HTC Touch HD phone: 480 x 800 pixels fullscreen!

[EastEnder]

You can get by without flash, although it's not going to match Nokia's/Sony's high end offerings.

Depends on whether you're looking to replace your camera with your phone.

I'm not.

I follow the logic, but the thing is I'm not much of a photography buff - the only times I bother taking my camera out with me are on special occasions or holidays. I'd never normally bother if I was just going to the pub or a house party or suchlike. Whereas, I never leave home without my phone (perish the thought! ).

Just seems a shame to have such a swish moby, with a very respectable 5Mp camera, only to find it struggles to take acceptable photos of random drunk people in an averagely lit pub setting.

 

[editor]

Just seems a shame to have such a swish moby, with a very respectable 5Mp camera, only to find it struggles to take acceptable photos of random drunk people in an averagely lit pub setting.

My crappy little 1.3MP phone camera does an alright job of people and bands in low light:

A flash would be nice, but this is fine for my needs. If I want better, I take a little digicam along.

 

[editor]

See the HTC Touch HD in action:


(in French!)

The screen look amazing.

 

[editor]

Anyone else looking at this? HTC have done an excellent job of the interface which looks very, very slick and the browser is easily a match for the iPhones (and, of course, the screen is considerably bigger).

Google Maps looks stunning. I'm impressed so far. Very impressed.

 

[Crispy]

I wonder which browser it is?

 

[editor]

I wonder which browser it is?

Opera, I think. And it appears to render webpages better than the iPhone.

Add to that the 5MP camera, the 3.8-inch TFT-LCD with the monster 480 x 800 WVGA resolution, slick interface, decent battery and FM radio and you've got one really interesting phone.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

I don't think it's that impressive and the grey look is boring. The case design is a little uninspired too. Either way HTC will have yet another iPhone challenger out in a couple of months which will still look like a poor man's iPhone....

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Its mostly screen. How does it look much different to an iphone?

 

[editor]

Its mostly screen. How does it look much different to an iphone?

It's as different to an iPhone as the iPhone was different to the Prada that came before it, which was as different to the Clie TH55 before that: i.e. they're all black slim devices with curved edges dominated by a screen - something that Apple most categorically did not invent.

As regards the HTC HD, it differs from the iPhone in many regards, with the key elements being its hugely improved screen, improved camera and FM radio, and it will, of course, be free of Apple's, shall we say, 'hands on approach.'

On specs alone it certainly trumps the iPhone, but whether its improved specs and HTC custom interface (which certainly looks slick) will be enough to eradicate the beastly WM6 lurking underneath remains to be seem.

The screen size is pretty damn amazing though, and from what I've seen on that video, it's a very slick performer.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

It's as different to an iPhone as the iPhone was different to the Prada that came before it, which was as different to the Clie TH55 before that: i.e. they're all black slim devices with curved edges dominated by a screen - something that Apple most categorically did not invent.

As regards the HTC HD, it differs from the iPhone in many regards, with the key elements being its hugely improved screen, improved camera and FM radio, and it will, of course, be free of Apple's, shall we say, 'hands on approach.'

I understand its a completely different beast under the hood, I just found Kid_Eternity's post about its case design being uninspired a little bizarre. Mind you my phone is a brick, I'm not that bothered about looks, more about what they do. I'll be intrested to see if they put android on it.

Untethered's post about it having the same screen res as the first EEE PC is interesting, I had been leaning in the netbook direction for mobile browsing and dumping the smartphone , but a device like this could be much handier

 

[editor]

I understand its a completely different beast under the hood, I just found Kid_Eternity's post about its case design being uninspired a little bizarre. Mind you my phone is a brick, I'm not that bothered about looks, more about what they do. I'll be intrested to see if they put android on it.

To be honest, given the choice between it having a groovy case design and a fucking huge screen, then I'll always take the latter if they're coming in the same size packages.

I actually prefer the look of the HTC over the iPhone.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

So you don't mind the lack of physical keyboard if it means you get a big screen?

 

[editor]

So you don't mind the lack of physical keyboard if it means you get a big screen?

I still prefer a physical keyboard by miles, but a screen that size could present quite a compelling argument to many. Others may whoop with joy because it can do video calls too...

The specs are pretty incredible.

