As far as operating system upgrades from my latest G1 version to the new 2.1 with HTC Sense UI, it's great. One of the most appealing features, if not THE best feature of this phone, is the operating system itself, though. The Sense UI really gives a nice touch, with the multi-layered desktop and integrated social networks & bookmarks & all, but Android shines through with all its glory. Having multi-touch is also a huge plus. The G1 did not have this. Using the multi-touch, the pinch desktop feature really helps you navigate easily through the 7 different desktop screens and zooming in and out of photos has never been easier!
If you're not already familiar with the Android operating system, it might take a while to get used to all its little intricacies and realize just how customizable this phone really is. My boyfriend, upgrading from a standard text/call candy bar phone, was able to get the phone down pat in about 3 days, I'd say. You really can't fully appreciate the phone until you see the full potential and possibilities available with your phone. Then keep piling on the apps :) Jake's new favorite is the Porn HD app, haha! Jk...I hope ;)
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| dynaTAC 800x |
Operating inside the thin phone is the hardware, enabling the software to run effortlessly. The 1Ghz snapdragon processor is all it's cracked up to be, and more. I've never had a delay of any kind on my phone, unless the battery is at about 1% and is nearly dead. But that is to be expected since I've experienced that on any phone I've ever had. Even my old Motorcola dynaTAC 800x my parents had...
The 8MP camera with dual flashes is amazing. The only downside is not having a physical button on the phone to snap the photos; it's all done with touch-screen, making it hard to snap photos of yourself with friends. Still doable though. There's also a 1.3MP camera on the front of the phone- for VIDEO CALLING! And none of that AT&T BS where you have to be on Wi-Fi and pay extra for the service. Pssh. Just download the Qik app and you're good to go. :) Here are some examples of photo's I've taken with my phone. Click to see them at a larger size (not original size, cause that would be huuuge):
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| Trooper |
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| Odie Sleeping |
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| Huge Moth/Butterfly thing! |
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| Zoey |
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| My Scruffy Man |
It's also really great to have a regular headphone jack for listening to music. Grooveshark, Pandora, Slacker Radio, and my mp3's wherever I go :). Speaking of output, the mini-HDMI is handy, too! We have the same cord for Jake's AVCHD camcorder, so that was convenient. The video at 720p is pretty darn good, considering it's a PHONE haha. Very impressive.
Regarding the size of the phone, I was worried it was "too big" when I first saw it, but after you handle it, come to appreciate the large screen and how thin the overall phone is, you realize how perfect it is. It's slim enough to fit in a pocket or the side of your purse, but allows for a big enough screen to browse through the internet, flick through the multiple desktop screens, and fully appreciate the touch-screen keyboard, which in and of itself is awesome; it's very responsive, accurate, and the word suggestions are usually spot on. The buttons for the power & volume are the only physical buttons, the rest are touch-responsive areas surrounding the screen, and the screen itself. All of them are very responsive and I've never had a problem.
Overall, the greatest feature of this phone is the Android operating system, as mentioned earlier. With the wide selection of high quality apps & superior customizability, it's everything in a superphone I could want. So far. We'll see what is brought about in a few months. ;)
I haven't talked about Sprint, because it's really a completely different topic. I switched over from T-Mobile. I never really had a problem with T-Mobile and had been their customer since high school. I was going out on a limb trying Sprint out, and so far have had 0 problems. I have 4G in my area, but don't even use it most of the time. The 3G is very expansive and fast enough for most of my tasks. As far as the call signals, anywhere where Sprint's signal is weaker, Verizon picks up the slack. Sprint and Verizon share each other's towers and allow roaming between the two services for their customers. For free. As far as tethering and wi-fi hotspot, Sprint wants to charge $30/month for this, but if you just root your phone you can do this for free, as well as access the n-band wireless receiving capability that this phone has built-in, but not turned on [basic instructions are online everywhere & if you mess up, just do a hard restart of your phone and no harm done. All your contacts are stored on the google server and will be redownloaded automatically after the refresh, and all your music, photos, etc are on your SD card. ;)].
Some of my favorite apps, and they're all free!:
- Advanced Task Killer
- Sometimes when you have too many apps running (since this phone allows you to truly multi-task) it can start to slightly impact performance. This app has a quick interface allowing you to shut down the apps you don't need running at the time.
- Bump
- If anyone else has this app, even iPhone or blackberry users, you can literally just (gently) bump hands/phones to share photos, contact info, or other such data. Pretty fun :)
- Caller ID Faker
- Enough said. Some good fun!
- Calorie Counter
- Because, yes, I try to be conscientious about what goes in my mouth! It keeps track like a journal if you'd like it to. If not, it's just a great overall reference.
- Google Earth
- Google Earth! On your phone! Endless fun ;)
- Fandango
- Buy movie tickets on your way to the theater. Or you can check out movie times, availability, reviews, etc.
- FxCamera
- Special effects you can use with your camera, B&W, fish bowl, polaroid, etc.
- Mint.com
- If you have a mint.com account (free) and use it to manage your finances, this is a great app! If you don't have a mint.com account, I highly recommend creating one! Very powerful analytical tools and great information all in one convenient place. I'm crazy when it comes to being on top of finances, and this is quite helpful :D
- Movies
- Has a lot of the same functionality as Fandango, but cannot purchase movie tickets. However, this app integrates with my Netflix queue so I can browse movies & update my queue from anywhere. It's been handy on several occasions.
- My Tracks
- A fun app to track where you are and upload to google maps to save, share, or print. I've used this mainly on dual sport motorcycle trips to keep track of which crazy trails we went on, or cool camping sites we spotted. :)
- Qik
- Video Calling!!! Need I say more?
- Shazam
- Like the song you're hearing but don't know what it is? Shazam listens to it for about 10 seconds and figures it out, and saves it on a list for you. Also gives instant links so you can buy & download the song right there on your phone. I've used this quite a few times and it's extremely accurate and identifying songs. Never gone wrong once!
- ShopSavvy
- Scan barcodes at the store to see if you can get a better price at another store near-by, as well as internet stores. LOVE this. Also can be used to make wish-lists or shopping lists. I've used this for Christmas shopping when my boyfriend says he really likes something, I scan it and save it for later ;)
- TrailMaps
- If you're a snowboarder or skier, here's a full database of maps of snowpark trails!
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