cezeOne

I had the opportunity while in Harker Heights to set up a quick video shootout. I didn't want to make a long video so I did a quick shootout. even though while on video the numbers weren't the highest, I also performed a few screenshots of the best numbers during the test. Some people have their own experiences so your mileage may vary. Enjoy!
As you can see from the screenshots that the numbers all occurred within a similar period of time. While you might not get a burst of speed all at once you can still rest assured you're going to get some good speeds while on 4G service while using these devices.

Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch screenshots:

It seems everyone is talking about iOs and Android (maybe even a WP7 thrown in there now and again) smart phones these days. Verizon or AT&T, Sprint or T-Mobile. How do I ever figure out what to upgrade to next?
Some Blackberry upgrades have been hell and high water (BB Storm anyone?) but through it all it seemed that Research In Motion has always had a leg in a sinking ship and the other in the grave since the newest reiterations of the two powerhouse mobile OSes hit the platforms running. More people are now carrying Android and iOS devices for Enterprise than ever before. Is this the end of RIM?
Not so fast... I was given the privilege of leading a small but powerful BB Bold launch team and I couldn't have been more excited when the opportunity surfaced. I was eager with delight and joy to find out the specs and details about this mystery device. When the specs were finally released officially I had to admit I was very impressed with what was on paper. 1.2 Ghz processor? Capacitive touchscreen? NFC? New OS7? Did I mention internationally capable, too? Still, I had my doubts when I did my research on the amount of apps RIM has vs the current competition's App stores. It was going to be a hard fight for RIM to win me over. Delays, patience, and time were all I had building until that big day. I went on vacation to the West coast during the initial launch by Sprint and missed those crucial days and did my homework before getting my device in the mail.
When the day came I eagerly unboxed my device on YouTube with joy and a powerful vigor. You have to understand I haven't been inside a BB device sine the BB 7520. This was a HUGE breakthrough in terms of upgrades. This blog post isn't going to be your typical VS blog post I usually satisfy your hunger with. This is the return of the BB Bold and how it can reinvigorate your love for a BB even if RIM isn't reinvigorating their own brand.
First out the box the activation was pretty zippy as noted by the unboxing video. Right off the bat I was a little weirded out by the quirky touch pad but after a few movements through out Home Panels I got the hang off the stock sensitivity . I got started with the BB Set Up wizard. It's sort of like the Motorola Photon's Setup Wizard in concept but with a BB flair.
After setting up all my emails accounts the device downloaded all my contacts in one easy sync. Brilliant. No need for third party apps doing the job. After scoping out the stock apps that come on the device (Telenav, Twitter, Bing Search, Sprint TV, Nascar,etc) I immediately hopped into the App World to grab my necessities.
Slacker, UberSocial, Tweetcaster, Grooveshark, Yelp, Endomondo, Pandora... Wait a second... Where's Pandora? You mean to tell me there's Pandora on every single Android device but not on my brand spanking new Blackberry Bold featuring OS7 ????? After a quick Google search I learned the new OS7 version wasn't completed yet. I would have to wait.(As of this blog post Pandora is available for OS7)
After uploading the unboxing video to YouTube it was time to test everything on this device to full potential. While the experience is what you would expect on a 2.8 inch TFT (640 x 480 pixels) screen, there are some kudos to be delivered. While being small it does pack quite a resolution quality. The screen is full of clarity and punch. The videos are smooth,clear, and the 5mp camera in the back does provide a crisp picture that is far from grainy. It's nothing close to DSLR quality but if you are a on the run food blogger ( TUMBLR DROP) as I am you can handle your business in a few short moments.
The dedicated camera button is smooth like butter and the 1.2 Ghz processor boots the camera in a flash. Like all smart phones however the LED flash does more damage than good to any serious photo opportunity. The LED flash has ruined more pictures for me than helped. That's a terrible downfall on the device but the Flashlight App comes in handy when I drop my keys in the garage.
The BB App World doesn't hold a candle to the iOS App Store or the Android Market, but there are some quality free apps out there. Paying $9.99 for a theme seems ridiculous, however, when I all I need to do when I want to customize any of my Android devices is download a Free Launcher. iOs, is that you crying in the back?
I am surviving the daily tech grind with this device. The battery life is quite comparable to my previous dual core devices (EVO3D, Motorola Photon). I get a good 15 - 18 hours of medium to heavy use and 20 hours even with light use. While riding my bike I get good great signal quality in Central Texas while running Endomondo with Slacker or Pandora, respectively. The GPS lock is accurate and I get a pretty good 30 - 40 minute bike ride with no lag, signal degradation , or hand off. The battery suffers the most but it's to expected when it's only 1230 mAh.
The best feature I would have to say is the actual phone. Yes! It makes CALLS! Can you believe it? iOs is still crying in the back. Verizon iPhoners, sit back down. the call quality is absolutely wonderful. 100% loving the speakerphone and sound clarity. Even the music sounds great out these speakers. You have a built in EQ for tweaking the sound.
Can we safely assume that RIM isn't going anywhere? Only time will tell, but one thing for sure is that RIM needs to get back into the App game right now or these wonderful and highly sought devices are going to stop coming to fruition. Dropping the price on that Playbook another hundred bucks might do it too :)
Until next time....

