Windows-Based iPhone Rival for Business Users

MsManhattan writes "High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC) has unveiled a touch-screen mobile device that offers many of the same features as the iPhone but with an emphasis on business applications vs. entertainment value. The HTC Touch is based on Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6 Professional OS and features a 2.8-inch touch screen offering access to emails, contacts and appointments. But unlike the iPhone, which will feature large internal flash memory capacity for music and movie storage, the HTC Touch offers a microSD drive, and a 1G-byte microSD card comes with the handset."

HTC : bad software impl on top of good hardware ?

[testman123]

HTC have tremendous hardware. Those guys are brilliant, really.

But, there is a really huge problem with HTC. Those guys have crappy software : bad piggy translation, NDA Legacy APIs, little Java support (almost no JSR supported !), little upgrade program.

Translation is not acceptable, I know it is not blocking stuff. But when you pay high price for some high end phone you expect it to be "high quality" as well and this include your ability to use it in your native language. One example : In french, they translate the button "call" (to call somebody) into "parler" (french for "speak"). This sounds very weird in French language context.

NDA Legacy API blocks people (read /.ers) to improve/extend their phone capabilities. For instance, get rid of the crappy camera software and brind their own replacement software [ateksoft.com]. But with HTC policy, you have to pay big bucks and sign a NDA to get a documented API !!!! Or you have to do it "da real 1337 wayz" which means glue/ducktape and uggly stuffs.

Bad Java support, means that even if they are usually embeding a MIDP compatible Virtual Machine, they do not offer any JSR support. This means : no camera support, no bluettoth support, etc ! What is the use of having a bluetooth & camera phone if you can not run application that use those features ?

Minimum upgrade program, means, that once you buy a HTC phone you have high probability to stuck foreever with the curret version & revision of the OS you have bought. This means : bugs, security flaws included. An example of this, the award winning HTC Magician (also known as QTek S100) was offered no WM5 upgrade program. I mean, owners/customers willing to pay lot of money to upgrade. But the manufacturer does not care to propose a deal. Should we force to by a new handset to get a new OS ? I am questioned ...

So until HTC fits those lacks, I am sorry to say, any WM poweruser should keep away from HTC phones and move to other manufacturers that offers better products.

Re:Charge!

[CharlieHedlin]

My 8525 took one heck of a crash to a tile floor and the keypad lifted up and the casing seemed bent. I pulled out at the casing (metal) and the keypad popped back into place and the case returned to its normal shape. The phone still works great (except of the occasional glitch (the phone occasionally won't repaint unless I slide the keypad to change the orientation) that seems like software, but the crash happened when the phone was way too new for me to know...)

Its hard to call this device fragile.

I do keep it in a pouch on my belt to protect it from keys and other crap in my pocket.

It plays videos, mp3 files, and all. I used it as a portable device for an Amazon unbox video (that I got on sale using a free unbox credit...) and lost the license when I upgraded the firmware. It is now seen as a different device and used my 2nd license.

Its processor is a little slow for those videos, I need to stick with DRM free video so I can compress it a bit more. I guess it could be the SD card speed as well.

Re:Charge!

[Amouth]

i have the 8525 .. i jsut got a nice belt clip for it.. and i don't have to worry about it..

for what it does it is one of the best devices i have bought.. well worth the money

although it is completly point less without the data plan.. the data plan is what makes it shine

Re:Charge!

[chewedtoothpick]

My T-Mobile MDA has been dropped more times than I can count and stepped on a couple times. Aside from having to replace the cover for the antenna / camera lens, it has only minor scratches. It works as perfect as the day I bought it.

Either you got a bad phone, or you are performing tasks on the order of attempting to make a call from 100 ft under water without a waterproof cover. A friend's 8525 was recently cracked open while he was in Iraq. He replaced the casing and screen and it worked perfect as of when I saw him this weekend...

Re:Charge!

