Inspire 4G First Impressions/Reviews
- Thread starter Cory Streater
- Start date
There has been a few times I've had to tilt it a certain way to see the screen properly (when outside)...
But, I'm beginning to wonder if this is to do with the fact that my brightness is set to the lowest possible...
But, I'm beginning to wonder if this is to do with the fact that my brightness is set to the lowest possible...
Had mine for a little over a week. Coming from a BB8900. Many comments already addressed in other posts, so I'll just add where relevant.
Signal quality (Compared to other devices) - Getting better reception in my office relative to my old BB. No other issues.
Email/Calendar - Could not get it to sync with my exchange client at work. Wound up downloading Touchdown, which works great. Syncs both e-mail and calendar for work. Wish it wasn't $20 for the full version, but I wound up buying it because it works so well. Also have a couple Yahoo accounts. Used the app for these, works OK, but sometimes delays notifications.
Battery Life - I can generally go all day without charging, but I usually have it on the charger when I'm at work anyway, so not too much of an issue. I am a little paranoid about getting stuck, so I have chargers in the cars, at home, at work...
Camera (both still & video) - Indoor photos in low light seem to be lousy. May have to play with some of the settings.
How the Inspire compares to your previous smartphone (if applicable)- Blows it away.
Disappointments (if any) - None really, except maybe the battery life. But I knew coming in that it wasn't that great. And, I'm probably a little paranoid about it. It would have been nice to have a front facing camera, but doubtful I would have used it much anyway.
Overall, I'm very happy with mine. A couple of guys at work have seen it, and are now thinking about getting one (or similar offerings on other carriers).
Signal quality (Compared to other devices) - Getting better reception in my office relative to my old BB. No other issues.
Email/Calendar - Could not get it to sync with my exchange client at work. Wound up downloading Touchdown, which works great. Syncs both e-mail and calendar for work. Wish it wasn't $20 for the full version, but I wound up buying it because it works so well. Also have a couple Yahoo accounts. Used the app for these, works OK, but sometimes delays notifications.
Battery Life - I can generally go all day without charging, but I usually have it on the charger when I'm at work anyway, so not too much of an issue. I am a little paranoid about getting stuck, so I have chargers in the cars, at home, at work...
Camera (both still & video) - Indoor photos in low light seem to be lousy. May have to play with some of the settings.
How the Inspire compares to your previous smartphone (if applicable)- Blows it away.
Disappointments (if any) - None really, except maybe the battery life. But I knew coming in that it wasn't that great. And, I'm probably a little paranoid about it. It would have been nice to have a front facing camera, but doubtful I would have used it much anyway.
Overall, I'm very happy with mine. A couple of guys at work have seen it, and are now thinking about getting one (or similar offerings on other carriers).
re: being grandfathered in
yes, but mine was not a smart phone unlimited plan, was for the other type phone.
yes, but mine was not a smart phone unlimited plan, was for the other type phone.
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Trouble with Android is the Apps list has no organization ability
that's not true, is it?
that's not true, is it?
Which? But all true.
iPhone does have a few built-in Apps, like Stocks/Weather/Mail/Safari - obviously many folks want all but not everyone wants all; I wanted to remove Stocks but couldn't.
Android ... on this HTC Inspire 4G there's a button left of "phone" bottom of screen to access Apps; you get a scrollable icon panel of all Apps, including all the AT&T and HTC unwanted, A-Z order. End of story.
Why for example are you forced to ignore AT&T Navigator all the time, when Google includes free Navigation - free is better than $10/month! Of course AT&T, starting with A, comes at the top of the list.
I've got "Folder Organizer" set up nicely on the phone now; I can categorize Apps, add nice folders with my choice of icons, and even nest folders inside. So I now have an "All Apps" folder with organized nested folders for "Media", "Tools", etc - and the unwanted Apps are simply organized to nowhere now.
Again, iPhone has *no* Apps list at all, your only choice is to place Apps on screens (or in a single level of folders); so Android offering the Apps icon is better - but not better enough.
Folder Organizer makes it good, and nothing similar exists on iPhone (no nested folders there!)
first off, im coming from an iphone 4. a very easy to use platform. no real thought ever has to go into using that phone. it just works, for the most part. but i was bored/tired of apple and all their, well, closed mindedness. so, i am trying android. a supposed open system. minus at&t and their controlling ways. please remember, all my comparisons are to the iphone 4.
Aesthetics
Screen: like i like my women. big and beautiful. not as many pixels as the ip4, but easier to read due to its size.
Hardware: 2 words: sturdy and quality. the phone feels like its solid and well buillt. i dont understand the battery compartment. why limit the size of the battery. but, that will come up later.
Phone - including bluetooth & speakerphone usage: the bad: speaker phone is crap. sorry to be so blunt, but the speaker phone is just not good. ive been told i sound like im under water. and the person im talking to sounds very low. a bad spot as i use the speaker phone a lot, or used to. you just cant use it reliably. the bluetooth sometimes takes a few extra seconds to connect but when it does it works. nothing spectacular, it just works.
Overall User Interface (including HTC Sense): having not ever used sense or motoblur or any other android device ever, i have to say, sense is very nice looking and easy to use.
Widgets: this goes along with user interface. very nice looking and easy to use.
