And although the 4.5 hours of talk time and 5 hours of PDA battery life aren't spectacular, they're fine considering the mobile horsepower you're getting here.

You'll be able to flex that muscle all around the world, too. One of the few high-speed world phones, this device is able to hit voice, Wi-Fi, and HSDPA data networks in more than 100 countries, including throughout Europe and in Japan.

The Tilt is a whole lot of handheld, and it's probably more than most people need. The BlackBerry Curve does just fine as an e-mail phone with decent media player options. And for true media player verve, there's no substitute for an Apple iPhone.

But where the Tilt rules is in combination with other Microsoft products. If you live a Microsoft lifestyle, interacting with Windows Media Player, Media Center, or Exchange 2003 or 2007 servers, Windows Mobile's integration with those other Microsoft components pushes it ahead of the pack. Windows Mobile also runs more powerful add-in software than the iPhone or BlackBerry do, SlingPlayer Mobile being one excellent example. If these applications appeal to you, the Tilt is the best of the Windows Mobile breed.

Benchmark Test Results
Continuous talk time: 4 hours 26 minutes
PDA usage time (max backlight, typical use): 5 hours
SPB Benchmark: 370
CPU Index: 1560
File system index: 151
Graphics index: 3506

Compare the AT&T Tilt with several other mobile phones side by side.

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