Touch Pro Reviews

[PocketPcUser]

Originally Posted by aughsum

Yes.. after the last year I've went through with the mogul I'm suprised my reply was as optomistic as it was.

There comes a point when youve bought so many 600$ phones minor improvements over the prior when you just get angry with companies like htc trickling out technology the way they do..

I completely disagree... I think they finally did the right thing with the Diamond series... GPS, either built-in 4GB or up-to 32GB of removeable storage, TV Out, Packed in three times the amount of ram of previous devices, doubled the average ROM space, leaving the user with more main storage to install programs, FIVE ROW KEYBOARD, WITH Control key! I just don't see the validity of your points... The 6600-6700 was a change in form factor, upgraded OS; 6700-6800 was merely a OS Upgrade (Minor), GPS capabilities, in some variants it incre***** the RAM, it merely bumped up the main storage a tad, and it upgraded the form factor. 6800-6900 was only in most cases, just updating the form factor, introducing the world to truely flat-touch screens, and another minor update to the OS, and introducing HTC's Touch Flo.

Now, tell me that they didn't add more than all of that put together, into one device??? (The answer is, Touch Pro! They did upgrade it not a little, but a lot!)
Sorry that you had to wait this long, but this is the technology world, and buisiness world- it just works that way. Sometimes, we get lucky, and they do good for us customers. This is one of those times.
Build quality and the neccessity of having a screen protector and case are all this device might really have against it, other than badly needed buttons.

[aughsum]

Originally Posted by PocketPcUser

I completely disagree... I think they finally did the right thing with the Diamond series... GPS, either built-in 4GB or up-to 32GB of removeable storage, TV Out, Packed in three times the amount of ram of previous devices, doubled the average ROM space, leaving the user with more main storage to install programs, FIVE ROW KEYBOARD, WITH Control key! I just don't see the validity of your points... The 6600-6700 was a change in form factor, upgraded OS; 6700-6800 was merely a OS Upgrade (Minor), GPS capabilities, in some variants it incre***** the RAM, it merely bumped up the main storage a tad, and it upgraded the form factor. 6800-6900 was only in most cases, just updating the form factor, introducing the world to truely flat-touch screens, and another minor update to the OS, and introducing HTC's Touch Flo.

Now, tell me that they didn't add more than all of that put together, into one device??? (The answer is, Touch Pro! They did upgrade it not a little, but a lot!)
Sorry that you had to wait this long, but this is the technology world, and buisiness world- it just works that way. Sometimes, we get lucky, and they do good for us customers. This is one of those times.
Build quality and the neccessity of having a screen protector and case are all this device might really have against it, other than badly needed buttons.

touting tv out as a feature doesnt really work when theres no cable..

if theyre trying to tweak the form factor theyre doing itthe wrong way. the tp being a "business phone" (with a youtube application) doesnt mean that we all want to rock this thing on our hips with the nifty included brushed-microfiber velcro case.

I would love the phone if it were half the thickness. sans the buttons.

In response to a previous post: yeah I'm going to keep it.. wait a year and buy the next version of it. That version will probably be a different color and have fm radio.

16x9 flat touch lcd top (at least 3.5"), buttons(if any) on the sides of the bezel, slide out qwerty keyboard (with no number row.. i type about half the speed i did on the mogul now) with the thickness of a razr. thats all i ask. to not have to carry a man-purse to have a functional phone.

Everyones all excited about the specs on the touch pro.. a WM6 phone. These are the specs the mogul should have had if it were going to be released with WM6.

[hec]

I just got mine yesterday (switched from a Mogul), and here are my initial observations (in no particular order, just as they occur to me):

_Pros_

* Size: Nice & compact; feels great in-hand.

* Display: Resolution, clarity of text and richness of color in particular.

* TF3D: Takes a bit getting used to (e.g., adjusting to how much pressure to use when wanting to scroll vs selecting an item), but nice cool factor. Finger gestures (e.g., zooming and flicking to scroll) are pretty handy.

