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

Wireless Capabilities
The TyTN II packs Bluetooth (2.0) and WiFi (802.11 b/g), which are expected (unless you're Palm) in any modern device. The Bluetooth side supports a variety of profiles, including Advanced Audio Distribution Protocol (A2DP), Bluetooth Personal Area Network (PAN), and a number of functions such as remote SIM access, printing over Bluetooth, and (of course) the hands-free profile.


Figure 10: The snazzy new Communications Manager program, complete with razor sharp look!

The WiFi radio powered on as expected and quickly found my 802.11g access point. I did find that, while it associated very quickly, it took the unit a few seconds longer than I expected to switch over to using WiFi for data rather than my EDGE data connection. However I'm not complaining, the radio performed well and associated quickly from the opposite end of my house (a feat a few cards have found taxing in the past). WiFi on the TyTN II also supports the LEAP protocol (a good thing as less and less devices are supporting it due to security reasons - little help to those of us whose organizations have sunk big bucks into a LEAP architecture!).


Figure 11: The HTC WiFi control program (a nice upgrade to the standard Windows Mobile applet that is still present but thankfully not required use!).

GPS
I tested out the GPS on this device with my own copy of Pharos Ostia as well as a copy of Delorme that I picked up at the local Target. Both worked flawlessly with the included GPS. If you've never had a device with GPS built in, you'll find that you don't really know it's even there as Windows Mobile will activate it or deactivate it automatically depending on whether a piece of software requests it. Both Ostia and Delorme simply probed the COM ports on my device, and found the GPS. HTC was nice enough to include a taster version of Tomtom Navigator 6, which will allow you to download one map and use it with the full version of the software. A good option for those of you who don't have a preferred GPS package. For what it's worth, the $40 Delorme package I picked up on a whim is actually pretty nice for my purposes - perhaps I'll write a full review of it at a later time.

The TyTN II provides QuickGPS software and service that allows you to download a "hints" file to give the GPS some pointers on where to look in the sky to lock on quickly. The software file expires eventually, however, the application downloads new versions automatically, a nice touch and similar to the ability that the HP iPAQ 6915 provides to get quicker locks.

Finally, one advantage that isn't immediately apparent about having built-in GPS, besides the fact that you don't have to carry around an external GPS receiver and may be more tempted to bust out GPS to find your way around rather than aimlessly drive a bit in a foreign city, is the possibilities it provides. With some rather nice software, such as Franson's GPSGate, you can use your TyTN II as a Bluetooth GPS receiver, or share the GPS signal with a laptop via Bluetooth while still using the GPS on the device. If you're on the fence between a lower-priced Pocket PC Phone plus a Bluetooth GPS receiver for navigation, I'd argue that having both in one device will be more beneficial by far. After all, if you ever upgrade the phone you can still use the device as a GPS receiver without the phone functionality!