Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

My contract with T-Mobile just expired today and I'm looking to enter a new contract with Verizon. Right now I have a Motorola Rizr which has worked fine for me for the last 2 years. I've heard that the Touch Pro has terrible battery life. I dont plan on using the radio, wifi and bluetooth will be turned off unless I need them at some point, and I will check my email manually instead of having it set on a timer. How long would you expect the phones battery to hold up to regular texting? I don't really want to get an extended battery since the phone is thick enough as it is and carrying around extra batteries seems very inconvenient. It seems like people have terrible luck with these phones breaking on them. Is the Motorola Rizr a tough phone or am I apparently easy on phones? I have a hard time imagining going through 4 or 5 phones in a two year span. I've also heard that the Touch Pro responds slowly. Is this especially true since Verizon cut down the RAM that other versions have? I've heard that custom ROMs will solve the speed issues but is it a complete fix or is it a hardware problem?

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

you don't want the touch pro2 from tmobile?

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

I'm not really happy with T-Mobiles service. I live in Maine, go to college in Massachusetts, and I've worked this summer in Connecticut. In Maine I live in a very rural town so I don't expect service there but my friends get much better service in that area than I do. In Massachusetts the service is generally pretty good but it can be spotty at times. Here in Connecticut when I'm on my lunch break at work I find that in one spot I get no service and I have to move the phone around until I suddenly get 3 or 4 bars in that one spot.

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

basically VWZs TP= junk vs. Every other carriers..

thats why most take a sprint TP over to VZW, if u can get someone kind enough to assist you now a days since they dont want nonbranded devices on thier network anymore...

the TP has battery issues yes, some are self created(BT,wifi,send/recieve schedules) some are built in(the vga screens pulls more power)..

the TPs can have other common issues as well: keyboard failure, usb ports going bad, screen/touch issues... though commonly complained about on here, youll still find plenty that virtual never have any issues what so ever...

custom roms for can speed things up sometimes, most times from the responses youll read in ROM threads...

i have 3 TPs on sprint.. my advice if your wanting something flashy, high end, etc.. Yet, want VZW either hold out for TP2, or if you want now and new, check out the Ominia 2, which is shortly follwed by Omnia Pro( 2 with a keyboard)

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

I was considering the Samsung Omnia as well but I wasn't sure I would like not having a physical keyboard. I'd be alright with waiting but I'm on a family plan and my parents and sister don't want to wait. I don't think I want to spend a lot of extra money buyin an unlocked phone. Why would Verizon remove RAM from the phone?

*Edit* I see there is a thread here on activating Sprint phones on other networks. Would this work on any phone? Also is it relatively safe assuming I follow the directions exactly as posted?
*Edit2* After re-reading your post boredandtattooed is that what you were suggesting? Buying a sprint TP and trying to activate it on the Verizon network? Does the extra RAM really make that much of a difference?

Sorry for all the questions guys. Thanks a lot for being quick in answering them though.

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

I use the VZW touch pro and i have not had any problems out of it except for a memory leak. I have tried 4 different roms and have not liked anyof them. with moderate usage i can go all day on one battery. i can pull it off the charger before i go to work at 9am and the battery will. be at 20% by 9pm. Thats with sending about 150 -200 text and picture message using the internet to look up information for customers, checking emails and looking at pictures on facebook. Ive never had a keyboard issue.

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

well a 100mbs ram more willmake a noticeable difference on any phone running basically identical systems...

You used to be able to take a sprint one over no hassle... VZW has tried to lock that down though since the alltel aquisition.. thats why i said if u can get a cool person on the phone.. i dunno how much difficulty people are having now a days, since i dont VZW...

basically theres always a way to do it... just depends on the lengths and to what degree of legality the person is looking for

***edits*** see above, a VZW TP user with no complaints, yet give it a bit and someone else will post how bad it is... everyone gets a diff experience..
your family can upgrade without you... upgrades are based off of device life, not account life... if you all got your phone/plan at same time, yes, your all eligible at the same time, but your elibility does not go away.. they can purchase new phones, and u can hold off....

are you lookin at these devices due to VZWs $99 promo?? if so, my buddy has an omnia and i never thought he wouldve jumped to a touchscreen/winMO device... he loves it, theres plenty of dedcated sites for it and a few good ROMs as well

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

No need to be sorry that's what we're here for.

I had a Sprint Touch Pro on VZW and while I liked it much better than the VZW version, I ran into one major problem... warranty.

I expected the phone to last and it just didn't. The keyboard died on me and there really wasn't much I could do but send it into HTC to have it repaired which takes weeks. While being at HTC, I wouldn't be able to use any other phone (I got the TP onto VZW through a loophole they've now closed. Really the only way to get it on now is to get your ESN added to the database and it's pretty hard at this point). If I activated another phone, I wouldn't be able to use the TP once it came back.

I enjoyed having the extra ram but in the end, the poor build quality of the TP (and the significant number of keyboard failures) just made it a problem. So I would advise against going that route at this point.

If you have to get a phone now and can't wait a few weeks for the TP2, the VZW is an ok option and at $99 is probably worth it. Lots of roms on here have been tweaked for the lower amount of ram and it's less of an issue now.

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

My main concern with the lack of a physical keyboard is that I don't want to use a stylus for texting. My fingers arent all that fat but I'm worried that it would be a lot harder without a keyboard. Otherwise I think that Omnia looks like a great option.

The price is what really has me looking at the phones. I have enough money from working this summer to buy a $500 or $600 phone unlocked I just can't justify spending that kind of money to myself.

Thanks for the input Gesani that sounds like it is similar to my own usage.
I thought about the warranty thing as well janko. I guess I will either get the Verizon TP or something different altogether because I don't want to be stuck without a phone for an extended period of time.