Signal quality (Compared to other devices): ok, here is where i have very positive things to say. with my ip4 i would drop calls constantly. so much so, that at&t wiped my bill clean for the last month. they let me upgrade my wifes line 6 weeks early, with out charging me and early upgrade fee so i could get a new phone. my signal strength has been so much better that i have yet to see the phrase "no service" since ive had the phone. something i saw reliably on my ip4 in certain spots of I5 that i have to drive
GPS: takes a few to connect and find a satellite, but when it does, google navigator is the best gps device ive used to date.
Social Networking: i turned off and would get rid of friend feed. i dont need the constant updates. when i want to see what twitter or facebook has to offer i will open those apps.
Email/Calendar: at first i was a little confused. i had gmail on htc's mail client and on the gmail app. i have since deleted my gmail from the htc mail and use the app for my gmail. what can i say, gmail works. its painless and easy. the htc mail works also, i just prefer google on google action.
Battery Life: oh man, this is where it gets hard. i understand that the processor is designed to be more efficient. and that froyo is made to better handle app usage. but really, only a 1230 mah battery? and then you make it so its gonna be a pain to get a bigger battery to fit? well thats just not very nice of you htc. but, in all seriousness, the first few days my battery life was, well, less than optimal. i findled with my settings. sync this, but not that. turn my screen off after such time, but leave it on if its charging. etc... then i found that after a few days, my battery life was getting good. sure it could be better. and hopefully they will make a bigger battery that fits. and hopefully the phone will get gingerbread, which is supposed to be even better and power management. until then, the power control widget is your best friend.
Performance: no, its not a fancy new dual core. and i dont care. the phone is fast. snappy, responsive and fast. plain and simple.
Media (music, movies, DLNA): i have a nano. i dont use this for music or podcast. i have not put a movie on here yet, but i will eventually. i do however have sirius. therefore i stream it and it cannot play the stereo in my car through the usb like my ip4 could. i have to use the aux plug. sure it works, but the sound is low. but, hey, it works. i will try to update when i put some video on it. no, it wont be porn. probably zombie land.
Keyboard's: i keep hitting the period when i mean to hit space. its a little tough coming from the ip4 that has the best onscreen keyboard. but, with practice ive gotten better. have not tried any other keyboards as i feel the stock one should be good enough.
Camera (both still & video): camera takes damn good pics. sometimes i find my pics have saved sideways. the video is good and more than servicable, but turn your phone to landscape as that is how it records.
How the Inspire compares to your previous smartphone (if applicable): if you have read my review you know how it compares to my last phone.
Disappointments (if any): well, i hate to sound like a sheep, but the battery is not good. for the size of it, it really isnt bad though. i really hope they come out with a bigger battery soon. its a shame to have all these cool gizmo's and have to turn them off because the battery is not what it should or could have been. the speaker volume is low. when the phone is in my pocket i cannot hear any sounds. and, yes, i do have the pocket volume option checked. no front facing blah blah... rarely used it on my ip4. what i really want, is it to not be locked. android is supposed to be the "open" system and yet, i cant take the bloatware off my phone. i cant add certain apps to my phone. i cant get rid of sense and just have an android phone.
so, in summation, i would say the phone is great, especially for the price. and at&t really went the extra mile to help me out when i was dropping calls reliably on my old phone. to be honest, they probably didnt have to and i would have just kept calling them everytime i dropped a call and eventually would have wanted out of my contract without paying the etf. but they worked with me to help fix the problem. as for the phone itself, i have no real complaints other than the battery and thats not so bad. just know what to expect and go from there.
Aesthetics
Screen: like i like my women. big and beautiful. not as many pixels as the ip4, but easier to read due to its size.
Hardware: 2 words: sturdy and quality. the phone feels like its solid and well buillt. i dont understand the battery compartment. why limit the size of the battery. but, that will come up later.
Phone - including bluetooth & speakerphone usage: the bad: speaker phone is crap. sorry to be so blunt, but the speaker phone is just not good. ive been told i sound like im under water. and the person im talking to sounds very low. a bad spot as i use the speaker phone a lot, or used to. you just cant use it reliably. the bluetooth sometimes takes a few extra seconds to connect but when it does it works. nothing spectacular, it just works.
Overall User Interface (including HTC Sense): having not ever used sense or motoblur or any other android device ever, i have to say, sense is very nice looking and easy to use.
Widgets: this goes along with user interface. very nice looking and easy to use.
Signal quality (Compared to other devices): ok, here is where i have very positive things to say. with my ip4 i would drop calls constantly. so much so, that at&t wiped my bill clean for the last month. they let me upgrade my wifes line 6 weeks early, with out charging me and early upgrade fee so i could get a new phone. my signal strength has been so much better that i have yet to see the phrase "no service" since ive had the phone. something i saw reliably on my ip4 in certain spots of I5 that i have to drive
GPS: takes a few to connect and find a satellite, but when it does, google navigator is the best gps device ive used to date.
Social Networking: i turned off and would get rid of friend feed. i dont need the constant updates. when i want to see what twitter or facebook has to offer i will open those apps.
Email/Calendar: at first i was a little confused. i had gmail on htc's mail client and on the gmail app. i have since deleted my gmail from the htc mail and use the app for my gmail. what can i say, gmail works. its painless and easy. the htc mail works also, i just prefer google on google action.
