Upgraded HTC Touch coming to Sprint

[Merovingian]

Saw this on Engadget today and couldn't believe it at first. Seems Sprint is feeling the HTC love with Touch FLO. I can't wait to get my molesty fingers all over it if it ever launches. :thumbsup:

What do you folks think?

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/cellphones/htc-touch-upgraded-coming-to-sprint-290457.php

"....Sprint's picking it up, giving it CDMA/EVDO superpowers, doubling the processing speed from 200MHz to 400MHz to deal with Bill's Bloat, and eventual revision A. speed, and assisted GPS, once they software update it. The finger gesture menus invoke a set of commands for messaging, and one set for Sprint's multimedia functions, like TV and the music store. Sprint says this is likely coming in November."

 

[Daniel Rubino]

Saw this on Engadget today and couldn't believe it at first. Seems Sprint is feeling the HTC love with Touch FLO. I can't wait to get my molesty fingers all over it if it ever launches. :thumbsup:

What do you folks think?

It certainly looks fun and the improvements welcomed but...the whole idea for a smartphone for me is (relative) ease of typing. Even T9, while not bad, acted as avoidance feature for me.

This seems like it will be a fun phone, nice for viewing data and media, but as far as responding back or doing a lot of output e.g. web searches? I'm not sure.

This is where GSM is nice. I could see having this as a weekend device and if I could just swap SIMs, it could be. But doing a ESN swap every time would certainly be non feasible.

It'll go great with a Foleo though

 

[oalvarez]

too bad you can't type on it (very easily, efficiently, or effectively). but as a stand alone cellphone (tiny screen won't be all that wonderful for web viewing) it sure isn't bad. as a fun phone, i personally would prefer an iPhone over the Touch given the iPhone's larger screen coupled with its integrated video iPod.

did someone/anyone mention it was being categorized as a smartphone? heavens, i hope not.

neat little cellphone though

 

[Daniel Rubino]

well it runs WM6, a standalone OS that can be modified, handle email, PIM and data. Surely the inclusion/exclusion of a KB is not the sole dertimer of a smartphone. Its more about the OS...and it does have text entry.

 

[oalvarez]

and it does have text entry.

c'mon, Mal, so do most other devices out there. it's all about how you actually enter that text that is so important. i'm sure you'd agree with that.

 

[Daniel Rubino]

c'mon, Mal, so do most other devices out there. it's all about how you actually enter that text that is so important. i'm sure you'd agree with that.

Right, but the point is not the quality of the text input, but what makes it a smartphone? It's the underlying OS: can you add software, modify the UI, add functionality where there was none as well as things like PIM, email (push), etc.

The issue of whether the text entry is "good" or "bad" is subjective although there's not much argument that the Touch is sort of the most basic you can get. All early PPCs were just like that: I still have my Dell Axims x50 and x3i which have no keyboards, yet they were certainly still powerful, we just used writing-recognition or special tap keyboards.

But this is all besides the point which was does it qualify to be smartphone to which I answered.

 

[surur]

That Apple clone keyboard is getting better and better. I dont know how good the iPhone keyboard is, but this one may actually exceed it.

http://pocketcm.com/dl.php

See, the reason the Touch is a smartphone is because it has an open OS, and one can add such things as a better 3rd party app if one wanted to.

Surur

 

[oalvarez]

the thing is that the Touch has a small screen. install whichever 3rd party virtual keyboard app you want but it still won't be of much use when trying to type with your fingers given the limited screen space. not sure how fun that smaller screen will be when trying to view the internet.

looks like a neat little cellphone that allows you to intall and play 3rd party apps. too bad for the data entry part of it.

 

[surur]

True, for finger typing a 3.5 inch screen is obviously better than a 2.8 inch screen, but one makes do. It does not preclude doing most things however.