*Edit*
I guess I'm going to the Verizon store to try out the TP and the Samsung Omnia. I went to a Best Buy and another Verizon store around here and they didn't have either phone out. I called another Verizon Wireless store and they have both out. Would the Omnia be a better phone if I can get over not having the physical keyboard?

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

Yes. The Omnia is a fast phone. It has the same ram as the vzw tp but there is something about touchwiz that makes it smooth.

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

Verizon Touch Pro 2 might be coming in Sep. 6. May be it's best to wait out a little while to get the newer device.

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

good luck, most carriers/stores have removed the TP from display... the phone is rumored to be nearing End Of Life, which the way stores are removing them, that kinda supports that rumor...

you shouldnt find many stores with a TP on display

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

Yea they only have the Samsung Omnia. I called the store and they told me they had both the TP and the Omnia but when I got there they told me all they had was the Omnia. Then they tried selling me the Ozone but the buttons were way too small for me to text. One of the sales reps tried convincing me that the specification labeled memory was actually the storage. After that I gave up on getting much useful information out of them. One of the guys was very helpful though and he found a dummy TP for me to look at. I like the keys much better on the TP and I feel like I could actually text with them. As for the Omnia the keypads didnt seem to work all that well for me. Do the default keypads just suck?

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

its an omnia, what keypads???

u mean the onscreen stuff???

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

For your memory leak, try lowering the pagepool before you flash. Setting the pagepool to 8 is recommended for Verizon.


I've heard reviews that the VZW TP (which I have) is much better than the Omnia. I've never personally tried out the Omnia, just passing along what I heard from several people (a few of which switched to the TP and love it).

From everything I could find, there were very few (if any) of the VZW stores actually had the TP in store. Everywhere I went they said that corporate wasn't sending them any more HTC devices in store. But then they go and sell the Ozone... People are strange, man.

All in all, I love my VZW TP. But only after flashing to a new ROM (MightyROM6). That speeds it way up and makes the phone much more usable, and user-friendly. Plus, everything is covered under warranty.

Hope that helps!

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

Yea my bad I meant to say onscreen keyboard. I felt really awkward when I started texting on a regular old phone so maybe it would get easier on the Omnia. Is the touch screen on the Omnia more responsive than the one on the TP?

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

Yea I'm leaning towards the TP I think. How does your battery hold up and under what kind of usage? The battery is really my main concern. I've heard that different ROMs really help speed things up but the battery life seems to be pretty bad from most accounts.

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

in my opinion, i would hold on before jumping ship. you don't want one of these "right now" phones when much better stuff is right around the corner. just my 2 pennies.

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

The only problem I have is that my family wants to switch to a new plan now. I don't mind waiting a little bit but I don't want to go without a cell phone for long. I don't have another phone to active with Verizon until a new phone is released either. If I bought a phone from them I could return it within 30 days though. So if they released the Omnia 2 or the TP2 within the next month I should be alright.

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

The battery life really depends on how you use the phone. I get incredibly long battery life (for a TP anyways), usually 18 hours or so. And I use my phone a LOT, I just do it smart. It has to do with a lot of what boredandtattooed said: data connections, email settings, bluetooth, wifi, weather update, all of that. I also set my backlight to turn off quickly (cuz the screen does pull a lot of power). No matter what though you're gonna have to charge the battery every night. I can shoot you a few other pointers too, if/when you get it.

It's sounding like the end of September for the VZW TP2 release. So you're close to being within the 30 day range, if your family can hold out a couple weeks.

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

@ the op, i don't think big red is coming out with the omniaII anytime soon(i read it somewhere, maybe it changed). but whatever you decide, good luck soldier.

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

Really? I thought they announced it for August 28th? I heard that just this past week from a few places...

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

Wait for the TP2. Theres a lot of talk it will be out at the end of this month or first part of sept.

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

thats not true at all. getting the ESN added is not a loophole, its part of there CSA and if you point that out to them they will accept the ESN. it will take a couple of days but they will add it. been there done that. the problem with some are they call there expecting the phone to be activated right then and there and when the tech tells them they cant do it right that second most get uppity and give up. if you talk to the tech's like human beings you will have no problems getting a sprint or alltel phone hooked up to VZN. you could have easily swapped to another phone and still have been able to reactivate the TP once you got it back from HTC. i dont know who told you you wouldnt but they lied to you. once the ESN is added, its there. there not going to take it out of there system just because you took the phone off your account. i have a 6800 from alltel that i swap on to my account every once and a while. its been in there system for a year give or take and hasnt been active in quite some time now and i can still add it to my account.

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

to the OP. i have the VZN TP running boreds rom(cooked through his kitchen) and really couldnt be happier. i dont have to soft rest durring the day and the battery last me all day. NOW thats not sending many text of calls but im in and out of a building that doesnt have service so its hunting for signal for a while before it goes into power save mode. usually at the end of the day i have between 25-50% left. my main usage is pandora and weather. i turn the phone off, put the phone on the charger at night then when i get up it gets turned on and gets put back on the car charger for the ride to work, about 20 min give or take. i did notice that if i leave it on while charging when i took it off the charger i was usually at 99-100% and when i take it off the charger after it was off all night it was usually less. YMMV. a custom rom will fix most of the issues with the crippled VZN TP.

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

In my opinion your way to close to the release of next year's phone line to go and get a TP now....

Wait a month or two until you know which phones they will be coming out with before you make a choice and switch carriers....

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro
 

If I were you, I'd wait for a TP2. If you must have a cell phone until then, I dunno, maybe a tracfone will be good enough for the couple of weeks you have to wait?

Re: Considering the Verizon HTC Touch Pro