Those were the words uttered by another fan of my outstanding demos. Ok, so not really. She wasn't even a Sprint customer. She's a staff member of my Chiropractic's office. She's one of the awesome people that fell in love with some amazing demos of the HTC EVO 3D. Truth be told it was damn hard to put down the 3D goodness of the "3VO". I mean seriously, how do you top that?



It seems that Motorola wasn't trying to top anyone when they made this device. They just made an incredible solid device all it's own. Sure, it has a kickstand like the HTC EVO 4G but that's a great feature that many people manufacturers are adding these days (Verizon & T-Mo phones have them too, respectively)

So without further ado I will give a quick run down of what I really like and unfortunately what I don't like too. Got to be honest, right?

Things I liked:
I like the qHd resolution and screen size. I love the 8 mp camera with dual led flash. I like how fast the shots come out without too much play on the dedicated camera button.

Full Digital Zoom

Regular Shot

Outdoor Regular Light Shot

Indoor Flash Shot

Outdoor 1/2 Digital Zoom Regular Light Shot

I like the ability to remove many of the stock apps. I like the pre-loaded Rich Location App (sort of an alternative to Google Places).


I like the stock Music and Email Apps. The stock Music App works and looks incredible with cover art and even found my saved playlists that I inserted from my HTC EVO 3D 8gb microSD card. The built in Files App displayed it all in an easy "Windows 7 PC" like manner.

If you choose to play your saved mp3s with the Motorola Photon 4G it will make recommendations for internet radio or music purchases via Amazon Mp3 app based on your music library. Audio quality was great and loud through headphones plugged in to the 3.5mm jack, and the external speakerphone got very loud without breaking up on my phone calls. The audio even has it's own EQ settings! I really like that feature bc I use my phone as an impromptu mp3 player in my rides.

The signal quality is great over 3G but REALLY shines over 4G. I got some pretty awesome download and upload speeds over the course of my weekend errands. The 1650 mAh battery was tested to the edge and performed every step of the way. I had an average of 20 to 22 hours with heavy use over the weekend which is just about on par with my EVO 3D experience.


Desktop Mode works with the device plugged in or not. (Either side of the device can be supported by the kickstand bc it's built so well) The device is so sleek and built so well.

I hate to make such comparisons but they are both equally impressive in their own respects from two top dog manufacturers. It really falls on who your loyalty remains with HTC Sense or the new revised Motorola UI (Anti-Blur?).

Things I do NOT like?

I been hearing many people saying this and it's totally true but I don't like the built in Motorola Widgets. I won't factor on individual bc to be honest they ALL suck. They are ugly, simple, and some don't even work as good as its predecessors. The Alarms & Timers Icon at the top is a battery with a check mark? WHY? Makes no sense. The battery icon is simple. The 4G indicators and signal indicators turn blue which is nice yada yada yada. I don't like the Gallery App to be honest either. I can see they wanted to match up the scheme with the music app but I don't like the layout and ease of accessing my pictures.


Why is the Micro USB Charger cord so short? I been noticing this on more and more new devices. It's bad enough that laptop USBs don't power them enough but then I need to figure out a way to get the cord on my desk somehow too? This needs to change. ASAP. Compare all your old chargers and tell me I'm wrong. Do it.