[jwthompson2]

I have a HTC 8125 (Cingular branded) that I hate. The problems I have aren't so much with the device, although the hardware obviously plays a part, but the God awful software. Windows Mobile just sucks. Maybe Windows Mobile 6 will be better than version 5 on my handset but I am skeptical. I am planning to buy the iPhone sometime after it hits the market if it meets my needs, which my current HTC/Windows Mobile does not. Namely the things that suck worst are the following:

1. Dialing with the on-screen keypad is horrible, the stupid sidebar of function buttons force the keypad into an area so small I can't use my thumb with it (big thumbs are my fault...)
2. Certain applications crash the phone inexplicably: Minimo and Midlets most notably which isn't necessarily Microsoft's or HTC's fault.
3. When sliding the screen over to access the keyboard the change in on-screen orientation is slow and not always reliable. Sometimes I have to slide and close and then slide again to get the phone to figure out what I'm doing. Also, some applications still call up an on-screen keyboard when I have the keypad exposed, that's just dumb.
4. The built in storage capacity is a joke. Having to add a card for even a reasonable amount of storage is dumb. Would giving me 1-2GB have been so hard?

I am hoping that the iPhone will do correctly what Microsoft and Palm seem to not be able to figure out. Namely I want my iPhone to meet my functional expectations and barring any functional shortfalls the only thing I am waiting to see are the following from AT&T:

1. What will the actual data plans cost? If they're in-line with MediaNET service then I'm on-board; if its PDA Connect plans then screw that (unless they drop the price).
2. What about insuring my shiny and expensive phone? Even if AT&T won't cover it I will want somebody to offer me insurance in the case of theft at the very least.
3. More software! Namely I would like a PDF reader at the very least. An Office document reader would be nice, I don't want or need the ability to create or edit though. I also wouldn't mind a DashCode sort of application so I can develop my own widgets.

Re:Pictures!

[zhenya00]

Well, for anyone who has actually ever tried to use a touch screen in cold weather, with wet or dirty hands, or while driving, there are a TON of reasons why physical buttons (or at least the option of a stylus) are better than a touch screen. This is one aspect of the iphone that I'm really interested to see shake out in the real world.

Touch or Multitouch?

[Myopic]

Is it touch or multitouch? Because those are not nearly the same thing. Multitouch is a much much more complicated (to implement) yet intuitive (to use) interface, and really is the whole reason for the iPhone brouhaha.

Re:Pictures!

[toleraen]

So what's your solution? How would you design the interface? The 'binary choice' UI is designed that way to conserve precious screen space. After you've added 7 (large) touch screen buttons, where are you going to put the content? Or would the 7 touch screen buttons show up when you activate them? How would you activate them, via a soft key? Many apps make use of the "tap and hold" context menu if you are using the touch screen, so you're not always forced to the two button UI.

The 'common option' | 'menu' setup just plain works well. Hitting the right softkey, then scrolling to my option, pressing in the scroll wheel to make my choice is quick and accurate. The touch screen is there mainly for speed. The soft keys are there for one-handed convenience. Just because I have a touch screen doesn't mean I want to constantly be using it. Leave the soft keys, thanks.

It's GSM, you know...

[name_already_taken]

A better question is if it will work at all in Paris ... or anywhere. The image is an obvious fake for all the reasons you mention and the incompatibility of US / EU phone systems. How about a picture of a real phone?

It's a GSM [wikipedia.org] phone. You know, GSM, the so-called Global System for Mobile communications... the main system in Europe, and on a number of US providers. As long as there is service on one of the GSM bands supported by the phone, it will work. My boss uses his Cingular (GSM) Treo 650 all over the place, including France. You should see the roaming charges for data use in China though.

In response to the GP... I wonder how many people in Paris are actually using Fahrenheit these days, anyways... aside from American tourists with fake iPhones, that is. ;)

You have to be in Paris to see the temperature there? That's funny, I have access to this thing called the Internet that lets me see all kinds of things like the temperature in other places, without me having to actually be there. You should try it some time.

I didn't know I needed a fake iphone for business

[jaypaulw]

I ditched my htc sprint ppc 6700 because:

-too much latency overall
-poor phone quality, comfort, aesthetic
-heavy
-wanted to be able to search contacts and make calls without flipping keyboard out or using two hands.
-didn't like rebooting everyday to get the email flowing again.
-I looked like an ass while I was using it.

I bought a blackberry 8700 and I love it; it eliminated all of those issues. It's a bit bigger than a regular phone but the other benefits (email, calendar, big screen) are worth it.

For my needs the bb 8700 can't be beat.