Inspire 4G First Impressions/Reviews

[spawn50]

Optimus V to Inspire 4g

So I've moved on to better things. I've had my HTC Inspire 4g for a good two weeks. I moved over to AT&T from Virgin Mobile's LG Optimus V. I have to say that the Optimus V is a great phone. The problem I was running into with the Optimus was 1) screen size and 2) not enough power when it comes to hardware. There where some games that I wanted to play that wouldn't load even with it overclocked to a stable 806 Mhz. such as gun brows. The screen size was an issue when it came to web browsing. To much zooming and flash didn't run well. I couldn't run firefox ether. I used dolphin HD on the Optimus and it ran well with no issues.

I got my Inspire and tried sense for a day. I don't like it. So I rooted my phone. I have to say that I tried the manual route and got half way there. I was having a hard time finding an up to date and accurate howto on rooting the phone manually. I like to do things manualy so I understand what is going on and the changes I'm making to the system. So I finely found the one click method and that worked well. Then I tryed a few ROMs and decided I didn't like the sense ROMs or MIUI. I just like a vanilla Gingerbread, so I went with CM7 I'm going to try di11is ROM sense it is based on CM7. I don't mind a little theming. For my launcher I prefere ADW.Launcher. When it comes to battery life I tryed it with sense for the day and battery life wasn't that great. I loaded CM7 and setCPU. I overclocked the CPU to 1.2 Ghz and made a profile to underclock the CPU to 368 Mhz when the screen is off both in interactive mode. I tested the underclocking stability by running pandora over wi-fi while the screen was off then sending texts and making voice calls to the phone to see if it was still responsive and didn't lag. Did the same streaming music over wi-fi with Amazon MP3 using the cloud drive. Worked well with no issues. The nice thing is that I can lock my screen and go to bed with out having to charge it. I don't know the numbers of how much battery drain there is. I set my screen brightness to 10% or 15%. The times I have it at full brightness is when I'm outside. I would say I'm a moderate user.

One thing I noticed with the Inspire is that I had to get a case for it. so I got the case-mate tough case from my local AT&T store. Best Buy only had two case styles and I didn't like them. The case-mate is similar to the Otterbox commuter case. A silicon wrap with a hard shell. Now I don't feel like the phone is going to slip out of my hand. As for screen protection I was not able to get a screen protector until 5 days after I bought it and the case a day after I bought the screen protector. Unfortunately the Inspire slipped off my lap and dropped in to the side of my jeeps seat. The screen got a small nick from the metal framing under the seat. I prefer invisishield screen protectors cause when it starts to peel away I can go to my invisishield dealer and get it replaced for free. With the screen protector on you can't see the nick.

Over all I'm happy with the Inspire and the power it offers. I was thinking abought an Atrix, but desided that duel core is not mature enough for me. I enjoyed the time I had with my Optimus V sense that was my first android phone. So two years from now I'll get a dual core phone or may be even a four core the way things are going in hardware.

 

[luvshertorch]

*Screen - The screen is WONDERFUL coming from Blackberry Torch!

*Hardware - Much better, faster, just working like a phone should is a huge plus for me.

*Phone - including bluetooth & speakerphone usage - I have only used the speaker phone a few times, and it was great. I have not use the bluetooth yet.

*Overall User Interface (including HTC Sense) - The interface was confusing at first since I had never played with an Android before but after having a week so far its really easy to use. And I love the HTC Sense, its great for me as far as Facebook and my gmail.

*Widgets - I have used and download a few and so far they are working great. Its really nice to be able to download something and it work with out any problems.

*Signal quality (Compared to other devices) - Its about the same since I live in between to towers (ATT) so if I moved to far to the left or the right it jumps towers which means I drop the call. But as far as being about of my house I have had great signal!

*GPS - the GPS on the Inspire is 10x faster and better then my Torch. In less im about in BFE and don't have and signal. lol

*Social Networking - I'm on Facebook a lot and the Facebook app that was already on the phone is great, very easy to navigate and use. And the fact that I have Facebook chat it just another plus.

*Email/Calendar - email is great, im in the process of switching from Yahoo to Gmail. Gmail is much nicer on the Inspire, yahoo is ok but was still hard to use on the Blackberry.

*Battery Life - This is the only thing that I can say that I really don't like about the Inspire is the battery life. Im a heavy user on my phone, sms, phone calles, downloading so my battery doesn't last me as long as I would like. But most of the time Im at home or some where I can plug it in. Which is fine by me.

