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I can't believe how wrong and uninformed this Australian review of the HTC HD.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/digit...ew-htc-touch-hd/2009/02/07/1233423551702.html
It is just weird, I can only explain it as just ignorant, but just astonishing seeming that it comes from a 'professional reviewer'.
Maybe the easiest way to describe it is just total BS:
TheAge - Newspaper Melbourne said:
Review: HTC Touch HD smart phone
Nick Ross
February 9, 2009
The HTC Touch HD
HTC TOUCH HD
Price $1499 or $62 per month
Rating 2.5/5
www.telstra.com.au
HTC specialises in smartphones based on the Windows Mobile system. This is designed around stylus-based navigation but HTC developed TouchFlo 3D - a finger-friendly way of prodding the main features. It was sluggish on HTC's Touch Diamond but speedy on the Touch 3G. HD rivals the latter but occasionally lags.
Straight away it hits problems. TouchFlo is helpful on small phones but HTC has simply added a larger screen and that's it. For instance, when you add a calendar entry, the top right 1cm of the screen has six different buttons while the rest of the screen is virtually empty. This occurrence is all too common.
HTC points out that the large (9.7cm) high-res screen is great for pictures, video and music. But zooming and flicking through pictures and albums isn't nearly as smooth as the iPhone. Videos look good but you're constantly expected to get them by following numerous links to BigPond-Foxtel downloads, which demand yet more money. GPS is included but you'll again have to pay to use it when WhereIs Navigator becomes available next month.
The onscreen keyboard rivals the iPhone's but the HD's Opera web browser doesn't zoom or pan nearly as well. Where it does pull away is with its superior 5-megapixel camera and superb battery life, which manages seven hours talk time. It only requires charging after three days compared with the iPhone's one-and-a-bit. We liked the inclusion of a standard headphone jack too.
So who should buy it? It's hugely expensive, locked to Telstra and costs even more to get the best from it. Typing is much faster with keyboard-equipped phones such as BlackBerrys and Palm's Treo Pro.
Pictures and web browsing are more fun on the iPhone.
If you're a rich executive who doesn't do much work with their phone but needs the potential of Windows Mobile, it's ideal.
If not, look elsewhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dumbasses, almost sounds like they never even tried the phone, just looked at the spec sheet. The one area they praise (the camera) is clearly the worst part, but because it's 5 megapixel they assume it's better.
This guy's opinion should simply be ignored. He does'nt even know what to look for. He probably just used his phone only to listen to music and play game, and does not use as GPS software; does not open/create/edit office documents, and does not use the device much during the day (hence never experience the need to change battery in the middle of the day).
And yes, I think he probably did'nt really try out the phone. Else he would have discovered that the camera does not perform well indoor in poor light or the fact that it does not have flash.
And, he probably did not bring it outdoor and noticed how incredibly easy it is to read the screen under strong sunlight. If he had, he was probably unaware how strikingly good the display is, or may be he is too iPhone biased to want to mention it.
No mention of the fact that this has FM radio, something iPhone owners would love to have, give the choice.
To sum it up, this is an extremely shallow and biased "review" (if you even call that a review).
The Age is full of idiots. You know he doesn't know anything as soon as he called the camera "superior"
Yes, he can't possible have tried the camera, it completely sucks.
I think he's not that wrong with his points after all, if you are a "normal" phone user, you will find the touchflow 3D laggish sometimes, you will find the phone hard to use and so on.. it's because it's simply not a suitable device for those who want's what the iphone delivers. He doesn't mention all the things that are possible to do with the device that iphone lacks, just the things that arn't as easy and smooth. He's just a user that should buy an iphone instead. The ones who make these reviews has to look from all users perspective, not just hes own. That's what sucks with the review, just compare it with gsmarena, that's an objective reveiw in my opinion.
One thing that he mentions that actualla annoys me a great deal is the fact that in many menu-screens, all the information, buttons and inputs are crowded on the upper left part of the screen. (like when you choose ringtones for instance). Is there a workaround for this?
Look the world is full of idiots, and the iPhone was made for that crowd of idiots and morons.
The MS platform will always be superior in the business sense and more suited to the other type of crowd.
I showed this to one of my class mates and they didn't know how to use the phone, to only bring out his iPhone out, i realized then who i was speaking to.
Calm down, there isn't any objective test on this planet. See various games magazines, or other stuff test mags. The resumeé depends aways from the tester who tested the device if he is an iphine fan you have bad luck if he likes windows mobile more you may have better luck.
You can only collect as much tests of the same product as possible and then calculate the average mark from all tests. Then you might get a most objective remark as possible.
I read many tests before I bought the HD, because at the bottom line the average mark is quite good.
To a certain extent i think its true. The picture and video flickering is no where as smooth and as fast as the iphone. But it gets the job done just not as speedy as the iphone.
What kind of device would it take to make you leave touch HD and switch to something new?
I've been looking at some of the latest generation devices popping out (from various manufacturers) and I have to say I have not been not one bit tempted to make the switch.
So, for some future imaginary HTC device, here's what I'd like to see addressed:
Hardware related:
1. Illuminated hardware touch sensitive keys. I really hate this isn't present on Touch HD. A tinly LED would solve this and make the device much more usable in the dark.
2. More hardware keys. Perhaps a camera button, or simply few "blank" buttons that users can customize. A scroll wheel would be awesome.
3. A better visual indicator of received / missed calls and messages. That tiny LED on power button is hardly noticeable. They should've placed it on front side.
4. More easier way to soft-reset and swap memory cards. Perhaps dual memory card slots.
5. Make the device slightly more responsive, either by increasing memory / processor speed, or optimizing the bundled software. If ROM chefs can do it, I guess HTC can too.
6. FLASHLIGHT LED (This should've been the first on the list )
7. Add multi-touch.
8. Video output would be nice.
9. Make an accessory that would serve as a small portable and detachable Bluetooth keyboard. I can't figure out why HTC doesn't offer this. Is it so hard to rip out the keyboard from say new Touch Pro 2 and put a battery and Bluetooth chip inside that would work as a HID interface device?
SOFTWARE RELATED
1. Proper drivers that support hardware video acceleration.
2. Complete overhaul of Touch Flo 3D. Make it skinnable, make it highly user-configurable, integrate it even deeper over ugly WinMo.
3. Fix the annoying bugs.
4. Add default Divx and Xvid support. For a device with word "HD" in it's name, and such a big screen, this really should've been done long ago.
I'll leave other ideas to you
I like where you are going with this. However we all know that the "perfect" device will never be made due to the fact that people will then have no reason to purchase anything new unless hardware tech increases.
They aren't going to bundle everything you have said in there due to the compromise they would have to make between power/battery life/useability.
