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Htc Phones: Do They Really Work???

I've owned a couple of these HTC phones, formerly a Cingular/Siemens SX66, and also a small one by Audiovox...can't remember model but WM based, now got a Tmobile Dash.
All based on Windows Mobile, and my question is: HTC PHONES DO THEY REALLY WORK???
In the Forums I read nothing but problems, my experience's not good either. My first SX66 was defective, the replace froze way too often/needed reset (WM froze, CONNECTIVITY was POOR as it was on the Audiovox (I threw it against the wall and smashed to pieces) and STILL IS on the Dash..maybe not as BAD
I want to install a new language support on the Dash....doesn't seem to be possible
I "upgraded" to WM6 but I think I actually lost rather than gained in terms of versatility features and feel...
I'm thinkin of gettin a TyTn....but is it worth the aggravations and headaches, since I'm going to need to unlock and most likely extra language support for text messaging.....Is it possible to Add???
INPUT/OPINIONS WELCOME
THANKS

The two most common, recurring problems that I know of are screen alignment and battery maladies. Each seems to be somewhat device-specific for the most part. That to say that screen alignment issues appear frequently on the Wizard and TyTn and probably a few others, and battery issues occur on the Universal variants and a few others. While there's no arguing the fact that some phones do have problems we must remember that folks that have problems (or questions) are more likely to post something about it/them than are people who don't. So what we see on the internet might not be a fair representation between good and bad experiences.
I was told once while having a conversation about researching products that the internet can sometimes offer too much info, especially about opinions that are more subjective in nature than those concerning an issue that is either black or white, with little in between. Perhaps misery loves company and this prompts us to share our troubles more than our triumphs.
Just my $.02, and fwiw my Wizard is dying after only a year of gentle use. Screen alignment issues and flaky behavior concerning incoming calls are becoming more than a minor annoyance.

Just a note to say that I've had my TyTn for almost a year now and never had a screen alignment issue. I thought this was only an issue for early models?
HTC do have a variety of different official WM6 language ROMs out for it.
Another note to say that if you can hold out for a month or two and can afford it, you may want to wait for the Kaiser, it's like an upgraded TyTn with GPS and more memory/storage.

It may be an issue only with early models, and it may not. But on the TyTn site there is a poll that states that 56% report the issue. I seem to recall that some were talking about new devices, but then you don't know how long the device sat on a shelf somewhere before being purchased.
I came close to deciding to wait for the Kaiser, but in the end the 2.8" screen and the possibility that the alignment problem could carry over made me go another route. Plus my Wizard is becoming increasingly frustrating and that made waiting more than a simple exercise in patience ;o(

Hermes or Universal?

Hello All,
Which is the best between these 2 machines? What are the main differences? Please help....
I have a choice of these 2 PDA's and have no idea which to choose....
Many thanks.
Jimmy

One vote for Universal

407,592 votes for the Hermes
So far from my experience with both the Hermes has been the easiest to work with in terms of size and suitability for use as a primary phone.
EDIT:: Check the wiki pages for the main differences.....take into account the sizes however.

It all depends on whether you really need the VGA screen. If you don't, go for the Hermes.

Well I couldnt let the Universal go... I picked one up off Ebay for £45.
It was an old couple who had received it as an upgrade and didnt want it... It is in perfect condition, and has a 2GB SD Card.....
I have just got to learn how to use it now...
I have posted this somewhere else on this forum, but can anyone tell me about the GPRS? I need to ensure that I don't use this feature on the phone, otherwise I will get a massive bill....... Wifi is free and is almost everywhere so I can use this. Can the GPRS be turned off, or does it need this to work at all.... If it cannot be turned off, how do I make sure that I dont use it, and only wifi or the normal GSM...
Once again.. Many thanks... And I am a total beginner to PDA's and the likes.. So be gentle..

