HTC Touch Pro2 (Day One Review)
I thought I would take the time to write a few posts about my newest phone, the HTC Touch Pro2. After the first day of usage, I’m coming around to really enjoying the phone –and I’m going to tell you why. This is review is going to touch on a number of different facets of the experience, including the hardware, the TouchFlo interface and, of course, Windows Mobile 6.1. I was looking for fairly specific functionality in my new mobile device, and this will be reflected in my review.
The Look and Hardware Interface
The device, as per every photo floating around the web, looks very similar to an iPhone. Roughly the same size, and perhaps 3-4 mm thicker, it’s definitely a good looking device. I suspect that the metallic plastic bevel will begin to show age faster than the rest of the device. The screen is large, and fairly crisp. For indoor use, the contrast is great, however outside, I did find glare to be a bit of a problem.
The hardware buttons also make a lot of sense. The standard “phone” and “end call/home” buttons, coupled with the Microsoft-mandated Windows button and a “back” button make for easy back and forth within the main functions of the phone. Hitting the Windows button brings up the TouchFlo interface for the Start Menu, which is very iPhone-similar, and finger navigable.
An interesting hardware feature of the device is the built-in zoom slider. It’s great for mobile browsing and for Google Maps, to quickly resize the view. Not exactly precise, or smooth, it does act as a great shortcut.
The one majorshortcoming of the device is the USB connector. This device uses the HTC ExtUSB connector, a proprietary USB format. It’s almost MicroUSB, but not quite. This, coupled with the fact that the headphones use a ExtUSB connector might be deal-breaker for some consumers. Maybe I’ll just get a Bluetooth headset (just kidding).
The slide-out keyboard is great, although, I am a little worried about the hinge. I’m hoping that it can stand the test of time, since I tend to be pretty rough with my devices. I think I once kicked a BlackBerry underneath a bus. It survived. I guarantee the Touch Pro2 wouldn’t.
The low-down: People are probably going to ask if I have an iPhone. I’m okay with that, because then I can make a clever comment like “Of course, there’s an app for that.” The hardware keyboard is well spaced and comfortable.
Power Consumption
Probably the number one reason why I didn’t go with an iPhone was battery life. Some of the Apple fans around the office here suggested a number of different options, like “Get a battery pack” or “Always keep it plugged in”, but as a mobile user, I need something that will last at least a day. The benchmark was my Palm Treo 750 with Windows Mobile 5.5/6.0; I would get 2-3 days of battery life with moderate voice usage and heavy data usage (I send ~1,500 e-mails and texts per month).
The verdict:We’re one day in on initial charge, and the battery indicator is hovering around 40%. It was a standard day of usage, plus a lot of time on WiFi. It won’t last the weekend, but it will last a heavy workday.
TouchFlo 3D
I thought I would be crazy about TouchFlo. I’ve seen it on other phones, and I’ve been jealous. It looks amazing on the web. People rave about it. Maybe I’m just old fashion, but I don’t think I need an additional layer between myself and my data. After using WinMo for the past 3 years (and being on a BlackBerry for years before that), I guess I’m okay with a simple user interface for a mobile device.
That being said, I don’t mind the TouchFlo interface. I mean, it is pretty, and there are a few features that I don’t think I want to get rid of. The bottom of the TouchFlo interface entertains a sliding bar to move between core applications, like Contacts, Mail, Messages, etc. Once I got the hang of using it, I was sliding all over the place. The Mail layer and the Messaging layer just make it more difficult to get around (I’m become accustomed to clicking Inbox or All Messagesright away. Yes, I know everyone rags on WinMo for not being as pretty as some of its cousins, but she’s functional. And I like that.
My view: I’m hoping that with TouchFlo for WinMo 6.5, they enable a little more control over features. There are some glaring omissions. The thing about a Windows device is that, as a power user, I have control. I can fire up a registry editor and do my thing - HTC should think about that.
Camera and Video
Both are sufficient for a mobile device. There a variety of situations where I use my phone as a camera:
- A car accident;
- A concert; and
- When I don’t actually need a camera, and I want to post something from Twitter.
That being said, my Twitter example can be found here. It isn’t great, but I don’t have a very steady hand either.
The long and short: If you have an expectation that a camera phone is going to produce even point-and-click quality, don’t buy this phone. I mean, really, people - the lens is tiny. It’s good enough to produce grainy photos of [insert band name] at [insert venue name].
A Few Hacks
So, there were a few things that I had to address before I was truly happy, both dealing with some registry edits that I had to take care of. Luckily, I quickly grabbed PHM RegEdit and went at it.
Issue One: There is an annoying dialog that pops up after every successful text message sent. Unfortunately, there isn an interface to manage said dialog. This was solved here.
Issue Two: There is a known issue with Rogers + Windows Mobile 6.1 that has to do with time stamping of text messages. While this isn’t related to the phone, it does make for an annoying, un-threaded text conversation.
This brings me to my last point…
WiFi and Data Speed
I was able to find the fixes, download RegEdit and apply the hacks from the comfort of my couch, in about 10 minutes. I wouldn’t necessarily use a mobile device as my primary internet access, but it did the trick.
From a cellular data standpoint, connectivity is decent. A little slower than I’d like, but fast enough to hit a few websites, or update Facebook in a pinch.
So, these are my impressions after the first 24 hours. I’m thinking that I will enjoy using the device, but it is going to force me to change how I use my mobile device. With the Treo, it was a purely functional play: it did what it had to do, and it did it well. I believe with the Touch Pro2, I may have to give it some slack: it isn’t just a business device, it crosses the line between my professional needs, with a little bit of gadget/toy too. Check back in a few days to see how I’ve fared.
In the mean time, does anyone recommend a good WordPress app for Windows Mobile?
