Sprint - Touch Pro2, Pre or Hero

[dtreo]

Wondering what to do here...the age old issue of "crap, I can't figure out the perfect phone for me!"

Long time Treo user (650>755p>800w). Tried BB Tour for a couple of weeks and gave it back after the sad web browsing and non-stop scrolling wasn't doing it for me. Great email and phone, no doubt, but I missed the simple and intuitive text, much better browsing (even with multiple browsers on my Tour) and multitasking on my 800w.

For the past several weeks I've spent time with Pre, TP2 (in T-Mob stores), and myTouch (closest thing to upcoming Hero??). While I hate the lockups and resets that I frequent do on my WinMo, the ease of the 800w design and Palm shortcuts makes things so efficient that I suffer with the bad battery life and battery pulls.

As for Pre, I think I'd go that route if it weren't for the bad battery life and lack of an expansion card. I really like the card multitasking, but the small keys and slider design seem like a pain.

Hopefully not the case with Sprint TP2, but the T-Mob TP2s that I keep trying seem so touchy on the screen that I always seem to hit things that I don't intend to, or I mi**** things on the screen. Is this just a learning curve with that screen, or what? Playing with friends iPhones has me used to a large touchscreen (not the same, I know), but the T-Mob TP2 seems jumpy. The keyboard is great, but sliding all the time and 2-handed....well...

The myTouch is actually my favorite full screen of the bunch. Seems very accurate and easy to use. Will Hero lack full MS Exchange support? The software looks like a lot of useful fun and certainly easy to customize.

Anyone else spent a lot of time with most/all of these phones?

dtreo

 

[ejonny]

I have an iPhone, have had 800w, Touch Pro, Treo Pro, and now Touch Pro2. I've been a Treo user since the 300. And before the 800w I was a WinMo user since the 600. I love front facing keyboard. But I also like lots of screen real estate (which is why I went back to Touch Pro from the Treo Pro).

I also have to have solid exchange support for work.

For me that really rules out the Pre. My wife has a Pre. If I didn't need the exchange support that is the phone I'd be using. I set her up with a couple of touchstone chargers so she don't mind setting it down to charge if she doesn't have to plug it in.

I am intrigued by Android. Hearing great things about it and I am a huge fan of Google Voice. So if I didn't need exchange and didn't love the sliding cards/synergy (and honestly, I'm loyal to Palm) I would be very tempted by the Hero.

But, the Touch Pro2 is the phone for me right now. Awesome phone experience (wait until you try the speaker phone... physical mute button with color indicator?!?!?! A-MAZING!). 480x800?!?!?! yeah that is plenty of screen real estate for me. Solid with Exchange - check! 3.5mm headset jack - check. front facing qwerty - buzz. But I've found my way around the soft keyboard for short cuts. And the slider is smooth and fast.

Mobile phones should match a persons needs. If I didn't have to work I would be carrying a Pre. If I was all about Google voice I'd be dying to get a Hero. But I need to work (read: connect to exchange) and love the screen and speaker phone.

Besides, the choices will be completely different in 12 months anyway.

 

[dtreo]

great thoughts and thanks for the TP2 tips. I had the opportunity to play with a friend's Verizon TP2 today and it seems much much better than the T-Mob in-store versions. I think that just tipped me in favor of getting one from Sprint soon.
hope to try Hero in Oct.

how is the battery holding up compared to your WinMo Treos??

does it give you LED/vibe missed call/text/email alerts out of the box without adding something like TreoAlerts?

thx.
dtreo

 

[ejonny]

I had to use extended batteries with the 800w and the treo pro. The stock batteries just weren't enough. With the TP2 the stock battery seems better than the 800w or the treo pro, but still not enough for me. The WMExperts review today was fairly positive about the battery. When I first got the device the battery was dead after an hour of streaming music to headphones from a mobile data connection. Now I can go almost two hours (guess the battery needed to burn in).

