The Best of Both Phone, and Tablet
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"Excellent usability, excellent screen" on by dawiz77
Pros: - excellent (and I mean EXCELLENT) screen, both resolution-wise and in terms of touch usability
- very fast
- extremely good web browser, much more capable than that "other phone's"
- More bundled apps than other touch phones
- fully open systemCons: - the included pouch could be a bit more sturdy
- lowest volume-setting for the headphones is still way too loud for my tasteSummary: I've had the Touch HD for about a week now. Before that I was using an iPhone 3G. I didn't like the iPhone 3G for a couple of reasons: no tethering, flaky push-email, and most of all because of Apple's way too restrictive software policies. Essentially, I would have had to hack my iPhone in order to use it the way it want to - and since that voids the warranty, I decided to try another handset instead.
And even after having used the iPhone for several months, the Touch HD doesn't disappoint. Hardware-wise, it's massively superior. The screen is GORGEOUS! Extremely high resolution, well readable and very touch-sensitive. It comes with a stereo-capable bluetooth unit, has a 5 megapixel camera with selective auto-focus and has an additional lower-res camera for video telephony. The whole handset feels good to hold. It has a non-slippery back. The included screen protector smudges extremely easily, which is slightly annoying.
HTC has decided to use a standard 3.5mm headphones jack with this unit, which is great. The (removable) battery can be charged using a normal mini-usb cable. Battery life is better than the iPhone's - with fetch-email set to 15minutes and 3G disabled, I get a full 3 days on one charge. The iPhone would only last 2 days with the same usage.
The Touch HD's memory can be extended using 8gb or 16gb Micro-SD cards, which is a very welcome feature.
Software-wise, it's surprisingly good, too: typing on the on-screen keyboard, for example, is painless and quick after a couple of hours of practice. It's neither better nor worse than on the iPhone, in my opinion. Auto-correction can be easily disabled if one wishes to do so. HTC has done an excellent job making WM 6.1 more user-friendly. The TouchFlo interface is eye-pleasing and very quick. By making the menu options bigger, the less eye-pleasing windows-mobile standard applications are easily usable without ever using the stylus (which is still included, for whatever reason - I haven't used it a single time). The only app that I hated was the calendar - I purchased a 3rd party tool to make that touch-capable - now it's better than the iPhone's in pretty much every way.
Usability overall is excellent. It's slightly more complicated to use than the iPhone but as a business user, I actually welcome that. I have so many more options now that I consider the iPhone's user interface overly simple with very little room for customizations.
The Touch HD has very good multimedia features, as well. It'll play most (if not all) podcasts downloaded through iTunes, for example. Some of them have to be renamed to mp4 (simply changing the file extension does the trick) though, so that the HD will recognize them. Protected AACs, of course, won't work, but the rest of the sound files are trouble-free. Watching videos on the large, high-res screen is a joy. The only problem I have with multimedia playback is the device's sound volume - I find even the lowest setting too loud.
It's also a relief that you can install any kind of software you want on the Touch HD - it's not artificially limited by legal contracts. I can run as many apps as the memory allows in the background. I can stay online in my instant messenger even if I open a different application. All these things don't work on the iPhone.
The included web browser (made by Opera) is a JOY to use. It's responsive, has a ton of features (cache, that actually works, a password manager, the ability to save entire web pages for offline-viewing etc.) and looks extremely good on the large screen. I was worried about this because Safari on the iPhone is very good already - but Opera is as easy to use as Safari and offers many features that Safari doesn't have.
All in all, I was a bit worried that the Touch HD's usability would be significantly worse than the iPhone 3Gs. I was fully prepared to return the Touch if it sucked. But alas - it didn't. Most professionals (and the more demanding non-pros, too :-) will find that the Touch HD is as easy and pleasant to use as the iPhone but has a ton of additional features. I'll never go back! -
"biggest touch screen i have ever seen!!!!!" on by govokrojordan
Pros: an amazingly large touch screen. an outstanding camera and one of the best internet experiences i have ever used.
Cons: there is hardly anything thatis bad about the phone and the only flaw i have found is that very rarley some multimedia programs made it stall for a second.
Summary: i think that it is one of the best touch screen phones ever and it has a very precise and very sharp camera. also the best internet browser ever and amazing sound and call quality. it is also totally an Iphone killer. i think that it is by far one of the best smart phones ever and it is easy to use with tons of features and that it would satisfy even the toughest of people.
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"This is the swiss army knife of Phones!" on by jacentusmaximus
Pros: I don't know where to begin....
Cons: I treat it like my own 4 year old daughter. My wife gets jealous sometimes...
Summary: I have a decent collection of e-books, over 200 I think, mostly in PDF format, and I wanted to buy an e-book reader for them. But, they go for around $300. So I searched a little online and read and watched everything I could find about them. But then a bright and shiny light bulb appeared above my head! Why not get a multi-tool?!
So I searched some more?and found out I could have an e-book reader, GPS navigation, a camera, a miniature PC with an internet browser, and a phone all in one convenient package!
I bought the HTC Touch HD.
This is what I have to say about it:
1) Using the beautiful interface is as natural as getting up and walking. Bravo! BRAVO INDEED! Beauty, simplicity, and function in one package. Audi wouldn't have done it better.
2) With that awesome display and sweet resolution I can now spend my evenings reading in bed. After massaging my wife, of course...
3) I had to do an inventory recently and typing all that data in Excel using the flawless QWERTY touch keyboard was certainly a pleasure.
