Best HTC Blog

A bit like when Prince seemed to be losing it a few years ago, we get annoyed when people mess about with the names of things. There’s simply no need, no reason to mess with something just for the sake of it. And just how through all those dark years we never stopped calling Prince Prince, so now we are going to refuse to bow to T-Mobile’s tinkering and call the T-Mobile G2 Touch anything other than what it’s actual name is: the HTC Hero. And seeing as how we’ve already written on these pages about the HTC Hero, we’re not even going to say anything new at all about the T-Mobile Touch. Ha! How do you like that, hmmm, Mr T-Mobile?

Not that we ever got to meet Prince to call him Prince to his face, of course. But we would of done. And just as how most people who work at T-Mobile would probably only ever speak to us by accident (perhaps ask if we’d like some spare change, as happens all too often after a few too many lunchtime “shandies”), we’ll never get to tell them that their phone is actually called the HTC Hero and we won’t hear anything different from them. But, you know, it’s the thought that counts. The conviction of the thing. The principle.

Poor little HTC, we think. Not only are they such an inconsequential company that no one even knows what their three letters stand for (and we’re too stubborn to tell you – go look it up!), but then some big bully like T-Mobile comes along and erases all trace of their handiwork.

So join us, join us and scream at anyone who tries to tell you they’ve just bought the new T-Mobile G2, “No you’ve not! You’ve just bought the HTC Hero, the HTC Hero I tell you. HTC HERO HTC HERO HTC HERO!”

Of you could just read this T-Mobile G2 Touch review instead. Or have a gander at the official page. It’s up to you really.

HTC HERO!

Ahem.

Sometimes we laugh when we read people’s descriptions of phones. Sometimes we cry. But whether it’s fellow bloggers, official reviewers, or (best comedy gold of all) the phone manufacturers themselves and their assorted cohort of PR and marketing monkeys, you can pretty much be guaranteed first class bulls**t every day of the week. Take a look at some of these stonkers for the soon-to-be-released HTC Hero.

They say:
Peter Chou, Chief Executive Officer, HTC Corporation: “HTC Sense is a distinct experience created to make HTC phones more simple for people to use, leaving them saying, it just makes sense.”

We say:

No it isn’t, HTC Sense is the average user interface (not a freaking “user experience”) that is very pretty, runs smoothly, but doesn’t break any new kind of ground. And didn’t make us say anything about it making sense.

They say:
HTC press release, July 2009: “Today, staying in touch with the people in your life means managing a variety of communication channels and applications ranging from phone calls, emails, texts, photos, status updates and more. HTC Sense takes a different approach by integrating these communication channels and applications into one single view enabling you to stay closer to your important people.”

We say:
No it doesn’t. This kind of thing already exists on, for example, the Nokia 5800. Why don’t you look up ‘new in the dictionary.

They say:
Online reviewer, July 2009:
“This intuitive one-hander isn’t shy with…”

We say:
Stop! Make it stop! We just spat coffee into the eyes of our cross-desker. The only intuitive one-handers who aren’t shy we know frequent the arches and seedy pubs of Kings Cross during the evening hours.

So there we have it. The HTC Hero isn’t a bad phone, by any means. In fact, it’s quite a good one. But beware, all you brave and intuitive one-handers out there. As you navigate things like this product overview, or this HTC Hero review, keep your wits about you. For there are many who shall try to fill your ears and eyes with bulls**t if you let them.

Ah, Google, is there anything you can’t do. Well, you probably couldn’t sort out our terrible financial situation, tidy our festering offices, or make the pretty barmaid in the local look at us with anything less than an unconcealed snarl. However, we forgive you, because there are so many things you can actually do that make us love you. And now you come in phone-sized packages and it makes us love you all the more. Fair enough, the G1 has been out for a while now, but that was kind of clunky and, well, clunky, so we’re happy to ignore that. But now we have the shiny new HTC Magic to play with you on, and it makes us giddy.