Model HTC Touch HD T8282
Processor Qualcomm MSM 7201A 528 MHz
Operating System Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
Memory
ROM: 512 MB
RAM: 288 MB
Dimensions 115 mm x 62.8 mm x 12 mm
(4.35 in x 2.5 in x 0.47 in)
Weight 146.4 grams (5.164 ounces) with battery
Display 3.8-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with 480 x 800 WVGA resolution
Network HSDPA/WCDMA:
Europe/Asia: 900/2100 MHz
Up to 2 Mbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps down-link speeds

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:
Europe/Asia: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

Device Control
HTC TouchFLO™ 3D
Touch-sensitive front panel buttons

GPS GPS and A-GPS ready
Connectivity Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for wireless stereo headsets
Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 b/g
HTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB 2.0)

Camera
Main camera: 5 megapixel color camera with auto focus
Second camera: VGA CMOS color camera
Audio Built-in 3.5 mm audio jack, microphone, speaker, and FM radio
Ring tone formats:
AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, QCP, MP3, WMA, WAV
40 polyphonic and standard MIDI format 0 and 1 (SMF)/SP MIDI

Battery
Rechargeable Lithium-ion or Lithium-ion polymer battery
Capacity: 1350 mAh

Talk time:
Up to 390 minutes for WCDMA
Up to 310 minutes for GSM

Standby time:
Up to 450 hours for WCDMA
Up to 390 hours for GSM

Video call time: Up to 120 minutes
(The above are subject to network and phone usage.)
Expansion Slot microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
AC Adapter Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60 Hz
DC output: 5V and 1A
Special Features FM Radio, G-Sensor

 

[EastEnder]

I don't think it's that impressive and the grey look is boring. The case design is a little uninspired too. Either way HTC will have yet another iPhone challenger out in a couple of months which will still look like a poor man's iPhone....

You make a rather curious (some might say tenuous) argument.... Besides your obvious preference for the iPhone's aesthetics, in what way is this a "poor man's iPhone"?

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Others may whoop with joy because it can do video calls too...

Does anyone actually make video calls? I've had 3 phones that are able to do it and think I made 2 in all the time I had them, more out of novelty value and I had free mins then any other reason.

 

[editor]

Besides your obvious preference for the iPhone's aesthetics, in what way is this a "poor man's iPhone"?

It's a daft thing to say. Both phones have their strengths and weaknesses, but in some key areas there can be no denying that the HTC thoroughly outperforms the iPhone (similarly, the iPhone may well outperform the HTC in other areas).

Does anyone actually make video calls? I've had 3 phones that are able to do it and think I made 2 in all the time I had them, more out of novelty value and I had free mins then any other reason.

It's never caught on as the telecoms might have hoped but that's as much a chicken and egg thing, with not many people having friends with web phones to call - and the earlier daft pricing.

I'd certainly use it a bit more if, for instance, my girlf had a video 3G handset. In the Japan, and to a lesser extent the States, TV on mobiles has also taken off big time, yet we're lagging way behind.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

You make a rather curious (some might say tenuous) argument.... Besides your obvious preference for the iPhone's aesthetics, in what way is this a "poor man's iPhone"?

I don't think it is really but that's how it'll be seen when compared to the iPhone for those wanting an iPhone. Most of the people I've spoken to lately said they liked the look of the Omnia but wanted a proper 'iPhone' rather than a budget version made by some non Apple company...tells you something about how the average phone user is viewing the branding and style of the iPhone.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Does anyone actually make video calls? I've had 3 phones that are able to do it and think I made 2 in all the time I had them, more out of novelty value and I had free mins then any other reason.

I used my Nokia N73 a couple of times just for fun to chat to my little niece in Kettering (who was marvelled by the fact that she could see her uncle on the phone )...

 

[editor]

I don't think it is really but that's how it'll be seen when compared to the iPhone for those wanting an iPhone. Most of the people I've spoken to lately said they liked the look of the Omnia but wanted a proper 'iPhone' rather than a budget version made by some non Apple company...tells you something about how the average phone user is viewing the branding and style of the iPhone.

I don't think you've been talking to 'average' users to be honest.

Most regular punters don't give a flying fuck about hip names - they just want a phone that looks good, fits in their pocket and does pictures and video.

And yes, I can back that up

The truth about mobile phones

We’ve been looking at what people like and what they don’t when it comes to their mobiles. We asked 31,000 people to rate their phone’s features and it turns out there’s not much hope for big, ugly phones.

15% of people love the way their phone looks above any other feature. One of the sexiest phones seems to be the LG KU990 Viewty – 31% of purchasers rated its look above all its other offerings. And fat phones are a no-go - 14% boasted about how their phone’s compact size was a winner.

The third most popular feature was the camera. A whopping 43% of Sony Ericsson K850i owners cited its 5 megapixel camera as their favourite feature.

