Sprint Touch

tbhausen · EVDO Junkie Joined: 12 Dec 2006 Posts: 158

I'm surprised not to see the Sprint Touch mentioned here, yet. This is the one I'm waiting for! Will current Sprint customers be able to get this from 3gstore? Release date looks like 11/4.

Michael?

mhtyler · EVDO Heavy User Joined: 01 Jul 2007 Posts: 133

More to the point, will the HTC Touch be the first Rev A device? The promised HTC Mogul upgrade hasn't materialized yet.

I've read through the press release and all the reviews I can find. The release pointedly doesn't mention it, and none of the reviewers were savvy enough to ask the question.

It looks like a nice device, and I notice it has multimedia capabilities that the Mogul doesn't...at least not yet.
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tbhausen · EVDO Junkie Joined: 12 Dec 2006 Posts: 158

I've had the Touch for two days now. It's fantastic. Lots of info at ppcgeeks, sprintusers, and pdaphonehome about it.

It's everything the Mogul should have been. It has two special keyboards that work so well that the lack of a hardware keyboard is no issue at all IMHO.

Run, don't walk, to a Sprint store and put your hands on one of these if you want a Sprint PDAphone. Highly recommended.

No rev.A or GPS yet, no wi-fi. It's fast and works great with BT GPS and TeleNav 5.2 (Mogul version). Should be able to add wi-fi with the forthcoming Spectec SDIO Micro SD wi-fi adapter.

Todd/Indy

mhtyler · EVDO Heavy User Joined: 01 Jul 2007 Posts: 133

I'm going to take a look at the touch, but its most disappointing that it has neither rev A (nor do I believe is announced to be upgradeable) nor wifi, and yet it includes sprint multimedia.

Contrast that with the Mogul that has wifi, and will support rev A (someday) but does NOT support multimedia.

Now I ask you: Is somebody at Sprint asleep at the switch configuring a phone for multimedia without giving it the power, and then giving another unit the power, but not the multimedia???

I'm a noob at cell phones in general and cell networking, but I do know something about marketing, and this seems schizophrenic.

I'm going to look closely at the touch, but at this point I'm actually strongly leaning towards mogul WHEN it goes rev A. At least with the Mogul, MobiTV now supports multimedia, so if you're willing to pay you should be able to get fast tethering, AND presumably multimedia at the same time, which apparently even Sprint can't offer on units that support both.

Plus, if I read the specs right the processor on the Mogul, although slightly slower than the 6700 is apparently roughly twice the speed of the Touch. Finish it off with a nice slide out keyboard, and I have to say the Touch may not be for all markets.

mark
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tbhausen · EVDO Junkie Joined: 12 Dec 2006 Posts: 158

Touch is faster than Mogul in everyday use, hands down, regardless of any specifications which may cause one to conclude otherwise. It has double the RAM and ROM of the Mogul and that's the spec that matters most.

A handset does not require rev.A for multimedia. Rev.A increases UPload speeds and decreases latency. Rev.0 is more than up to the task. The Touch works great for Slingbox, Sprint TV, SiriusWM5, and TeleNav.

Also the Touch will be getting Rev.A and possibly the GPS enabled in Q108. Here's a great set of videos about it:

http://www.buzzaboutwireless.com/cms/vlog/htc_touch/introduction.html

EDIT: Don't confuse the GSM Touch (HTC "Elf") with the CDMA Touch (HTC "Vogue"). They're different in many ways, the Vogue being far more robust in terms of memory and processor, but lacking wi-fi vs. the Elf.

Todd/Indy

mhtyler · EVDO Heavy User Joined: 01 Jul 2007 Posts: 133

A handset does not require rev.A for multimedia. Rev.A increases UPload speeds and decreases latency.
---------

I'm impressed by your enthusiasm for the device, but the notion that the handset doesn't require the fastest network with the lowest latency to function well with multimedia isn't supportable. Furthermore, the lack of Wifi support means that for the time Rev A is not supported there is no local alternative to improve performance.