4) I also had to take pictures for my inventory, and the camera is...hmm...as long as you take pictures in well lit areas, or day light, then the pics come out great. But no xenon flash means low quality shots indoors or at night. This is one, if not the only, negative this baby has got.
5) My father owns an iPhone. And when the new iphone comes out in a year or two, it will be better than the Touch HD is now. But by then 1Ghz+ processors in the next generation phones like Touch HD or Xperia will be a standard. And the only thing that the iPhone has on the Touch HD right now is HYPE.
6) Windows Mobile 6.1...it works. From the opinions and reviews I've read, it works a bit faster and smoother on the Touch HD then it does on the Xperia. I use Bill?s software at home and at work so the WM6.1 on the HD is a plus for me.
SOOOOOOOOO.....Overall? I love it. This is a miniature computer for professional business people, or a great toy for gadget freaks like me.
I give the N96 0 out of 10....I owned it for a week. Stay away from this one?
I give the iPhone 8 out if 10. Seen and used it.
As for the TouchHD, considering the alternatives available today...I give it 9.5 out of 10. -
"Best Multimedia Communicator. Ever." on by Pbl3k
Pros: gorgeous screen; astounding multimedia capabilities; HSDPA support; surprisingly light and compact for its screen size; good battery life for given size, weight and screen
Cons: lack of hardware joystick; lack of programmable buttons; glossy front-side finish collects fingerprints; weird-ish screen resolution; rather uninspiring holding bag instead of a sturdier case
Summary: Let me just say it up front: this... thing is absolutely insane. I think I just turned into a rabid fan. Or worse.
Ever since I became a gadget junkie, I wanted a communicator like this. The centre of attention is, of course, its magnificent screen. It is simply huge, and the high resolution makes it uniquely sharp. The colours are vibrant, and it's equally good for watching movies and reading (e-book readers? if you have a Touch HD - forget about 'em!) The touch part is well done, too. It takes some pressure for the clicks to register, but I found that I liked it: you can just put your finger on the screen, move it around, and click controls as needed. Accidentally clicking something is nigh impossible.
Now, I didn't really like how the gestures work, but I'm not a fan of those. I'll defer judgement to someone who's into that stuff.
Next stop is performance. I didn't really expect much out of a communicator with a 800x480 display, but it seems that the built-in gfx accelerator a) works b) helps. My tests using TCPMP demonstrated that it was perfectly capable of playing unconverted clip in full screen, which surprised me to no end. There was an occasional stutter now and then, but I barely even noticed. Needless to say, SD movies look wonderful on Touch HD's huge screen.
The rest of the package works adequately, without any particular ups or downs (although I should mention that HSDPA is bliss, but that's nothing new for me, since I've been using a 3G modem with my Eee for quite some time now), but instead of covering it in detail I'd like to concenrate on the Touch HD's drawbacks.
First of all, the lack of hardware joystick is really annoying, and believe me, it does affect usability negatively if you're using any software not in the default package, no matter how much HTC would like you to believe that WM touch interface is fully mature. Truth is, it isn't.
My second gripe with HD is that there's only one assignable button. And it's not even a button per se. It's a 'push and hold Answer Call button'. This is absolutely inadequate and is easily one of the HD's worst problems.
Now, both of these problems could be easily solved through emulation: we'd just need a virtual 'keyboard' with directional keys and a few programmable buttons, and it would be 80% as good as the same thing done in hardware. Unfortunately, at the moment there's no such thing, and frankly, I don't see it coming as a WM update. Oh well, we can hope.
The final problem (of sorts) is that the 800x480 screen resolution stumped a few software packages I tried. Some simply refused to work, others suffered from gfx corruption or incorrect touch recognition. I suppose this is a problem inherent in this screen resolution and there's little HTC could possibly do about this. But it is still an annoyance.
Fortunately for HD, all of these small gripes are easily outweighed by its awesome screen and high-performance hardware. So unless you need a hardware qwerty keyboard or run into problems with your fave software package failing to work in 800x480, there's absolutely no match for Touch HD on the market right now. -
"WOW - WINDOWS MOBILE?????" on by sigma1990
Pros: Screen, touch interface, surprisingly easy to control for Windows Mobile. Video Playback was excellent for me as was all other, and the expandable memory option is great. I have an 16 gig and 8 gig card and I have everything I need.
Cons: Windows mobile, for it's flexibility sometime you wish it was just something else, but it works on this machine and screen like no other.
Summary: I've had an unlocked Storm, Iphone 2G and 3G, Omnia, and every other Hot Touch phone. and this ranks at the top, tied with the Iphone 3G. Storm was okay at first but lost it's luster quickly. I slightly prefer the HD to the Iphone, but it's a user thing not that one is better as I could argue both ways point for point. But if you want the best of everything this is it. I even has a Blackberry Connect client and I was able to get my exchange email and BB email on one device but still keep them separate.
Throw in my Comcast email for personal emails and the versitility of Windows mobile in this device where a winner. With Blackberry connect it's a better touch screen Blackberry than the Storm.
With it's expandable memory and Excellent screen it's a better PMP than the Iphone (I know that's big, but i get more options for use out of this).
Not perfect but the BEST WINDOWS HAVE EVER DONE. Take that for what it is worth from someone with A LOT of windows, plam and symbian even before they where Smartphones.
Bluetooth Stereo, bluetooth mouse and keyboard, what else could I want or need in a mobile communicator. It's retired my HP 2133 netbook.
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