*Performance - nothing to say other than 10/10

*Media (music, movies, DLNA) - I haven't watched any movies on the phone yet but I do use it a lot for music. Its really easy to make a ringtone that I like, instead of using the whole song.

*Keyboard's - My husband has a iPhone 4, and I hate using the keyboard on it! But I love the keyboard on my Inspire, it is very easy to use. I'm coming from having a physical keyboard to all touch so the first few days were a little hard to get use to. But now I think I type faster on the touch then I did on my Blackberry.

*Camera (both still & video) - I have only taken one video and it came out good. I have already taken lots of pictures and they are sharp and clean, not like my last phone that took crapy photos.. I could buy a 25 buck camera at WalMart that took better photos then the Torch.

*How the Inspire compares to your previous smartphone (if applicable) - No words so say how happy I am that I switched. Blackberrys are so far behind on the lots of things that it hard to use them as a phone. I will be sticking with Android for awhile!
Disappointments (if any)

 

[Maxwell72]

Good Phone Overall

I have had the phone for almost a week now and am quite satisfied with its performance. The phone stacks up well against other phones and anything it is missing app or widget-wise can be found and downloaded for free. My only problem is battery life, but I often have little or no service, so that should be the problem and not the phone.

 

[bellerophon#AC]

Since there is no DHD review thread, I will post my review in the Inspire 4G thread since they are the same phone.

Screen - Coming from a Blackberry, the screen is simply stunning. Crisp, clear and pixels are barely noticable. However, it seems like there is a thick amount of glass coving the LCD which makes for horrible glare in the sun and okay viewing angles. My brothers Captivate represents colours better and has better viewing angles and less glare; its like the screen is coming out of the phone, where as on my DHD seems more sunken in. Still an amazing screen though. 8 out of 10.

Hardware - Hardware is rock solid on the DHD. Processor keeps everything fast and The metal unibody design seems expensive and high quality. It certainly doesn`t feel cheap. Apart from the Bold 9000?9900, Blackberrys feel plasticky, creaky and cheap and the hardware is certainly a step up from Samsungs plastic phones. 8-MP camera with dual LED flash is also great. 9.5 out of 10. (only think that bothers me is the camera sticking out from the back)

Phone - Sound quality is generally good on the DHD, the same goes for speakerphone. However, it doesn`t quite go as loud as I want it to. My old Bold had louder and clearly speakerphone quality. 7 out of 10.

*Overall User Interface (including HTC Sense) - Sense interface and software is simply great. I prefer this over stock Android and any other launcher. Robust selection of widgets, easy to use, fast and visually appealing. 2.2 is great, and 2.3 update is on the way. Compared to OS 6 on a BB..well, there is no comparison. 9.5 out of 10.

*Widgets - HTC`s selection of widgets are simply amazing.. Especially the weather and clock widget. No 3rd party selection of widgets are as good. 10 out of 10.

*Signal quality (Compared to other devices) - This is where this phone loses points. Whereas my blackberry always had bars in my town, my DHD sometimes has none. Also, in areas where my BB had full coverage, my DHD only managed one or two. I can`t really compare it to other android devices, but compared to a Blackberry, the signal on my DHD stinks. Both my BB and my DHD ran on Telus` ``4G`` HSPA+ network. I haven`t dropped a call yet, but I am bound to if I ever leave this city. 5.5 out of 10.

GPS - GPS and the preloaded Google maps blows Blackberry`s version out of the water. Zero lag. Its great. Don`t use it much, but still. 10 out of 10.

Social Networking - I don`t use the preloaded HTC apps that intergrate your social networks since the only one I use is FB; however, it seems good. I am not a big fan of the Android facebook app itself. Notifications are all over the place, and FB chat is not integrated very well at all (for example I would be a FB chat message, click on it, and it will revert me to my FB message inbox, not the chat app.. and vice versa). It is also not really that fast, my BB FB app loaded news feeds just as fast. 6 out of 10?

*Email/Calendar - Again, coming from a Blackberry, email on my DHD is horrible. Whereas my BB instantly set up my IMAP account and synced over emails with ease, the android email app is complicated and has a lot of trouble with it. The Gmail app is okay, at least. 4 out of 10. ( Please Google work on your devices comparability with POP and IMAP, since not everyone wants to use your Gmail. 4 out of 10.

