Titan II Cradle bigger deal than it seems for some.

[Neibl]

I use my phone in my car everyday with an Fm transmitter cradle device, but also use bluetooth for calls while driving. A holder specifically made to charge the titan and also automatically turn on bluetooth and the mysterious car panel mode is seriously making me lean towards the titan II over the Lumia 900. Does that make sense, I think i'd rather have the 16mp camera and that cradle option than the design of the Lumia, I love HTC design anyway.

Am I alone? Titan I & II are more impressive than the credit they get IMO.

 

[Winterfang]

The Lumia 900 has a lot more hype around it though.

 

[Neibl]

Ya 900 is very hyped, but the titan has better specs (by very little besides camera, which arguably isn't much better on a phones lens sizes). They both have amazing build quality and design and comes down to preference. I like the idea of showing off having a 16Mp camera, but Nokia's quality is undeniable.

I'm just upset, because I don't know what color Lumia 900 to choose ha. I need a new phone asap tho, my focus is starting to bug out. Darn winterfang which phone should I choose ha.

 

[Winterfang]

The one that takes better pictures.

 

[Neibl]

I'm not convinced the Titan II is such a push over compared to the Lumia 900 as the hype may suggest. i think people are just used to seeing HTC's design, but fact is they do a great job. Obviously Lumia has better design, but they both high quality, I think it comes down to opinion.

I'm having hard time coping with not choosing the Lumia, I just want to see them in person already, that will help so much. March 18th cannot come any faster.

 

[Winterfang]

The Titan 2 outspec the Lumia in every category.

Bigger Screen
More megapixels.
Bigger aperture in the camera
Metal finish as opposed to plastic. (Polycarbonate? more like Polycrapbonate amirite?)

So you will be getting a superior device but Nokia's design is superior and the Metal finish is not as good for some, I myself dislike metal phones because they weight more, get cold/hot and are very slippery. The added weight just make it easy for the screen to burst after it fell down.

Even with more Megapixels and bigger apperture there's no guarantee that the Titan will take better pictures, also Nokia device will have the cool Nokia drive app.

It's a matter of choice actually and I can't wait for myself to try both in person.

 

[Winterfang]

The Lumia looks a lot better.

Haters gonna Hate.

 

[Neibl]

I like the debating going on here, it is helping me clarify some of my opinions. Personally I do not see the huge problems with either screen. I think the Samsung focus screen is brilliant even on low brightness. The titan screen I only saw once and it convinced me it would impress me all the same. My HTC surround on the other hand is so washed out compared to the newer screens that I just can't go back to using it, even know I enjoy the stand and speakers. I think I am convinced i want the "better" camera and HTC build design, there design sings to me bit more. My biggest factor is the weight and thinness mentioned. I like how light and thin the Samsung focus is, and i'd rather take that and a bigger screen. I think the 4.7" screen is going to be a pleasure to use.

I think the hype of the lumia 900 is throwing me off, I like getting devices no one else has. It is one of reasons I looked into windows phones, its fun to be your own person. I will most likely get a Nokia apollo device as I think they are going to rev up their game big time by that time, so i'll go with HTC again as they were great the first time around.

Any word on which would be better for music? I use zune player/pass more than any other app.

 

[Neibl]

BTW I'll prob change my mind in few days HA

 

[Winterfang]

Well trust me, you will see a lot more people with HTC phones than Nokia ones. I was telling my friend I was waiting for AT&T to launch the new Nokia before I could make the jump and she laugh at my face.

 

[Neibl]

Ha that's funny but probably telling to battle Nokia has in the states.

Sent from my SGH-i917 using Board Express

 

[jimski]

Been using HTC devices for nearly 10 years. With that said, I am getting the N900 on 3/18. Not that I have had any major problems with my HTCs (I have not), but the stakes are so high for Nokia I know that if a bug appears they will be on it immediately. HTC builds great phones, but they leave a bit to be desired when it comes to software/driver implementation. And with their primary focus being Android (that's where the money is for them right now), simple bugs can take forever to be corrected. So I am going to give Nokia a try and see how it works out. Both phones should not disappoint.

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[Neibl]

that is a good point jimski, I still have disappearing keyboard on my Samsung and HTC device and it is really getting frustrating. Both also reset randomly quite a bit, that may be from me dropping the devices few times tho ha.

 

[Winterfang]

The disappointing keyboard is a mango problem. All of use have it at some point, I got the update thankfully and it's a thing of the past.

Yeah I guess jimski makes a really compelling argument. With Nokia you know they are balls deep into OS, but HTC just see it as a second fiddle.

 

[Pocket PC]

I use my phone in my car everyday with an Fm transmitter cradle device, but also use bluetooth for calls while driving. A holder specifically made to charge the titan and also automatically turn on bluetooth and the mysterious car panel mode is seriously making me lean towards the titan II over the Lumia 900. Does that make sense, I think i'd rather have the 16mp camera and that cradle option than the design of the Lumia, I love HTC design anyway.

Am I alone? Titan I & II are more impressive than the credit they get IMO.

Don't know about the mysterious car panel mode on the Titan, but I know Nokia is a core member of car connectivity dot org, a consortium trying to standardize 'terminal mode' in the car that allows charging, Bluetooth integration, and the ability to display some apps on the car's big screen.