* Memory: Nice having gobs of memory, especially for programs.

* Added features/software: Namely Voice Command, which I hadn't used in a while; I like not having to record tags, and not having to shell out the $ for it was nice. Other notables I haven't had much time to play around w/ yet are YouTube, Opera, the Disk Drive feature in USB to PC, and the video out feature for which no cables are included (?!).

* Keyboard: Nice, though I haven't really used it much yet. I'm still primarily a FITALY user (which thankfully still works), but I'll use it from time to time when texting while outdoors.

* Activation: Kudos to Sprint for making the ESN swap a breeze from their web site and having the device auto-activate afterward.

* Speaker: I like having it on top instead of the back; easier to hear while laying flat - i.e., no longer have to lay it upside-down when wanting to hear music while charging.

* USB audio/charging adapter: Nicer than Mogul's plus the added 3.5mm jack is a nice touch.


_Cons_

* Stylus: I like that it's not telescoping but a bit too short; could use at least an extra quarter-inch.

* Buttons (the lack thereof): Probably what I miss the most compared to Mogul, especially since I used AEButton Plus to give its various buttons lots of added functionality that allowed me to quickly do what I want in no time (e.g., toggling vibrate/data/bluetooth, copying/pasting, flashlight, closing apps, etc.). I haven't tried AEButton Plus on the Touch Pro yet, but I'll do so asap and hope to at least regain some one-handed functionality. Oh, and I really miss the Mogul's scroll wheel.

* Another result of lack of buttons...fingerprints all over the screen; amazing how quickly they add up.

* Directional keypad: A bit of a tight squeeze to press the left & right button areas without inadvertently pressing the Talk or End buttons.

*Back button: I wish it acted more consistently; doesn't always act like an OK.

* Opera: My initial findings are that it's pretty slow and doesn't give enough feedback as it's working on rendering a page. Also, I don't like having to zoom in to click links with the stylus. Lastly, I haven't found a way to have it access IE's mobile favorites, so I wouldn't have to create them manually.

* Belt case: A drastic step backward in craftmanship for such a pricey PPC phone; shame on HTC.

* TF3D: Despite its coolness, most everything I need to do takes longer than with iLauncher and PocketBreeze on the Today screen, as I had on Mogul.

* Large menus: It seems all menus are large, which is somewhat OK for most apps but not so good for older ones with many menu items. I haven't found a way yet to disable this feature anywhere other than on the Start Menu.

* Beam?: Why's this feature still in Settings|Connections, when there doesn't appear to be an irda port on the device?

* Chrome finish: I agree this thing'll get scratched in no time; I like the finish on the GSM version better.

* Name: There's plenty of space for "Touch Pro" next to the htc logo on the front, which would help spare me having to answer the "what phone is that?" questions that I'll inevitably get.


All-in-all, I'm glad I made the switch so far; as with any change, I'll need to adapt and will look forward to the hacks & other enhancements that are forthcoming.

[CozBoogie]

I'd be interested in hearing from folks who previously had Treo's.

Thanks,
Coz

[CozBoogie]

And please remember to stay on topic.

Thanks,
Coz

[mxl180]

Originally Posted by cozboogie

I'd be interested in hearing from folks who previously had Treo's.

Thanks,
Coz

I previous had a treo 650 and a centro before receiving my TP today. As far as the size. I'm surprised it was the exact same size as the centro. The weight was similar also.

What I think I will miss is the ease of launching apps. For example lets say i'm on the road.. and need google gaps. On my centro I can just press and hold the "G" key for a second and launch Gmaps. I think the battery will be alot worse. The TP lags a bit, but Centro is more responsive.

Youtube is great because of the wide screen.