All in all it's a solid device and definitely worth an upgrade if you want some impressive accessories and some impressive speeds on hardware and radio signals. I haven't had it a full week so anything can change between now and Friday but hey I feel good about it and it's just what Sprint needs to continue churning out hot devices this summer. If you have an upgrade and looking to get into something a little different and fast then go for it.

With tablets popping up every month it's hard to decide on one that fits your everyday use. I wrote a blog about the Galaxy Tab back in December and why I spent so much money on one. After the two price drops and deciding on waiting for another iPad killer, I returned it within 30 days. Was my pocket feeling most of the burden? Yes.

I have a friend who told me about the Nook Color being rooted and booted with a Cyanogen Mod. I couldn't believe it until seeing it. I had seen a Nook running Froyo on youTube but wasn't impressed to say the least. So after doing side by side matches, accesories, data plans, and plain customizations, I decided on purchasing a Nook Color. I bought one retail for $249.99 from Staples bc I had some store credit and a coupon for some office furniture.

I booted it up and tried out the regular stock interface for about 15 minutes before hopping on XDA and learning the basics to rooting this bad boy. Granted, it's not as pretty as a gTAB. It doesn't have built in 3G or two cameras, but it does have speed, a 7 inch screen and 200K apps on the Market to satisfy my Gingerbread appetite.+

After modding it and playing with it the last 2 months I got a little bored, I wanted more. Yesterday Android Central posted the early birthday / XMAS gift of the year: MIUI rom ported to Nook Color. I was in shock, joy, and just plain giddy! One of my favorite roms and developments was finally here. Early this week I asked my friend how much I would enjoy a MIUI port and now I finally have it.

For those unfamiliar with MIUI rom I will satisfy your attention with some screen shots and a short video tutorial as well as links and how to's. I started the process around 4pm yesterday and can't get enough of it on my Nook Color. If you have a rooted device and know the ropes around roms I HIGHLY suggest this rom.

Enjoy!





































































Video Tutorial on HTC phone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZlxdI5FzEw&feature=player_embedded











Video Tutorial on Nook Color
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJkTKzUQdIY








XDA - MIUI ROM info
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1160232&page=3

XDA- Nook color general
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=862

After having my HTC EVO 3D for about 4 full days, I can fully confirm that this is Sprint's next flagship model with great appeal, speed, and value.

For anyone unfamiliar with the HTC EVO 3D, The HTC EVO 3D is HTC's next generation device in the EVO family lineup. It currently ships with Android 2.3 also known as Gingerbread, a 1.2ghz Dual Core processor, a brilliant 4.3 inch QHD 3D display, 3G/ 4G capabilities, TWO 5.0 mp cameras that capture images in 2D and 3D, as well some amazing pre-loaded 3D content, including games,3D sample pictures, and a copy of the Green Hornet 3D.

Upon opening the simple minimalist box I noticed the 1730mah battery was already inside the device. The device is wrapped with a clear plastic with detailed instructions how to remove the back cover safely. You have to unwrap the device's battery prior to turning it on. The battery had enough juice to power it on but I decided to give it a full charge while activating it.
The device powers up in about 60 seconds harnessing the dual core power right out of the box.
The animations are brilliant and brief. The device goes through a few prompts for hands free activation, then PRL updates, then firmware updates. The new MR update was not sent out when I received my device so I had to manually update it later in the week.










Set up:
My set up was fast and easy. I easily signed into Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Yahoo with ease and speed. HTC Sense 3.0 has been totally invigorated with a new UI that allows the lock screen to be used as a quick app access. Just slide your app into the lock ring and you are there in a flash! You can choose to personalize it with a few quick clicks on the main menu. The HTC Sense UI has some wonderful add ons to the drop down menu as well. You can see your last 5 apps accessed in the top menu. The bottom menu has two tabs that gives you “notifications and quick settings” to adjust all your radios in a breeze.

Speed:
Right out of the box when you turn on the device you can see HTC has designed a device that is built perfectly with multitasking and ease of use in mind. The HTC Sense changes have e not only been built with multitasking and speed but simplicity in mind. The dual core never lags and if you feel that you want to free up some room on the device Sprint and HTC have given you the ability to remove the pre-loaded apps such as: NASCAR, Blockbuster, Sprint TV, and Telenav. Unfortunately you cannot remove all the pre-loaded content but the device moves so fast you will hardly notice its presence.