However I'd almost like to see a cut down version of this...iPhone like I suppose. Only offer 10 features or so (good overlay of SMS, Email, web browsing layers) but do it almost seamlessly without the need for using WinMo standards (such as SMS etc..). Get those right and provide a sleek, slim, portable, and cheaper device.
The one thing I hate is the fact that I have a front camera on the touch hd but hardly any software to take advantage of it in terms of video calling....renders it useless.
Wiggz said:
I like where you are going with this. However we all know that the "perfect" device will never be made due to the fact that people will then have no reason to purchase anything new unless hardware tech increases.
They aren't going to bundle everything you have said in there due to the compromise they would have to make between power/battery life/useability.
However I'd almost like to see a cut down version of this...iPhone like I suppose. Only offer 10 features or so (good overlay of SMS, Email, web browsing layers) but do it almost seamlessly without the need for using WinMo standards (such as SMS etc..). Get those right and provide a sleek, slim, portable, and cheaper device.
The one thing I hate is the fact that I have a front camera on the touch hd but hardly any software to take advantage of it in terms of video calling....renders it useless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you in some aspects. Yes their will never be a perfect phone as everyone has different opinions on what the perfect phone is. So what may be perfect to you, may be no where near perfect for me etc. Thats why there will always be a wide variety of phones.
I disagree with you on manufacturers bundling everything into phones as that is what is currently being implemented by all manufacturers. Phones nowadays aren't just a phone they have cameras, radios, mp3 players, navigational apps like tomtom, tv tuners, personal organisers etc. Why have one of each when you can have one in all. This is what the customer wants and the manufacturers are realising this and are already producing devices with this already built in. With time the quality of these devices will improve.....but there will always be room for improvement. This is why we will never be happy IMO. For example. If you go out and buy a 50 inch plasma tv. Next year a better model will e available and you will want it instead etc etc etc.
Thats my 2 cents anyhow!!
Happy to say that people share the same thought. at least it is one step closer to be perfect.
Wiggz said:
I like where you are going with this. However we all know that the "perfect" device will never be made due to the fact that people will then have no reason to purchase anything new unless hardware tech increases.
They aren't going to bundle everything you have said in there due to the compromise they would have to make between power/battery life/useability.
However I'd almost like to see a cut down version of this...iPhone like I suppose. Only offer 10 features or so (good overlay of SMS, Email, web browsing layers) but do it almost seamlessly without the need for using WinMo standards (such as SMS etc..). Get those right and provide a sleek, slim, portable, and cheaper device.
The one thing I hate is the fact that I have a front camera on the touch hd but hardly any software to take advantage of it in terms of video calling....renders it useless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure a "perfect" device will never be made. There were some in the past that would pretty much fit into "perfect" category, based on their market position and "features vs. price vs. usability".
Also, I do not advocate putting everything into every device, but as you know, Touch HD is sitting pretty much at the top of the food chain when it comes to Windows Mobile devices. So, it's logical that it's feature pack will be bigger then the devices placed lower. I don't even want to throw in the average mobile phones in here.
My ideas are mostly very easy to implement / improve. For example, lets take a look at the Touch HD camera. They packed inside a 5 megapixel camera that takes rather ****ty photos even in perfect conditions, and they left out a LED flashlight. Wouldn't you rather have a LED flash and 3 megapixel camera that takes decent photos? Not to mention that the flashlight can also be used as a torch light in everyday situations.
Battery life on Touch HD is actually best out of all 2008. touch screen devices. Believe it or not, but you'll actually squeeze 30 minutes more battery out of Touch HD then out of famous iPhone, and the rest of the touchscreen gang isn't even close! I would gladly give up 10-15% battery life for an illuminated hardware keys and a flashlight and pay equally bigger end price.
Rozenthal said:
My ideas are mostly very easy to implement / improve. For example, lets take a look at the Touch HD camera. They packed inside a 5 megapixel camera that takes rather ****ty photos even in perfect conditions, and they left out a LED flashlight. Wouldn't you rather have a LED flash and 3 megapixel camera that takes decent photos? Not to mention that the flashlight can also be used as a torch light in everyday situations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree with you there mate, though I don't think a compromise on camera i.e. 3 MP with flashlight is the way forward. Look at Samsung for instance. They are able to provide 8MP cameras with autofocus and flashlight. Why can't HTC follow suit? Instead they keep throwing out 3.2MP with flashlight. I heard there next release is still only 5MP. Why not try and leap infront of their competitors? Its this kind of thing which irritates me
Fallen Spartan said:
Agree with you there mate, though I don't think a compromise on camera i.e. 3 MP with flashlight is the way forward. Look at Samsung for instance. They are able to provide 8MP cameras with autofocus and flashlight. Why can't HTC follow suit? Instead they keep throwing out 3.2MP with flashlight. I heard there next release is still only 5MP. Why not try and leap infront of their competitors? Its this kind of thing which irritates me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, well, the reason for Samsung offering some pretty damn good phone cameras is simple: they already have a strong photo / video department within their company. Heck, they even have an SLR photo cameras, not to mention quite decent compact cameras.
So, with that technology already being developed and implemented within the house, it's much more simpler for them to throw out devices with 8 megapixel cameras and autofocus and xeon flashlight.
HTC is (s)lacking in this area.
Rozenthal said:
Ah, well, the reason for Samsung offering some pretty damn good phone cameras is simple: they already have a strong photo / video department within their company. Heck, they even have an SLR photo cameras, not to mention quite decent compact cameras.
So, with that technology already being developed and implemented within the house, it's much more simpler for them to throw out devices with 8 megapixel cameras and autofocus and xeon flashlight.
HTC is (s)lacking in this area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes to some extent, but I think thats to easy an excuse personally. The technology is out there and easily copied between manufactuers and competitors. All you would need to do is go out and buy some camera, take it apart and learn how it worked. How long have cameras been around, and HTC is japanese. Aren't they supposed to be the best at compact electronics??
2 Years ago when I got my Prophet I thought about the same topic.
At that time I wanted a bigger screen with a higher resolution, a 3,5mm audio jack and a faster processor. When the HD came I thought it would be the perfect device for me but now I want other things.
The most annoying thing of the HD is the lack of Hardware keys and D-PAD.
I used them all the time with my Prophet and many programs need them or are much more usable with D-PAD and real hardware buttons. I've always asked myself why HTC gave the HD only 2 Hardware Keys. It may have the touch keys but they aren't usable when the screen is off and you press them sometimes by mistake and they aren't really usable at night.
They could just take a look at some old devices and see what they did better with them. For example the reset key. On my Prophet it was easy accessible without the need to remove the cover. The same with the SD card.
One good thing is that you can change the SIM while the device is running. It isn't easy because there is a pin that should prevent it but with some force you can take out the SIM without taking out the battery. So why can't they make the SIM easy changeable if possible even without the need of removing the cover.