Not having much time to review... the centro (more productive) is a better phone 1st and very good pda 2nd. The TP (more fun) is a full featured device that can make phone calls. I'll keep the TP

[PocketPcUser]

Just to clarify my earlier review above:
The device has (I guess) 60-88MB for VRAM, and ~200MB dedicated for program execution (RAM).
The actual available memory is not 200MB like I mentioned earlier, it is 200MB total, with 135 or so MB free after soft-reset. When TouchFlo3D is de-activated, you can pull around 140+MB free, not to exceed 150MB. (I know that it is somewhere between 140-149MB.)
Also, the keyboard is even somewhat hard to use, after clipping my nails all the way. So, for people with small hands, this may be second nature, but I have larger hands, so it may take some time to get used to the small keys.
On more careful review of the device, I may actually have a hard time coming to a final decision on getting it or not. I think the one thing that turns me off about it, is the overall feel of it in my hands. I am used to the 6700, and they are no-where anything like each other when it comes to feel. I just am torn now, between the Tilt, and the Touch Pro. They both have GPS, and offer the same sizes of storage cards, so it is still a hard decision. (Almost like the elections... But I won't even touch that comparison.)
I think in general, the new features, the possibilities with Custom ROM's, the available storage space, the RAM, and the added features cause me to want the Pro 60%-70%; however, I am still feeling un-certain, and have a pretty strong 30-40% lean towards getting the Tilt.
Anyone think they can help me decide? Even after all of my review, and my experience with devices, I just can't get a more solid opinion about this device. I know for one thing, the TouchFlo3D is coming off hours after I get it, and I am turning off the large start menu, as this causes a lot of lag, and Spb Mobile Shell is far more productive for me. I also know, I wasn't too impressed with the GPS, since GPS on these devices are now going into the 3rd generation, and I just think that they can be a little more accurate. However, this chipset is only 2nd generation, since it is the same as what was used in the Mogul.
The processor really doesn't see that much faster than my 6700, but I am sure Custom ROM's will unlock the full potential.
Overall, this stock ROM, with the large start menu and TFlo3D turned off, it is very fast and stable. Opera works pretty well, but I think I will still use PIE at times. Opera has been improved a lot for this ROM, so I am happy that they didn't rush it out the door, without testing it. Everything is pretty stable.

I will say one thing I highly am upset about, is the removal of Task Manager that WM6.1 introduced, as you can not see running processes anymore, via the settings menus.

[GoodThings2Life]

I just got mine today... so far I'm just going through every setting and every screen getting acquainted with it and figuring out what tweaks I want to do and all that jazz.

Hardware First Impressions:
1. Keyboard keys are smaller than I expected, but I'm OK with it given the extra row for numbers.
2. I'm not that keen on the chrome sides, but it's something I can cope with. Otherwise, I find it to be a very attractive device. It's roughly the same thickness and height of the Mogul but noticeably narrower.
3. Much lighter weight than the Mogul which is AWESOME.
4. Much crisper display than the Mogul which is AWESOME.
5. I keep trying to press the non-existent hardware keys, lol.
6. I am very happy that the display is flush against the surface rather than sunken into the device like the Mogul. Much easier to access scrollbars and the close button.

Software First Impression:
1. Because of performance issues on the Mogul, I had been avoiding TouchFLO3D. Now that I have it on a device that can really use it, I am very impressed with it.
2. I think Weather Database Editor, TouchFLO3D Tweaks and Config utilities should have been provided by HTC in the first place.
3. On the Mogul, I avoided the customizations and bundled software because it was mostly useless. The Sprint-branded stuff still is useless for me, but I do like the bundling of JETCET, WorldCard, RSS Hub, MP3 Trimmer, etc. Very good selection of tools.

I'm sure I'll find other things to like as I use it more, but for now I'm having fun with figuring out what all I want to tweak on it, lol.

Definitely worth the investment! In fact, I'm sure even Ricky Bobby would agree-- if you don't love this phone, then f*** you!

[ajac]

Looks great feels great everything good I even use the touch screen keyboard but battery life is horrible.

[DREXLERMAC]

As I posted in the e care thread. This phone can not compare in quality to my old touch . It is heavy ,bulky , not user friendly , the keyboard moves to easily and is difficult to use . It is going back ASAP
I