There is a new alert mechanism for missed calls, texts, appointments. It beeps a lot. I really don't like the replacement for reminders because I used to be able to set the snooze for 5, 10, 15 minutes, or 5 minutes before, etc. Now I just have a snooze that is always for 5 minutes. But I can't complain that I missed any type of alert any more.

And this replacement for the standard windows notification stays on regardless of whether you shut off touchFLO 3d or not. It does provide a very cool way of seeing all the notifications on one screen when you tap the top notification icon.

MobileBurn has a video review of the Sprint Hero. You can check it out here. Very well done. I'm a bit jealous, but I'm stuck with Exchange as my primary email client and work has to come first.

 

[dtreo]

I had to use extended batteries with the 800w and the treo pro. The stock batteries just weren't enough. With the TP2 the stock battery seems better than the 800w or the treo pro, but still not enough for me. The WMExperts review today was fairly positive about the battery. When I first got the device the battery was dead after an hour of streaming music to headphones from a mobile data connection. Now I can go almost two hours (guess the battery needed to burn in).

There is a new alert mechanism for missed calls, texts, appointments. It beeps a lot. I really don't like the replacement for reminders because I used to be able to set the snooze for 5, 10, 15 minutes, or 5 minutes before, etc. Now I just have a snooze that is always for 5 minutes. But I can't complain that I missed any type of alert any more.

And this replacement for the standard windows notification stays on regardless of whether you shut off touchFLO 3d or not. It does provide a very cool way of seeing all the notifications on one screen when you tap the top notification icon.

MobileBurn has a video review of the Sprint Hero. You can check it out here. Very well done. I'm a bit jealous, but I'm stuck with Exchange as my primary email client and work has to come first.

maybe I missed your point but does it have an LED/vibe alert that works for all missed calls/texts/emails? the reason I ask is that I use TreoAlerts to see if I missed something from across the room without having to go wake up the screen. lots of people find this useful and I'm just curious and hope that TP2 has that capability out of the box.

thanks.
dtreo

 

[dtreo]

the Hero is soooo sweet to watch. not sure if I could deal without a keyboard, but I guess a ton of people do and love them. that interface is terrific.

I need Exchange primarily with Gmail and Yahoo, but the Hero has sync for Exchange mail, calendar and contacts, so it doesn't look to be a problem running Exchange, but WinMo 6.5 would likely be more work friendly.

touch choice these days on Sprint.

dtreo

 

[dtreo]

finally saw the Sprint TP2 today...albeit a dummy. aahhhhh!!!! they didn't yet have a live one in store and my rep even teased by digging in their desk for (shhh!!) their live Hero. apparently it was out for a spin with his boss, so I didn't get to see either one live, but the TP2 impressed in person. even for a dummy version. MUCH better design than the T-Mob version IMO. I like the silver better than the Verizon one too, which a friend has and loves. I'm thinking the great keypad is the tipping point for me and I'm getting the TP2 instead of Hero, as much as I dig the Hero interface.

Now if I can only figure out how not to pay $350 for it...any tips for $199?? I'm eligible for the full $150 upgrade discount.

"Lou's been losing at the track."
- "Well I ain't payin' no 50 cents for no Coke!"
"Aayyyy...then you ain't gettin' no Coke! See what I'm sayin'?"

dtreo

 

[rrife]

I've used all 3. For all the hype the Hero got, it felt a little non-responsive at times....it could have been something wrong with the phone or that I'm not familiar with Android, but overall I didn't care for it. I liked the feel of the Pre the best, but the 3rd party software and longevity of the platform (and company) is in question....so it might not be a good long term investment. I'm currently using the TP2, I think it's best WinMo phone made to date for what that is worth....the screen is actually more responsive than the Hero I tested.

