This was a word document being written on the Inspire 4G about the Inspire 4G, and the fact that I was typing on the virtual qwerty said enough in itself about its responsiveness. Even though its virtual qwerty was not really on the same level as Windows Phone 7, the 4.3inch width and word completion made up for it. With such substantial support for my hands, thumb typing never felt so good on any previous Android model I've used. What drew me to the HTC phone in the first place was the UI overlay of Sense feeling better than the MotoBLUR alternative upon trying demo units in an AT&T and Verizon store on the same day. Between the Motorola Bravo, Droid Pro/X, and HTC Incredible, it was quite obvious that Blur had a ways to go to even be on the same level as Sense. Tolerating another clunky UI overlay after TouchWiz on the Captivate was certainly not at the top of my list, and I was not going to start then.
In addition to the software prowess of HTC, the hardware was also a great find as well. A fantastic blend of soft-touch plastic and metal felt great on the Inspire's back and gave it a polished, high-quality presence. From the considerable amount of weight and feel of such solid components, I was actually reminded of the Nokia N8 for a brief moment! After being with the plethora of plastic from Samsung on the Captivate and Focus, the Inspire was indeed a great departure! Unfortunately, there was a snag in the promising hardware design that emerged from what seemed to be a faulty battery door. I struggled to pry open this door from the slot for about three to four minutes, and even bent my index finger nail backwards in the process! I eventually had to rely on a flat-head screwdriver to save the day, but at the price of having some damage done to the plastic slot. While the other door for the SIM and microSD slots was much easier to remove, I was relieved to know the battery door would only have to be opened that one time. After getting over that tragedy, I was overjoyed to know there was a notification LED included on this Android device! After SO many months of tolerating the lack of this most useful feature, I finally got it back with HTC. The 4.3inch SuperLCD screen was indeed a mammoth alternative to the 3.5 and 4inch variants I had used previously, and I was afraid of reliving the portability horrors of the HD2. Sadly, after the honeymoon period, I had to admit that the width and weight of the Inspire was too much. While daily handling of the Inspire was somewhat tolerable, running with it for RunKeeper GPS tracking was a different story. In the course of a run, the size and weight of the device was more noticeable than previous phones, and I also worried constantly about a potential fall damaging its nice build. Removing from my pocket to check cardio tracking progress felt more cumbersome since the 4.3inch screen required both hands to safely operate while running. A belt clip holster would have been an option, but at the sacrifice of my own comfort during exercise. As much as I loved its Sense UI, the Inspire once again reminded me of why I preferred the 4inch screen as a maximum for a mobile phone.
HTC's track record in camera quality for recording video with acceptable audio had not always been a good one, and the Inspire continued this with its offering on the 8 megapixel camera unit. My HD footage test in 720p was not only unimpressive from a visual standpoint with lackluster frame rates, but the tinny audio also played a part in this as well. However, taking still pictures was acceptable even with a dual LED flash that was stunningly bright.
Signal reception was no different than any other smartphone I had previously used. I experienced no dropped calls on AT&T 3G. Actually, there was a strange occurrence with the "H" for HSDPA appearing on the Android taskbar even though I was informed by an AT&T store rep that 4G had not been enabled for my area yet.
GPS worked amazingly well in my usage of RunKeeper for tracking outside runs and Google Navigator on road trips. Obtaining a signal lock happened fairly quickly and there was never any trouble in maintaining its accuracy in route recalculations.
The loudspeaker was yet another area in which HTC fell short for playing back multimedia files for both music and movies. While I was not surprised after once again considering HTC's track record, this was still disappointing to see such a large screen go to waste for the most part without any wired headphones. If audio feedback was not tinny, it was too low for adequate listening even at the highest volume levels. I did find a way to amplify sound with the placement of the corner between my thumb and index finger, but this proved to be an inconvenience in holding the phone for long periods. Even with on-board sound enhancements of SRS and Dolby in addition to standard EQ settings, the differences could hardly be discerned from the lackluster volume on the Inspire. To make matters worse, the mic on my Sony wired headphones did not work for voice calls and playback controls on my Sony bluetooth headset were useless. As a result, this brought on a rare moment where I found myself missing the Captivate.
The SuperLCD display was no competition to the SuperAMOLED from Samsung, but still was not too bad for granting an acceptable viewing experience for the HTC Sense UI. Seeing pictures and movies was indeed impressive on the 4.3 inch screen alone. If not from sheer color representation and visual clarity, the Inspire could at least stand apart with its screen measurements.
Battery life with the Inspire left a lot to be desired...a LOT! When I first read of the 1230mAh capacity, I was not ever expecting a full day of usage from the HTC phone. Memories of the HD2's battery began running through my mind, so I prepared myself for the worst. The latest Android offering from AT&T and HTC certainly managed to meet my worst expectations. The lackluster battery performance on one overnight charge barely got the phone past half a day before it was below 50%! There was no doubt that I would have to keep an AC adapter in my pocket to get any decent reliability on the phone. In retrospect, I may have had a faulty unit since other users online have accounted for decent battery life on their Inspire 4G units.
Overall, I really wanted to fully appreciate the pros of the Inspire involving the notification LED and its Sense UI, but the battery life, poor speaker quality, lackluster video camera and chunky size kept me from doing so. Honestly, the upcoming Atrix from Motorola was due to arrive with its laptop dock to AT&T, and I couldn't help but be tempted by what seemed to be a better upgrade at the time. Unfortunately, I really did not have much time to get comfortable with the Sense UI upon exchanging the Inspire for the Atrix after only a week. Usually, I would have felt guilty for such an action...but my admitted excitement over the new Motorola just could not be swayed. HTC made a considerable Android effort in the Inspire, but it was not enough to keep my attention. Maybe in the future I would have another opportunity to try the Sense UI.
Trent Smith
TRENT SENSE blogger/YouTube host
http://about.me/trentsense/bio
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S II
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