Battery Life: oh man, this is where it gets hard. i understand that the processor is designed to be more efficient. and that froyo is made to better handle app usage. but really, only a 1230 mah battery? and then you make it so its gonna be a pain to get a bigger battery to fit? well thats just not very nice of you htc. but, in all seriousness, the first few days my battery life was, well, less than optimal. i findled with my settings. sync this, but not that. turn my screen off after such time, but leave it on if its charging. etc... then i found that after a few days, my battery life was getting good. sure it could be better. and hopefully they will make a bigger battery that fits. and hopefully the phone will get gingerbread, which is supposed to be even better and power management. until then, the power control widget is your best friend.
Performance: no, its not a fancy new dual core. and i dont care. the phone is fast. snappy, responsive and fast. plain and simple.
Media (music, movies, DLNA): i have a nano. i dont use this for music or podcast. i have not put a movie on here yet, but i will eventually. i do however have sirius. therefore i stream it and it cannot play the stereo in my car through the usb like my ip4 could. i have to use the aux plug. sure it works, but the sound is low. but, hey, it works. i will try to update when i put some video on it. no, it wont be porn. probably zombie land.
Keyboard's: i keep hitting the period when i mean to hit space. its a little tough coming from the ip4 that has the best onscreen keyboard. but, with practice ive gotten better. have not tried any other keyboards as i feel the stock one should be good enough.
Camera (both still & video): camera takes damn good pics. sometimes i find my pics have saved sideways. the video is good and more than servicable, but turn your phone to landscape as that is how it records.
How the Inspire compares to your previous smartphone (if applicable): if you have read my review you know how it compares to my last phone.
Disappointments (if any): well, i hate to sound like a sheep, but the battery is not good. for the size of it, it really isnt bad though. i really hope they come out with a bigger battery soon. its a shame to have all these cool gizmo's and have to turn them off because the battery is not what it should or could have been. the speaker volume is low. when the phone is in my pocket i cannot hear any sounds. and, yes, i do have the pocket volume option checked. no front facing blah blah... rarely used it on my ip4. what i really want, is it to not be locked. android is supposed to be the "open" system and yet, i cant take the bloatware off my phone. i cant add certain apps to my phone. i cant get rid of sense and just have an android phone.
so, in summation, i would say the phone is great, especially for the price. and at&t really went the extra mile to help me out when i was dropping calls reliably on my old phone. to be honest, they probably didnt have to and i would have just kept calling them everytime i dropped a call and eventually would have wanted out of my contract without paying the etf. but they worked with me to help fix the problem. as for the phone itself, i have no real complaints other than the battery and thats not so bad. just know what to expect and go from there.
As my review a while ago, I came from iPhone too, and agree with all your points - except for me (3GS) reception is no better with Android, but no worse either.
Having watched this dogfight Atrix/HTC Inspire, I'm glad to have HTC Sense!
http://forum.androidcentral.com/htc-inspire-4g/63603-dog-fight-atrix-vs-inspire.html
Having watched this dogfight Atrix/HTC Inspire, I'm glad to have HTC Sense!
http://forum.androidcentral.com/htc-inspire-4g/63603-dog-fight-atrix-vs-inspire.html
Day 1 with the phone is almost complete, I still haven't even fully charged it because I have been playing with it so much! Here are my thoughts.
Screen - Gorgeous. Huge upgrade from my BlackBerry Bold 9000.
Hardware - Pretty heavy, I'm scared I will drop and break it. The Bold was much lighter. It does feel sturdy though. I will definitely get a case.
Phone - So far, so good.
Overall User Interface - Pretty intuitive, I love it already.
GPS - It works, that's all I ask.
Social Networking - The friendstream isn't very helpful. You can't reply to tweets or anything that I saw. I will just stick to the FB and Twitter apps. They work fine.
Email/Calendar - I don't like that the HTC Sync won't allow me to not include week old appointments. Those are done, I don't care about them
There also doesn't seem to be a way to filter calendar events to not show up on the phone. I have alot of work BS i don't need and I had a one word filter on my BlackBerry. All of that stuff stayed on the desktop and didn't move to the phone. This doesn't appear to be an option here.
Performance - Awesome, everything is super quick. Not really any delays like the Bold.
Media - Speaker sounds tinny. I like the default player though.
Keyboard - Awesome, they respond well to even my fat fingers.
Camera - Only picture I took so far was indoors and it was all yellowish. I will play with this more.
Disappointments - Can't use ringtones bigger than 300k so you have to actually alter tracks to use them as ringtones. That's annoying even though there are apps that can help with that. Sync doesn't like 64 Bit Office 2010. That was really irritating. Had to roll back to 32 bit. It doesn't sync via bluetooth. Also annoying. Makes my bluetooth adapter on the desktop pointless. I also don't like the micro USB port. I have to replace all of my strategically placed cords and plugs now.
Overall, 8.5/10 so far due to inconveniences of the old ways. The marketplace is AWESOME. I might have to get into some Droid development. If this was my first phone ever, it would be a 9.7 or so.
Screen - Gorgeous. Huge upgrade from my BlackBerry Bold 9000.