The camera is bad but I haven't seen a really good camera from HTC yet. The only thing it can better than most other camera phones is taking videos because it doesn't use 3gp but that is everything good there is to the camera of the HD. And they could make the camera much better only by putting in a flash because without much light the camera of the HD isn't usable.
Fallen Spartan said:
HTC is japanese. Aren't they supposed to be the best at compact electronics??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC aren't Japanese as far as I'm aware. They're Taiwanese, and generally they're best @ mass producing stuff and not exactly classy innovation (just look at ASUS, Gigabyte and all the other Taiwanese PC co's....).
Anyways, my wishlist for a "perfect" device with (hopefully!) near-future avaliability (some of these may have been mentioned already):
Hardware:
1. MultiTouch. Apparently with some new software even resistive screens can be as nice as responsive as capacitive ones.
2. 3.7" WVGA screen. Yeah I know smaller than the current 3.8" on the HD, but a slightly smaller screen = better handling when only using one hand, v. important for a mobile device imho. And @ that size, it's still possible to read (just) webpages without zooming in massive amounts (unlike the X1 / Diamond2)
3. Dual-LED Flash (at least!) w/ Auto-Flash. If SE can get Auto-Flash working on the X1, so can HTC!
4. SonyEriccson W950-style backlit buttons instead of the capacitive ones they have right now. It's annoying since I sometimes accidentally press those without meaning to.
5. Lanyard hook / hole. WTH they didn't include it before, I dunno.
6. (Optional) Slide-out landscape keyboard w/ dpad (kinda like the N97, but no silly angled slide)... always nice to have a proper keyboard when typing long emails
7. 1Ghz Snapdragon or some other sort of beefy processor so we can enjoy games and other stuff @ WVGA res without slowing down!
8. At least 512mb RAM. I want to be able to do TRUE multitasking and not have to shutdown apps just because Opera is starting up. And I wanna stop getting those annoying "out of memory errors" from NFS:U!
Software:
1. More stable OS. I don't wanna have to soft-reset the device every couple of days! If my previous Symbian-based UIQ3 SE W960 could work for weeks on end without having to reset it, WinMo should be able to do the same.
+ What Rozenthal said
So many people share the thoughts on the obvious defects in HD.
Was wondering whether I should return it. But which one else could be the good substituion?
In another word, HD is the perfect device til now?
henrik.dk said:
So many people share the thoughts on the obvious defects in HD.
Was wondering whether I should return it. But which one else could be the good substituion?
In another word, HD is the perfect device til now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're going for Windows Mobile, I don't think you'll find a better device available at this moment. I would not go as far to say that it's "perfect" - as any high-tech device, it has it's downsides and annoying moments, but it is the best you can get.
Also, biggest change for me since getting my Touch HD was flashing a custom made ROM. That felt pretty much like getting a new device.
Hi all,
Basically I would like to buy a second hand G1 seeing as the price has come down to a reasonable level recently. But I am very worried about being duped into buying a fake one, as the fake one - CECT G1, looks exactly like the real one even down to the box.
So let's say if I am buying from eBay, what should I look for to distinguish whether a particular G1 is real or fake?
Suggestions welcome.
Many thanks.
wywywywy said:
Hi all,
Basically I would like to buy a second hand G1 seeing as the price has come down to a reasonable level recently. But I am very worried about being duped into buying a fake one, as the fake one - CECT G1, looks exactly like the real one even down to the box.
So let's say if I am buying from eBay, what should I look for to distinguish whether a particular G1 is real or fake?
Suggestions welcome.
Many thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
usually when you're buying from ebay you can trust a seller with good rep. if they say it's genuine, then 9.7 times out of 10 it is. Just make sure you ask if it's genuine and not the cect rip off one. If you some how get a fake and you have documentation that they verified it was real you can always dispute. I don't think there is any way to tell its fake if someone over ebay is really malicious and wants to sell you a fake as a real. you can't hold the device until you get it and they can tell you whatever you want. As for purchasing in person, I've never seen a fake G1 so who knows how close it is to the real deal. And as always, if the price is too good to be true, it usually is a fakey. just my 2 centavos.
Ive seen 1 CECT G1, it was a young gentleman in my tmobile store...
The first thing I noticed was the camera isnt under the shield inside the cover, its positioned right above it in the corner...
Also, NO SLIDING KEYBOARD.and the theme they use sucks...
Other than those obvious things...looked like a legit g1 until he showed me it couldnt slide....
I wonder if they are able to be rooted....and have roms put on them...I probably would buy one just to be able to Test roms with.
Oh wow, didn't know the fake one doesn't have a keyboard.
That would be a good tell-tale sign!
jaboswell said:
Ive seen 1 CECT G1, it was a young gentleman in my tmobile store...
The first thing I noticed was the camera isnt under the shield inside the cover, its positioned right above it in the corner...
Also, NO SLIDING KEYBOARD.and the theme they use sucks...
Other than those obvious things...looked like a legit g1 until he showed me it couldnt slide....
I wonder if they are able to be rooted....and have roms put on them...I probably would buy one just to be able to Test roms with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh well, sometimes the fake phones out of china are more advanced and developed..like those with the 2 sim card slots, Tv/FM radio, touch screen, (come with 2 batteries), GPS, WiFi, BT, full qwerty and also a slider, etc, etc...no clue what OS is on those though. But I wouldnt mind a bootleg G1 with dual Sim cards, dual Micro SDHC, a Digital tuner for HDTV, etc, etc if it could still use our Roms =) and had the slide out keyboard. Would probably have a more advanced processor too.
It is funny though that they would not add the full keyboard and just make it look like it. Seems like they went to more trouble than it was worth. They could have just Bootlegged the Magic or Sapphire and not worry about a keyboard at all.
Engadget did an article on this kirf phone. It isn't even running Android, so good luck putting ROMS on it.
Here is a link to a kirf phone that will supposedly have a genuine Android OS.
Here is the article talking about the fake G1 and fake Android OS
the fake android phones run an os called nucleus os which is basically a phone os for mtk processors that sells for $15,000 for unlimited licensing. cheap when you're making hundreds of thousands of handsets and putting the same os on all of them. the os is skinnable, and it's responsible for all your fake chinese ipod, iphone, android, and almost anything with a touchscreen coming from china.
One would ask, why fake android if android is open source? well, android is a fatty. while nucleus os might fit in a 32mb nand, you can't cram android (an usable one anyway) in anything less than 64mb nand. most of those phone's mtk processors come with built-in storage, and nucleus happens to fit in them, so the maker saves money by using less components (i've had a few of those phones, you open them, and there's hardly anything in those pcbs), really, those phones cost about 30 dollards to make (maybe less) and they sell them for 100-200, that's a profit right there.
