Touch Pro 2 Reviews

[amw1972]

IMHO...

I've had a couple of days with My Touch Pro 2...

THE HARDWARE...the first thing that jumped at me as soon as I opened the box was the screen size. Love IT!! The device has a solid feel, especially compared to the Touch Pro, the sliding action and the hinge is very solid. There is no give or squeakiness to the action at all (on my model.) The texture of the battery cover was "velvety" which seemed to me improves on gripping the device. I am planning on dying the battery cover ala the original TouchPro and see if a black battery cover might look a tad better. That orange speaker mesh...I'm not feeling it. The silver buttons looks nice, but I have a feeling they'll lose their luster when they get scratched up thru daily use. The green/orange/red led likens itself back to its ancestry of the Mogul. Can't say I'm fond of it, but it does serves its purposes. Besides, the light doesn't flash for no apparent reason like the Mogul once did. The volume rockers and the power/standby buttons are solid...and can be located by feel. They don't "stand out" enough to make them annoyingly noticeable. The one feature I think that sets Touch Pro 2 head and shoulders above other smart devices in its class (My Opinion) is the hard keyboard. The keys are responsive, and they basically feel like "butter!!" Widely spaced, dedicated number row, back light is wonderfully bright, yet understated enough that you won't be blinded. The 3.5mm head phone jack is a nice addition...especially for those that uses wired headsets/earbuds. One BIG/GIANT complaint is the lack of easy access to the soft reset button. No explanation needed there really, its just dumb that you have to take the battery cover off to soft reset.

THE SOFTWARE...from powering up initially...I was a bit saddened when I was staring at the Windows Mobile 6.1 splash screen. I've been running custom ROM's on my Touch Pro almost exclusively (because it needed it) and have come to enjoy and even "love" WinMo 6.5 a little bit. Going back was not what I was looking forward to, however, it seems that HTC did it right by making Windows Mobile seem less anachronistic. TF3D Rhodium flavor is heads and shoulders above TP1's. I don't agree with other reviewers claiming that its unresponsive...or slow. Even when it was stock out of the box, TF3D ran fine...and I probably could have lived with it as it....BUT...the modder in me got the best of me. The heat issue from the original TP seems to have disappeared. While charging, I have noticed no discernable increase in heat. In fact I have yet to notice any increase in heat during usage (data, phone calls, wifirouter use, playing a movie, playing games...etc.)

All in all, I love my Touch Pro 2. Hopefully my opinions here will help someone that might still be on the fence about this device. I was planning on taking advantage of Sprint's 30 day return/replace window and jump ship to Android and the Hero. BUT, I think I'll stick with WinMo and my newest most favoritist gadget. Things can only get better when we receive (I hope) the official update/upgrade to WinMo 6.5...then of course we can wait for the inevitable grand unlocking of the TP2, and we'll be living in the upgrade section (Calkulin...drop us a TP2 kitchen PLEASE!!!)

Thnx for putting up with my long post...=D>

PS: We can all ( I mean ALL) attest that Windows Mobile is not the sleekest, newest, fastest O/S for smart devices...but lets remember the following:

1) How long have we had cut and paste??
2) Haven't we been able to multitask since the Mogul or actually it was longer than that. Granted the RAM in our older machines can't handle it half the time...but the O/S allowed it.
3) So the UI is behind the times...but what other O/S out there (aside from Android) supports 3rd party UI apps/skins like WinMo...SpbMobile Shell, PointUI, ThrottleLauncher, TF3D2, 2.5, 2.6...etc.
4) With the exception of those Apple/Mac/iPhone fanboy and girls out there THAT actually uses a Mac at work...most of us can deal with our Word docs/spreadsheets/powerpoints directly from our WinMo devices with no apparent lost of continuity.
5) App store...hmmm...have you googled windows mobile applications?? You'll find it ALL OVER the place (I know, precisely the problem...) However, the apps are out there...we just have to look.

I am not saying that Windows Mobile is the best (its clearly not) but its NOT without its qualities.

[Windsponge]

I'am not sure why some of you seem to be not so thrilled with this phone. I may be misunderstanding. Let me say this I own a I Phone 3gs and had a 3g. I bought Verizon version of Touch Pro 2. I have been with Verizon since they started. Been very disappointed in their phones until now. This is the first phone that I feel real is a good chose over I Phone. The more I use the more I like it. I just want to say this is a fine Phone.

[rogerp]

Originally Posted by Vacs

Well just a few days ago I switched from Verizen to Sprint and ordered 2 Touch Diamonds. Then I read some of the reviews on the web.... so many problems reported for the Diamonds, poor me. The Diamonds will be here on Monday, maybe Sprint will just let me send them back and get the TP2's instead, without paying a restocking fee if I don't open the boxes. Sprint let me order the diamonds and get the discounted price based on a two year contract without getting any kind of data plan (I don't want a data plan, too expensive). I assume they will do the same for me with a couple of TP2's. Here is my question, I see here that at least 2 people put gps programs on their TP2's, one Garmin program and one was an IGO program. Didn't Sprint lock out the GPS so you can't get your own gps progam to work? That's what Verizen did to my 6800 causing me a lot of effort to get TomTom to work.

the phone is basically worthless without a data plan you wont even be able to check the weather then you will fight with sprint everymonth as far as to why you have data charges this phone needs a data plan of some sortyou might as well get a cheaper phone

[TONY3797]

I had my phone since the 10 and the battery Life is pretty good compare to my previous TP one, and the screen sensitivity is great. Love the phone!!! Only one complain and it might be just a problem with my phone haven't got a chance to ask any body if the are having the same problem; but when I running the touch flow 3D the start many won't open like it should on WM 6.1 it will just takes you straight to the programs, if you don't use Touch Flow 3D running the start menu opens like it should. Great Phone!!!