Hardware - Pretty heavy, I'm scared I will drop and break it. The Bold was much lighter. It does feel sturdy though. I will definitely get a case.
Phone - So far, so good.
Overall User Interface - Pretty intuitive, I love it already.
GPS - It works, that's all I ask.
Social Networking - The friendstream isn't very helpful. You can't reply to tweets or anything that I saw. I will just stick to the FB and Twitter apps. They work fine.
Email/Calendar - I don't like that the HTC Sync won't allow me to not include week old appointments. Those are done, I don't care about them
There also doesn't seem to be a way to filter calendar events to not show up on the phone. I have alot of work BS i don't need and I had a one word filter on my BlackBerry. All of that stuff stayed on the desktop and didn't move to the phone. This doesn't appear to be an option here. Performance - Awesome, everything is super quick. Not really any delays like the Bold.
Media - Speaker sounds tinny. I like the default player though.
Keyboard - Awesome, they respond well to even my fat fingers.
Camera - Only picture I took so far was indoors and it was all yellowish. I will play with this more.
Disappointments - Can't use ringtones bigger than 300k so you have to actually alter tracks to use them as ringtones. That's annoying even though there are apps that can help with that. Sync doesn't like 64 Bit Office 2010. That was really irritating. Had to roll back to 32 bit. It doesn't sync via bluetooth. Also annoying. Makes my bluetooth adapter on the desktop pointless. I also don't like the micro USB port. I have to replace all of my strategically placed cords and plugs now.
Overall, 8.5/10 so far due to inconveniences of the old ways. The marketplace is AWESOME. I might have to get into some Droid development. If this was my first phone ever, it would be a 9.7 or so.
For calendar, in Google Calendar you can set up multiple calendars and add tasks to a particular calendar; then you can display only the calendars that you wish ... I have work calendars from all colleagues on my office Google calendar, but don't display all of them on my phone.
I also switched from an iPhone 3GS to the htc Inspire last week. I had a lot of the same thoughts as you regarding the switch.
It was kinda funny...as I got closer and closer to making the switch, I found myself thinking "Man, I can't wait to break free of these Apple chains that bind me so!". Now I find myself wanting to go back. There was a strong common design and usability thread that ran through all the apps on the iPhone. Not so much on Android. Each app tends to have it's own unique feel to it, and some are easier to use and navigate than others. While the App Store has rejected many great apps that were out there, it has also served as a filter keeping out a lot of junky apps.
The biggest issue I have with the transition is the difference in form factor. Holding the iPhone in my left hand, I could easily adjust the volume up or down and flick the silent mode switch on or off with my thumb, and press the sleep button with my index finger as needed. Holding the Inspire in my left hand I quickly noticed there's no silent mode switch, the volume button is too low and is not raised enough to feel it with my thumb, and the power button is on the top left corner of the phone instead of the top right making for an awkward stretch to tap it with my index finger. Also, like the volume button, it isn't raised enough to feel it very easily.
The power button issue would be something I could over look if the face of the phone had a button that would turn it on but it does not. Every time I want to use the phone I have to the awkward stretch with my index finger to turn it on.
While these things may seem extremely nit picky to some people, they were things that I just took for granted while having the iPhone.
It really caused me to appreciate the overall usability of the iPhone both hardware and software wise. Apple did a great job paying attention to that. While htc may be limited with what they could do with the software side, they could have done more in regards to hardware.
***Edit***
I'll post updates over the next week or so in regards to whether or not I stick with this phone, as well as what prompted the decision.
It was kinda funny...as I got closer and closer to making the switch, I found myself thinking "Man, I can't wait to break free of these Apple chains that bind me so!". Now I find myself wanting to go back. There was a strong common design and usability thread that ran through all the apps on the iPhone. Not so much on Android. Each app tends to have it's own unique feel to it, and some are easier to use and navigate than others. While the App Store has rejected many great apps that were out there, it has also served as a filter keeping out a lot of junky apps.
The biggest issue I have with the transition is the difference in form factor. Holding the iPhone in my left hand, I could easily adjust the volume up or down and flick the silent mode switch on or off with my thumb, and press the sleep button with my index finger as needed. Holding the Inspire in my left hand I quickly noticed there's no silent mode switch, the volume button is too low and is not raised enough to feel it with my thumb, and the power button is on the top left corner of the phone instead of the top right making for an awkward stretch to tap it with my index finger. Also, like the volume button, it isn't raised enough to feel it very easily.
The power button issue would be something I could over look if the face of the phone had a button that would turn it on but it does not. Every time I want to use the phone I have to the awkward stretch with my index finger to turn it on.
While these things may seem extremely nit picky to some people, they were things that I just took for granted while having the iPhone.
It really caused me to appreciate the overall usability of the iPhone both hardware and software wise. Apple did a great job paying attention to that. While htc may be limited with what they could do with the software side, they could have done more in regards to hardware.
***Edit***
I'll post updates over the next week or so in regards to whether or not I stick with this phone, as well as what prompted the decision.
I felt the same when I switched from my iPhone to my Captivate. Buttons seemed to be awkward and not located correctly.
I QUICKLY adjusted and now don't think twice about it. Well worth the switch
I QUICKLY adjusted and now don't think twice about it. Well worth the switch
I am new here and new to Android but not new to phones so here goes. I have owned my phone for 48 hours now and been playing with it for about 47.5 of those hours. Here is my review, take it for what you paid for it. 
