With my new job, traveling all over the state, I needed some features my old phone just wouldn’t support. I decided to go with the Android craze. After waiting two weeks for US Cellular to release the ‘latest and greatest’ new model, I frigged around with their system enough to get my new phone on the plan, and on a discount. It was only the second Android device they offered, and was much better spec-wise than the Samsung that was available. Here’s the specs:
1GHz snapdragon processor
512Mb ROM
384Mb RAM
3.7″ 480×800 AMOLED with 24bit color
5Mp Camera with autofocus
Single, white LED flash
Capacitive multitouch input
Dual-band CDMA/EVDO
Internal GPS
Wireless b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.1 A2DP complient
All internal antennas
Android 2.1
HTC Sense
1400MAh battery
Micro USB charge and connect
4.76oz
Plan:
US Cellular
3G EVDO
5Gb data monthly
The good:
The phone has a nice bright screen, with decent single touch input. It’s got decent speed for a phone, and runs ok overall. Rarely does it actually slow down if not heavily gaming, and it charges fairly quickly. It’s a convenient size, and is very durable for having a wide open screen. I drop it regularly, without any more than minor scratches over the last few months. The camera takes good quality pictures (try the camera 360 app.) GPS is also very accurate.
The bad:
Camera is kinda slow taking pictures. The phone has trouble charging while using the more power-hungry apps if it’s not a high-power charger. The computer sometimes can’t even keep up with the internet it uses. The battery life is also very short when any applications are being used. I have trouble running GPS navigation and Pandora radio sometimes in the car on the charger. The battery is OK for just using it as a phone. The sensor that detects if the phone is on your ear or in your pocket, and picks the brightness is not really very good. It does the wrong thing all the time. Storage is very small without app-to-sd, but Froyo just came out recently and has it.
My 5Gig plan really has enough data for everything that I do. I listen to Pandora, manage a web-based work calendar, and and use GPS to get to my appointments, and I’ve never used half of my plan. It’s really a convenient phone to have, and, if you can get it under $200 and you’ll use the web features, it’s definitely recommended.
