Thank you guys for the wonderful opinions and discussion in my Calling All WM5 Users post. This morning, my husband and I decided to GO LOOK at an 8525, feel it around, and see if we really needed it in our lives. Of course, once we got into the store, there was no stopping us; we had to get it. Just 4 days prior, my 8125 bricked out due to a software malfunction (no, it wasn't the OS, I had downloaded a prayer-time program and it didn't play nicely with the phone :(). So now for once in our married life I think, my husband has something newer and greater than I do! He's got the 8525 and I'm with a replaced 8125. Now maybe he will stop accidentally dial numbers in his pants ;)
While we were getting the phones set up, we were also on the phone with Cingular and the person helping us at the store. Both have said that HTC and Cingular are pushing Microsoft to get the WM6 upgrade to everyone with a Windows Mobile device. This is good news for us if this is indeed true. If it was just Cingular saying they wanted to have it, Microsoft might withhold it just like the 2k3 -> WM5 fiasco. The reason this is good this time around is because if HTC is in on it, the manufacturer of the phones is half calling the shots, if Microsoft says no, then HTC could deny Microsoft the license to use their phones and we wouldn't have such an awesome Mobile platform. Either way, I'm really hoping it pans out and we will be able to get it as an upgrade, paid or not.