How do you like your Touch Pro?

[51Cards]

Honestly I'm really torn on this phone...

The good:
- it's pretty
- the screen is amazing
- lots of RAM
- great camera
- much better keyboard

The bad:
- screen sensitivity is poor
- battery life... this just can't be emphasized enough... what was HTC thinking
- no IR - used to use this all the time on my Mogul
- TouchFlo is just eye-candy bloat ware. In about 2 days I found it to be very limiting and off it went

...and that brings me to the real problem. If you don't like TouchFlo and turn it off (and it doesn't take much to exceed it's capabilities)... then all of a sudden it's like someone tied a hand behind your back. This is a great Touch device but it sucks interface wise as a WinMo device primarily due to it's complete lack of hard buttons. Already I am cursing the following:

- no hard camera button
- no hard comm manager button
- no scroll wheel or OK button
- no tactile edge to the screen (you can't find the corner with out looking at it)
- no hard option buttons
- no Windows button... period... anywhere.
- no messaging or browser hard buttons

It's like HTC purposely tried to strip this thing down as much as possible and they succeeded in making it completely dependant on TouchFlo. With it disabled the device's productivity drops significantly. I have yet to figure out when in Remote Desktop / full screen mode how you can get out of it without disconecting from the remote (on the Mogul you only had to hit any of the hard option buttons.. on here you have none) That is just one example. What I could do in 2 clicks with my eyes closed on the Mogul I now have to "swipe and tap... crap wrong item... back... tap again then flick" to get to.

I love the basic specs of the device, it is loaded beyond my dreams in most ways, but when you strip down the functionality of it just to make it pretty it's a huge mistake. I suspect there will be a TP up for sale very soon and I'll look for something else.

[jerryyyyy]

Very useful thread. I am keeping my Mogul for a while, or at least until my contract is up next May. I can just see myself using my BT headset with this battery.

[orlandojumpoff]

Originally Posted by 51Cards

Honestly I'm really torn on this phone...

The good:
- it's pretty
- the screen is amazing
- lots of RAM
- great camera
- much better keyboard

The bad:
- screen sensitivity is poor
- battery life... this just can't be emphasized enough... what was HTC thinking
- no IR - used to use this all the time on my Mogul
- TouchFlo is just eye-candy bloat ware. In about 2 days I found it to be very limiting and off it went

...and that brings me to the real problem. If you don't like TouchFlo and turn it off (and it doesn't take much to exceed it's capabilities)... then all of a sudden it's like someone tied a hand behind your back. This is a great Touch device but it sucks interface wise as a WinMo device primarily due to it's complete lack of hard buttons. Already I am cursing the following:

- no hard camera button
- no hard comm manager button
- no scroll wheel or OK button
- no tactile edge to the screen (you can't find the corner with out looking at it)
- no hard option buttons
- no Windows button... period... anywhere.
- no messaging or browser hard buttons

It's like HTC purposely tried to strip this thing down as much as possible and they succeeded in making it completely dependant on TouchFlo. With it disabled the device's productivity drops significantly. I have yet to figure out when in Remote Desktop / full screen mode how you can get out of it without disconecting from the remote (on the Mogul you only had to hit any of the hard option buttons.. on here you have none) That is just one example. What I could do in 2 clicks with my eyes closed on the Mogul I now have to "swipe and tap... crap wrong item... back... tap again then flick" to get to.

I love the basic specs of the device, it is loaded beyond my dreams in most ways, but when you strip down the functionality of it just to make it pretty it's a huge mistake. I suspect there will be a TP up for sale very soon and I'll look for something else.

sounds like someone's just having a hard time adjusting to a different form factor. i'd hate to see your review of a touch hd, which has even less buttons i believe, but still everybody would love one in the states.
IMO, the touch pro destroys my mogul and i haven't looked back. if you can't work the phone without touchflo3d then it sounds like you just need to learn more about WM and research all the great software available. just look up peoples phones on youtube, youll see the great setups people have and it's without tf3d.
your back button is the ok button, if you didn't know. you can also remap your buttons with apps like ae buttons plus. you better get used to less buttons because we're moving into a touch screen everything world. and you seriously wouldn't want your screen flush with the casing??? it looks so much nicer now like that... the mogul looked like a big toy - people were always impressed with what i showed them on the screen, but they always thought it was ugly and oudated looking. now we have power and beauty. if you're torn you should return it and wait for something else cause for the majority it's probably no contest.