But not all phones got off so lightly. With all these fancy frills and features, that age-old problem of battery life seems to be getting worse. It was the most disliked aspect of phones with clunky navigation and awkward keypads coming in second place.

One of the worst offenders was the feature-packed Nokia N95. 35% of people rated battery life as its worst characteristic. And it seems looks aren’t everything for the LG KU990 Viewty. It may have come top in the sexy stakes but 25% of respondents said its worse feature was its navigation and keypad.

http://www.decidewhattobuy.com/blog/2008/09/the-truth-about.html

 

[Rainingstairs]

i had the tmobile dash fir like a minute before returning it. It had windows mobile, which i thought was alright, now that i have an iphone i don't find them comparable

 

[UnderOpenSky]

I don't think you've been talking to 'average' users to be honest.

Most regular punters don't give a flying fuck about hip names - they just want a phone that looks good, fits in their pocket and does pictures and video.

And yes, I can back that up

I think this is true about most phones, but I think apple managed to capture the imagination of people who would normally look at you blankly if you mentioned the words smart phone or they would ask why you carry such a brick with.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

I think apple managed to capture the imagination of people who would normally look at you blankly if you mentioned the words smart phone or they would ask why you carry such a brick with.

Yep. I've found that if you pull out something with a keyboard it's 'is that a Blackberry', it's a big screen it's 'is that an iPhone' in much the same way people call vaccum cleaners hoovers...

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Very true, everyone always asks if I have a Blackberry. I just tell them its the nokia, version, far easier then explaining that they weren't the first and there are many other devices with keyboards.

 

[editor]

I think this is true about most phones, but I think apple managed to capture the imagination of people who would normally look at you blankly if you mentioned the words smart phone or they would ask why you carry such a brick with.

I think a little perspective is needed here.

Although Apple's iPhone is a great handset that as captured a lot of attention from the tech world and folks like us, in the grand scheme of things its sales don't add up to a hill of beans compared to its rivals.

Most people just aren't that bothered about the make of their phone - they just want it to look good and do stuff.

And cost as little as possible.

 

[Xanadu]

Get an iPhone.

Maybe when they decide to put a proper keyboard in. I'm going to get something that doesn't have a slidey mechanism. Maybe one of those Nokia E71 thingies.

 

[Xanadu]

Toshiba Portege G900 has a 800x480 screen. Bit of a beast, but the screen looked lovely.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

I think a little perspective is needed here.

Although Apple's iPhone is a great handset that as captured a lot of attention from the tech world and folks like us, in the grand scheme of things its sales don't add up to a hill of beans compared to its rivals.

Most people just aren't that bothered about the make of their phone - they just want it to look good and do stuff.

And cost as little as possible.

True, but it they spent a shit loads on advertising it on TV so people are more aware of it. Plus its an ipod with a phone on it and lots of people like ipods. However like you say its expensive and people like their phones to be free on contract.

That said I work with kids and it amazes me the pay as you go mobiles that kids from poor areas carry with them and there is definite kudos points for having a snazzy mobile.

 

[EastEnder]

I don't think it is really but that's how it'll be seen when compared to the iPhone for those wanting an iPhone. Most of the people I've spoken to lately said they liked the look of the Omnia but wanted a proper 'iPhone' rather than a budget version made by some non Apple company...tells you something about how the average phone user is viewing the branding and style of the iPhone.

Each to their own, although the people you've spoken to sound as if they have rather vapid taste, imho!

If I were after a new phone and the iPhone ticked all the right boxes, then an iPhone it would be. If a different phone satisfied more criteria, a different one it would be. I have zero interest in who manufactures it, or whether it's meant to be fashionable, or even whether it's the one that all the "cool" people have.

But then perhaps I'm just old and boring...

 

[paolo]

I'm still not getting why - with HTC's nice hardware - Windows Mobile is now good? I thought the general concensus was that it's cack? Surely hi-res cack is still cack? There's people here who see the merits in RIM, Apple and Palm, and I've never seen any of them say it's about hardware.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

I'm still not getting why - with HTC's nice hardware - Windows Mobile is now good? I thought the general concensus was that it's cack? Surely hi-res cack is still cack? There's people here who see the merits in RIM, Apple and Palm, and I've never seen any of them say it's about hardware.

No idea, sometimes it looks like some people (I've seen this here and on other blogs) will like anything they think can be used to knock the iPhone.

Personally I've never had any problems with Windows Mobile (although never used 6.1 have used 5 and 03 on a pda). It was fast, rarely crashed and generally did the job...