Click to View

Here a few tips to help you get the most out of and better manage these powerful Windows Mobile Professional smartphones' numerous buttons and keyboard. The Verizon XV6800 and Sprint Mogul are based on the same HTC design.

NUM and CAPS lock
The Verizon XV6800 has a lovely usability feature for those who like the slide-out QWERTY keyboard but find themselves using it for number entry. They increase the speed of typing, so you aren't slowed down even when you need numbers or capital letters.

While pressing or holding the function key (blue dot) allows you to type the alternative keys, including the number pad. If you press it twice you invoke a function-lock feature, making the keypad and other alternative keys accessible without holding the function key down.

A handy light above the keys illuminates to let you know you're in the lock mode. Press the function key again to turn off the lock.

Intuitively, the caps lock functions works the same way-press the shift/cap button twice to invoke it (light goes on), press again to turn it off.

Assigning Buttons
Although the XV6800's plethora of buttons includes icons on each to identify its use, they are also readily re-assignable. Let's say you're not into voice commands but you do like to listen to music on your Smartphone. Then the default assignment of the voice command button (on the left side, which a cartoon-style talk balloon as its icon) might be more useful to you if it gave you instant access to Windows Media.

To make the switch, from the Start menu choose Settings. Click on Buttons. The buttons are actually identified by number and by icons slightly different from those on the device, but you can discern which is which. Scroll down to Button 5 and select it. Then, in step two of that screen, select Windows Media from the pull-down menu. Click okay and you're all set.

Now, no matter what you're Smartphone is showing, when you press the former voice command button, you'll get Windows Media.

Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling…
A jog wheel on the left side, a stylus, a touch screen… all these features give you many options for scrolling the display on your XV6800. If holding the unit in your left hand, with the slide out keyboard not in use, your thumb may rest comfortably on the jog wheel, making it a practical choice for scrolling. Of course, the stylus is also perfectly appropriate, you simply touch it to the scroll bar and drag.

When you have the keyboard out, the jog wheel becomes less handy. You can access the scroll bar now with the stylus, of course, or you can drag your finger along it (also viable in the vertical mode).

The success of the finger method will depend somewhat on your precision (likely tied to the size of your finger). But the keyboard also has cursor keys, which means you can leave the stylus stashed away and keep your fingers on the keyboard.

Depending on your most common uses of the device, your facility with the stylus and the jog wheel and your finger-precision, you're likely to settle on one of the options for primarily use. But it's good to know other choices abound. Some are a few tips to help you better manage the powerful Verizon XV6800 smartphone's numerous buttons and keyboard. They should also apply to Sprint's Mogul, as it is based on the same HTC design and also runs on Windows Mobile 6 Professional platform.

Key Lock
With two buttons and a jog wheel on one side, three buttons on the other and a handful on the front face, the XV6800 has myriad ways you can accidentally press something when you don't mean to-such as when it's in your pocket or bag. It does come with a soft carrying sleeve, but even that isn't full protection from accidental button-pressing.

Hence the tool for locking the keypad, which happens to be front-and-center. It's so obvious, in fact, that it almost goes unnoticed. From the Today screen, simply select "Device Unlock" (the padlock icon). Now it's locked and the lower-left button becomes "Unlock." Click on that, or press any key, and you'll be prompted to press another Unlock button-smartly located in a different part of screen to avoid accidental unlockings. Now you're back in business.