Giddy because, according to the  HTC Official page, we can use you to …”find the coolest café in your city right from your Home screen with Google Search. Take a virtual tour of Barcelona with 360º panoramas using Google Maps with Street View. Or start up Google Talk to chat with your friend about the music video you just saw on YouTube…”

Erm, right, yeah, no. Giddy more because we can use the HTC Magic to find out how late the nearest pub in the city we never leave is open, take a virtual tour of the area surrounding the pub using Street View to find a decent looking kebab house then fail to convince the barmaid that we’re far better company on Google Chat than we are in real life. But anyway you get the idea, it’s everything that Google do well, on a phone. And, now without the G1’s kind of pointless keyboard, all delivered to you in a slim, lightweight format. Everyone’s a winner, right? Right. Read this HTC Magic Review for some other-than-Google facts. And does anyone fancy a Google Chat? No? Ah, screw you all.

The Snap isn’t going to win any awards for innovation, looks or, well, it’s just not going to win any awards at all if we’re honest. But then not everyone wants to be a celebrity, or a superstar sports player. Some people want the things in life that are solid, reliable, and that fit in your pocket… Okay, that last example doesn’t apply to everything but that’s one area where the HTC Snap does impress. It’s far slimmer and lighter than most of its competitors (at only 120 grams, and measuring only 116.5 X 61.5 X 12.0mm), so whether you’re a top jacket pocket, inside briefcase pocket or even trouser pocket kind of guy/woman, this phone is going to slot in there comfortably.

So it doesn’t have fancy graphics capabilities like the iPhone 3G S. But it does have a lovely clicks-to-the-touch full Qwerty keypad. So the Snap might not be as pretty as the Nokia E71, but it does have a little bit of brushed metal for the menu keys and those curves are pretty sleek. So it only has a 2MP camera, it’s not a camera, it’s a phone! It also has bluetooth 2.0, an impressive 1500mAh Li-Ion battery, video recording and a microSD card slot. And there is, of course, a good chance you’re going to pick one of these up in a pretty tasty deal compared to its flashier cousins in the business- and smart-phone market.

So go on, embrace average, spurn the ostentatious, sign up for the HTC Snap today. It might not impress everyone, but chances are it’s going to do everything you need it to, and do it for a long time to come.

Check out an HTC Snap review here for more specs and details, and if you’ve time have a little look at the video from a recent sales conference in America.

Touch Cruise 09 is finally here and my wait for the perfect phone is finally over! HTC Touch Cruise 09 has all the features I could have wanted in a phone and even features that I had simply not expected. To say that I was thrilled when I saw the phone is an understatement in the least. Let me tell you about some of the features I like best.

To begin with, the Touch Cruise 09 handset is very sleek and elegant. I found that when it was being developed, the handset was codenamed ‘Lolita’ and somehow I think the name fits. The take a look at this video is obviously comes with a touch sensitive screen and it is 2.8”, has a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels and has a screen that supports 65 colors. What’s more, the O2 also offers handwriting recognition, making it so much easier to take notes or write messages.

There are so many other brilliant features in this phone. There is advanced GPS which practically gives you turn by turn directions. Then there is geo-tagging which lets you take pictures and then tag your location, add some notes or add a voice memo. That is just so simply amazing.

This phone is a quad band phone comes with GPRS class 10, HSDPA 7.2, HTML & WAP browser and WiFi, all of which together allow for high speed internet access. And, it is so easy to the phone to other devices with its Bluetooth 2.0 plus A2DP. Also, the phone allows for a wide range of messaging options like push email, MMS, SMS and email. The phone is also equipped with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional that enables you to edit files in Excel, Word and Power Point.

Now, if all these features don’t make it the best phone this year, I don’t know what does.