---edit---
android /system requires at least 64 mb memory (and that's removing some apks), i forgot to mention you still need /boot, /data, and other folders, so anything less that 128mb nand wont do
jubeh said:
the fake android phones run an os called nucleus os which is basically a phone os for mtk processors that sells for $15,000 for unlimited licensing. cheap when you're making hundreds of thousands of handsets and putting the same os on all of them. the os is skinnable, and it's responsible for all your fake chinese ipod, iphone, android, and almost anything with a touchscreen coming from china.
One would ask, why fake android if android is open source? well, android is a fatty. while nucleus os might fit in a 32mb nand, you can't cram android (an usable one anyway) in anything less than 64mb nand. most of those phone's mtk processors come with built-in storage, and nucleus happens to fit in them, so the maker saves money by using less components (i've had a few of those phones, you open them, and there's hardly anything in those pcbs), really, those phones cost about 30 dollards to make (maybe less) and they sell them for 100-200, that's a profit right there.
---edit---
android /system requires at least 64 mb memory (and that's removing some apks), i forgot to mention you still need /boot, /data, and other folders, so anything less that 128mb nand wont do
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1000 points to you, sir.
lol look through the specs
http://g1-clone-phone-review.com/
In terms of the screen, the G1 has a better screen resolution while the CECT G1 has a higher color depth. It even has an FM radio, stereo bluetooth as a standard and more... maybe the G1 could learn a few things from this look a like.
You guys should look through this site...
http://www.china-mobile-phone.com/
Also, mods, I am not advertising nor endorse this site, in fact I encourage no one to purchase these kinds of phones. They are not certified and are potentially even dangerous. Please just look through it for your pleasure
I mean, seeing some of those phones even tempts me to buy them. They have Wi-Fi, bluetooth, FM radios, TV tuners, TV outs, actual cameras with optical zoom (Click on Zoomer lense on the side to see them, they are actually pretty cool looking.) However, if only it would be possible to put our own operating system on them. The current ones are well, very ugly and simple. Basically, the phones hardware has a lot of potential...
Also to add, my friend actually has one of these phones, it has a 3 inch touch screen, 3 MP camera, dual sim card, etc. It looked pretty cool, the screen was decent, resolution was bit low at 320x240, but that is because I have been spoiled by the screen on my G1. However, now everytime even if the phone is just dropped from a small height, it shuts off. So I guess you get what you pay for? They look cool without a doubt though... maybe for those people who are on a tight budget but still need a more than typical functioning device.
Some very interesting insight there Jubeh.
Do you work in this industry?
---
Funny you say that SolemnWishing, because one of the reasons I didn't go for a G1 in the first place was the resolution. It is way too low compared to my Diamond and Diamond2 >__<
Yup I too have heard that the fakes have no Keyboaard so I made sure I took pics of Mine with the keyboard out when I listed it - If you are looking and want a rooted one, check my sig but only til Monday evening...
Dayzee xxx
SolemnWishing said:
lol look through the specs
In terms of the screen, the G1 has a better screen resolution while the CECT G1 has a higher color depth. It even has an FM radio, stereo bluetooth as a standard and more... maybe the G1 could learn a few things from this look a like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you kidding me? That thickness for those specs is ridiculous. The extra thickness is in the KEYBOARD, if that's gone then it's not hard to put those features into the body. If you have to wire the keyboard in it suddenly gets much harder. 17.1mm and the large body is horrible. THE TOUCH PRO 2 has that thickness... AND it has a CURVED back in order to make it feel SMALLER in hand.
//Just trying to get my point across, no offense.
OP, the chances that you get scammed by a reputed seller is very little. I really don't think it is something to worry about so much. Also notice that the trackball on the CECT doesn't have the same texture as the original.
If there was a way to install APK's on this clone, I would absolutely buy one. I would use it to play around with and try to mod. I bought an ADP because I knew I would be too chicken **** to mod a $300 phone.
wywywywy said:
Some very interesting insight there Jubeh.
Do you work in this industry?
---
Funny you say that SolemnWishing, because one of the reasons I didn't go for a G1 in the first place was the resolution. It is way too low compared to my Diamond and Diamond2 >__<
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the G1's resolution when scaled down to the size of the screen if very very average, and the color depth is just flat out disappointing. Look at the new Sidekick LX's with a screen with 850 x 480 pixel resolution, that just blows the G1 away. And one thing I have noticed about the screen on the G1, when looking at pictures, the colors just don't feel alive. They don't feel vivid or bright or saturated enough. I have a Sony Ericsson w580i, your basic slide phone, and the colors are way better looking on that.
OK - so aside from bias/ability to afford/shipping/tax/price or other logistical factor - can we have a show of hands as to who has already bought a HD2 and has something to say - particularly what about the device makes you happy, what makes you sad?
Let's try keep it away from supplier/delivery issues or local network/band/signal issues - just pure usability/hardware/software.
Personally after trying one out in a store last week I finally received the experience I feel you want when moving to a PDA from a smart phone. What does our community think after using it for a while?
noofny said:
OK - so aside from bias/ability to afford/shipping/tax/price or other logistical factor - can we have a show of hands as to who has already bought a HD2 and has something to say - particularly what about the device makes you happy, what makes you sad?
Let's try keep it away from supplier/delivery issues or local network/band/signal issues - just pure usability/hardware/software.
Personally after trying one out in a store last week I finally received the experience I feel you want when moving to a PDA from a smart phone. What does our community think after using it for a while?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
too subjective a question....for every person on here that says get it, there will be one that says don't get it.
the final decision must be yours....nobody here can make your decision for you. Make a list of the important things for you in a phone, then find the phone that matches those needs the best.
for example, I think the iphone has a much nicer interface, more apps, better screen (touch interface, not size or clarity), but for me it just doesn't handle business functions very well and that made me choose the HD2 since this was my primary need.
if you do the same process you might find the ideal phone for you
I got mine on Sunday just gone, was an upgrade from a Diamond. I loved my diamond, but as soon as I had setup my HD2 with contacts and apps etc I was loving this even more. Each time I use it I find something new, like facebook linking, then seeing in a contact card all communications with that person.
I'm yet to use the footprints, but look forward to trying it out.
The main thing for me was the screen size, I always had problems with the tiny diamond screen, but this is so crisp, easier to use and much easier to keyboard with.
Also the damn speed of the device is amazing, so fast, the OS loads so quick. I soft resetted it and put it down to expect a few minutes wait like on the diamond, but was rebooted so quick!
The one thing I would love to see is a facebook tab, like the twitter tab, shame they didn't implement that!
