HTC Eternity

[Luisraul924]

Dang. Lots of HTC hatred here. They do represent more than 50% of WP sales worldwide

Sure they do, but it shouldn't have to be at the expense of quality, I'm pretty sure if you compare any of the other OEM devices to the HTC devices the quality of the others is better than HTC's.

 

[1jaxstate1]

The build quality of the HD7s smashes Samsung. Plus, when was the last time Samsung changed their form factor. I think HTC is the best manufacturer right now.

Sent from my Samsung Focus using Board Express

 

[Winterfang]

Excuse me? I used proper grammar for the entire post, or at least as much as my HD7 let me. I typed it out on my HD7 as I wasn't at a computer at the time. Long story short, HTC went from making great devices in the WinMo days to making average devices for Android and subpar devices for Windows Phone. If they continue to lack quality, that article that i linked basically states that HTC will soon find themselves out of business, or back to simply being an ODM like they used to be.

I see, I hope this doesn't happen to them though. The use great materials on their phones.

 

[1jaxstate1]

Which android devices are average. How is their WP7 phones subpar?

Excuse me? I used proper grammar for the entire post, or at least as much as my HD7 let me. I typed it out on my HD7 as I wasn't at a computer at the time. Long story short, HTC went from making great devices in the WinMo days to making average devices for Android and subpar devices for Windows Phone. If they continue to lack quality, that article that i linked basically states that HTC will soon find themselves out of business, or back to simply being an ODM like they used to be.

Sent from my Samsung Focus using Board Express

 

[jimski]

Sure they do, but it shouldn't have to be at the expense of quality, I'm pretty sure if you compare any of the other OEM devices to the HTC devices the quality of the others is better than HTC's.

Can only speak for myself and my HTC Surround. Since launch day, averaging close to 2 full charges per day, so that means about 7-8 hours a day with the screen on and doing stuff, all kinds of stuff. Buttons, battery, screen, reception, speakers, sensors, mic, all A-OK. Have already got my money's worth and it's only been 8 months.

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[Winterfang]

Which android devices are average. How is their WP7 phones subpar?


Sent from my Samsung Focus using Board Express

Excellent question. While certainly same-y Android HTC's flagship devices are pretty awesome.

G2 with it's unique z based keyboard, Mytouch 4g with plastic,ceramic and metal build ( Also has a great box that actually serves a purpose, adding towards the value )

Sure there's a bunch of copies of the HD2 but that was because it was their best selling device. The Sensation feels great in the hand, even though it looks a lot like the Mozart.

 

[Duvi]

The build quality of the HD7s smashes Samsung. Plus, when was the last time Samsung changed their form factor. I think HTC is the best manufacturer right now.

Sent from my Samsung Focus using Board Express

Build quality as in, feel? Because IMO, that's subjective. I went in my AT&T store ready to by the Surround until I felt the Focus and preferred it. I've yet to see any Samsung devices come back for repair with a cracked screen. In fact, only the slowest day working there (today), there was several cracked screens on HTC devices. One guy had bought his "HTC" devices yesterday and another less than a month. The others were over a month.

If I remember, I'll ask my co-worker to give me a link to an in-house stress test they did on the Epic 4G (Samsung) getting hammered, dropped, thrown and banged against concrete. Towards the end, it was being hammered against the fire-hydrant that was outside the store. It finally cracked the screen when a lot of pressure (not normal for any drop) was added and slamming it the screen directly on the hydrant.

I've been in wireless for quite a long time (not just using them, but working for wireless carriers) and I've seen HTC's quality go down and in fact, the touch screen responsiveness always sucked until recently. It still isn't as responsive as an iPhone or Samsung device.

Camera... a good laugh. They add MPs to trick people into thinking it means a better camera. Any iPhone 4, Focus/Nexus S, Nokia device with 5MP puts any of HTCs 8MP cameras to shame. At night, you'll want to just put your device away.

HTC's saving grace is Sense 3.0 and up until 3.0, I did not give a rats *** for Sense.