If you are looking for network specific deals, follow the links below:
HTC Touch Cruise 09 on Orange
HTC Touch Cruise 09 on O2
HTC Touch Cruise 09 on T-Mobile
HTC Touch Cruise 09 on Vodafone
HTC Touch Cruise 09 on 3 Mobile
HTC Touch Cruise 09 on Virgin

HTC Touch Diamond 2 has outdone itself when it comes to image quality. The 3.2-inch touch-sensitive wide-screen with VGA (480 X 800 pixel) resolution makes all my photos look almost professional. Well actually, I think this has more to do with the absolutely fabulous 5.0 megapixel camera with auto focus, and of course, my wonderful eye for a great shot!

I’ve been a fanatical mobile photographer (meaning I take pictures of everything from the pigeons outside my window to the tuft of hair in front of me at the cinema) and for daylight shooting, the HTC Touch Diamond 2 is one of the best phone cameras I have ever owned. I love the clarity, I love the versatility, and I really love the colors. I took a few photos at the park yesterday, and even though the park isn’t all that fantastic, the pictures look like heaven. Greenest green I’ve ever seen, without any photoshopping!

I really enjoy the interface of the HTC Touch Diamond 2 too – easy to navigate, well organized, and of course, the touch screen has helped me go from ‘hunt and peck’ to ‘nimble fingers.’ With the product overview , folders seem to open up as even as I think about them…but the highlight is the new zoom bar. I just slide my finger over it to zoom into or out of a picture. I also use it when I’m uploading some extra-special shots into my web gallery, or when I’m driving (meaning pulled over) and hoping Google maps will show me where the nearest pizza place is.

Of course the other features of the pay as you go mobile phone deals don’t hurt. Push- Internet is a great new feature that pre-loads my favourite websites and saves them for later. The phone is compact and pretty snazzy, so I don’t mind pulling it out in public places to take some quick photos.

For network specific deals, follow the links below:
HTC Touch Diamond 2 on Orange
HTC Touch Diamond 2 on O2
HTC Touch Diamond 2 on T-Mobile
HTC Touch Diamond 2 on Vodafone
HTC Touch Diamond 2 on 3 Mobile
HTC Touch Diamond 2 on Virgin

Undoubtedly the best display I have ever seen on a smart phone. The HTC Touch Pro 2 is outstanding – hardware and graphics alike. A 3.6-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with 480 X 800 WVGA resolution, glows bright and clear. And when I turn on the HTC Touch Pro 2 , the start up menu reminds me of the future. Okay, so that sounds lame, but really, I am wowed beyond words. I’ve seen iphones and I’ve seen other phones, but this one is brilliant. Plus it tilts…I mean it is adjustable so that you can look at it from all angles.

The TouchFLO 3D interface that the HTC Touch Pro 2 uses is perfect for the Windows Mobile Interface, but really, it looks nothing like windows, that is, it looks way better and works just the same. TouchFLO focuses on increasing usabillity and making navigation more intuitive. It is super finger friendly, giving the user instant access to messaging, people, email, photos, music and the daily weather. The zoom bar at the bottom of the screen is touch sensitive too – it allows you to zoom in and out of photos and webpages.

I’ve been on about the official overview graphics and the screen, but it really is worth mentioning that the phone also has a stellar microphone and speaker system for call conferencing. It also makes the actual calling process much easier and streamlined. The other specs of the HTC are pretty good too – almost unlimited memory and room for an SD card, mini USB, bluetooth and WLAN enabled, stereo FM radio with RDS, MP3 player and TV out. I know it’s designed as a business phone, but I just want to play with it. I still need to look into the battery life. It is improved from the previous version, and improvements are always a good thing. I hope it will hold up with all the use that I intend to put it through.

For network specific deals, follow the links below:
HTC Touch Pro 2 on Orange
HTC Touch Pro 2 on O2
HTC Touch Pro 2 on T-Mobile
HTC Touch Pro 2 on Vodafone
HTC Touch Pro 2 on 3 Mobile
HTC Touch Pro 2 on Virgin