Camera Quality:
The device comes with an amazing 2D/3D switch and camera shutter button on the side of the phone built with amazing craftsmanship. The 3D pictures come out accurate in low light and the flash works really well. The 2D pictures are not exactly as eye popping or stunning but they are definitely on par with other 5mp camera's quality. I took a few shots in 3D in my home office and noticed the depth and 3D quality right away.





















Call Quality:
I performed a few test calls to my friend on an EVO 4G and he stated I sounded clear. I flipped the phone over and the self-activating speakerphone (HTC perk!) transferred the sound with speed and rich quality. The speakerphone isn't exactly what I would call loud, but you can hear the call clearly within 4-5 feet with little to no muffles.












Data over 3G / 4G:
I successfully signed into my all accounts, email, social networks while indoors in just under five minutes on 3G. I turned on 4G to download all my apps and connected successfully on the first try. I am lucky enough to be in a great 4G coverage area. I get about 1-2 bars of signal and an average of 2.0 Mbps down link on 4G and .38 Mbps down link on 3G, respectively.

Battery Life:
The biggest sell point on any device is use. We all need a device that can tote the power, ease of use, and multitasking ability all day long. In the 4 days I have had this device I have charged it to full battery three times. No lie. The first charge last 18 hours with heavy use: playing the Spider Man game over Wi-Fi, watching about 30 minutes of The Green Hornet, Social Networking, and browsing around the devices add ons: HTC Hub, HTC Watch, HTC Likes, Media Share, and a few others. Granted, I was on WIFI the entire 18 hours. I recently clocked over 26 hours with light to medium use such as: Texting, Voice calls, tweeting, social networking, taking a few pictures here and there, and using GPS (Sporty Pal PRO) to calculate my bike ride (2.5 miles) while streaming Pandora over 3G.

Verdict:
While this phone has the potential to blow everyone's expectations away only time will tell. Some reviews are really farfetched, some are painfully accurate, but only your personal use will dictate how you really feel about having dual core speeds and 3D capabilities on the fly. With many mobile websites jumping on the so called 3D bandwagon it's hard to ignore that Sprint has once again out done themselves with an industry first. I have no dizziness and no problems with the 3D experience whatsoever. It's just another amazing feature that the competition will call a gimmick until they possess it themselves. The device is a solid, robust, upgrade to an industry first of flagship devices. It will be hard to put down and ignore this summer as well as the rest of the year.



Disclaimer:
Your 3G/ 4G speeds may vary depending on location. Your 3D experience may vary depending on use & if you are subject to nausea from pure awesomeness.

I hope everyone is having a great week. I am having another wonderful week. Great weather and great experiences. So I got my HTC Arrive Wednesday of last week and immediately unboxed it to charge it up. I also had like 3 errands to run on my fixie. (see future blog post about awesome Fixie bikes) When I got back from a 24 mile bike ride and running my errands I got about two hours to set it up, activate it, and still get a full 8 hours of sleep for work the next day.





















Screen Size / Brightness / Feedback:
The screen is much smaller than my last device (Samsung Epic 4G) but still bright and beautiful. The built in themes for the tiles / hubs are refreshing and different. ( You will hear me note "different" many times so brace yourself.) The sensor works pretty accurately in ambient light conditions as well outside. I noticed a slight glare but got over quickly after accustoming to the main Start screen. while not as big the screen packs quite a punch. almost as if the colors are popping up off the screen.

Set up / Sign In / Email:
I quickly signed into Windows Live over WIFI ( I used to own a HTC Touch Pro 2 running WM 6.5) as well as Facebook, Gmail, and Ymail. contacts syn pretty fast and the caller id pics look great with limited pixelation. A near perfect size on the People Hub. Email looks stunning. The WP7 interface makes everything so clean and accurate it's so hard to describe without experiencing it yourself. It's also very fast too. The sync used to take a few seconds on my Android devices but the sync is just a tad bit quicker.


