HTC T8282 Touch HD Smartphone

Good phone but some difficult features - I got this phone last week on a contract. At first I was . . . disappointed. I didn t find the touch flo worked well for me - it was only when I realised I had to keep my finger on the menu that it began to click.The video and camera are good. However the camera became black on Sunday and I had to follow the usual switch off and then back on procedure.I wanted to have office capability, and the opportunity to put GPS software on the phone. I am awaiting some GPS software, office is good.The Internet takes some getting used to. Make sure text selector is off for maximum effect.I spent ages transferring music only to find it didn t appear on the Touch Flo tab area for music. Got that sorted within a few days.Minor and normal challenges to Windows users. What is good is that I can:- use GPS software other than Google Maps- download rather than stream iplayer videos- get my e-mail on the go- wi-fi works well- it can act as mobile internet for a laptop- I am not tempted to pay out for items regularly by simply touching a buttonOverall, I like it. A bit stiffer than the ipod Touch I bought but much more compatible if you are a Windows user. I would recommend reading the detailed user manual - but even that isn t very clear on some points (eg the need to transfer playlists to the device rather than just music).

Overall a great versatile handset - I just got my new HTC Touch HD phone a few days ago. It has replaced my old SPV M700 (HTC) with Windows Mobile 5 handset. I considered the HTC Diamond but disregarded this due to the slow TouchFLO 3D at the time (has now been updated) however battery life (900 mAh) is still bad. I also considered the iPhone 3G and the Blackberry Storm. The iPhone is fabulous, but not for editing documents etc., plus the screen resolution of the HD is near double. The Storm has a click screen which I m not sure about.First thing you notice when you take the phone out of its box it how solid and well built it feels. Also striking is the lack of the usual array of HTC style buttons. This gives the phone a very minimalistic and elegant look. After starting it up you are greeted with the home screen of the flo menu. This now responds much faster, looks stunning and is a real asset. However the flo does not cover all the phone s functionality and it soon reveals the WM 6.1 prof. underneath. Then navigating the menus using your finger becomes very tricky. Even the fantastically high screen resolution (480x800) can t make up for this. The HD does come with a stylus (held in by a magnet) which you ll need for those occasions. The virtual keyboard is good and responsive but I find it takes some time to get use to. To sync the phone with my PC with Vista was very easy with active sync. It works very well with MS Office 2007 and Media player. I took it to the gym and found the HD works very well as an MP3 player. You can even adjust the volume with the button at the side of the phone without turning the phone back on. The sound quality is very, very good. Importing/converting vids and photos is a doddle with the media player. However I imported a video podcast and the software did not make use of the g-sensor to view landscape, why? Playback is smooth and seems good. Web browsing is a joy with the high resolution screen and Opera 9.5 preinstalled (this does make use of the g-sensor).I contacted HTC customer service and found them very helpful. If you go to the HTC website you can download the latest fixes for the phone.Good:TouchFLO 3D now fast and very usefulBuild qualityBattery lifeGreat preloaded programs e.g. MS mobile officeVery good MP3 player and video playback with fantastic sound qualityVery slim and portableHTC customer service seems fineVery good compatibility with MS VistaLooks stunning5 mega pix cameraBad:Windows Mobile rears its ugly headFiddly small buttons in MS windows mobileG-sensor does not support many prog.Only digital zoom and no flashOverall a great versatile handset.

A business tool with a little fun - The HD is not perfect and not for everyone however it does fulfil most of its promise, and gives you a good phone and a pda that has the versatility of windows mobile. Video performance is barely adequate, the camera is fun and useful as a backup. I have no complaints about the GPS, QuickGPS allows it to get very fast fixes. Touchflo focuses a little to much on eye candy rather than practicality but is still way ahead of the usual win mobile interface and is responsive enough. However if you want games get an iphone, this has enormous potential with the hi res screen and custom graphic chip but many current games cant cope with the hi-res and/or lack of a d-pad, and I am not sure the grapics chip can be used for anything other than touch-flo. Games on win mobile are just not produced at the same level as the iphone, despite in this case better hardware.Web browsing, SMS and email are a joy to behold, the keyboard is great on the big screen. Small annoyances are easily fixed using software being produced by the developer community but you cant help but feel that HTC do not have the same level of commitment to supporting their customers after they have bought their phones as some other companies.