The specs that come with this phone are truely awesome, and that was the overall selling point for me, as I knew how good HTC phones were I just had to have something with the specs that this phone comes with.
twisted-pixel - good point about the subjectiveness. I suppose what I'm fishing for here are peoples post-usage horror/love stories - moreso with regard to hardware and usability. It's a nice big screen but it's also a nice big slab of tech - how do you find the size, whats the battery life like, do you notice anything bad about the capacitive screen, how often (if ever) do you feel the need for a stylus and say 'doh', does the headphone port become dodgy after use - or the micro usb port? I suppose because of this community we all have flexibility and solutions around software, so I meant to make this more hardware related I guess.
noofny said:
twisted-pixel - good point about the subjectiveness. I suppose what I'm fishing for here are peoples post-usage horror/love stories - moreso with regard to hardware and usability. It's a nice big screen but it's also a nice big slab of tech - how do you find the size, whats the battery life like, do you notice anything bad about the capacitive screen, how often (if ever) do you feel the need for a stylus and say 'doh', does the headphone port become dodgy after use - or the micro usb port? I suppose because of this community we all have flexibility and solutions around software, so I meant to make this more hardware related I guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I admit to loving the phone...with one exception...the sensitivity of the screen is a complete disaster for me. it's very difficult to type on, someones it responds to the slightest touch, other times it doesn't. accuracy is also an issue (that was to be expected on a screen with high resolution I suppose)
and yes, I've tried all the tweaks going before anyone suggests it (currently running v3.3 of the tweak with sensitivity on)
I think if I had come straight from my HD then I would have been impressed, but I come from an iphone where the screen was a delight to use.
however, the rest of the phone makes up for that small failing.
noofny said:
twisted-pixel - good point about the subjectiveness. I suppose what I'm fishing for here are peoples post-usage horror/love stories - moreso with regard to hardware and usability. It's a nice big screen but it's also a nice big slab of tech - how do you find the size, whats the battery life like, do you notice anything bad about the capacitive screen, how often (if ever) do you feel the need for a stylus and say 'doh', does the headphone port become dodgy after use - or the micro usb port? I suppose because of this community we all have flexibility and solutions around software, so I meant to make this more hardware related I guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, you will find more people venting than praising any device on this forum, as people only seek help when they have problems.
I must admit, I personally think it is the best device I have ever used.
For a quick overview from me (in comparison to the X1, but most comments are applicable):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=5667230&postcount=6
I stumbled on this video on youtube;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-3Bi-Eg2gQ
...and love his brutal (albeit bias and sometimes naive) honesty, it helps you make a decision because it's not a rant. So far you guys are proving some intelligent feedback also - so thank you and let's keep it coming!
I got the HD2 the day it was available in my country (one of the first in europe) and despite all the fixes and xda-dev recommendations i couldn't have it for more then 1 weekend. I sold it on monday morning.
I hated typing (i did try the keyboard cab which should lower the sensitivity), loading sms with some exchanged texts already (loading was awful for such powerful device), visibility outside was horrible, battery,..
Maybe my rant will be understanded better if i mention i'm a blackberry user that likes to try out new "hot phones" (no matter which brand or type of usage).
I've also tried the Nexus One and would say i liked it a tiny bit better then HD2, but still couldn't have it for more then a week.
So, why am i writing this.. After MWC last week, i've kind of wanted to give HD2 another shot. For the following reasons..
I've came across some nice taskbar buttons (which make it look so much better..), I saw there is a fix for sms loading time, i guess i could always install a different keyboard,.. and most imortantly i got a very nice (cheap) offer for a brand new HD2. Yesterday i even ordered a nice case (didn't like the one that comes in the box) and a screenprotector (which might reduce the fingerprints, which i hated so much and a visibility outside,.. hope i'm not too optimistic).
If i somehow manage to be happy with HD2, i might even go for the exnteded battery. And i'm kind of feeling the hype for WinMo7 rom for this device.. Don't know if it will be any better or worse, i just know there is some excitement about it
Hope my rant / "long mess" didn't bore you too much
+1 to buy with eyes closed.
OK, this will be quick because I'm supposed to be doing something else right now but anyway...
I've just sent my HD2 back because of a problem with the microphone so if anyone should be telling you to think of other alternatives - it should be me.
But I can't because I love the phone. It's fast, responsive, it's got most of the features that you could ever want (minus USB host), the screen is gorgeous and the interface is pretty damn usable.
It's not perfect however... Customising it is more trouble than it should be. There is a slight pink hue in the middle of the camera when the contrast and saturation are turned up high enough to make the colours look half lifelike and when the screen is completely white, at certain angles you can see the grid dots that make the screen's matrix.
So to resume, if you don't mind spending some time on it and you're not completely obsessive about things being absolutely perfect (I am and I can still get to sleep at night) then you should be very happy with an HD2.
NeoGreendawg said:
There is a slight pink hue in the middle of the camera when the contrast and saturation are turned up high enough to make the colours look half lifelike and when the screen is completely white, at certain angles you can see the grid dots that make the screen's matrix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The pink hue is solved with an update from HTC (here)
The dots are also visible on an iPhone, its down to the technology, not the device alone.
rp-x1 said:
The pink hue is solved with an update from HTC (here)
The dots are also visible on an iPhone, its down to the technology, not the device alone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I'm sorry but the HTC hotfix did slightly improve the issue but it certainly didn't resolve it in my case. I love the phone believe me but I somehow doubt that anyone who isn't employed by HTC or affected by Daltonism could honestly claim that it has completely solved the issue.
Edit : Not trying to be rude or make out that it's a deal-breaker but I know that as a potential buyer I'd want to know about it.
I've had the HD2 for three weeks and use it every day. I also end up resetting it every day. I've come from a Nokia N96 and before that the N73, so I'm comparing it to the N96. I am very pleased with the speed of the phone and how operations take way less than a second to perform, instead of several seconds a la N96.
The phone itself is a bit too big. Perhaps a 4 inch screen would have been enough. Even though I have big hands, it's just too big to walk around and hold the phone with one hand. I'm scared of dropping it. The headphone port's on the bottom of the phone - it causes the cable to tangle up around the phone when in a pocket.
I have found plenty of bugs in the stock O2 1.43 firmware and know how to deal with the main ones.
I didn't realise the phone had an FM tuner until I found it after a few days on the Start menu - I used the N96 FM tuner almost every day. Unfortunately the tuner on the HD2 is really poor. It is unable to obtain a good quality signal. Sound dips out. There's an awful lot of interference in places where the N96 would have relayed a good quality signal. In places where the N96 got a poor signal, the HD2 has static. BBC Radio 1 has the most powerful signal in my area, yet the HD2 fails to get consistent reception. There's just too much interference and I often just shut the radio off. A huge let down; I wonder if it's hardware or software at fault.
