HTC Touch Pro review

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6.0

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HTC Touch Pro user reviews

November 23, 2008

Posted by: semu5g

"Almost, but not quite"

What I like:

Touch screen, slide-out keyboard, form factor

What I don't like:

Navigation button, GPS, some aspects of Touch Flo

Review:

The following review is for the XDA Serra, O2’s UK version of the HTC Touch Pro (also known as the Raphael, T Mobile MDA Vario IV, AT&T Fuze and Sprint Touch Pro).

This is my third O2 XDA model – I‘ve previously used the XDA Mini S (aka HTC Wizard/Prodigy, K-Jam, MDA Vario) and XDA Graphite (aka ASUS Jupiter) - and probably my 6th or 7th Windows CE/Mobile device. I’ve grown fond of the XDA Mini S but recall that the phone was a complete dog until O2 issued a major ROM upgrade. I got the XDA Graphite on a free O2 upgrade as a compact, 3G-enabled replacement for the Mini S, but the battery life was so abysmal I never really used it in anger.

In looking for a replacement for the XDA Mini S, I had the following criteria in mind;

• HSDPA capable
• Good touch screen quality
• Ideally one-handed operation
• Slide-out QWERTY keyboard
• Preferably Windows Mobile 6.1 based (I’m wedded to a number of Windows Mobile applications including Outlook mobile, Ilium eWallet, Memory Map and Tom Tom Navigator)
• Good camera quality a nice-to-have but not paramount
• Available on an O2 UK Tariff (I wasn’t prepared to pay a SIM-free price).

I must confess to a (possibly irrational) antipathy to all things Apple so didn’t consider the iPhone, though I have no doubt that the iPhone is probably more user-friendly. The HTC Touch Pro is categorically not an “iPhone killer” (though the newer HTC Touch HD may well be).

The truth is, all of HTC’s smartphone offerings have been exercises in managed expectation. They promise so much on paper but so often fail to deliver in terms of practicality. The Touch Pro is, along with the Touch HD, by far the best phone HTC have ever produced, but it still has some frustrating flaws. I will admit that in the first few days of having received the XDA Serra I found the Touch Flo interface and GPS performance so frustrating that I seriously considered returning it to O2, but having persevered for a fortnight or so I am now much happier.

Many of the phone’s flaws could be resolved with improved software, and there are very active Windows Mobile and HTC development communities on the web. However, poor GPS performance and the almost useless Navigation joystick are hardware limitations that you’ll have to learn to live with.

So far, this is how the pros and cons stack up for me:

Pros:
1. Size, form factor and build quality.
2. Excellent screen resolution (640x480) and quality. Visibility in sunshine is very good.
3. Excellent slide out keyboard – far and away the best available.
4. Excellent phone sound quality.
5. Good 3G (HSDPA), Bluetooth and FM Radio performance.
6. Touch Flo interface makes one-handed operation feasible but gestures take some getting used to. Helps to have small fingers.
7. Accepts up to 16GB microSD SDHC memory cards (though the need to remove the back cover to insert the memory card is seen as a disadvantage by some – personally I prefer it this way)
8. Magnetic stylus is less likely to drop out.
9. Uses standard mini USB connector for sync and charge.
10. Can charge from PC USB connection.
11. As with all Windows Mobile devices, syncing with PC via Activesync is very easy.
12. Huge variety of freeware and shareware available for the Windows Mobile platform, including some alternatives to the Touch Flo interface (mainly still in beta but very promising).
13. Teeter game - which uses the phone’s built-in G-sensor - is great fun.
14. Very chic, for those who care about such things.

Cons:
1. Very expensive SIM-free.
2. “Joystick” functionality on central Navigation button is almost completely unusable and is – in my opinion - a major design flaw.
3. Endurance with standard 1340mAh battery not great (especially if all radio options are enabled) but probably no worse than other phones in this class. Higher capacity (but bulkier) 1800mAh battery packs are available. I personally haven’t found battery life to be an issue.
4. 3.2MP camera is a big improv