[51Cards]

Originally Posted by orlandojumpoff

sounds like someone's just having a hard time adjusting to a different form factor. i'd hate to see your review of a touch hd, which has even less buttons i believe, but still everybody would love one in the states.

I don't deny people would love the HD but not for the reasons I outlined above.

Originally Posted by orlandojumpoff

if you can't work the phone without touchflo3d then it sounds like you just need to learn more about WM and research all the great software available. just look up peoples phones on youtube, youll see the great setups people have and it's without tf3d.

Actually I develop apps for Windows Mobile so I'm quite comfortable with it as a stand alone OS. What I'm saying is that as a WinMo only device once you dump TouchFlo it's less productive than previous devices from an ergonomics standpoint. I didn't say it was impossible to do things, it just takes longer which is the definition of less productive. As well the time you spend looking for solutions to overcome it's missing 'features' counts towards your loss of productivity. I modded my Mogul out the ying yang but for basic functionality there wasn't much that needed working around.

Originally Posted by orlandojumpoff

your back button is the ok button, if you didn't know.

Yes, I know that, what I meant specifically was there is no Jog/select/OK combination.

Originally Posted by orlandojumpoff

you can also remap your buttons with apps like ae buttons plus.

Correct again, however it's difficult to remap buttons that aren't there And the ones that are there tend to have handy functions already. In short while these solutions do work they are all work arounds for an issue that shouldn't need a work around in the first place... precisely what I was trying to say. You shouldn't need to be finding tools to work around shortcomings on a device this powerful when it's predecessors had these capabilities. Things that were removed all in the name of making it look prettier. Hence my "mistake" comment.

Originally Posted by orlandojumpoff

and you seriously wouldn't want your screen flush with the casing??? it looks so much nicer now like that...

It "looks prettier". A truly great UI considers functionality first and looks second... after all I don't just sit and stare at my phone all day and consider how beautiful it is... I rather like to use it as efficiently as possible And yes, being able to locate the options on the lower menu bar or the Start menu / Close button in the top corners with my finger by placing it in the corners of the screen indentation is just one small addition to efficiency. Not to mention it prevents accidental touching and scratches when the device is in a pouch / turned over on its face.

Originally Posted by orlandojumpoff

the mogul looked like a big toy - people were always impressed with what i showed them on the screen, but they always thought it was ugly and oudated looking. now we have power and beauty. if you're torn you should return it and wait for something else cause for the majority it's probably no contest.

I do believe that is what I may be doing

Let's say for example if you took a Mogul and you did it all in black, a little squarer, and flush mounted all the buttons it had, with the new fancy d-pad, and even brought the screen up to a flush mount, would you not still have a beautiful device? And you wouldn't have lost nearly as much as you have in the TP.

In short I didn't say I don't like the phone, I just find this streamlining trend to be counter productive. I know it's the trend right now (spawned in large by the iPhone) but there comes a point when it's also limiting to the user. I design UI's as part of my job, specifically for touch screen Kiosks, and touch itself while a wonderful addition to the world of physical interfaces, is not the end all and be all. Its lack of tactile feedback leads to many situations where a physical component should not be replaced and I believe on this device a few too many of those were overlooked. And even more so when it was done just to make it look pretty.

[nmhusa]

Originally Posted by bedoig

Apache-->Titan-->Pro

I love this phone. No problems outside of typical WM stuff. You couldn't pay me to go back to the Mogul.

Apache - Titan - Diamond - Pro

I could not keep the diamond.... no keyboard meant no usefulness.