[maelstrom]

I have had my TP2 for about a week now and am ready to give a review.

Pro's

1. The keyboard is fantastic. It is large, the keys are spread apart so they are easy to hit. They have crisp feedback and you know that the key was hit. the best keyboard that I have used on a phone.

2. The screen size is great. TF3D was made to be used on a screen this size. It is a much better experience on this phone than with my TP. Also the color on the screen is good and the resolution is great. The touch screen itself is very acurate and responsive. Better that the TP.

3. TF3D is much better in this revision. It is really a pleasure to use this phone. using all the functions feels fluid. Almost everything is in the right place.

4. The speakerphone is fantastic. It is loud and picks up sound very well. Switching to speakerphone by putting the phone down on its face is a great plus, as well as the dedicated mute button. have not done a comparison of the noise cancelation on the speakerphone, but if it is fraction of the quality of the rest of the speakerphone, it will be great.

5. Battery life is much better. I used the phone yesterday for about 1 hour of talk time, 30 minutes on the web, and about 15 minutes of GPS, as well as getting push mail through Exchange. I still have half a battery today. With my usage, I can really get 2 days out of this phone. This is much better than what I got with my TP.

6. Misc. - the camera is better. Not great, but better
The 3.5mm jack on the phone is a big plus
GPS works faster than on my TP

The Bad

1. The processor should have been faster. I get lag switching between applications. At various points I get the spinning windows sign letting me know that it is thinking. This usually happens switching to something like contacts, email, or pictures. The most annoying thing is in my email. When I am viewing an email and try to go to the next email, I get big delays up to 10 seconds in some cases. These emails are already downloaded and should not take this long. This may be software related though. I downloaded a .cab from Mighty that allows me to go through emails with out going to the inbox. It is lightning fast going through emails, so I dont see why reading them in the inbox would be.

2. The RAM needs more. This verison of TF3D uses a lot of RAM. I am regulary at 90% with only email and contacts open. The OS does not free up previously used RAM well at all.

3. The reset button is only accesable by taking of the case.

4. The 4 buttons at the bottom do not have good feedback. They feel mushy and it is hard to be sure that you pressed them unless you see it on the screen. This can be a problem with the lag since you then press it again and have things happen that you did not intend.


All in all it is a really well thought out device. The hardware does hamper the usablitily of the phone a little, but I have a feeling that this can be worked out with some mods to the phone, at least I hope it can.

[christak]

Originally Posted by maelstrom

2. The RAM needs more. This verison of TF3D uses a lot of RAM. I am regulary at 90% with only email and contacts open. The OS does not free up previously used RAM well at all.

http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=85996

RAM is fine if you do this...

[djbod]

Hello?

[djbod]

I just wanted to share with you my experience with the tp2. I got mine on Sept. 11. This was my first smartphone, as I had a Razor2 previously. I had seen the tp1 in the store, looked awesome, but I heard it was 6 months old, and they may be coming out with a new one. Also, a guy came in with a tp1 and said that he "loathed" it. I was looking for a touchscreen with full keyboard, since I have large fingers, and this fit the bill. I waited months for this(something I've never done for a cell phone before). I had to order by phone since the stores don't have them yet.

The initial wow factor was incredible. Initial concerns that I had read about were not true:
1. that it was too big and bulky--it is bigger than my previous phone, but not to the point where it bothers me. It fits in my pocket, no problem, I don't even notice it.
2. not a capacitive screen--I had no problems with screen functions.

The phone was awesome, 5 stars for the first 5 days...and then it crashed. When I was out of town, no less. I was 2000 miles from home, the texting feature froze on me, so I turned it off, then on, and when it came back on, I got a strange looking screen--red, green, blue, and white bars with the word "serial" in teh white section. I had to call Sprint from a pay phone in the Bronx, and the lady told me the phone was shot, I had to order another one. I was not happy about that. Very inconvenient time for it to break down. It had been acting glitchy for a few days before that. I'll give sprint credit--they got me another phone in 1 business day. Just started it up today--so far no problems. With that incident mentioned, here are some of my other comments on the phone:

1. talk sound quality is excellent, a huge improvement over my previous phone

2. speakerphone quality is ok

3. pictures and videos are good, as expected for a phone.

4. battery life ran down at the end of the day

5. opening emails took forever

6. the one time I tried using gps, it couldn't locate.

7. I love the hard keyboard--as advertised.

Overall though, and despite the crash incident, I still love this phone. The fact I still love this phone after the crash incident tells you the effect of teh wow factor. I love the screen graphics. This is the best phone I've ever had, assuming it doesn't crash again.

[Laos101]

http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/...-33770829.html

The good:
The HTC Touch Pro2 for Verizon offers world roaming capabilities as well as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and EV-DO Rev. A support. The smartphone features an extra-large touch screen and one of the best QWERTY keyboards we've seen to date. Verizon will also provide an Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrade later this year.

The bad:
The smartphone is bulky. Callers complained of tinny call quality, and the camera took poor pictures.

The bottom line:
For Verizon's business customers who need more than just a messaging smartphone, the HTC Touch Pro2 delivers with more robust productivity tools and good performance.

What do you think? The call quality note i find interesting, the camera part is just a joke (Apparently phones now must double as Coolpixs or they get the guillotine)

However, the bottom line seems pretty unbiased by CNET, and I've usually seen them as the latter.

[Noir]

and bonnie redeems herself with that review
past couple of reviews were a bit biased and misleading. Glad this one was a bit better in a few regards. Though can bulk be a negative considering well she's a girl? I mean height aside of the phone, it fits a bit snug in hand. And even my sister has a touch pro 2 (5'2) and loves the feel of it in her hand