HTC TITAN -- The Hardware
The phone itself is enormous, let there be no doubt about that. If you want a big screen, here's your winner.
The phone is also very thin, which I think is necessary to compensate for the width of the phone. It helps balance things out when you're holding it in your hand. Now I confess, I'm always a two-handed user... holding any phone in my left hand and operating with my right hand. I suppose someone with a large hand could be comfortable with thumbing through with one hand, but I don't think most users of the Titan are going to be doing that.
Now, you might read this and think I'm being negative. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, because it's not... I just want your expectations to be right. If you're not looking for a enormous screen, the Focus Flash or the Focus S might be better suited for you. As I told a friend last night, "This is a man's phone!"
I'm gonna level with you though... I
love this phone already!
The processor isn't dual-core, and I know Android-lovers are quick to harp on this fact, but the speed increase of the Titan's processor is perfect for Windows Phone. The phone boots in about 10 seconds, and apps load instantly for the built-in features, and I think the slowest-loading app I have is Fruit Ninja which loads in about 2.5-3 seconds. The animations and transitions are smooth and quick.
There is a front-facing camera, and I'll be honest it's probably not something I'll use until Skype or Windows Live Messenger video chat capabilities are included. I tried Tango, but I just don't like it, and I'm concerned about its privacy issues. I do, however, know a few people that will appreciate having a "mirror" option on the big screen.
The 8MP camera is pretty spectacular! I'm really impressed by it... or maybe the Arrive's was that bad by comparison, lol. Either way, the Titan takes great pictures, even in a low-light situation. HTC added burst mode and panoramic mode options as well, and I really think the panoramic mode is neat. It sets a line-level across the screen, and if you follow it, it will auto-snap the next shot when properly aligned.
The sound quality in calls has been much better than my Arrive. I'm not sure if it's the hardware or the network, but either way I can't complain. The only thing I recommend - for now - is disabling the SRS Enhancements. Apparently it has been linked to a graphics driver bug that causes brief lags in operation. Personally, I've always thought the feature was a gimmick anyway. The speaker phone mode is pretty decent too... although I wouldn't use it for music playback very often... stick to good headphones for that. Oh, and by the way, the microphones are finally not in a location that you're going to cover them when talking (partly because you'll find it awkward to hold the phone any other way than by the sides).
My data connection has been quick and steady, and I have no complaints. As I said before, I find the 4G claim a bit "cute" since I know better, but the performance is faster than I had with Sprint, so I'll take what I can get.
All in all, I only have one complaint about the hardware... the physical buttons for power, volume, and the camera. They're nearly flush against the body of the phone, and I find it difficult to find them without looking at the phone. This will be annoying when I'm driving or in a dark room trying to operate it. I shouldn't complain, since the Arrive had the opposite problem and I was constantly bumping the volume switch by accident, but I'd rather have a compromise of not-flush buttons that are harder to press.
HTC TITAN -- The Software
I have to give AT&T some credit, they don't clutter up the Titan with a lot of crap pre-loaded. There are a handful of AT&T apps that are probably useful for some people, and the YPMobile (Yellow Pages) app, but they're all uninstallable if you so choose (and yes, I chose to uninstall them). They didn't load up NASCAR and NFL apps or a lot of games and trials and nonsense on the way Android does. I'm actually happy about this, and I love being able to long-press and uninstall them.
Windows Phone 7.5 Mango is preloaded on the phone, of course, and as I said before it really FLIES on the Titan. The only delays are the ones I create when I don't know what I want to do, lol. The functionality of the OS has greatly improved, and I'm not finding myself wanting on the Titan. In fact, I've only installed a handful of apps (Amazon Mobile, Flashlight, Garmin StreetPilot, IMDb, Metrotube, Remote Desktop, WeatherLive, and WPCentral... plus a handful of games). Obviously, everyone's needs and usage is different though. My advice is to search for your app needs on the
Marketplace if you're switching platforms.
I've said for a long time now that Zune is vastly superior to iTunes, and I firmly believe that. iTunes may have some exclusives on content at times, but I've rarely looked for something on Zune and not found it. I do wish that either Zune or SkyDrive would synchronize text messages (I think Zune Social hub would make a great integration point there), but it's not a showstopper.
I also believe that Bing Maps, while better in operation than Google, still needs to update the application to allow true turn-by-turn navigation instructions without interaction. That's a limit of the Bing Maps API though, not the phone or app itself. I downloaded Garmin StreetPilot to replace Bing Maps for now.
The camera app is quick and easy to use, and I like the ability to set tap-for-capture as on or off. I HATE having it enabled, because I find the button press better at helping me hold the phone steady, but it's a nice option for those who want it.
Overall, I've said it before, and I'm saying it now... Windows Phone has the best UI and interaction of any platform I've used (and I've used them all). Where the iPhone is like Windows 3.1 Program Manager (rows and columns of icon apps in folders), Android is more like a Windows XP desktop (still the icons, but at least you can setup widgets and customize the experience). Windows Phone, however, focuses less on the apps and more on the content and the actions taken. What do you want to do? I want to check Facebook. OK, let's check out our people hub... and while we're at it, we'll let you interact with them in more ways than just Facebook. It's a very useful paradigm shift in usability, and Microsoft, I believe, is getting this right.