Enjoy your Universal! It's been my first cellphone ever and even until today one of the most sophisticated handhelds ever produced in my view. It misses a few things like builtin GPS, HSDPA (normal 3G is quite ok though), a 3D chip (purely optional at least for me) and the RAM is a bit on the skimpy side. But there's still one of the best hardware keyboards I've seen and the VGA screen that always made me wonder how anybody can still use QVGA (and how HTC didn't make the switch a long time ago). So many things (from PDFs over ebooks to webpages) are totally unusable with QVGA and only performance reasons are speaking for this resolution.
Apart from that swivel format was and is probably not the best choice. In the beginning there were lots of programs that totally didn't get along with the inverted screen (or the landscape factor) and even now that that is fixed the hinge sure is one of the weak points of this device. And while I haven't managed to break mine so far it sure is not as sturdy anymore as it used to be. What's more is that the Uni definitely is one bulky device, but I actually never minded when people stared incredulously at me holding "the brick" to my ear ;-) With a 4.800 mAh battery attached it's beyond good and evil anyway...
I just realized how many weak points I mentioned and how I actually couldn't care less about them. The Universal always seemed a bit like a case study and an experiment and it might very well end up being a one of it's kind in HTCs lineup if the Omni proved indeed to be vaporware. But like all good things it just gets better and better (I'm pretty sure that it is the perfect candidate for an early Android release as well) as time passes and I can hardly imagine myself replacing the little bugger before it has lived through its third year. So once again, have fun starting out with one of the greatest and most prominent WM phones on the market!

T-Mobile Wing vs Tilt vs Nokia N95- Advice please?

After spending much time searching your forums (my goodness you're all so knowledgeable and generous!) I haven't been able to quite answer my questions. I am in dire need of a phone as my crappy motorola is on it's last legs (we're talking buttons falling off, the works) so I've decided to spend some actual money on a decent phone. I've looked around for a while now and have been lusting after the Tilt for some time now. I would have to buy an unlocked one as I am on the T-mobile network and soon moving to Canada and switching to yet another network. My worry, however, is that I've heard and read some really terrible things about the Tilt. RLoD anyone? So while I am very drawn to it, I need a reliable phone, not one that craps out a couple months after I drop $500 on it. The numbers of malfunctioning Tilts/Tytn IIs seem quite high or am I wrong?
I've come to you, oh wise ones, seeking your counsel learned from many hours of alternately cursing and lauding the HTC name, no doubt.
I need a phone that offers me some productivity, email, messaging, multimedia (mostly, I'd like to be able to listen to music). It must have wifi. I would prefer it not drive me to putting my head through a wall. It would be nice if it had a gps receiver (like the Tilt and the N95) as I would like to run garmin mobile on it but could deal with using an external receiver on the Wing, if it turned out to be the best phone for me.
The reason I love the Tilt and Wing models is primarily the keyboard and touch screen. However, the problems people are having with HTC products have left me quite leery of buying one of their phones. Which is why I was also looking at the N95, most of it's reviews have been favourable although the learning curve to get it to the right level of productivity with 3rd party apps seems steeper. I've had Nokia phones before though- those Finnish build for Vikings, I guess. Never had one of those crap out on me.
Anyhow, I've rambled enough. Any advice or information you might want to throw at me would be appreciated. Thank you so much

My thoughts....
Given what you are after, I would stay with the Wing or Tilt. While I don't own a Tilt, I have used it a fair amount and I can see where reliability could be an issue. If that is a concern, the Wing (or Herald / P4350) has proven to be a very reliable phone (passed my "Wife" test ). It does not have built in GPS or 3G and the processor is slower, but I think you would be happy with it.
I hate the N95. It is a good (not as good as I expected from the "Carl Z" lens and 5MP) camera, good music player and good reception phone, but most of the other functions suck - IMO. The two way slider drives me crazy because if you accidentally slide open the media controls the screen goes to landscape and the only way to change it back is to slide the keypad section up and then back down.
Personally I like the Touch XL (Elfin). It is SOOO much smaller and lighter than the Tilt and Wing and really the only thing you loose from the Wing is the hard keyboard. There are some great soft keyboards avail. for the Touch that allow me to type just as fast on it as my other devices with the keyboard. Take a look at some of them that I have customized in my signature, for example.
Good luck!

You know, I haven't looked too much at the Touch models. I suppose I just figured if I was willing to go the soft keyboard route, I would take my chances with an unlocked iPhone. I figured I would either get my qwerty keyboard or give it up entirely. There seem to be a few variations of the Touch, and you recommend the XL? I shall have to do some research.
The camera features on the phones are the lowest on my list of needs. More of a bonus than a necessity. Nokia has splashed the Carl Zeiss name all over those N Series phones but at the end of the day, a camera phone is a phone, not a dedicated camera and will always fall short for me as I play with dSLRs, so most of the time I just don't bother with the camera on my phone.