*Battery Life - Utterly horrible coming from a BlackBerry. With moderate to heavy usage, my Bold lasted a full 2-3 days, with my DHD, it was drained in 6 hours. Fortunetely, I have been able to train my battery so it can last a full day, but in my opinion, a smartphone should last a full day at the very least heavy usage or not ( I am considering internet browsing heavy usage). I can only imagine how long the battery would last if I was watching videos non stop. But like I mentioned, I got my battery to last a full day now, so its not a dealbreaker. 3 out of 10.

*Performance - General performance of the DHD is outstanding. Little lag, and very fast. Touch screen is very responsive and apps load with ease, browsing was also incredibly fast. On a whole another level when compared to a laggy, slow, battery pulling Blackberry. 9 out of 10.

*Media (music, movies, DLNA) - Stock music player gets the job done. Very visually appealing, and an amazing amount of settings. Love the audio settings. Video is also equally as impressive. However, I find the UI of the music player to be just OKAY. It was easier to play a song on my BB and I enjoyed the simpler interface. 8 out of 10.

*Keyboard's - This is an area where an all touch screen phone is bound to lose points. However, the DHD and HTC sense`s keyboard is very good. ITs not as fast or as accurate as my Bolds physical keyboard, but it is good and I prefer it over the stock android keyboard. Also, recently I downloaded Swype, which is an interesting take on a virtual keyboard. It isn`t overly attractive, but I am very fast with it. 8 out of 10.

*Camera (both still & video) - The 8 MP camera takes stunning photos in daylight and can produce some of the best landscape and far-away shots I have ever seen on a smartphone. Unfortunetly, like every smartphone out there, it has trouble with image stablization and close up shots. One movement of a person or object in a picture causes the shot to be blurry. Luckily, low light settings allow for good shots thank to the dual led flash. The best camera I have used or seen on a phone, although as expected, experiences the same problems as all smartphone cameras. The 720p video recording is great, overall. I don`t care for a FF camera, so the lack of it is not a problem. 8 out of 10.

*How the Inspire compares to your previous smartphone (if applicable) - Overall, the DHD blows the Bold out of the water. It does have weaknesses though. Advantages the DHD has over a BB are: Screen, hardware, build quality, better features, software, interface, graphics, camera, browsing, media, customization and widgets. Where the DHD is weak when compared to a BB: battery life and email. If Google and hardware manufacterors can fix the last two issues, RIM would go bankrupt.

Disappointments (if any): Again, a bad e-mail app and poor battery life are the only really notable complaints.

Overall I would give the phone a 9 out of 10 and sum it up like this:

PROS:
- Large, crisp LCD screen.
- Android 2.2 combined with HTC Sense is an unbeatable combination.
- Luxurious feel thanks to its rock solid uni-body metal design.
- Overall performance is amazing; internet browsing is insanely fast.
- Camera and HD video recorded are very good.

CONS:
- Poor battery life.
- Lack of good e-mail intergration for POP and IMAP accounts.

 

[iron mongoose]

naviculture my wifes inspire does my iphone does not Wah!!

 

[f4hmusic]

I like the Inspire. Having come over from the blackberry for 7 years was a huge jump for me. But I love it. Screen size is great, gps awesome, push screen is very efficient, the apps are innumerable, I love the music player. The only thing that bothers me about the phone is the battery life & lack of 4G towers seeing that they are still being erected. That was something that I never had to deal with when I was BB. Yet, this phone is still better and its many features and benefits far outweigh that of the other phones I've had.

 

[brycef63]

i love my inspire coming froman iphone 3G, somethings were confusing at first but once i figured it out i liked it. i love the speed of the phone and the custimization HTC brings. now the next big step is to get AT&T 4G everywhere lol

 

[batcot]

My wife just got the inspire, and she loves it! We just did a speed test, and out was awesome. Hspa+ is live in Tulsa! 7204kbps download and 1271kbps upload! Super fast!

 

[dubious1]

*Screen - Absolutely amazing, and that's coming from an iPhone 4 prior to the Inspire. Sure the iP4 has a great screen, but HTC seems to knock it out of the park with the larger screen. Words are crisp, colors are solid, and it's still readable in the Houston sun.

*Hardware - From a physical standpoint, it's the most solid phone I've ever held. I'm a huge fan of the unibody construction, and the covers, albeit made of plastic, give the phone a nice look. I am, however, fearing the day I have to take off the battery cover. It was funny and sad watching the AT&T guy put the battery cover on for me. He had to ask another rep to help him out. And when it was on, he realized that he put the battery in wrong!