Aesthetics:
I love the look and feel. Very solid. Sleek design. Metal casing is a huge plus. The camera doesn’t stick out near as far as I feared either.
Screen:
OMFG! doesn’t quite cover it. The screen is huge without the phone actually being huge. If that makes sense. I laid my 3G iPhone screen to screen with the Inspire and it is bigger than the 3G but not by much at all.
Hardware:
Very solid as others have stated. I dropped it like a noob on the first day. It hit a wall, then my nightstand, then the bed frame and then the floor. No visible damage, no mars or scratches, and no parts fell off. Very well constructed. No signs remain from the fall.
Phone - including bluetooth & speakerphone usage:
Call quality is very good compared to the 3G iPhone. No lost calls either. You have to be sure and get the speaker in the right place on your ear or the call volume is reduced dramatically but I had the same issue with my 3G and overcame it within a few minutes on a long call. Speaker phone sounds tinny as others have stated but I don’t rely on it so it’s not a big issue for me. It is the same quality as my 3G but not as loud.
Overall User Interface (including HTC Sense):
Having an iPhone for almost 2 years and a Razr for 3 years prior to that I was worried I would not be able to “pick up” on the Droid easily. No worries though, its laid out a lot like the iPhone and it easily adaptable. Great design. Senses website is kinda jacked but I love being able to make it ring, it will help my wife to find hers when she loses it. lol. I also like the erase phone feature. That way if I ever lose it I can wipe it clean from afar.
Widgets:
I am not one for clutter so I haven’t set any widgets yet. It keeps telling me my home screen is full (I already knew this, I am the one who filled it) and I don’t feel like setting up a new screen yet.
Signal quality (Compared to other devices):
So far, excellent. Just like others have mentioned, no sign of the elusive 4g as of late but I will postpone judgment on that till later since they are still rolling it out. AT&T in my area has a superb 3G signal and even on 3g I wait for nothing on this phone. Everything I pull up, app and internet alike is loaded very quickly. It is a hell of a lot faster than the 3G.
GPS:
Not impressed with the GPS yet. Maybe it’s my area but it locks up a lot and I am using the satellites and everything. It may be I am not familiar with how it works yet since it is my first GPS so don’t let this part of my review sway your decision. I might just be a GPS idiot. lol
Social Networking:
I like the FB interface and the Friends Streaming. The FB interface is familiar to the 3G and is easily adapted too. very responsive.
Email/Calendar:
I had to create an gmail account which sucked. Thanks to my job I already have 11 email addresses. I was able to finally get my yahoo mail to configure but I would really like to get my exchange accounts to load as well. I know it has an Exchange feature but I encountered an error setting them up. My 3G allowed me to have more than one email account setup on a single phone and I loved that feature. I have my Gmail and my Yahoo mail. As soon as my work exchange account is set up successfully I will be happy.
Battery Life:
It sucks but I knew that going in. It is actually not as bad as I feared from all the reviews. It is about the same as the 3G iPhone in my opinion so it’s nothing I cannot deal with. I am at a computer most of the time so I can keep it charged. For having such a big and vibrant screen, the battery life is better than expected.
Performance:
I cannot say enough good about the performance. It is very responsive and displays material very fast. I love the Disk Drive mode for easy loading of musing and pdf’s. The overall speed is impeccable.
Media (music, movies, DLNA): I am MP3 player challenged. It took me forever to learn my 3G. Glad to see this is designed basically the same. 3 thumbs up from me. It also plays through my trucks auxiliary input so I can listen to my comedy fm app as its also in the market place.
Keyboard's: Very sensitive. The predictive text is too big and interferes with what I am typing. I turned it off and because the buttons are bigger, I don’t make many mistakes. The part I hate is that after filling out a field, I am at a loss as to what to click to get the keyboard to go away so I can proceed with what I was doing. Overall, I am impressed with the speed of the keyboard.
Camera (both still & video): The camera is phenomenal. Videos are ok outside. Inside pics and vids need some adjusting and planning on my part to avoid blurring and turning the image too mush towards a specific color.
How the Inspire compares to your previous smartphone (if applicable): Beats it hands down. I still have both and while I still love my iPhone, the iPhone 4 just did not keep pace with technology. Its offers very little that I could not get on my 3G. The Inspire has a lot to bring to the table.
Disappointments (if any): My Sim was preinstalled and was a microsim so I had to dig it out and put in my regular 3G Sim. I blame the idiot from AT&T for that. The battery life needs to be more and the battery cover is a PITA to remove. Or, I might be doing it wrong. Imagine that! However, unless it dies outright, it’s not like I can upgrade it. This is more a peeve rather than a disappointment since my 3G battery was not replaceable at all.
Aesthetics:
I love the look and feel. Very solid. Sleek design. Metal casing is a huge plus. The camera doesn’t stick out near as far as I feared either.
Screen:
OMFG! doesn’t quite cover it. The screen is huge without the phone actually being huge. If that makes sense. I laid my 3G iPhone screen to screen with the Inspire and it is bigger than the 3G but not by much at all.
