Windows Phone Thoughts: Leader of The Empire: The HTC TyTN II Reviewed

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Thursday, September 20, 2007

Leader of The Empire: The HTC TyTN II Reviewed

Posted by Jon Westfall in "HARDWARE" @ 08:00 AM


The Day Before
It's not standard practice for me to begin writing a review before I actually receive the device, but in this case, I wanted to capture and share my thoughts on this device both before initially looking at it and after. So here's what's on my mind the night before my Kaiser is scheduled to be delivered!

In a post I made back in July, I jokingly said that I was upset that HTC didn't include the kitchen sink in this device, as it appears to have everything else you'd ever want. Sure, it's not a VGA screen and it's a small slider form-factor (which some many not like), but as far as devices go, you can't argue that this is quite possibly the most feature-packed device to be released to date. I find myself intrigued because with every previous device I've used, and reviewed, I've always had one thing that was on the wish list that didn't make it to the final product. For example, the HP iPAQ 6915 included GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, Keyboard, and more, but somewhat annoyed me with the square screen. Square screens just don't seem practical for GPS applications. Furthermore was the problem of a non-standard connector (instead of mini-USB) and a rather pokey processor. Prior to reviewing the iPAQ, I had looked at the Sprint PPC 6700, which was a peppy little unit but lacked GPS - something I've wanted in a daily-driver unit (more on my uses for GPS later in this review!). And the i-Mate Jasjar was, let's face it, a friggin' brick! While it packed quite a whallop in terms of ability and form factor, it was way too big to be a daily driver (it is good for specific situations, however, I still have and use mine fairly frequently). Including units I haven't reviewed but owned, such as the K-JAM (loved it, but no GPS and pokey processor!), the Dash (no touchscreen!), and the Treo 750v (No WiFi - come on Palm, WiFi isn't a passing fad!), I've always traded off one feature I've really wanted for a bunch of others that were available.

If I were to design a Pocket PC, I'd make sure it had a fast processor, was small enough to be pocketable, had the "Big 3" radios (GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth), used standard connectors for charging & sync, supported A2DP, was a 320x240 touchscreen, had a built-in keyboard, and looked somewhat stylish. After reading the specs for my "ideal" Pocket PC, you can understand why the Kaiser appealed to me. Heck, it even has some features I didn't request, such as a scroll-wheel and tilt-screen ability! So it appears that this device is everything I want. However, as always, I'm skeptical that I'll find the "perfect" device, especially as I peer into my drawer and count 6 Windows Mobile devices, all of which seemed perfect but inevitably had flaws!

So as I sit here and wait for the package to arrive, I find myself wondering what my initial reaction will be. Through the magic of writing over several days, we'll now jump forward to where I actually have the device, although my waiting self still is upset that tomorrow is so far away!

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