Social Networking:
The Marketplace has more than enough social networking apps for free if you want to wet your beak little. I started off with Beezz bc of Live Tile Updates feature, Official Twitter for comparison, and Seesmic from prior Android experience. Seesmic won the 7 day bout due to customization of feeds on tiles and posting to multiple accounts. LOVE that feature (reminding you of Tweetdeck anyone?)
Official Facebook app is also robust but looks a bit like email in the long run. I can just hit up my people Hub for any q=on the fly updates I need. The drawback is the notifications button it's a tiny globe in the top right hand corner of the device and you just might miss it if you aren't keen.


































Video streaming (over 3G) :
Must have video apps in order of awesomeness : MSN Video, DailyMotion, Break, Netflix, HTC YouTube. Some YouTube videos don't even play at times. I get "this video is not supported" very limited at times. IGN has a nice app with videos but I read they are using a backdoor to YouTube so the download times must be limited. Details to follow.










































GPS and Location Based Apps:
GPS locks accurately inside and is amazing. I get a pretty accurate reading using apps like Gas Buddy, 4th and Metro (an amazing Foursquare Client), Telenav. I have been spoiled by google NAv but gave Telenav a chance. It's surprisingly accurate turn by turn. The maps are nowhere near as pretty as Google Nav. I am hoping for some Bing Nav in the future updates. I absolutely loved it on my HTC TP2. Endomondo and RunKeeper both get a decent lock before your workout and start up like champions. Allowing me to hop on my fixie and just go without worrying about anything. I like how the Internet Explorer browser as well as dedicated Bing Search gives me three feeds ( web, local, news) for every search. Sometimes it's way faster than scrolling through the phone for info. That's pretty convenient and a great add on.





















Processor:
The Snapdragon processor handles my apps, texting, emails, and browsing pretty easily. Maybe because it's a brand new phone but it does not lag between menus, hubs, and is quite zippy. I like that alot!

Build Quality:
Upon receiving the phone in my hands I felt the weight, build quality, and loved the design. It felt similar to the HTC G2 build quality. The slider is strong and I like the recessed tilt feature. The keyboard is responsive just like all HTC keyboards. I like the QWERTY layout and the "clicking" is addictive.

Battery Life:
The phone got plenty of juice after unboxing and it had plenty of juice after getting crazy on some downloads. After another full charge at the beginning of my day it continues to blow my mind. the previous phones I owned never had such a good battery consumption even after more exploring with data heavy apps (video) and GPS location based apps in full tow. I let it die for testing purposes and got a ridiculous 18 hours on a single charge with heavy use all day long. ( calls, text, twitter, social networking, emails, live streaming, and gps navigation)

Overall:
I feel great about WP7. I feel great about the potential. There's something about it that makes you love it every time an amazing app blows your mind. I honestly have found every free app I need to satisfy my app needs and hunger. I found some decent games to hold me over too. More reviews on apps and games to follow in the future but I see this phone going places and the sky is the limit.

Drawbacks:
Of course there are drawbacks! I don't like the length of the micro USB cord. I do not like that the volume rocker is right where I hold the phone steady while using the keyboard. My biggest absolute hate is the recessed power button. The sliding mechanism pops out a bit and I always think it's the power button. It's not center. It's not off center. It's just weird! It takes me several tries in the morning in the dark to turn on the screen and that pisses me off beyond belief. I wouldn't mind a Tile to toggle WIFI on / off. I wouldn't mind a Tile for setting either bc I like to change the theme daily. No MASS Storage drive mode. What does this mean? I can't take my phone and use it as a usb hdd to steal er um trade music with my friends. I have to carry a flash drive with me everywhere now. Uber Fail. Small things to deal with when the rest of the phone is so dope.
sorry this review was long but I had to be as honest and robust as possible. If you have any questions hit me up. I look forward to many more months with this new device.
Cheers.
cezeOne

I had the pleasure of attending day 3 of SXSW yesterday after work with my best friend. We started out at the Austin Convention Center hit up some information booths and scored some free food at the SquareSpace truck. Squarespace is a web publishing (blogging/content management) company that sells a software publishing platform and file server service to individuals and businesses, providing them the tools and assistance to create and maintain well-designed websites. Squarespace powers tens of thousands of websites with billions of monthly hits.






