For a little while I had been tempted by the HTC Kaiser smartphone. Running Windows Mobile 6 this is to be the one device to take over where the HTC TyTN left off and it is even called TyTN II. Due to its extensive list of inculded features my attention was taken away from the E90 for the first time since the iPhone, and I began to feel conflicted. Spending so much money on getting the E90 was bad enough, but was it worth it to spend more on a tech toy that just was not needed? Well, at this point I have decided that it is not worth it.
My conclusion came from going to CompUSA and taking a look at a demo model for the TMobile Wing, which is a HTC phone which closely resembles if not mirrors the upcoming Kaiser. As I held it in my hand its dimensions were a bit wider than the E90 but not too big for me, but the quality did feel cheap with the plastic compared to the E90's metallic exterior. Looking at the form factor of the dominating touch screen did not conjure any good impressions, but I am sure this was due to the phone being a non-working demo.
What solidifies my choice in not going for the Kaiser is a number of factors with the most prevalent one being the qwerty layout. I have been spoiled with the E90 qwerty and have never come across a more extensive mobile layout. If I want to be nit-picky I could mention that the spongy feedback could be improved to more of a "click", but other than that it's absolutely perfect. Having a row of numbers and dedicated keys for punctuation marks makes writing more efficient and eliminates the need to rely solely on that ALT key. The qwerty of the TMobile Wing also resembled that of the HTC TyTN I used to own, and even though the feedback was better than the E90 it did not feel good to type on at all. Aside from having to use the ALT key, there were also shortcut keys at the top that reduced the size of the keys they happened to be neighboring. After a few minutes of typing and remembering my experience with the TyTN I knew then that I would not want to go back to that again over my E90. Next concern about the Kaiser is over the camera. At 3 megapixel it may be an improvement over the TyTN, but my E90's camera with its additional flash and GREAT video capture at 30 fps at FULL resolution is an obvious choice to stay with. The lack of a numerical keypad is not a huge issue, but I do use this a lot more often on my closed-mode E90 than I thought I would; not to mention that it retains a phone-like appearance that makes it easy for non-techies to dial a number when borrowing my phone. Next is the interface of the WM 6 software...I just cannot recall my short stint with the TyTN as being as easy using the S60 OS on my E90; navigating menus seemed like an endless chore and the Windows Media Player seemed clunky compared to the Eseries Music Player. The Kaiser's build quality with its glossy plastic doesn't seem like it will be on par to the metallic finish of my E90 and the sliding tilt mechanism does not seem as secure as the hinge of the E90. Last but not least the touchscreen, while I am a fan of them, just adds a sense of fragility to the device.
I think that my money would be well-spent on a new device other than a smartphone since the E90 appears to be the perfect phone for me...for right now.
1 comment:
I was (still am, at this point) looking for reviews on the E90, my other choice for a new phone being the P1i. I must say, your review was quite helpful, especially the part where you mentioned that the touch screen just adds a sense of fragility to the device. I was intrigued by the P1i's touch screen, but the E90 is definitely more businesslike, despite its lack of a touch screen. Of course I would have to check out the P1i before I can say more. But the HTC Kaiser seems to be a better phone than the P1i.
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