 

[Duvi]

The build quality of the HD7s smashes Samsung. Plus, when was the last time Samsung changed their form factor. I think HTC is the best manufacturer right now.

Sent from my Samsung Focus using Board Express

Samsung changes it all the time. HTC? Not so much.

Have you seen their devices since WinMo days? I can barely tell the difference without enlarging the pics. Even then it's, almost like looking at identical twins where one looks a bit slimmer than the other.

HTC (Phone Scoop)

And here is Samsung's last few devices and tell me who has kept the same form factor for the longest. Heck, I have the Inspire 4G and it's pretty much the EVO 4G minus a FFC.

Samsung (Phone Scoop)

 

[gibbyhome]

I want to see the Focus 2 really badly. I want to see a real announcement with real phones, press shots and hang ons.

I have used both the Focus and the Dell Venue Pro.
My Wife also has the HTC Arrive. and there is no question that the Focus is an awsome Phone, the Screen is awsome, its crazy light and thin and works extreamly well.

as for the Dell Venue Pro once I changed out the SD Card it too is an Awsome phone
the Screen is great and big, Speed is awsome but My only problem is its Sooo Heavy..

as for HTC, I don't understand what people see in the HTC Phones .. I don't think the build quality is any good and the screen is OK ..

I think Samsung really put in good quality and I think if Dell makes more phones and light ones they will be a big hit.

Nokia on the other hand I would really like to try one out since so many reviews claim they are the best at creating great hardware and I really want a great camera with my phone
the samsung had a great camera but the Dell was not as good the Arrive was better than the Dell

 

[Winterfang]

For Nokia the N8 is full body metal phone and has a huge camera but for some reason is even lighter than the focus. So Nokia does know their hardware.

But everything besides the N8 is really mehish. The Astound looks and feels like a Mytouch 4g jr and the other phones here are feature phones and ultra cheap prepaid ones.

 

[Dusteater]

My problem with HTC is their decision to make the Arrive without GSM frequencies. For any manufacturing to make a CDMA device without quad-band GSM on board is idiotic. For this reason, I will never buy an HTC device.

 

[m_kock]

My problem with HTC is their decision to make the Arrive without GSM frequencies. For any manufacturing to make a CDMA device without quad-band GSM on board is idiotic. For this reason, I will never buy an HTC device.

I'm confused by your logic. You're hating on HTC for this reason?

99% of all CDMA phones don't have GSM support in them, but the manufacturers that make these phones like Samsung, Motorola, ect. are not bad? Samsung has released GSM versions of the same phones like the Galaxy S, but they don't always and they're different phones. There has never been GSM version of the Motorola Droid in the US aka the Milestone in Europe and phones like the Droid X will never see GSM frequencies. HTC was the first company to release a GSM and CDMA phone on Verizon period, the HTC Trophy. I can understand you disliking CDMA or all companies that do this, but saying that you dislike HTC for this reason when all phone companies do this is a little ridiculous imo. However, we're all entitled to our opinions. I just don't understand the HTC hate when they haven't done anything to hurt you, if you don't like their phone then don't buy it.

 

[DontHate707]

i must agree samsung and nokia are going to make my next phone or ms if they design one. htc phones are looking all to similar. even critics agree not to mention even sense looks old htc needs to "innovate" more which is a word they use to much and not actually do....

i own a arrive btw.

a device with two year old specs but came out 4 months ago was made last november? but why... my screen speakers camera and overall design couldve been better heck it couldve had a sd card slot and a better processor... by the time the phone came out 3d dual core phones were about to release... i think some from htc too lol...

its something everyone could complain about but when the phone business is so competitive and moving so fast why cant they but some effort and giving there best product. like ever apple phone or GSII or even the droid atrix etc..

but to be fair i dont think well EVER see a perfect device with everything thats up to date and actually new that has all the little things too.