Hardware:
Very solid as others have stated. I dropped it like a noob on the first day. It hit a wall, then my nightstand, then the bed frame and then the floor. No visible damage, no mars or scratches, and no parts fell off. Very well constructed. No signs remain from the fall.
Phone - including bluetooth & speakerphone usage:
Call quality is very good compared to the 3G iPhone. No lost calls either. You have to be sure and get the speaker in the right place on your ear or the call volume is reduced dramatically but I had the same issue with my 3G and overcame it within a few minutes on a long call. Speaker phone sounds tinny as others have stated but I don’t rely on it so it’s not a big issue for me. It is the same quality as my 3G but not as loud.
Overall User Interface (including HTC Sense):
Having an iPhone for almost 2 years and a Razr for 3 years prior to that I was worried I would not be able to “pick up” on the Droid easily. No worries though, its laid out a lot like the iPhone and it easily adaptable. Great design. Senses website is kinda jacked but I love being able to make it ring, it will help my wife to find hers when she loses it. lol. I also like the erase phone feature. That way if I ever lose it I can wipe it clean from afar.
Widgets:
I am not one for clutter so I haven’t set any widgets yet. It keeps telling me my home screen is full (I already knew this, I am the one who filled it) and I don’t feel like setting up a new screen yet.
Signal quality (Compared to other devices):
So far, excellent. Just like others have mentioned, no sign of the elusive 4g as of late but I will postpone judgment on that till later since they are still rolling it out. AT&T in my area has a superb 3G signal and even on 3g I wait for nothing on this phone. Everything I pull up, app and internet alike is loaded very quickly. It is a hell of a lot faster than the 3G.
GPS:
Not impressed with the GPS yet. Maybe it’s my area but it locks up a lot and I am using the satellites and everything. It may be I am not familiar with how it works yet since it is my first GPS so don’t let this part of my review sway your decision. I might just be a GPS idiot. lol
Social Networking:
I like the FB interface and the Friends Streaming. The FB interface is familiar to the 3G and is easily adapted too. very responsive.
Email/Calendar:
I had to create an gmail account which sucked. Thanks to my job I already have 11 email addresses. I was able to finally get my yahoo mail to configure but I would really like to get my exchange accounts to load as well. I know it has an Exchange feature but I encountered an error setting them up. My 3G allowed me to have more than one email account setup on a single phone and I loved that feature. I have my Gmail and my Yahoo mail. As soon as my work exchange account is set up successfully I will be happy.
Battery Life:
It sucks but I knew that going in. It is actually not as bad as I feared from all the reviews. It is about the same as the 3G iPhone in my opinion so it’s nothing I cannot deal with. I am at a computer most of the time so I can keep it charged. For having such a big and vibrant screen, the battery life is better than expected.
Performance:
I cannot say enough good about the performance. It is very responsive and displays material very fast. I love the Disk Drive mode for easy loading of musing and pdf’s. The overall speed is impeccable.
Media (music, movies, DLNA): I am MP3 player challenged. It took me forever to learn my 3G. Glad to see this is designed basically the same. 3 thumbs up from me. It also plays through my trucks auxiliary input so I can listen to my comedy fm app as its also in the market place.
Keyboard's: Very sensitive. The predictive text is too big and interferes with what I am typing. I turned it off and because the buttons are bigger, I don’t make many mistakes. The part I hate is that after filling out a field, I am at a loss as to what to click to get the keyboard to go away so I can proceed with what I was doing. Overall, I am impressed with the speed of the keyboard.
Camera (both still & video): The camera is phenomenal. Videos are ok outside. Inside pics and vids need some adjusting and planning on my part to avoid blurring and turning the image too mush towards a specific color.
How the Inspire compares to your previous smartphone (if applicable): Beats it hands down. I still have both and while I still love my iPhone, the iPhone 4 just did not keep pace with technology. Its offers very little that I could not get on my 3G. The Inspire has a lot to bring to the table.
Disappointments (if any): My Sim was preinstalled and was a microsim so I had to dig it out and put in my regular 3G Sim. I blame the idiot from AT&T for that. The battery life needs to be more and the battery cover is a PITA to remove. Or, I might be doing it wrong. Imagine that! However, unless it dies outright, it’s not like I can upgrade it. This is more a peeve rather than a disappointment since my 3G battery was not replaceable at all.
Bottom left of keyboard, left of button labeled "EN" is a keyboard-go-away button, the symbol is a keyboard with a down arrow.
I had issues setting up my exchange account using the default mail app. Would not work, no matter what I tried. Then I downloaded K9 and Touchdown, and both worked really well. The nice thing about touchdown is that it synced both my exchange mail and calendar. I wound up paying for the full version of Touchdown- $20, which is alot, but worth it for the convenience. If you have trouble getting your exchange to work, I suggest trying one of the other mail apps (K9, maidroid, Touchdown, etc.).
RigelX
Active member
- Mar 26, 2011
- 26
- 1
- 0
I upgraded from a Nokia flip phone, so I can't really compare it directly to another smartphone.
Aesthetics: I am very pleased with the way it looks...almost hated to put a case on it. Alas, I'm old and clumsy and my Seidio rugged case arrived yesterday. Still looks great
Screen: I was origially looking at the Captivate with the super amoled screen. Side-by-side in the store, the Captivate really "popped" by comparrison. After playing with it though, I noticed signs of screen burn-in and that was a bit of a turn-off. Now that I have the Inspire by itself and have been using it regularly for a week, the screen looks awesome.
