We technology writers receive many lackluster products to review. Sometimes devices and accessories collect like pennies in my drawers because they are just important enough to keep around but not valuable enough to use.

So my expectations were low when HTC handed me an Advantage 7510 at Mobius recently. I knew from photos that had appeared online that the smartphone is about two times the size of an iPhone (or three, counting an included carrying case and attachable qwerty keyboard). I knew it had impressive specifications, such as front and rear facing 3 megapixel cameras, GPS, 3.5G / HSDPA, Wifi, Haptic, Bluetooth 2.0, 5-inch VGA touch display, 16 gigs of internal flash memory, finger gesture recognition, high capacity removable battery and a memory expansion slot. But I viewed the device as an identity crisis between smartphone and laptop — not small enough to be one or powerful enough to be the other. I figured it would become a paper weight on my desk.

What I discovered, however, almost right away, is that the Advantage is no identity crisis whatsoever. It's the ultimate sport utility vehicle of smartphones. The Advantage is massively capable and a pleasure to use relative to candy bar phones. It’s far more compelling than its smaller equivalents.

The Advantage became my primary device... a lucky friend received my used HTC TyTN II, and I now anticipate with substantially less enthusiasm upcoming smartphone launches, such as for the HTC Diamond and Palm Treo 800w.

We consumers have become conditioned to think smaller is better. Palm, Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, and RIM among others have become expert at providing maximum capabilities in tinier and tinier form factors. Products like the Centro, Pearl, Q, Touch and iPhone are good examples of what I mean. Until now, no manufacturer has gone unapologetically the other direction, recognizing that profoundly better usability and specifications are possible in a bigger product.

The gloriously readable screen on the Advantage is an absolute joy for:

• Single finger navigation
• E-mail
• Microsoft Office applications
• Watching movies
• Web surfing
• Navigating (the included Google Maps)
• Games
• Typing and handwriting (the built-in handwriting recognition is amazing)
• Basically anything you use the device for.

The first key to falling in love with the Advantage is to realize that it's small enough to fit comfortably in jeans pockets. (I wear tight Diesels on weekends, and the device travels pleasantly with me. Once in a blue moon the belt pictured below makes an appearance.) The Advantage doesn't require a briefcase or purse, unless you want the external keyboard and carrying case with you as well. But those accessories add zero value in this reviewer's opinion.

The Advantage has a speaker phone and can be used with Bluetooth or wired headphones. It does not have a speaker for non-handsfree calling. I hold the device up to my head and use it like like a normal phone anyway, with Handsfree set to the lowest volume possible. It works just fine. (Note to HTC headquarters: please add a second speaker for non-handsfree!)

The second key to fully grasping the awesomeness of Advantage is to realize it outperforms the iPhone in all respects. Yes, the Advantage and iPhone both have 16 gigs of memory. But the Advantage has an expansion slot for more. You could easily carry double the e-mails, applications, music and movies. The Advantage has vastly superior battery life, a difference that can be measured in days! Navigating the operating system is a joy because the device recognizes finger gestures and the 5-inch screen is a large target. (Think about it: single finger navigation AND Windows Mobile! Awesome!) The Advantage runs the latest version of Opra mobile, meaning it provides better web browsing than the iPhone. (I wish I could delete Internet Explorer from the device.) Data transfer rates are blazing fast over 3.5G HSDPA and WiFi. Plus Advantage supports third party applications, has a 3 megapixel camera with truly top notch image capturing software, GPS for turn by turn directions, and countless other features iPhones lack.

It's so unusual looking that friends ask me about it. I'm accustomed to hearing, "Where did you get that? Is that a phone?" Everyone who uses it has the same reaction: "Very cool." People can even be aggressive about taking it from me to test out. It's common for people to ask me where they can buy one.

What are the drawbacks? For starters the Advantage will not be sold in the United States (soon at least) because it contains that nasty Qualcomm chip that was recently subject to a patent lawsuit. Intellectual property right restrictions prevent HTC from selling that chip here. The screen is very hard to read in bright sunlight. I recommend purchasing an anti-glare screen protector for it. HTC absolutely must add a second speaker for non-handsfree listening. Finally, there are some small firmware annoyances, many of which will probably be addressed prior to release. (My test model is not running the final operating system.) For example, WiFi must be turned on prior to loading the Opra web browser to function properly. Also, conference calls are not as easy to set up as on a TyTn II, (because contacts cannot be added to calls using Advantage's on screen numerical keypad).

Overall the Advantage is an A++ product. HTC deserves a tremendous amount of credit for their creativity -- I could not be more enthusiastic about it. I view it as a game changer.

My advice, dear reader, is to forget about all of those small wimpy devices, with their variety of compromises. Buy an Advantage for the unparalleled specs, large screen and comfortable form factor the moment it's available. It's great fun to own the HUMMER of smartphones.