HTC just threw two new Windows Phone handsets down at the table and politely requested that we be impressed. The high-end Titan (previously leaked because the ‘ Eternity ‘) is indeed an awe-inspiring brute, wielding a 4.7-inch SLCD display, 8MP rear camera and 1.3MP front-facing snapper to take full good thing about Mango’s newfangled Skype integration . Its over-sized guts include a single-core 1.5GHz processor, 512MB of RAM and as much as 16GB of fixed flash storage. Meanwhile, the Radar (which also recently leaked out because the ‘ Omega ‘) comes significantly less pumped as a way to meet a discount point and — we suppose — the expectancies of a more mainstream audience. It could be seen as an updated Trophy , with similar weight and dimensions, plus an identical 3.8-inch LCD, 1GHz processor clock speed, 5MP rear camera resolution, RAM and maximum 8GB fixed storage. The most important upgrades involve the cameras: HTC says it has a better 28mm wide-angle lens at the rear, plus in fact there’s front-facer, that is unfortunately only VGA. Although HTC intends to update its existing WP7 range to Mango starting in mid September, the Titan and Radar may be the company’s first innately Mango-fied devices after they arrive in early October. What will we make of them? By all means, click past the break to determine.
0 Titan
We must clarify that the software on both new devices was pre-release and still had bugs to be ironed out, so one can only specialise in the hardware here. Head over to our 7 Mango preview 7 if you would like a far better idea of the update has in store, but for now the Titan’s colossal figure gives us plenty to speak about.
1 For a start, the question must arise to whether 4.7-inches is simply too big for a smartphone. That’s a simple one to reply: the Titan feels just fine within the hand and never too bad inside the pocket either, as a result of its 9.9mm (0.39-inch) profile and reasonable 160g (5.6-ounce) weight. Even the 70.7mm width and 131.5mm height don’t seem too problematic, unless you are a member of the thin jeans brigade or your pockets be afflicted by diagonal phone syndrome — you realize, where it just won’t sit right and the corners jut out everywhere. It is also worth mentioning that this phone isn’t the biggest we have seen (the 8 Acer Iconia Smart 8 is 4.8 inches, for instance), and judging from the just-announced 9 Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (that is admittedly not a phone), manufacturers are banking in this big-but-skinny form factor becoming each of the rage.
2 More importantly, the Windows Phone OS and its vertically-scrolling live tiles are particularly appropriate to a better screen acreage: almost each bit of it’s put to good use, but Microsoft’s minimalist design stops it from feeling overcrowded. The WP onscreen keyboard also involves life at this size, turning what was already the most effective typing experiences around into something much more special.
There’s one major let-down however: the screen is only 800×480, that’s less than the Iconia Smart and an analogous resolution because the Radar’s screen. We need to admit, we didn’t notice significant amounts of pixellation at the SLCD panel, which was generally sharp, bright and had great viewing angles. That said, HTC is a plain cheap skate for reinforcing size so massively without adding a single pixel — unless it’s somehow the fault of Windows Phone OS requirements, although the HTC execs we spoke didn’t provide such a justification.
3
We’re almost prepared to forgive this, however, due to the Titan’s build quality. The black-painted metal unibody case feels fantastic, with only a small little bit of plastic on the bottom to permit the aerial to do its job. The manner the case peels off to disclose the core of the device also is distinctly pleasurable. The sole weakness we spotted with the build was the paint job: we saw a tool that were utilized by an HTC person as their regular phone and the paint had chipped off on the corners to disclose the aluminum glistening underneath.
Radar
Where the Titan stomps, the Radar merely beeps. It doesn’t strike us as a nasty phone whatsoever, but there is not an awful lot to assert about it. The ten.9mm thickness is adequate, while the 137g weight, 61.5mm width and 120.5mm height are all par for the course. Below is the gray Radar side-by-side with the older Trophy at the left.
4 0 Just like the Titan, the 28mm rear camera claims an f2.2 maximum aperture together with a back-lit sensor to assist low-light performance and there is also an LED flash and 720p video recording — but we won’t judge it until we get some proper review time. It’s too late within the game to get curious about front-facing camera, which Windows Phone must have supported from the get-go. Making the camera VGA was a miserly decision after all. Some people can be do away with by the inability of a removable battery and the gray variant’s dull coloring — the white version actually looked much more lively, if that’s your thing. Ultimately, the best aspects of this camera is the truth that it’s designed to work with the most recent and greatest version of WP7 — an update that we predict will do plenty to enhance the appeal of Microsoft’s mobile OS.
5 One last tidbit before we go: both the Radar and the Titan may have optional dock accessories, so as to help them to operate as alarm clocks while they’re charging overnight.
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