 

[starblade876]

I have to agree with whoever said that, without HTC, WP7 would be even less known and hated on due to the problems with 2/3 of the other OEMs who have phones out, namely Samsung and Dell. Both have many problem units out that still haven't been fixed yet (I don't think Dell's fix is out yet, is it?). And how many devices has each of the others made? 2 for LG (1 of which isn't available in the US), 2 for Samsung (1 of which isn't available in the US), and 1 for Dell. That's it. HTC has at least one on each major US carrier and a total of 4 (5 if you count the HD7s as it's own) and there's the Mozart, which isn't available in the US.

That said, I also agree that, seemingly thanks to Android, HTC is crapping out devices rather than focusing on greater designs. HD2 -> HD7 is the perfect example and so disappointing. There was hardly any (if any) improvement to the next generation. If anything, this rumored Eternity should have been the real HD7 (though they'd seriously need to increase the resolution to at least qHD with that big of a screen).

I don't think it's all bad though. The TP2 -> 7pro/Arrive has improvements on hardware and design. For example, using the metal for the battery cover, making the number row easier to press on the physical keyboard, and making the speaker easier to hear when the screen is fully tilted on a hard surface. Yeah, it has it's lackings, like the use of plastic trim around the screen instead of more metal, I don't think it has Gorilla Glass, I'm still not sure if it uses SLCD or not (though the screen doesn't seem bad either way), and the screen is still 3.6" instead of 4+", but I'm still enjoying the hardware improvements over the TP2.

Anyway, meanwhile, there're no rumors about any new Samsung or LG Windows Phones. Many of you guys may not like the quality of HTC, but they are at least putting out phones for people to choose on WP7, instead of almost exclusively focusing on Android. So, yeah, I can understand complaining about HTC, but there's no reason to single them out as if the other OEMs are doing any better.

 

[Luisraul924]

I have to agree with whoever said that, without HTC, WP7 would be even less known and hated on due to the problems with 2/3 of the other OEMs who have phones out, namely Samsung and Dell. Both have many problem units out that still haven't been fixed yet (I don't think Dell's fix is out yet, is it?). And how many devices has each of the others made? 2 for LG (1 of which isn't available in the US), 2 for Samsung (1 of which isn't available in the US), and 1 for Dell. That's it. HTC has at least one on each major US carrier and a total of 4 (5 if you count the HD7s as it's own) and there's the Mozart, which isn't available in the US.

Again, they did it at the cost of build quality, BUILD QUALITY, is what I'm complaining about... firmware and software issues can always be ironed out through updates, but the updates would be pointless if the hardware doesn't last. I've played with the other devices available in the US and they all have a better feel than HTC's. Sure people complain about the Focus feeling plastic and cheap but I think they're confusing that with the light weight of the device it's lighter than most if not all WP7's.

That said, I also agree that, seemingly thanks to Android, HTC is crapping out devices rather than focusing on greater designs. HD2 -> HD7 is the perfect example and so disappointing. There was hardly any (if any) improvement to the next generation. If anything, this rumored Eternity should have been the real HD7 (though they'd seriously need to increase the resolution to at least qHD with that big of a screen).

Android crapping HTC is pretty obvious. And no they can't increase the resolution because not only is it not supported by Windows Phone, but the aspect ratio isn't even the same Windows Phone's aspect is 5:3, while qHD is 16:9 which is why I firmly believe making a phone any bigger than 4.3" is stupid.

Anyway, meanwhile, there're no rumors about any new Samsung or LG Windows Phones. Many of you guys may not like the quality of HTC, but they are at least putting out phones for people to choose on WP7, instead of almost exclusively focusing on Android. So, yeah, I can understand complaining about HTC, but there's no reason to single them out as if the other OEMs are doing any better.