Tilt.........

There have been several threads on this...
in a nutshell, if you need great multimedia / (even 3d hardware accelerated) gaming / call recording / camera / a great phone / being light and small, get the N95. If you need Windows Mobile / a touchscreen / a strcitly built-in keyboard and don't need gaming / multimedia / a good camera / call recoridng capabilities etc. and the much higher weight isn't a problem either, get the Kaiser.
I myself would go for the N95 but that's just because I already have the iPAQ 214 as a WinMo handheld (with which the N95 works together very well) and I use the MM features and the camera (which is just great) of the N95 a lot. But that's me.

I realize there have been several threads on this, but what wasn't fully addressed was the reliability issue. There were more than a few threads on this very site that made the Kaiser sound like a rather lovely, briefly useful, piece of crap.
I suppose I'm wondering how likely it is to die on me (I really haven't been able to find out anything solid on how many/often they malfunction) and for those people that did have it die on them, why did you keep going back for more?
The reason the Wing was in the running (in spite of not having all the featues of the Tilt) is that I haven't read of any huge reliability issue with it as with the Tilt.
So I suppose my question is being posed to those people who have had problems. Would you actually still recommend this phone? (If there is somewhere else I should have posted this, please let me know).

Help me choose !!!

Had some trouble with Telus, their store, their customer service, and tech support. Lies were told and damage was done. My Vogue is still functional, but barely. After 6 months of complaining I got this:
I was promised any phone of my choice, out of everything they have available... regardless of cost, in exchange for the Vogue. The offer is a standing offer, meaning I can take it now or the last day of the contract or any day between.
Now, I know there's some vogue fans out there... and I know I could put a cooked rom on it (or wait for the official one)... but I've really just about had it with this thing... So, please... weigh in on the choices... throw as much information and opinion at me as you can! I'm begging you!
My three options as I see it right now:
1. Ask for a replacement Vogue, waiting perhaps until after it gets a firmware update. Pros are: Keeping all my accessories (aluminum case/2 soft cases/custom headset). Cons are: It probably still wont have GPS, and the update has been delayed several months already.
2. MOTO Q 9c - Nice phone, another good brand. Pros are: Can still use a bluetooth keyboard. Has GPS. Slightly crappier camera, but with a flash. Cons are: Less memory, a different form factor, but still supposedly a solid phone. It's also heavier and bigger. Don't know about an update ever coming for this phone.
3. Wait for something new, better, cooler. This is where I'm lost. Is there any upcoming phone that Telus may pick up this summer I may want? What's new and exciting? Help!

I'm going to go ahead by being a Vogue owner and say get a new one. In the last year I've gone from Treo 700p > Treo 700w/x > Samsung i760 > Titan > to my current Vogue. Now these phones may not be ones your looking at or have a choice of, but out of these phones, this has been by far the best. I see it this way, it has TONS of memory, lightweight, bluetooth 2.0, and with the custom ROMs, the GPS. Especially with money already invested in accessories, I suggest sticking with it. I liked it the day I picked up, love it even more now with the new ROM!

Would you recommend the Fuze?

I've really been considering to buy the Fuze, but I'm getting mixed reviews. For all the Fuze owners, please answer the poll so that us potential buyers will know what to do.
Thanks!

anyone else wanna vote?

theomni said:
anyone else wanna vote?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm stuck in between the Fuze and the Touch Pro now... I really don't know which one is better? They are the same price nowadays.

I recommend it. I had the Tilt before and I love the Touch, its probably the best WM phone I've had (I've used the Sprint 700wx, Sprint Q, Sprint Touch, AT&T Tilt and now the AT&T Fuze).
I'm sure the few issues that exist with the Fuze will be fixed within a month or two because of the wonderful people we have here making custom ROMs, porting radios, etc.

I am very happy with my Fuze. It's not perfect and definitely needs some tweaks, but I think it is the best Windows Mobile phone ever put out. The screen is fantastic and makes it worth it by itself.
Pros:
VGA screen
Excellent multimedia
Youtube works both in it's own app and the mobile website
Slingbox looks fantastic
Expanded keyboard
Sleek design
Touch Flo 3D really works good
Finally, good bluetooth reception
Cons:
So-so d-pad
More remappable buttons needed
No headphone out jack
I do miss the tilting screen of the Tilt
No forward facing camera (why AT&T?)
Overall, I love the phone. I don't even need to use my laptop much anymore. Plus, it should only get better. I can't wait to see the Fennec web browser released for WinMo.