Afterwards we hit up the Wired Magazine's Tech Happy Hour and mingled with many of the industry's up and comer's. Free food & beverages were served until a fire broke out in the dining area. It was crazy and exciting at the same time. TheDroidGuy was there briefly for promos and had like 5 devices on his beltclip like an Android Batman utilty belt. I met a web developer named Christian that works for Lingo24: a web translation service. Lingo24 was founded as an online translation company by Oxford University languages graduate Christian Arno, from his parents' Aberdeen home in September 2001. The company was named as the best e-business start-up in Scotland in 2002 and Arno won the Shell LiveWire ?Young Entrepreneur of the year' competition in 2003. He was also a finalist in the Scotsman Entrepreneur of the year Award at the National Business Awards for Scotland, 2009. Christian was awesome to chit chat with. He had lost his voice earlier in the day from doing interviews and was very nice.






After my girlfriend showed up we got some free swag like Wired Magazines, Leica brochures + twitter offers to win, raffles for MacBook PROs, iPhones, Starbucks gift cards, Starbucks mugs, and of course free photo ops with many Wired magazine editors.










The highlight of the evening was the gdgt Austin live event. We got there about 15 minutes early and we couldn't have had better luck. We were about 50 people deep into the crowd. In about 15 minutes the crowd turned into a line of over 500 around the block corner to corner. Sonos was in the crowd providing solar charges to iOS devices and Android devices. Seagate was handing out bouncy balls with leds inside them and local Austin vendors were handing out popchips (an all-natural chip like you've never tasted before. We don't fry it. We don't bake it. We take the finest ingredients, apply heat and pressure (no oil, mind you), and pop! It's a popchip.) My friend said they were good. He had the sour cream and onion flavor. I wasn't too hungry after the Wired event so I gave him my bag.

We waited in line for like 25 minutes talking tech to some of the others in line. One had no idea that Sprint's 4G ( WiMax ) was the same technology Clear uses. After introducing myself and presenting some facts about Sprint 4G vs AT&T "faux G" technology they were very nice and eager to find out about the upcoming CTIA events.

The front door at the gdgt live event had a goodie bag waiting for us with either sticker packs or a t-shirt. I went with the white screen print on black cotton tee. Free swag! We hit up the industry tables which had many amazing demos set up. Buffalo Wireless was unveiling their new Cloud Server/ NAS systems. To easily understand, a NAS can be thought of as a hard drive or multiple hard drives for your entire network rather than for just one computer. Roku was unveiling new integrated channels on their new set tops. Blackberry had Playbook demos. HTC had a Thunderbolt on display but was not live, unfortunately.










The Gazelle staff was very friendly and gave us a great demo of their website. Gazelle is a reCommerce service that helps you sell and recycle your used electronics. Whether you want to sell a cell phone, laptop, or any other of the more than 250,000 products they accept, Gazelle can help. Once received, your used cell phones and other used electronics are inspected to make sure their condition matches your evaluation. Then they send your payment. The process takes about a week once they receive your box. They offer amazing pay options too: PayPal, Money Orders, Amazon Gift cards, Walmart cards, and more.


The highlight of the evening was the On Live demo. OnLive is a cloud computing, gaming-on-demand medium: the games are synchronized, rendered, and stored on remote servers and delivered via the Internet. At the demo, OnLive announced the OnLive Game Service will be integrated into new VIZIO VIA Plus TVs, and VIZIO's new line of VIA Blu-ray players, Android tablets and smartphones.

The OnLive service has been demonstrated on smartphones such as the iPhone, and tablet computers such as the iPad. Steve Perlman has also suggested that the underlying electronics and compression chip could be integrated into set-top boxes and other consumer electronics. The OnLive viewer for the iPad was released December 7, 2010. OnLive also confirmed the details of its PlayPack flat-rate payment plan bundle with the purchase of Assasin's Creed: Brotherhood. With this option players pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to "recent, classic and indie titles" in the OnLive library, which is expected to exclude the newest releases. PlayPack is currently available for owners of the OnLive Game System or to anyone who has purchased a game from Onlive as a free beta period until the plan officially launches in January 2011. The OnLive PlayPack is priced at $9.99/month and will allow players to play over 40 different games whenever they wish. There will be more games available in the future as OnLive adds them to their library. I saw demos of Assassin's Creed, HomeFront, Battlefield, Dirt 2, and many more. Did I mention they gave me one to test out and blog about? SWEET!