Loved my Mogul with Scroslers rom but I can use the extra memory. Done with TF3D as well though. Prefer a custom CLaunch/Phonealarm setup with Weatherpanel

[schettj]

Originally Posted by r1_rydah

I love the phone... and it looks like over 70% of you guys do also... this thread proves just what I suspected, that the complainers are the minority, but are the majority when it comes to making threads... if someone is on the fence, and considering ordering this phone, these forums can give them the distorted view...

Yay, I'm a complainer and I love this phone. Messing with your head, now!

Flashed a new radio, that's helping.
Gutted shipped TF3d, and put TF3dHD in, that's *really* helping
Few more tweaks, helping...

Still a great hand warmer for the winter, and it's got a ways to go to beat the battery life on my mogul, but tons of ram is nice. Screen is nice. Very usable without the stylus until you get into winmo apps themselves, then its time to dig out the toothpick

And I like the keyboard, even if its a tad cramped. Most every key is actually there on the keyboard except for \

Why for the love of DOGs can't HTC find an LCD supplier for 'daylight readable' displays though. Man. Seriously. To quote the mobility today man "Hello HTC?"

But yep, I love it!

[WanderingMinstrel]

I'm not exactly easily impressed. But from the first day out of the box, I've been loving this phone. The VGA picture alone is worth a couple of dozen minor inconveniences (which I don't personally notice any of). And with the advice and tweaks on this forum, it keeps getting better and better every week. Even on stock rom and radio.

Yeah, the battery life is challenging. But it's no more challenging than driving a Porche with a SmartCar engine in it would be. I work at home and keep chargers in all the rooms I use most. Also have one in my car. (Lucked out because all my Apache chargers fit.) I had one total battery burnout and device shutdown episode when my wife was making a long phonecall and didn't notice the drainage because the screen was blacked out. Right after that, I installed Batti and set all the warnings it had . Also installed TouchLock Pro with that handy numeric percentage battery icon under the digital time. And someday soon, some genius is going to come up with a stock-sized battery that delivers Porch-size usage life.

If I had more than two thumbs, I'd give it more than Two Thumbs Up.

[ScrapMaker]

Originally Posted by WanderingMinstrel

I'm not exactly easily impressed. But from the first day out of the box, I've been loving this phone. The VGA picture alone is worth a couple of dozen minor inconveniences (which I don't personally notice any of). And with the advice and tweaks on this forum, it keeps getting better and better every week. Even on stock rom and radio.

Yeah, the battery life is challenging. But it's no more challenging than driving a Porche with a SmartCar engine in it would be. I work at home and keep chargers in all the rooms I use most. Also have one in my car. (Lucked out because all my Apache chargers fit.) I had one total battery burnout and device shutdown episode when my wife was making a long phonecall and didn't notice the drainage because the screen was blacked out. Right after that, I installed Batti and set all the warnings it had . Also installed TouchLock Pro with that handy numeric percentage battery icon under the digital time. And someday soon, some genius is going to come up with a stock-sized battery that delivers Porch-size usage life.

If I had more than two thumbs, I'd give it more than Two Thumbs Up.

How can you give it a thumbs-up, if it dies on a phone call, even while plugged in? Just curious.

Yeah, the other stuff is great, like... um, the VGA screen, and the keyboard, on some of the Pros out there...

Would you give THE Touch Pro 2+ thumbs-up, or would you give YOUR Touch Pro 2+ thumbs up?

So many people, (hundreds, on this forum alone,) have had to exchange their Pros... That's why I ask.

[jmorton10]

Originally Posted by schettj

Why for the love of DOGs can't HTC find an LCD supplier for 'daylight readable' displays though.

Yea, no kidding.

It annoys the hell out of me when I am out in the sun watching one of my 8 year old daughters soccer games & my TP screen is totally unusable. Then, I glance over at the guy next to me surfing around on an iphone & the screen is a bright & visible as mine would be inside a building..........

~John

[Yibrushn]

I don't think hundreds of people have exchanged their pros just 20 people that keep talking about exchanging their pros