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(More customer reviews)The following review is for the XDA Serra, O2's UK version of the HTC Touch Pro (also known as the Raphael, T Mobile MDA Vario IV, AT&T Fuze and Sprint Touch Pro).
This is my third O2 XDA model. I`d previously used the XDA Mini S (aka HTC Wizard). I'd grown fond of the XDA Mini S but recall that the phone was a dog until O2 issued a major ROM upgrade about 6 months after its release.
In looking for a replacement for the XDA Mini S, I had the following criteria in mind;
* 3G (HSDPA) capable
* Good touch screen quality
* Single-handed operation
* Decent QWERTY keyboard - for me a must-have
* Preferably Windows Mobile 6.1 based (I'm wedded to a number of Windows Mobile applications including Outlook & Excel mobile, Ilium eWallet, Memory Map and Tom Tom Navigator)
* Good camera quality a nice-to-have but not paramount
* Available on an O2 UK Tariff (I wasn't prepared to pay a SIM-free price).
Candidates included the HTC Touch Pro, Sony Xperia X1, Nokia E71 and Samsung Omnia i900. I must confess to a (possibly irrational) antipathy to all things Apple so didn't consider the iPhone 3G, though I have no doubt that the iPhone is probably more user-friendly. It's the proprietary lock-ins with Apple that get me. The HTC Touch Pro is categorically not an "iPhone killer" (though the newer HTC Touch HD may well be).
The truth is, all of HTC's smartphone offerings have been exercises in managed expectation. They promise so much on paper but so often fail to deliver in terms of practicality. I often wonder if the professional reviewers who rave about HTC phones have actually used them in anger or are simply beguiled by the impressive specifications.
The Touch Pro is, along with the Touch HD, by far the best phone HTC have ever produced, but it is not without its flaws. I will admit that in the first few days of having received the XDA Serra I found the Touch Flo interface and GPS performance so frustrating that I seriously considered returning it to O2, but having persevered for a fortnight or so I am now much happier. So far, this is how the pros and cons stack up for me:
Pros:
1. Size, form factor and build quality.
2. Excellent screen resolution (640x480) and quality. Visibility in sunshine is very good.
3. Excellent slide out keyboard - far and away the best available.
4. Excellent phone sound quality.
5. Good 3G (HSDPA), Bluetooth and FM Radio performance.
6. Touch Flo interface makes single-handed operation feasible but the gestures take some getting used to. Helps to have small fingers.
7. Accepts up to 16GB microSD SDHC cards (though the need to remove the back cover to insert the memory card is seen by some as a disadvantage - personally I prefer it this way)
8. Magnetic stylus is less likely to drop out and get lost.
9. Uses standard mini USB connector for sync and charge.
10. Can charge from PC USB connection.
11. As with all Windows Mobile devices, syncing with PC via Activesync is very easy.
12. Huge variety of freeware and shareware available for the Windows Mobile platform, including some alternatives to the Touch Flo interface (mainly still in beta but very promising).
13. Teeter game - which uses the phone's built-in G-sensor - is great fun.
14. Very chic, for those who care about such things.
Cons:
1. Very expensive SIM-free.
2. "Joystick" functionality on central Navigation button is almost completely unusable and is - in my opinion - a significant design flaw.
3. Endurance with standard 1340mAh battery not great (especially if all radio options are enabled) but probably no worse than other phones in this class. Higher capacity (but bulkier) 1800mAh battery packs are available. I personally haven't found battery life to be an issue.
4. 3.2MP autofocus camera is a big improvement over earlier HTC models but is outclassed by the latest Sony, Nokia and Samsung camera phones. The LED camera flash is barely adequate in low light. If you're looking for a digital compact camera replacement this is not the phone for you.
5. Flaky Wi-Fi - needs to be set to `maximum performance' (at the expense of battery life) to get decent reception.
6. Built-in GPS is very temperamental. Initial lock can take anywhere between 5 and 30 minutes, though once lock is acquired, performance is OK in open ground. Urban reception is poor and the Assisted GPS function (which is disabled by default on the XDA Serra) doesn't appear to improve matters significantly. There are some performance enhancing tweaks recommended on various HTC forums, but the phone will never be a match for a dedicated handheld SiRF GPS and I imagine many people will find the internal GPS unusable in practice.
Note that you can always use an external Bluetooth GPS adapter such as the excellent Emtac BTGPS II or the one provided with some versions of Tom Tom Navigator.
7. Touch Flo interface a bit sluggish at times, but can be improved with some registry tweaking (Google the XDA Developers Forum). People who are happy to use a stylus will probably wish to disable the Touch Flo interface altogether.
8. Touch Flo interface cannot be customised, at least not without registry hacks.
9. Pressure needed for some touch screen gestures means a screen protector is advisable (one is provided in the box).
10. No built in headphone socket - needs special USB-to-jack adapter (a handy remote-control adapter with a standard 3.5mm jack is provided in the box).
11. Cannot sync/charge and use headphone adapter at the same time using the adapter provided, though it is possible to buy third party adapters for around £20 which do allow this.
12. Some relatively minor stability issues - expect to have to perform a soft-reset at least once a month.
I expect many of these issues will improve with the next ROM upgrade, though I have my doubts about the internal GPS.
Another reviewer has reported problems with accidental call answering. In fairness this is a hazard with many touch screen phones (I used to find this incredibly annoying with the XDA Mini S) but can generally be easily resolved by installing a freeware screen lock utility. I've found SU2U 1.35 (Slide To Unlock) works very well on the Touch Pro.
If you like Windows Mobile and need a slide-out keyboard, this is undoubtedly the best phone on the market. If you don't need the keyboard, you might want to consider the HTC Touch HD (which has recently tipped the Nokia E71 off the top of PC Pro's smartphone A-List).
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