 

[bigez1]

I say unequivocally get the TP2. I've looked at (or extensively researched) everything available and nothing compares to the TP2. The features and build quality are fantastic, but what's really exciting is what it will support in the future. I was able to install Windows Market Place even though the upgrade is not "officially" release for WM6.1 and recently installed SPB mobile shell 3.5. With this setup, I don't have phone envy whatsoever and I'm just getting started.

 

[dtreo]

OOOOOOHHHHH sweet nelly!!!! so I finally had the full sch-bang tonight and got to the corporate store instead of constantly hearing from reseller stores that they didn't have the new toys or only dummies. spent quality time on an active Hero, TP2, Treo Pro (just for kicks since I'm leaving my 800w), BB Tour (which I already tried and returned after 2 months), and the store mgr's Pre. use whatever carrier floats your boat, but with great discounted deal I get on 1500 share mins with unlimited text/web and now anymobile, it's a no brainer for us to stick with Sprint and these great choices in phones.

not that anyone cares, but my impressions?

Hero: really nice design, pretty light, great build quality and the software is pretty slick as expected, but the keyboard is not to my liking for long work emails and lots of texting. Looks like that would be a tough transition from Treo for heavy business use. very cool phone though and the trackball (big one) is handy for this design.

BB Tour: as before, great phone and email machine, but such sad browsing even when I tried multiple browsers, too much trackballing even with shortcuts, boring black text on white for everything, and I just don't like the steps involved in BB menu use (odd saying that since I use WinMo).

Treo Pro: my 800w keyboard is much better, but same things I love about any Treo - efficient talk/text/email. browsing isn't pretty, but it sure is fast on 800w and Treo Pro. they load page returns faster than anything IMO and I can power thru a dozen frequently checked pages so quickly to check news, stocks and sports. the combo of front QWERTY and touchscreen is so efficient...hard to leave that one-handed use during a lot of business travel.

Pre: I love WebOS and the Pre just seems to be getting so much better with each week that passes, but the battery life still stinks, no expansion slot (maybe that's not a big deal with USB connections, no?), and I don't like the small keyboard, but could probably get used to it. hard to say how much I'd prefer Pixi over the Pre with the keyboard and non-slider.

TP2: terrific build and I like the design even though it's heavy. keyboard is great and seems if anything a bit too big coming from years on Treos. slider will take some getting used to for sure and just accepting that it won't be as fast as a front QWERTY. so I'd trade simple efficiency for a full-featured beautiful design...and hopefully not need to reset after each charge like I do now. world phone too. browsing is nice with all of that real estate and it's a bit faster than I anticipated loading pages. not as fast as the Treos, but it sure looks nicer. that screen. very nice. but two handed for sure and no more answering a text walking thru an airport with a coffee.

I don't know if I really care that the web looks as nice as on my laptop and most of my phone web browsing is during travel when I just want to read the content, so a full web experience might be overrated on a phone for me, but that's just my opinion sitting on runways a lot.

I'm getting the TP2 tomorrow.

 

[nrfitchett4]

I say unequivocally get the TP2. I've looked at (or extensively researched) everything available and nothing compares to the TP2. The features and build quality are fantastic, but what's really exciting is what it will support in the future. I was able to install Windows Market Place even though the upgrade is not "officially" release for WM6.1 and recently installed SPB mobile shell 3.5. With this setup, I don't have phone envy whatsoever and I'm just getting started.

how did you get windows market place?
SPB mobile shell is awesome!!!

 

[dtreo]

I used my full upgrade and then Sprint matched the Verizon 199 price with 2 instant rebates (no paperwork for me - sweet!) after mentioning it. TP2 will be here by Tuesday and I can't wait. glad that I saw the Hero side by side with it in person before ordering. Hero is nice, but TP2 without a doubt for me.

 

[ejonny]

congrats. that was one well thought out process.

 

[dtreo]

Thanks. We'll see how smart/not so smart I am getting it just 2 days before leaving for a week at a busy work conference. Hope I figure it out quickly and enjoy the new toy --err, I mean serious business communications device.