Being a standard, I'd hope that HTC adopts this as well, but Nokia and Alpine already have working demos. Search you tube and look at MirrorLink | Home

I'm still partial to the Titan II though, but terminal mode support is pretty dang compelling and I'm sure it's the future of mobile computing (maybe all computing).

Edit: The piece missing from the video demo is Microsoft's and WP7's cloud-based voice recognition to text input - which works VERY well but is not integrated across all WP7 input modes

 

[tissotti]

No the camera on the Lumia 900 is the same as the Lumia 800 and N9. It is very weak and all the reviews say it is disappointing compared to Nokia's past as well as compared to the competition (Samsung Galaxy S II, HTC Amaze, etc.) The sample shots have already proven the 16mp camera on the Titan 2 is better than the Titan 1, which is itself better than the N9/Lumia 800/Lumia 900. This point is not debatable. I thought there was gonna be a 12mp variant of the Lumia 900, but apparently that was just a false rumor.

Nokia's camera exec Damian Dinning did mention earlier on that 900 camera software was totally reworked. Results we have seen so far have looked very good. I would wait reviews before saying anything about the camera.

Some Titan 2 examples:
HTC Titan II live photos and camera samples - see the 16 megapixel monster in action - GSMArena Blog

Some Nokia Lumia 900 examples:
Some great shots taken by the Nokia Lumia 900 camera | WMPoweruser

There are also reviews of the Nokia Drive and related apps. They are easily replaceable with current WP offerings.

I very much doubt any manufacturer other than Google and Nokia can offer what they have on maps. Thinking Nokia owns world second largest mapping company that others buy the mapping services (Like Microsoft), reason why they are able to offer the services for free.

Nokia is the only one to offer totally free voice guidance, global offline maps that you can download to your phone at any point without the need of data use, real time traffic updates. Nokia again entered to Windows Phones just recently and there's a lot of new servives and services from Symbian they are sure to bring. They have already brought quite a bit after 800 launched just 5-6 months ago.

I've owned four Samsung AMOLED phones. I find the SuperLCD panel (also made by Samsung, go figure) compared to AMOLED to be the difference between night and day. The Nokia 900 will have an AMOLED panel and seems to exhibit the same issues, and is probably made by Samsung as well. The AMOLED is more popping, but the colors are awful and gaudy and the blue whites make me nauseus when viewing websites. Colors are completely crushed and there's a ton of color banding. Sometimes I wonder if the display can only handle 256 colors because everything looks the same color, with no shades or subtle gradients. Turning down the brightness makes things worse. AMOLED does not look good at <50% brightness. The contrast drops off significantly compared to LCD. The imperfections in the manufacturing process also rear there head at lower brightness, with visible lines on solid backgrounds. Another thing about AMOLEDs is that it is far sharper and more pixellated looking. Text looks "hairier" to me and not smooth or well aliased. Ditto for round objects and curves of any kind. Things are far more smooth and natural on LCDs in general. The SuperLCD panel on the Titan has IPS-like viewing angles, deep blacks, and is punchy without being gaudy or having a weird color temperature. I thought I would be disappointed since it was not an IPS display and I've been a big fan of IPS displays since...forever...but it actually does not have that "glow" or neon look in some of its whites like the iPhone 4 has, so I find the SUperLCD on the Titan even better. SuperLCD is a pretty generic term though, so they are not all created equal, especially not among HTC phones

Screen on Lumia 900 is non pentile AMOLED, that would be equivalent to Samsung S AMOLED plus. What the Nokia Clear Black display actually means is that there's layer of polarizing filter that brings out even deeper blacks and neutralizes glare and so improves visibility of the screen out on the sun.
Samsung's S AMOLED removed layer from the screen, so they are not the same tech. Clear Black Display can actually even be used on LCD screens, like on Lumia 710. Lumia 800 at least looks damn awesome imo. Engadget. The Verge etc have all been praising Nokia's Clear Black displays.

The biggest problem with the Super-LCD display is usage under direct sun rays. Unless it’s on the highest brightness settings (80% to 100%), the screen appears simply washed out and is barely readable. Even on the 100% setting, it remains slightly washed out. This hampers the device usage for taking pictures in bright environments or reading messages, or basically doing any interaction with your device that requires you looking at the screen.


The CBD however, although based on AMOLED technologies that are normally less performing in direct sun, is a great improvement over them. It works beautifully under sun rays and remains visible even on lower brightness settings, making it a great option to have in sunny countries. Taking pictures, reading texts, using your device: everything is doable with ease, as if the sun just wasn’t there.
Screens: Super LCD vs AMOLED Clear Black Display

Article is year old and shows the first versions of SLCD and Nokia's Clear Black Displays.



Other than that i would mostly agree with you. I think especially that Lumia 900 could have been lighter. I do myself prefer Lumia 900 moslty because of the design and i think the support will be much better on Nokia's side.

 

[RiseAgainst94]

Someone previously stated that the Titan's metal body is bad because of weight, but after having felt the Lumia 900 it surely weighs much more than the Titan. Basing my decision on reviews, but leaning toward Lumia because of apps and support.
Titan II's camera is brilliant though, probably best of any smartphone based on those pics.

 

[inteller]

The Lumia and the Titan (not II) weigh exactly the same according to Phonescoop.

Their dimensions are almost the same and that's what's got me a little hung up on it right now. With those dimensions it should be sporting a 4.5" screen. I know Nokia probably did this for 2 reasons. Cost and ppi...no one can deny that the 199 ppi of the Titan is weak.