The Fuze can run on AT&T's 3G bands, which is the biggest difference. Physically, the Fuze has a PTT button (remappable using a trick in this forum) and the Pro has a front-faceing camera, but they are otherwise the same. You can install whatever Touch Pro ROM you want on the Fuze once you flash Hard SPL on it, so the software difference should not be an issue. If you're on AT&T and in a 3G area, it's a no-brainer decision between the two.

Tempest790 said:
No forward facing camera (why AT&T?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
US carriers don't support that functionality so it's cheaper for HTC to leave it out all together.

I've swithed from iPhone after droolling over Fuze release date for 2 months. First couple of days had slight regret (my first WM phone), but once I got the hang of it I fell in love with it. My girl tried it out and dropped her iPhone for Fuze aswell. IMHO, Fuze is on a much higher level and you just can't customize the iPhone the way you can Fuze, no matter what Apple commercials say. Oh and by the way, I realized how crappy Apple products are, but that's another story.

I said no because its not for everyone. I read a lot of people wanting something other than the iphone because of the data plan, this is not an iphone. Then they go and complaint that they cant do this, that its slow, that this, that that. I confess, I am/was one of those whining byotches. I know its not an iphone, I'm just afraid to customizing with roms and then f-it up and be stuck with a nice $300 paper weight. So maybe after my month is up, I'll have the balls to customize it.

Do you have to buy a data plan with the Fuze like you have to with the iPhone, for AT&T?

Only if you want the rebate.

If you want the best browser/entertainment device thats easy to use get an iphone. If you need a business phone outside of entertainment, get the fuze. Both are aimed at different type of consumer.

I know this is exactly what everyone hates to hear, and they just want a plain yes or no, but it really does depend on the person.
If your the kind of person thats really into the stuff they buy, and wants a device that has tons of opportunities and possibilities, then you will probably like the fuze. The beautiful thing about winmo devices is how much you can mess around with them. You can download tons of apps, customize, flash new ROMs, experiment, all kinds of stuff.
If you want something that is ALWAYS going to be friendly and never ever give you any quirks or problems and you just want something that is very cut and dry, the fuze may not be for you.
I would line up your priorities and see what is most important to you and more importantly, what would make you want to throw your phone out the window, cause those are the things that are ultimately going to make you happy when your using your device.

Fuze thoughts:
I have had this phone for 3 days now. My prior phone was an 8125. I unlocked and customized that phone after 30 days. I will most likely do the same thing with this one. Gotta read read read.
Initial review: Absolutely the awesomest phone I have had to date, only the 3rd PDA, though.
I miss the programmable buttons. I haven't figured everything out, but I am getting the hang of it. It has advanced customization, though I haven't even touched the surface. The keyboard is a little different from my 8125, and as I have used it extensively for 2 years, I am accustomed to the numbers being along the top row. I think the 'Full 5 Row QWERTY keyboard on the phone should more closely resemble a normal keyboard, however, I am certain I will get used to it with a little practice.
I have one problem that AT&T doesn't know how to fix: the error message "Smart Chip Not Provisioned MM #2" comes up and shuts off phone signal. I initially thought it was the smart chip. I placed it in my 8125, and no problems. Then I exchanged the phone. Still no fix. It isn't a hard error I can readily duplicate, it just happens intermittently, but only in a specific location, so now I suspect the towers serving the area in which it happens. I suppose it could be the sim card in conjunction with the 3G network which the 8125 doesn't support, but further troubleshooting will eventually solve this one.
Addtionally I was hoping that AT&T wouldn't cripple the forward facing camera, but it isn't there, and I'm not willing to pay $550 more for a Touch Pro off Ebay just for that. As there isn't a lot of network support for live video conferencing, it really isn't that much of a problem for me anyway.
Reception seems to be about the same as my 8125, but again, further testing will support or disprove my initial experience. I am currently having trouble with the GPS function, but it is probably just a configuration/setup issue that I have not played with enough. The phone will tether without the laptop connect package, but you have to make a small edit in the registry. This is a relatively painless process.
This is not meant to criticize the Fuze. These are the only real problems (and minor to me) that I have encountered, and would give this phone a HIGH recommendation.
MrRuss