HTC Pure (AT&T)

Pros: Sleek design
High Resolution screen and Camera
HTC Functionality
AT&T Service

Cons: No physical keyboard
Windows Mobile can be slow in rendering and loading pages
Battery life could be better
Touch Screen isn't near iPhone or G1

Summary: Recently I got my hands on the HTC Pure from a business contact at AT&T who has been trying to convert me from my iPhone recently to check out more business centric devices such as the HTC Fuze, TouchPro 2, and the new HTC Pure.

The HTC Pure's design is excellent and unlike some other HTC phones is not bulky and fits in a pocket/briefcase rather well. The size of the screen is .1 inches larger than the iPhones though the difference is hardly noticable. The first thing I noticed when I took a look at the HTC Pure's general interface is that the WM Home Screen has been changed up a bit to really bring out its features and functionality. My biggest problem with WM in the past (I had an HTC Tilt prior to the iPhone) was that to access everything you needed you were constantly changing between applications and menus and inboxes which (if you're a Windows Mobile User) can really slow the phone down.

The HTC Pure solves this problem by placing everything you need right where you want it and the level of customization is incredible on this handset (for a business device). Your Home Screen and HTC's TouchFlo 3D UI brings out the functionality and productivity you want and the entertainment and personal contacts you need. The one drawback however to me was the lack of a phsyical keyboard on the HTC Pure. The iPhone doesn't have a phsyical keybord either and I'm sure people will call me hypocritical for saying this. The iPhone's keyboard however works well and excels when it comes to typing and entering numeric figures and symbols. The HTC's screen in terms of responsiveness and use is better than say a Samsung but not as good as the iPhone or G1's glass resistive screen. Since this phone is like the TouchPro2 from HTC I would personally suggest getting the TouchPro2 because of the keyboard. Keep in mind that (and like the iPhone) if you have to use a virtual on screen keyboard while say you're web browsing the amount of screen taken up is about 4/5 of the whole display whereas if you have a phsyical keyboard your whole screen is there for you to use.

The Camera on the Pure however is better by far than an iPhone camera and better than the HTC TouchPro2 (5.0Mega vs. 3.2Mega). The Pure also seems to have better integration of media (music, vids, and pics) and it seemed like I was moving faster with the Pure than the TP2. This could be just because of what else was running on the phone at the time so it will most likely vary for different users.

Call quality in the Los Angeles area was pretty good and voices sounded better on the Pure than they did through my iPhone and I was pleasantly surprised to find that if someone was playing music in the background I could tell what song it was (with the iPhone if a caller was playing music it came through garbled and often times made the call unpleasant. The HTC Pure deffinitely delivers in this area and I hope future HTC models will also have such good marks.

I did notice however that my battery was being drained faster than I would like. I'm used to my iPhone's battery lasting about a day with 3G on and Push active for my mail (with location services turned off), and with the same running on the Pure my battery lasted only about 12 hours (from 5:30AM to about 6:00PM) and was perturbed that my phone died during dinner when I was out with my friend. There goes trying to take down some hot chick's number! XD...Although most people could probably hook up a charger at their office or somewhere during the day so I wouldn't worry too much although I wouldn't advise depending on it if you're going to be running around all day. AND A NOTE: Wi-Fi was turned off (because I was pulling in a strong 3G connection) so turning ON wifi will decrease battery life even further.

Email setup and contact syncing works wonders with the Pure and I liked the SMS and MMS capabilities. (Since iPhone just added this).

Performance as aforementioned was excellent with the Pure, although web browsing and some phone tasks could have been snappier but so far no crashes, no unexpected shutdowns, and I'm sure HTC will be working on updates that will help improve performance.

Personally if I could return my iPhone I would pick up an iPod Touch and get either the Pure or the TOuch PRo 2, both of which are great devices.

If you're eligible for an upgrade go for it, my friend, or if you're a new AT&T customer check out both before deciding which is best for you. Business men and women of the world, this isn't for you if you're tapping out emails and editing documents. It's a great upgrade for those with a Samsung BlackJack however, so check it out, see what YOU think, remember you're the one that the phone needs to satisfy. Have at it, have fun!

Updated on Oct 7, 2009

Whoa shoot, sorry, everyone, I said in the review that the Tilt 2 (AT&T's version of the TouchPro2) has a 3.2 Megapixel camera, just looked up the specs and it's fully loaded with a 5 Megapixel too, and works just as well! Have a good one