17
Jul
2009
HTC Hero. Enter the factorium
The HTC Hero is the first phone to be carrying HTC Sense, the new User Interface that all HTC phones in the foreseeable future will be launching with. However, there are a few things we’d like to point out about it before you get too excited. You may have already got excited by looking at sites such as the official product overview, or by coming across HTC Hero review‘s like this, but we want to temper all that excitement with a little fact-based work. Yes, we really are that sad, and this is indeed how we get our kicks. That’s why you love us.
Fact number 1 – The HTC Sense is a User Interface, a skin, if you like, put over the Android OS that supplies a little jazz, a modicum of razzmatazz. It is not, however much HTC might try and insist, some kind of revolutionary new thing called a ‘User Experience.’ Calling it so just proves a little how HTC are trying a little to hard to generate buzz for the HTC Hero.
Fact number 2 – Most of the features in this so-called spiffingly new User Interface have been seen elsewhere, either on other manufacturer’s phone, or even on HTC’s own handsets. The ‘Stay Close’ group of features, for example, are basically the same as the Nokia 5800′s Contacts Bar. The ‘Make it Mine’ set of features is simply the terribly groundbreaking ability to… wait for it… customise your homescreen and other menus. Oooohhhh.
Fact number 3 – According to some marketing buff or other who’s name we can’t even be bothered to copy, “Sense is a distinct experience created to make HTC phones more simple for people to use, leaving them saying, it just makes sense.” No, it isn’t. No, it doesn’t. It’s a decent enough User Interface, that leaves us saying, it’s a decent enough User Interface.
So there we have it. Your daily dose of fact. Straight from us to you, for free, with love. Don’t get us wrong, this is a pretty decent phone. Just nothing revolutionary. Out sometime very soon.
15
Jul
2009
HTC Magic. Boxing unclever
Being a keen boxer… wait, that’s not true.
Being a keen boxing fan… wait, that’s a lie as well.
Being the kind of occasional boxing match watcher who can name at least three boxers other than Mike Tyson and Frank Bruno (that’s better), we know the danger of the old one-two. The first punch that weakens you up, then the second one coming in and knocking you out. And we fear that, as lovely as the HTC Magic is, there’s two things that really wind us up. And fair enough, as you’ll see, these things aren’t that major, more lightweight than heavyweight, but being punched twice is never pleasant whoever’s doing in the punching.
First though, don’t get us wrong: the HTC Magic is a far from bad phone. In fact, being the best currently available option for those of you who want Google’s magnificent Android OS, it’s a very decent phone indeed. With it’s v1.5 of Android, it’s light weight, thin body, GPS, G-sensor and all that jazz, it’s more than decent (read this HTC Magic Review for a full spec-attack).
But, keep your chin up, because here’s the first fist on its way: there’s no 3.5mm jack socket. Come on, HTC! Is it really that hard to stick one of these little holes in the thing? Do you not think that most people these days are wanting to use their phones as their music players rather than carrying around another mobile device… Anyway, too late to worry about that, here’s the second fist: kaboom, and it’s the miniscule tap on the jaw of only 512MB of internal memory. 512MB! COME ON, HTC, were you high? The Samsung i7500 (which, fair enough, isn’t out yet) is packing 8GB. And we’re not even going to mention the iPhone….
So there we have it. You may still be standing, you may even not give jot about those two things, but for us, we’re sore. Have a little look at the HTC Official page if you want to go some more rounds with the Magic.
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