Battery: I had pretty low expectations so I have been pleasantly suprised! I figured I'd be at least a moderate user, but after reading these forums, have revised that to very light. A charge lasts me over 48 hrs. Battery life is one of those things that can always be better, though. I can see a future when power cells for phones will last a year, and the forums will be full of posts saying "Mine only lasts 10 months! Fail!!"
UI: Being my first smartphone, there was (and continues to be) a slight learning curve. Things are quickly becoming more intuitive. I really appreciate the customization options. Actions are very smooth and resposive. I'll give the stock UI a few months before I even think about trying a substitute launcher.
Hardware: The only thing I have to offer here is one of the major selling points (there were many) that kept me from even considering an iPhone. A user-replaceable battery.
Phone: Very good call quality. Much better than I expected with the smartphone form-factor.
Camera: I have only dabbled with it, but it seems pretty good. I haven't played with the settings much, but using the flash indoors makes images look very washed-out. Flashless images, even in low light, look pretty good. On a side note, the flash can double as a flashlight which is pretty neat. When I saw the flashlight app, I though it would just display a white screen to hold in front me like I have seen on TV.
GPS: I dont' have any real need for this, but I guess it's better to have it and not need it than the other way around. I fiddled with it a bit, though. Even inside it locked on to the satelites in a few seconds (I'm not sure, but from reading, I think it can get help by using cell towers for a "rough lock"...if anyone can confirm or deny this, I'd appreciate it). By using satelite overlay on Google Maps, it showed my position in the house to high precision. I could even see the direction indicator move as I swiveled in my chair and had a very geeky tricorder moment!
Email: Seems to work fairly well with my comcast POP3 account, although occaisionally when I click an old message, it displays a different email. It might be because I have the email widget displaying the inbox, but it switches to a different reader when I click on it.
Texting: Well...it's obviously easier to do than tapping on a number pad. The stock app seems adequate, but I'm not a power-texter. At least not yet.
I'm very pleased overall and have had no regrets.
I saw many complaints about "no side-loading apps" but didn't think I'd need to worry about that for a good while.
Took about a week.
I used my palm for reading ebooks, specifically from Fictionwise and their secure eReader. They have a version of their eReader software for Android, but it isn't available on the market, and an email sent to their customer support requesting it was met with "We have no plans to put our eReader software on the Android market." Still researching my options. I'm such a newbie, I dont' want to rush into rooting.
Aesthetics: I am very pleased with the way it looks...almost hated to put a case on it. Alas, I'm old and clumsy and my Seidio rugged case arrived yesterday. Still looks great
Screen: I was origially looking at the Captivate with the super amoled screen. Side-by-side in the store, the Captivate really "popped" by comparrison. After playing with it though, I noticed signs of screen burn-in and that was a bit of a turn-off. Now that I have the Inspire by itself and have been using it regularly for a week, the screen looks awesome.
Battery: I had pretty low expectations so I have been pleasantly suprised! I figured I'd be at least a moderate user, but after reading these forums, have revised that to very light. A charge lasts me over 48 hrs. Battery life is one of those things that can always be better, though. I can see a future when power cells for phones will last a year, and the forums will be full of posts saying "Mine only lasts 10 months! Fail!!"
UI: Being my first smartphone, there was (and continues to be) a slight learning curve. Things are quickly becoming more intuitive. I really appreciate the customization options. Actions are very smooth and resposive. I'll give the stock UI a few months before I even think about trying a substitute launcher.
Hardware: The only thing I have to offer here is one of the major selling points (there were many) that kept me from even considering an iPhone. A user-replaceable battery.
Phone: Very good call quality. Much better than I expected with the smartphone form-factor.
Camera: I have only dabbled with it, but it seems pretty good. I haven't played with the settings much, but using the flash indoors makes images look very washed-out. Flashless images, even in low light, look pretty good. On a side note, the flash can double as a flashlight which is pretty neat. When I saw the flashlight app, I though it would just display a white screen to hold in front me like I have seen on TV.
GPS: I dont' have any real need for this, but I guess it's better to have it and not need it than the other way around. I fiddled with it a bit, though. Even inside it locked on to the satelites in a few seconds (I'm not sure, but from reading, I think it can get help by using cell towers for a "rough lock"...if anyone can confirm or deny this, I'd appreciate it). By using satelite overlay on Google Maps, it showed my position in the house to high precision. I could even see the direction indicator move as I swiveled in my chair and had a very geeky tricorder moment!
Email: Seems to work fairly well with my comcast POP3 account, although occaisionally when I click an old message, it displays a different email. It might be because I have the email widget displaying the inbox, but it switches to a different reader when I click on it.
Texting: Well...it's obviously easier to do than tapping on a number pad. The stock app seems adequate, but I'm not a power-texter. At least not yet.
I'm very pleased overall and have had no regrets.
I saw many complaints about "no side-loading apps" but didn't think I'd need to worry about that for a good while.
Took about a week.