Thank you to:
@onlivegames
@onlivefans_com
@onlivecommunity
@gazelle_com
@westerndigital
Jay from Buffalo Wireless
Lance from @htc
Christian @lingo24chr
@chadharlan
@wiredmag for the swag!
@leica_camera
@ruby_red711
@fotografopoetic

Good afternoon , you awesome friends. I hope everyone is having a great week. I am having the best week ever. Why? I got to demo the HTC Arrive for the last two days and got a nice first look at it before the customers and the employees get a test drive. This won't be a full blown review bc it's just our demo and I only got try out the main features without too much in depth daily abuse like my prior devices. During my demo I had the phone a total of two work days (estimated 16hours) so don't take this first look too seriously as a final review. As time goes on I will review apps, battery life, outdoor abuse, and of course the question that I get daily "Is it better than Android?".

Screen Size / Brightness / Feedback:
The screen is very responsive. It feels great in my hand. It's a nice size for one handed texting. Size is somewhere between a Evo Shift and Samsung Transform. It feels about as responsive if not better than the Evo Shift. It has crisp, bright colors. The free trial XBOX games play fluidly with minimal lag. Text and font can be a little on the small side but I like it. ( For reference: I use 19point on Tweetdeck on my Epic4G )

Rear Facing Camera:
The dedicated camera button is quick on the fly. It's a little snug on the device but looks sleek enough to mesh really well with the build quality.

Email:
I used our demo email hotmail account to set up the device for testing. I tested an outgoing message from my ymail with 4 attachments. It handled the receipt with ease and download was quite snappy. I sent a gmail calendar invite and it was also pretty snappy. The calendar integrated really easily as well.

Social Networking:
Twitter is a free app and looks stunning on the crisp, responsive screen. A quick jump into the Marketplace Hub and in ten seconds I was downloaded and logged in. YES It's really that snappy!
Facebook was a little slower considering I have a pretty huge feed of news, friends, photos, videos, and tons of blogs that I follow on FB.

Video streaming (over 3G) :
My office is a little flaky sometimes, but the HTC Arrive handled the data with minimal lag and great signal quality. Netflix is a free app on the Marketplace. The download was once again in under 15 seconds. Streamed "That 70s Show Season 2" during my lunch break and it only bufferred once for about 20 seconds. The video quality was pretty good before the buffer and I imagine if you are outside or on a WIFI it will look pretty stunning.
YouTube is a free app on the Marketplace as well. The biggest flaw? It pulls up Internet Explorer and goes mobile. ( m.YouTube.com ) I did not like that feature and expected an integrated app similar to the HTC Touch Pro 2 You Tube app. I also tested video via Internet Explorer on wimp.com. The videos loaded up pretty fast but once again due to the spotty 3G in my building they looked a little pixelated.

GPS:
GPS locks accurately inside and is amazing. I get a pretty accurate reading for restaurants, gas stations, food, and hotels in all within a close distance. I like how the Internet Explorer browser gives me three feeds ( web, local, news) for every search. That's pretty convenient and a great add on.

Processor:
The Snapdragon processor handles my apps, texting, emails, and browsing pretty easily. Maybe because it's a brand new phone but it does not lag between menus, hubs, and is quite zippy. I like that!

Build Quality:
Upon receiving the phone in my hands I felt the weight, build quality, and loved the design. It felt similar to the HTC G2 build quality. The slider is strong and I like the recessed tilt feature. The keyboard is responsive just like all HTC keyboards. I like the QWERTY layout and the "clicking" is addicitive.

Battery Life:
The phone had a decent charge out of the box and after a full charge and heavy use it had about 50% by the end of my shift. After another full charge at the beginning of my shift this morning I noticed minimal wear on the battery. Even after more exploring with data heavy apps and GPS location based apps in full tow. I finished up my shift with a little more than 50% so the battery life is pretty good.

Overall:
I feel good about WP7, I have no doubt this phone will be a hot seller. Many co-workers that are still using the HTC Touch Pro 2 are excited and I think they are going to love the transition. Windows Marketplace looks good so far. I saw many business centric apps for multi tasking and getting things done (foursquare, yelp, craigslist, poynt, WHERE, etc). Unfortunately, I saw many "fart apps" too. They are everywhere and are hard to ignore on every OS so what can you do? I want to give WP7 a chance to grow a little more on me before I make any dead on VS battles between Android and WP7.

Enjoy the pictures!

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