The N96 music player was very well featured, but incredibly (pathetically) slow. In contrast, the HTC Music app has no such delays, is very fast but somewhat basic in comparison. A lot of cool N96 features are missing; there's no way to call up the keyboard to locate tracks, track details can't be edited, tracks can't be deleted, backing out of an album takes you to the top of the album list and not to where you were. There's no hardware buttons to change tracks when the phone's in a pocket (a swipe up/down on the lock screen to change tracks would be nice). Volume control has too few stages so is either too loud or too quiet; volume within the Music tab has more stages but doesn't always work (error in Services.exe). General audio quality is rather poor - even the iPod classic 5G sounds better! Occasional unexplained sound dips and audio which lacks in bass and treble. The oddest thing is the shuffle feature tends to replay swathes of tracks that have already been played.
Video playback is very impressive because of the screen size. Can't fathom why the Windows Mobile OS cannot play WMV. Get quite a few dropped frames and put that down to the poor quality 1.43 ROM and perhaps not-fully-developed decoders. Video viewing in general is very nice, although an afterthought within HTC Sense, as the video playback has essentially just been tacked on to HTC's photo viewing app.
I do like the phone, it is good enough to stop me wanting to go back to my last phone. I'd get one, but the HD2's not quite the tech lover's wet dream that some of the big review sites make it out to be. Having bought it from the O2 network, I'll seriously doubt I'll ever be able to officially upgrade the firmware (HTC isn't even listed on their software upgrade pages), so I'll have to learn alternative methods one of these days to see if I can iron out some of the bugs!
Wish they would just whack a snapdragon and capacitive screen in a HD and re-release it....think that would satisfy a lotta folks. Cheers all for your input, it's really helping me to set realistic expectations.
I was contemplating on whether I should buy a Nexus One instead of the HD2, but I decided to go for the HD2 instead because it was cheaper, had a nice screen resolution, specifications don't differ much between both devices, and i'm looking forward to the Windows 7 release on the HD2
i am currently contemplating to switch from HD to HD2....is it worth it?
Buy it!
I come from the HD. The HD2 is what the HD should have been from the first instance.
Fantastic:
- speed (and I am using a stock French Orange ROM based on 1.43!)
- screen
- usability
As far as precision is concerned: I need a phone to check and type (even long) emails, and read documents. XT9 works just great, but even in ABC mode in landscape the accuracy is pretty good (and I type fast!).
If you need to play around with programs using stylus-based input, yes, then it gets really annoying (try to edit your registry in Total Commander and you'll get crazy).
In summary: if you want to tweak it like crazy all the time or intensively use older programs with small menus, then consider buying an alternative with a resistive screen and a stylus. But if you actually want to USE your phone with the standard applications, just buy it and you'll get the best of the market today imo!
to buy or not
i have it for a month after the trinity.
sorry but it hasnot voice call
no handwriting recognition
battery ends quickley
no video call
no .chm file reader
all of these were on the trinity.
so i am sorry buing it
Mastoid said:
I was contemplating on whether I should buy a Nexus One instead of the HD2, but I decided to go for the HD2 instead because it was cheaper, had a nice screen resolution, specifications don't differ much between both devices, and i'm looking forward to the Windows 7 release on the HD2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope you do realize that there may eventually never be a WP7 release for the HD2?
rottttman said:
i have it for a month after the trinity.
sorry but it hasnot voice call
no handwriting recognition
battery ends quickley
no video call
no .chm file reader
all of these were on the trinity.
so i am sorry buing it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
U'd better search for infos about the phone after buying it
Samsung FocusBeautiful, crisp, or a cheap piece of junk. I would like to know.
I would like to know if you own a Focus or are considering purchasing one. I believe that word of mouth is important so I ask the community to place their thoughts about the Focus here. Also I would like just 1 post from each member who is writing their own review. Remember you can edit your post. Help me out and if you actually own a focus let us know in the poll.
Try to look at the below review for a format. Of course it is your review so write it how you see fit.
Top things I love about my Focus:
1. Thin
2. Light
3. Beautiful screen
4. SD expandability
5. Fast and responsive
6. Diagnosis Screen
Top things that need improvement for my Focus:
1. Better SD support
2. Power charging should be on the bottom of the phone
3. Power button should be on the top of the phone or harder to press
4. Screen can scratch all be it very hard to do so.
How is my windows experience on the Focus:
1. Marketplace can be buggy
2. Games are fun and vibrant
3. Programs are stable
What would you like to see improved in you windows experience on the Focus:
1. Need to allow multitasking as an option for GPS and third party audio programs.
2. Wish marketplace would show how many download an app had
3. More live tiles
4. In email adding folders to sync is cumbersome.
Who would you recommend buy this phone?
I would recommend this phone to anyone. This is the best phone I owned.
I pretty much agree with what you posted. I've really come to like WP7 and the Focus although, there is still much work to be done on the OS.
I guess if Samsung had one with a physical keyboard, I'd be all over it.
It's so fluid in motion, readable and highly consistent in design. Overall, I've got to give MS a big thumbs up. The UI is beautiful and functional.
My only real complaint is the occasional marketplace freeze.
I've had a number of android devices and I've had more than one iPhone.. I was ready for something fresh and different.. and so far this is fitting the bill quite well.
Now make with the updates, Microsoft... some new features would be nice.
As for the focus itself, it's a nice piece of hardware. The screen is gorgeous, battery life seems decent, speaker sounds good, calls are clear. It has a little creak do it if I grip it too hard, but it doesn't feel like it's going to break. I'd pretty much put it even with my Samsung Vibrant.. it is plasticky, but it doesn't feel cheap.
I've had my Focus since they released them publicly. The hardware is great overall. I have two iPhones (3G and 4), a Droid, Blackberry 9000 and a new Torch. The iPhone sets the bar high, and in my opinion the Focus easily competes head to head with the iPhone in terms of the screen and performance, maybe even better for speed. So far I haven't had any problems with it, in terms of the hardware. No unexpected reboots or lock-ups. I've soft-reset it a couple times on my own, and did one hard-reset to attempt to get wireless Zune sync working (still doesn't work), but that I'm sure is an OS problem. I do wish Samsung just stepped up with 16GB of NAND storage from the get-go though. Sure, an optional SD card is nice to have, but the way WP7 uses storage it doesn't surprise me people are seeing random crashes and data loss. WP7 essentially combines both storage types as one large storage, but expects performance to be the same and that's not reasonable. There's really no reason why they couldn't make NAND the primary, and SD secondary for more static things like music and documents.
In the beginning battery life was pretty bad. But I think it just took a few charge cycles to correct that. I get almost two days out of it without wifi. With Wifi it drops to maybe a day and a half at most.
The AMOLED screen is just awesome. Clear, bright, smooth.
I'm looking forward to MS releasing a WP7 update though. There are so many little bugs/features that are missing, besides the popular copy/paste that I rarely use anyway.