*Phone - including bluetooth & speakerphone usage - Call quality through the earpiece is just as good as the iPhone 4 is IMO. People on the other end had no problem hearing me whatsoever. Little disappoint with the speaker volume, but when I hold it close to me it's not an issue. I have the phone paired to my Ford Sync in the car and it works perfectly.

*Overall User Interface (including HTC Sense) - I've only had the phone since yesterday afternoon, but I'm really getting the hang of Sense. Also, having come from the iPhone 4 with it's one home button, I'm forgetting that there are 4 "buttons" that navigate around the phone. But for now I'm really liking it. Very smooth transitions.

*Widgets - Haven't downloaded widgets other than HTC's battery widget, but the ones that are pre-loaded are pretty neat.

*Signal quality (Compared to other devices) - I live near downtown Houston, and I get around 4-5 bars consistantly in my apartment and around town, which is on par with the other AT&T phones I've owned. When I'm at work it's a different story. I work in a TV station inside a giant concrete building, and I'll be lucky to get 3 bars inside, where as my iPhone 4 would have 4-5 inside. Not a huge grip since I still get calls, but 4-5 bars would be nicer.

*GPS - Tried out Navigation last night for the 1st time, and it took the GPS about a minute to find out where I was. Not sure if this is normal for 1st time use, so hoping it locks on quicker in the future.

*Social Networking - I decided to get rid of the Friends Stream widget and go with the Twitter widget, and it works great. Facebook app is nice too, especially with notifications. iPhone's FB app sucked when it came to notifying me of messages.

*Email/Calendar - Using GMail on this thing is amazing, but that's understandable since we know where Android was "born." I'm also using K-9 Mail for my work OWA email, but I'm having issues with the app downloading messages automatically. I use Google Calendar for my work schedule, and it takes seconds to sync it with the server after I input it on my PC.

*Battery Life - One reason why I miss my iPhones and Blackberrys. I have a feeling that battery life will get better once I stop playing around with it non-stop.

*Performance - This thing is FAST! Apps open very quickly, music plays when you want it to, swiping through pages is snappy. I was thinking of going with the Atrix, but after playing around with it in store, the Inspire was the clear winner because of how fast it was.

*Media (music, movies, DLNA) - I like the fact that I'm able to drag and drop files onto the MicroSD card w/o iTunes. I use a set of bluetooth headphones at the gym and the music comes through clean and loud, and if the phone rings, the song stops and picks back up after your call. Haven't done any video stuff yet, so I have no opinion. Hoping that there will be a Netflix app in the future w/o having to root.

*Keyboard's - Having used an iPhone for the past year or so, I'm used to a virtual keyboard. I like the predictive text with the keyboard, and I like being able to save words as you type them.

*Camera (both still & video) - Haven't taken any video yet, so I'll be quiet on that part. I've taken a couple of photos and I'm very impressed with the quality. It also seems quicker to take a photo on the Inspire compared to the iPhone 4. Little bummed about not having a FFC, but I'll get over it.

*How the Inspire compares to your previous smartphone (if applicable) - It's only been about 24 hours since I've jumped the iOS ship, but I'm very happy so far with my decision. Compared to Blackberrys I've owned in the past? The Inspire blows them out of the water. No question about it.

 

[rgordon]

1st smartphone.. longtime att customer.. had an lg vu previously
aesthetics-- really like the feel. bigger than i'm use to but getting used to it.
screen-- graphics and photos are awesome. no complaints
phone-- calls are clear. hands free is good. don't use bluetooth
interface-- htc sense is a nice feature... 1st phone i've had that can locate yourself
widgets-- are fine sure are alot of them.. more the merrier
signal quality-- no problem so far
GPS-- very fast
social networks-- haven't used
email-- works fine use gmail and yahoo mail both easily set up and get notifications
battery life-- so far doesn't seem to be a problem.. can go daily without having to charge
but do notice battery life does slowly go down with use
performance-- very fast.. no complaints;
media--- downloaded itunes from pc songs play great haven't gotten to movies yet
keyboards-- very touchy took some to get used to but once that happens they are great
camera--- still and video very high quality... top of the line
disappointments--- none this phone is awesome.... can't put it down keep playing with it and discovering
new things...

 

[bcheek1328]

Just got my phone in the mail thismorning, seems to be a nice upgrade from my iphone.

 

[Xsie]

I love it! The only thing I miss is the physical keyboard, but I am so hoping with time, I'll get use to it. The Os rocks, totally loving the UI. Coming from a Blackberry well let's just say I won't be going back to Blackberry anytime soon-ever!

Just seen how this question was posted, once on pc- I'll edit this reply..