Surur

 

[Scott R]

I'm going to make the call today and see if I can still return my Mogul. I'm past 30 days, but I never activated it. I wish the Touch had a bigger screen, though. Not only would it help with typing on screen with your thumbs, it would also be nice to have a bigger screen for poking at in the car. I want to use one of these as an in-car GPS and MP3 player.

The other flaw with these things is that the screens get washed out in the sun. Why can't anyone use the same technology that the dedicated GPS units are using? If it's just a matter of them using a super-bright backlight and it draining the battery too fast, just make it default to a lower setting and let me crank it up when I have it plugged in with a power cord.

 

[surur]

The other flaw with these things is that the screens get washed out in the sun. Why can't anyone use the same technology that the dedicated GPS units are using? If it's just a matter of them using a super-bright backlight and it draining the battery too fast, just make it default to a lower setting and let me crank it up when I have it plugged in with a power cord.

Before the Touch the overused phrase "The screen is not usable in direct sunlight" had no meaning to me. Now its as clear as mud, and much clearer than my Touch screen in the sun.

Surur

 

[Scott R]

Is the Touch especially bad in direct sun? Have you been able to compare it to the Mogul? My Mogul's screen seems very difficult to read in the car, but most of the apps I've tried have colorful screens, so I'm going to give it a shot with a ultra-high contrast color-combo (e.g., white text on black background and vice versa).

 

[mobileman]

I finally got to play around with the touch yesterday, and was really surprised how small it is.

I could never use this as my device though, there is absolutely no good way to enter any text.

 

[surur]

This is just not true. One must remember stylus text entry was the default before the newfangled keyboarded devices came along. In parts of the world without roman scripts stylus entry is even desirable vs alphanumeric keyboards.

Surur

 

[mobileman]

This is just not true. One must remember stylus text entry was the default before the newfangled keyboarded devices came along. In parts of the world without roman scripts stylus entry is even desirable vs alphanumeric keyboards.

Surur

Stylus Stinks!!!! no thank you.

 

[surur]

Stylus Stinks!!!! no thank you.

I guess you must be one of those who did not have a PDA before a smartphone. They were pretty useful devices.

Surur

 

[Daniel Rubino]

Dieter did a nice long review of the Touch vs. the iPhone.
http://www.wmexperts.com/reviews/smackdowns/htc_touch_vs_iphone_part_2_vid.html

The Touch looks like a neat little device. Not sure I'd much need for it but I hope a friend gets it as I'd like to mess with one.

Also, as far as no "good" text entry, it's subjective.

Here's a user trying out the Happy Tapping Keyboard on the Touch; doesn't look too bad.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LRQlbfo8vmI

also Text Entry Methods on the Touch

 

[mobileman]

Dieter did a nice long review of the Touch vs. the iPhone.
http://www.wmexperts.com/reviews/smackdowns/htc_touch_vs_iphone_part_2_vid.html

The Touch looks like a neat little device. Not sure I'd much need for it but I hope a friend gets it as I'd like to mess with one.

Also, as far as no "good" text entry, it's subjective.

Here's a user trying out the Happy Tapping Keyboard on the Touch; doesn't look too bad.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LRQlbfo8vmI

also Text Entry Methods on the Touch

Kind of funny that a lot of iPhone haters that happen to be WM users love loading their devices up with iPhone themes, backgrounds, icons, and now the keyboard.

 

[mobileman]

I guess you must be one of those who did not have a PDA before a smartphone. They were pretty useful devices.

Surur

My great great grandfather drove a horse instead of a car. Useful for him, but doesnt mean I'm going back to it.


Never again will I use a stylus.

 

[Daniel Rubino]

Kind of funny that a lot of iPhone haters that happen to be WM users love loading their devices up with iPhone themes, backgrounds, icons, and now the keyboard.

Actually, HTK is skinable and the default skin is not the iPhone one. It's also an old app, nothing new.

Who are these iPhone haters BTW? Is everyone who uses a WM device with an iPhone skin or theme a hater?

Better yet...

Who cares? What does this have do with anything?