I agree with the first post.
I (STILL) only get all of one bar of signal in my house with it. AT&T signal was bad seven years ago and hasn't improved which kind of forces me to return it and wait for a CDMA version. At least with Verizon I get three & four bars everywhere in the house. Too bad I have to wait another month or two to get a WP7, because other than not being able to make or receive calls at home I really like the Focus a lot.
Pretty much agree with the first post. I really like this phone.
When reading email, I wish there was a way to make the font bigger that would also word wrap so you don't have to move back and forth to read the email. Either autosize to a larger font with word wrap, or just let me select a larger font size.
I love the voice search! It's worked for me in noisy resturants and standing along side a busy road. Impressive!
I really like my Samsung Focus primarily because in my usage the OS has been stable, fast, and really easy to navigate.
The lack of available applications (for whatever reasons) is a huge issue. I own both an iPhone and Droid X. If I didn't have those phones on which to use apps I think I'd be a little less kind at this moment to WP7 and the Focus
Overall I think what MSFT has TODAY is a great first smartphone for someone who has not used one before.
Will this progress to a serious contender in the smartphone space? I don't know but I'm hoping that it can be one of the top 3.
webdev511 said:
I agree with the first post.
I (STILL) only get all of one bar of signal in my house with it. AT&T signal was bad seven years ago and hasn't improved which kind of forces me to return it and wait for a CDMA version. At least with Verizon I get three & four bars everywhere in the house. Too bad I have to wait another month or two to get a WP7, because other than not being able to make or receive calls at home I really like the Focus a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iPhone's reception fairly blows, also, and AT&T is awful at my house. I bought a zBoost YX-545 GSM/PCS repeater, stuck the antenna in the attic where I get at least a couple reception bars and put the unit in the upper floor of the house. That now gives me 4 or 5 bars throughout the house and yard and helped the iPhone considerably and does just as well with the Focus. If you have any reception at all, this is a better solution than AT&T's hit-or-miss microcell.
Personally, I like the screen and the weight. It's so nice being able to pull it out of my pocket, take a quick glance at the screen to see if there's anything of interest and, if not, pop it right back from where it came. The screen is bright, easily read at arm's length and laid out well. The commercials about "saving us from our phones" actually made sense once I used the phone for a few days. One thing that drove me nuts about the iPhone was the form and weight. It's akin to having a brick in my shirt pocket and the weight makes it practically jump out of my pocket any time I bend over a bit. The Focus has a much nicer form with the rounded edges, it's thin and it's relatively light weight means it's been less prone to wanting to slide out of my pocket. It's being so thin and rounded makes it more difficult to pick up off a flat surface than the iPhone.
I've used iPhones for the past 2 1/2 years and while the iPhone has it all over the Focus as far as functionality, what the Focus currently does is so much easier to do that I believe I'm ready to commit and forget about the 30 day return policy. All in all, the benefits and potential very much outweight the few drawbacks that exist, such as the plastic feel and mediocre reception.
Oh...and the expandable memory is a HUGE plus after 2 1/2 years of a phone I couldn't even open. Yes, I've read that plenty of people have had problems with it but using a Sandisk 8GB class 2 SD card I've been able to put some 10 GB of music on the phone without so much as a single hiccup in any way. I suppose Sandisk is still the best for a reason...accept no substitutes!
JDiddyC Review
(in conjunction with previous noted items)
What I like:
1. Integration of FB, apps and Live Skydrive, etc. Seemless!
2. Ability to customize the tiles on the home screen
3. Live tiles! Need I say more!?
4. Accessing info and sharing is quick and easy
What I don't like / needs development:
1. For the love of God, please let us use Bing Turn by Turn and not PAY for provider specific apps or add-ons!
2. Zune / Music portion needs work
- Channels would be nice
- Why do I have to pay for songs via AT&T when I have zune pass? This should work like market place on the Zune HD!
- Please let me use music I have on the device as a ringtone!?
Overall satisfaction:
LOVE IT! I feel pretty confident that changes to the OS and apps will come in the near future that will hopefully address the few things I don't like. Although I fear there are some agreements with providers around GPS and turn by turn directions that may keep us hacking to get around them.
Top things I love about my Focus:
1. Thin
2. Facebook Integration
3. Beautiful screen
4. SD expandability
5. Xbox Live
6. Fun UI
Top things that need improvement for my Focus:
1. Multitasking or at least backgrounding (i want pandora!!!)
2. When the Screen is locked i shouldnt be able to power off the phone with just the button! Come on now that should be common sense.
3. Flashlight app that acually uses the LED
4. Volume controls that are not all in one (i shouldnt have to turn my phone back up to 30 after playing a games at 10 because the games too loud, in turn making my ringtone way too quiet)
5. Cut, Copy, Paste!!!
How is my windows experience on the Focus:
1. Marketplace and UI can be buggy (especailly when downloading)
2. Games are fun and vibrant but with a lack of games ive grown interested in with other platforms
3. best camera phone implementation with the shutter button and ease.
bump
Can a moderator sticky this
I love the focus ALOT! I bought it outright at Rogers for $630! Its unbelievably fast and smooth....its the most fluid phone I have ever used in my life to be honest....I handed it over to my gf! Why? because I take alot of pictures and video, and so far while the focus has been good at both, it doesn't hold up to my Xperia X10,,,therefore I went back to my X10...but I play with the Focus all day long. If somehow they could write a camera app (like Vignette for android) and make the pictures cleaner in low light then the Focus would be my primary phone hands down.
Overall I'd give this phone a 9.5/10 just because I feel the camera is lacking slightly.
Lovin My New unlocked Samsung Focus
Samsung Focus is the BEST WP7 phone hands down right now! Just wished 3G and MMS would work with my T-Mo service Provider.
Anyone find out how to get into the MFG Mode?
I have been through the whole Diagnosis Mode, changed about every setting i could change and still no MMS.
btw.. thx sandrobber for listing all the codes for the diagnosis menu!
Just bought 3 foci (sp), Originally got one for my step father who had been working on some old handmedowns and wanted a real smart phone of his own and one for my wife who hated her Pure with such a purple passion that I was almost ready to overlook my no Apple rule and get her an Iphone. They both are loving it.
I went ahead and got one for myself. I have to admit I did a lot of waffling between the focus and the quantum.
Personally I think the quantum's size and form factor is slightly superior. It was just the right size to fit in my hand and be worked easily with one hand while the focus is just a tad on the large size to be truly comfortable.
That said I ended up going with the Focus because damn it's a huge gorgeous screen the potential for expansion and general overall ratings it's getting on the hardware side.
My past experience with smart phones has been with winmo and palm OS. Part of my decision to go with the Samsung was because of my experiences with their older smart phones. In fact I just ran across my old I300 the other day while sorting through some old boxes and the damned thing still runs just fine after a quick charge.