I can understand an OEM focusing on Android as Windows Phone is still new, there are rumors of a WP7 version of the Galaxy SII from Samsung so that's cool I guess. Nothing new from LG that I've heard. As for HTC taking the spot for having the most devices, honestly I'd rather have them make one device with quality (and be less known) than 5 with subpar quality (and have a bad rep like right now). An analogy would be; "it's better to have no credit than bad credit"

 

[starblade876]

Again, they did it at the cost of build quality, BUILD QUALITY, is what I'm complaining about... firmware and software issues can always be ironed out through updates, but the updates would be pointless if the hardware doesn't last. I've played with the other devices available in the US and they all have a better feel than HTC's. Sure people complain about the Focus feeling plastic and cheap but I think they're confusing that with the light weight of the device it's lighter than most if not all WP7's.
...
As for HTC taking the spot for having the most devices, honestly I'd rather have them make one device with quality (and be less known) than 5 with subpar quality (and have a bad rep like right now). An analogy would be; "it's better to have no credit than bad credit"

On quality, I've had no problems with my Arrive falling apart or anything even with accidentally dropping it a few times. I've read a few posts here about the HTC letters falling off and the hinge cover popping off, but I don't think those are common at all and that other devices have similar units that require replacements. I have very little doubt that my Arrive will last the 2 years still intact even with my occasional carelessness.

Firmware may be something you can fix afterward, but how long has it been? I think some of these phones not updating hurts WP7's image way more than the quality of HTC's devices (which I actually consider at least "par" overall).

I can understand an OEM focusing on Android as Windows Phone is still new, there are rumors of a WP7 version of the Galaxy SII from Samsung so that's cool I guess. Nothing new from LG that I've heard.

Yeah, I saw that rumor on Engadget a few minutes after I posted. Still, they've had the best selling Windows Phone (right?) and it took this long for them to have a new rumored device while they've released a bunch of Android devices since the Focus, which weren't exactly all super-high-quality designs and builds either. My point was that HTC is not total crap and, certainly, shouldn't be singled out for not putting out good devices all the time.

And no they can't increase the resolution because not only is it not supported by Windows Phone, but the aspect ratio isn't even the same Windows Phone's aspect is 5:3, while qHD is 16:9 which is why I firmly believe making a phone any bigger than 4.3" is stupid.

I was always under the impression that WP7 was going to be scalable to other resolutions (old rumor; you can read this post for a little explanation on physical vs logical DPI). I would think it would be extremely shortsighted of MS if they restricted resolution to only 800x480. As with the processor and camera and other things, the WVGA resolution was supposedly a minimum requirement for the first few sets, not a final limitation of the OS. With Tango or Apollo at least, I think it's entirely in the realm of possibility that more resolution support could be coming as soon as the Eternity. Even sticking with a 5:3 aspect ratio, something like 960x576 should be possible and, on a 4.7" screen, it's only about 238 physical DPI, a lower pixel density than the Arrive. Coincidentally, that resolution would also put WP7 between Android (960x540) and iOS (960x640).

 

[Dave Blake]

I have owned a bunch of different HTC devices I can see where there is truth in most everything you guys are saying. I think HTC makes a good devices and that there will always be a place in the market for there high and low end devices. I would jump to the front of the line at the Sprint store if Sprint picked up the Eternity that's for sure.

 

[jfa1]

Right now there is room for all the manufacturers in the WP swimming hold we need more devices across the spectrum to fill the needs of everyone who wants a smartphone. Obviously lots of us have bought HTC phones and they have been good some much better than others. Its hard to argue that HTC phones should not be bought for any reason because their profits and market share are doing very well. So they are doing something right! I'm leaning towards the samsung focus 2 or Nokia but I am not counting any mfger out until I see what they have on my carrier ATT. They have the best service IMHO in my market area and it will get better with the merger of ATT and TMO (which is a fairly recent entgry into the local market)

 

[aximtreo]

Sorry guys but beauty is only skin deep. There are just so many ways to build phones that people can handle, put in there pockets; etc. Form factor isn't as important to me as what's inside. The majority of smartphone users don't use any where close to the capabilities of most phones.

If you treat your phone badly enough to where it has to be a tank, well, you will get what you deserve.

I have the Trophy and the build quality surpasses what I will need on a daily basis.

 

[Windows Winner]

I'll be happy if Nokia release a WP with the same hardware quality as their MeeGo N9.