Furthermore, I've been unable in my online research to find a single reference to a promised Rev A upgrade for the Touch. If you know of one, I'd appreciate if you could post it here. That would count a lot, because I'd rather have a Rev A device without wifi than a Rev O with.

I will definitely have to give Touch a look before going with Mogul, but I'll need more than a fancy touch screen to sell me.

mark
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tbhausen · EVDO Junkie Joined: 12 Dec 2006 Posts: 158

Double the program memory is far more of a performance enhancement than Rev.0 vs. Rev.A... Open a couple apps on the Mogul then try to use the camera and see what happens Wink

I'll try to find the Touch rev.A link, but trust me, it's coming... The Touch is more than up to the multimedia task as released however. Take a few minutes to visit SprintUsers, PDAPhonehome, and PPCGeeks... I've never seen so many power users utterly thrilled with a new device.

Todd/Indy

liquidspry · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 12:56 pm Post subject:

Touch is upgradeable to rev a since this is whats on the distributed training brochures given to stores.

mhtyler · EVDO Heavy User Joined: 01 Jul 2007 Posts: 133

I will say this, in the few days I had Mogul I was appalled at how easy it was to run into memory problems.

What kind of operating system lets you start an application, but doesn't give you an easy way to turn them off?

Somebody forgot the OFF button for applications? What correspondence school did that programmer go to?

now onto latency: I have an LG muziq right now, and good coverage. multimedia is mediocre, and this device is supposed to be for multimedia. The image is jerky, sputters, and often goes out. 300ms ping times are NEVER going to make for a successful multimedia venture.

From what I've heard Rev A has no significant improvement in QOS, except to the extent that ping times are lower, and QOS will improve by default...i hope.

mark
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ChrisM · Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2007 7:28 am Post subject:

There are third party apps that let you shutdown individual applications. I don't have a Mogul yet, although I may buy one if they actually come out with a REV A upgrade. I have a friend who has an HTC phone and he spends alot of time on the XDA-Developers' website. Here's a link to the "Titan" forum, which is the HTC codename for the Mogul.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=381

tbhausen · EVDO Junkie Joined: 12 Dec 2006 Posts: 158

Here's proof of the Rev. A upgrade (see "Data Connectivity" near bottom):

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/smartphone/details.mspx?id=35a21248-7501-4e0e-9c97-6e74c40e8daa35a21248-7501-4e0e-9c97-6e74c40e8daa35a21248-7501-4e0e-9c97-6e74c40e8daa&backUrl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.microsoft.com%2fwindowsmobile%2fsmartphone%2fdefault.mspx

Todd/Indy

mhtyler · EVDO Heavy User Joined: 01 Jul 2007 Posts: 133

very helpful link. Odd that sprint should list rev A at Microsoft's site and nowhere else. Still, there it is.

I will definitely check this device out and compare to mogul as Rev A becomes availaible.
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mhtyler · EVDO Heavy User Joined: 01 Jul 2007 Posts: 133

Here is a very nice series of video reviews of the Touch.

http://www.mobilegadgetnews.com/index.php?showtopic=14524

The video review comes in 4 or 5 parts. I watched most of them. At one point a comparison is made between the mogul and the touch.

The Touch definately comes off well, although I find the lack of wifi AND rev A (currently) to be a significant constraint.

Here is something else: If you really want wifi, multimedia AND the ability to tether, the Mogul although bereft of Sprint multimedia now supports MobiTV, which...if I'm correct, means that you can choose the tethering option from Sprint, buy MobiTV separately, and of course when Rev A comes along you'll be ready for that too.

I'm still leaning slightly towards the Mogul, although my personal experience with its memory problems does give me pause.

mark
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Michael · Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 10:24 pm Post subject:

Just checked the "internal Sprint" site and it says that the Touch is:

tbhausen · EVDO Junkie Joined: 12 Dec 2006 Posts: 158

Thanks for that, Michael... Rev. A or not, double the RAM makes all the difference with the Touch. I'm still simply thrilled with mine, and that's a first for PDAPhones for me.

I'm betting on Rev.A, though... and a version of Sprint Navigation (Sprint-branded TeleNav) for the Touch in Q1.

Todd/Indy