Pro's
that huge screen.
smooth seamless performance.
did I mention that huge beautiful screen?
Expandable memory
Con's
Bing button is too damned easy to hit.
form factor is just a tad to big to be used consistently with one hand.
Who thought putting the USB port on the top was a good idea?
Market place is buggy and has locked up on me several times requiring a reset of the device.
Other thoughts
As a former winmo user I'm definitely missing some of the features that I knew weren't going to make it into this os. I still think it was rather stupid to drop active sync and myphone for this platform. I understand some of the rationals but it's still missed.
Same goes for the lack of access to the files system (in particular the lack of drag and drop and real support for SD storage)
That said the phone is incredibly user friendly. My wife who hated the hell out of her Pure took to this thing like a duck to water and she's far from technically competent with this sort of thing in that she's a fairly typical user who's not interested in tinkering with a device just to get basic functionality. as such this works great for her.
For my part I very rapidly got my start page re-arranged the way I liked it with my tiles organized in the manner in which I typically need them.
I'm still learning things about it like it was a bit of a surprise when my step father showed me how to voice dial calls. (so damned easy it never even occurred to me to try.)
So far everyone I've shown the phone to has been impressed (primarily Iphone users) and several have already expressed an interest in switching to WP7 as soon as their contracts come up for renewal. Especially those who aren't using Iphones since they'll be able to keep their old unlimited data plans with these devices.
I have very high expectations for the future of this platform. As soon as MS gets a couple basic features pushed out (copy/paste, task switching) and developers start getting some quality apps out I see this platform being quite competitive with Apple.
I get that there are some things that it's just never going to match winmo on and that functionality will be missed but after watching Apple dominate the market so thoroughly and observing users such as my wife beating their heads against the WinMo experience I can't really fault MS for shifting design philosophy.
Considering the fact that this OS has only been out a couple months I'd say it's off to a nice start. Sure it would have been nice to have had cut/paste and multitasking so I wouldn't have to listen to the apple fanboi's teases (hey at least it's got MMS out the box) but it is a fully functional smartphone right out the box that can already do many things much easier than my old 6.5 phone could.
Now I just have to find a good case for it.
Happy Focus owner, elated to be a part of a truly 'smart'phone era.
This phone was the best investment I ever made.
After purchasing the phone outright from Rogers in Canada, I paid an ebay guy $15 to unlock it.
I came immediately to XDA-Developers for guidance with my new toy. The community here is excellent; with a level of knowledge far beyond my wildest expectations.
Once I followed the advice of everyone here, I was able to unleash the full power of the phone on my preferred network, SaskTel.
Prior to this phone, I got a contract a year ago with a Samsung Omnia. My carrier wouldn't push the OS update, and Samsung didn't offer it direct to consumers. I was forever stuck on a crippled WinMo6.1 OS.
I am looking forward to future updates provided direct from Microsoft. This was perhaps the most significant reason I bought into the idea behind Windows Phone 7 as a future-proof platform.
The reasons I chose the Focus are the same as most around here. The SuperAMOLED screen is just a wonder to behold, and I find myself just scrolling the lists just to see the brilliance of the display in action.
Memory expansion is another boon for this device. Having at least one option in the Microsoft launch lineup with this feature is key to the platform's success. I believe like the handset manufacturers, that everyone has different needs in a device.
Storage is a need some of us have. I like the security behind the S in SD. I believe the way MS implemented the expandable memory is the way to go from a security and usability standpoint.
My final reason for choosing this phone was to test the ability of my service provider to bring alternate devices to the table. My carrier just upgraded to 3G+ from CDMA. Having a SIM based solution opened the Focus as a possibility.
I am satisfied with my carrier's network, and the phone, and the apps.
I looked at the iDevices and Android devices before making this purchase. While the iDevices were pretty much all out of my price range for the flexibility provided, I considered the Samsung Galaxy line.... in particular, the Galaxy S Vibrant (known by other names on other networks, so let's not quibble).
The only thing that kept me from the Android platform was how cumbersome it was to use.
While there are some mobile enthusiasts out there who will claim that the platform is lacking, I have never once been in a situation where I thought to myself, hey I wish I could multitask. Once something draws me away, the back button is right there, my little friend.. who always helps me back to whatever experience I engaged in before the distraction.
Personally I do not care for MMS, as my carrier charges me per use. at that rate, I can use my unlimited data and share over Facebook and SKydrive to those I want to see my photos. As a result I haven't even tested to see if the feature works with my carrier's current APN settings.
My only pain point is that a few of the features that were demoed early in the year, are not yet available in Canada.
For instance, Bing searching does not bring back local maps. The city where I live has too small a population for 2D overhead maps. I find all of this interesting, as I do have birds-eye within the bing maps silverlight experience on the desktop.
Another feature our lovely land to the north is missing is the Zune Pass. I would happily pay for the ability to link Shazam to Zune, unfortunately due what I presume to be legal reasons, the zune pass is not presently available.
===============================
My only hope now is that someone out there will create a Kinect-Based Star-Trek Exploration game that allows me to use my WP7 device as the infamous Tricorder.
I think that would totally kick ass. I'm thinking of a title we'll tentatively name "Star Trek: Red Shirt Adventures" Where you get to explore the worlds of Kirk's day, and all those up until Picard's day.
In this fashion a good story teller could preserve Trek Cannon and shed some light on the rich history to us causal trekkies. Maybe the objective is to burn through 1000 lives in a single play through.... who knows.... it was an idea, which I give openly to the internet to turn around and capitalize on, as I lack the ambition. Surely with XNA architecture as a base on both platforms, this should be doable.
Skex said:
3 foci (sp)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
correct
Finally a phone I love
Even though I've been in IT for 30 years, I had my first taste of smart phone ownership a little over a year ago with a BB Bold. I never needed one, but finally WANTed one. It was okay, but slow and not the easiest thing to type on. On 12/27 I upgraded to a Samsung Captivate. I really like the keyboard, but the darn thing kept powering off all by itself. When I noticed board postings about others' Captivates doing the same thing, I was determined not to play "let's see if this one works" and I traded for a Focus on 12/31. It is absolutely lovely. The only complaints I have are 1) the keyboard is a bit to small and 2) the hidden "diagnosis" settings really need to be easier to access. The good thing about that is I have joined groups like this one, where I am learning things I didn't know I wanted to know!
First day, first customer!!!
I have been a loyal WM/PPC user (iPAQ, Axim, 3125, TD2), and have been waiting for this phone. Having used TD2 and several Softbank (Japan) phones, I desire the following (only):
(a) Smart dial
(b) Toggle switches for Bluetooth/Wifi (like Cookies Home tab) on the Home Screen.
Nevertheless, very happy with my Focus.