I used my palm for reading ebooks, specifically from Fictionwise and their secure eReader. They have a version of their eReader software for Android, but it isn't available on the market, and an email sent to their customer support requesting it was met with "We have no plans to put our eReader software on the Android market." Still researching my options. I'm such a newbie, I dont' want to rush into rooting.
Last edited:
Coming from a Motorola flip phone to this is just unreal.Just 6 days now and no real complaints other than battery life and not being able to remove some apps ie I do not twitter,blockbuster,play stock market or angry bird Hope they get the one click root be for my 30 day trial runs out.No regrets whatsoever.The battery is getting me through the day though from 6 AM till about 10 PM.That GPS is the bomb. The phone is very user friendly.It is like I have my PC in my pocket.Thanks htc !
Just got mine 3 days ago. Took me 7 hours to figure out all the ins and outs to install swype on it, but finally got it. So far, I love this phone. It is totally awesome! My friends that have iphones are crazy jealous and can't wait until they can upgrade and get this phone. Yes, it has a lot of totally worthless AT&T apps, but oh well, just don't use them.
Aesthetics - Very sleek and overall perfect!
Screen - Smooth as butter!! Extremely crisp and crystal clear.
Hardware - Amazing build quality. Everything feels like it's meant to be.
Phone - including bluetooth & speakerphone usage - Phone call quality is fine, haven't tested the bluetooth yet. The speakerphone could be louder, but I rarely use that anyway.. so it's not a big deal to me.
Overall User Interface (including HTC Sense) - I love the Sense UI, flows very smoothly with no lag what so ever.
Widgets - Pretty neat, no complaints.
Signal quality (Compared to other devices) - Signal quality is pretty good, but I've never really had issues with signal with any of my AT&T devices.
GPS - GPS is on point and does exactly what it's supposed to.
Social Networking - They have the Friend Stream widget which is fine, but I prefer just using the browser or my Facebook App.
Email/Calendar - Fine and fine. Not much to say about it. I do like how the Calender has all my Facebook friends birthdays already preset.
Battery Life - Not the greatest, but I honestly am not worried about that. I have a charger at home, work, and for the car. A typical charge for me with moderate use will get me maybe 6-8 hours. Either way I haven't had it die on me because I always have a charger avaliable, as should everybody else who has a phone of this caliber.
Performance - Flawless, seriously. This thing is quite possibly the fastest and most efficient phone I've EVER owned. I love this device in every way.
Media (music, movies, DLNA) - I stream a lot of Youtube at night before bed and I find that it works just like it should. The music player isn't the prettiest, but gets the job done. My only complaint here is the speaker volume, I find it to be lower then what I'm used to. Not a deal breaker though, I got over it.
Keyboard's - I can type really fast with this keyboard, no issues. It's the right size, even for my big hands.
Camera (both still & video) - Amazing picture/video quality from this phone, I find myself taking random pictures at work during my cigarette breaks just to be amazed at the quality all over again, lol.
How the Inspire compares to your previous smartphone (if applicable) - Blows it out the water. I had the Motorola Backflip, which was a laggy waste of a space. The Inspire 4G blows every phone I've ever owned completely out the water!
Disappointments (if any) - Volume could be louder, but I'm not crying home about it. The phone is still a 9/10 in my eyes.
Screen - Smooth as butter!! Extremely crisp and crystal clear.
Hardware - Amazing build quality. Everything feels like it's meant to be.
Phone - including bluetooth & speakerphone usage - Phone call quality is fine, haven't tested the bluetooth yet. The speakerphone could be louder, but I rarely use that anyway.. so it's not a big deal to me.
Overall User Interface (including HTC Sense) - I love the Sense UI, flows very smoothly with no lag what so ever.
Widgets - Pretty neat, no complaints.
Signal quality (Compared to other devices) - Signal quality is pretty good, but I've never really had issues with signal with any of my AT&T devices.
GPS - GPS is on point and does exactly what it's supposed to.
Social Networking - They have the Friend Stream widget which is fine, but I prefer just using the browser or my Facebook App.
Email/Calendar - Fine and fine. Not much to say about it. I do like how the Calender has all my Facebook friends birthdays already preset.
Battery Life - Not the greatest, but I honestly am not worried about that. I have a charger at home, work, and for the car. A typical charge for me with moderate use will get me maybe 6-8 hours. Either way I haven't had it die on me because I always have a charger avaliable, as should everybody else who has a phone of this caliber.
Performance - Flawless, seriously. This thing is quite possibly the fastest and most efficient phone I've EVER owned. I love this device in every way.
Media (music, movies, DLNA) - I stream a lot of Youtube at night before bed and I find that it works just like it should. The music player isn't the prettiest, but gets the job done. My only complaint here is the speaker volume, I find it to be lower then what I'm used to. Not a deal breaker though, I got over it.
Keyboard's - I can type really fast with this keyboard, no issues. It's the right size, even for my big hands.
Camera (both still & video) - Amazing picture/video quality from this phone, I find myself taking random pictures at work during my cigarette breaks just to be amazed at the quality all over again, lol.
How the Inspire compares to your previous smartphone (if applicable) - Blows it out the water. I had the Motorola Backflip, which was a laggy waste of a space. The Inspire 4G blows every phone I've ever owned completely out the water!
Disappointments (if any) - Volume could be louder, but I'm not crying home about it. The phone is still a 9/10 in my eyes.
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