By Gareth Beavis
HTC's new Windows Phone Mango range has been unveiled, and with it some expected and some unexpected handsets.
The unexpected moniker certainly stands for the HTC Titan that, although we heard rumours of it, comes with a surprising 4.7-inch screen, making it easily one of the biggest phones on the market.
It's also running Mango, the latest version of Microsoft's operating system, and is designed to be one of the flagship phones carrying the Redmond OS flag.
The HTC Titan is big. And we mean big. The thinner, sub 10mm, frame helps it not feel so gargantuan in the hand, but some will still worry about pocketability.
Incidentally, we tried that facet (under the watchful eye of HTC's PR) and it's equally as easy to slip into a pair of trousers as the Samsung Galaxy S2, although given the larger heft, it's easier to feel it's in there.
Design wise, it's not much to write home about. We've been distinctly unimpressed with some of the functional designs offered up for Windows Phone by most manufacturers (perhaps the Samsung Omnia 7 aside) and the HTC Titan takes on that industrial feel too.
It's thin and curved, so it wins points for that, but overall lacks the wow factor of the hewn metal of the iPhone 4 or the sleek lines of the Galaxy S2 - Microsoft should be begging manufacturers to come up with sexier designs to help the platform flourish.
There's a definite feel of the HTC HD7 about the phone, which means we're sad there's no kickstand in sight - it was a real winner on the old phone and should have been ported across in our view.
There's an 8MP camera bolted on the back of the phone, with a 28mm lens and f/2.2 aperture, which is flanked by a double LED flash - this means the range of conditions for photo taking has increased considerably and places the phone in the higher echelons of snap quality (theoretically).
However, the main thing we're interested in seeing is whether the improved 1.5GHz processor, which sadly isn't dual core, is able to cope with constant scrolling and app opening and closing.
The good news: it seems to be able to handle everything we threw at it. Sure, Windows Phone is already very slick, but even with the additional multitasking on offer, this was still a decent experience.
What is weird is that despite the screen being larger, the resolution remains the same as any phone in the WP range (which we knew) but the tiles really look bigger compared to the smaller phones... it feels likes you're a child with the phone.
However, the quality of the Super LCD screen is impressive - the colours are rich and the blacks deep - although as you can see in our side by side comparison, not really in the same league as the Samsung Galaxy S.
HTC's main USP in the Windows Phone range are the additional applications it's developed for the platform and the improved camera - for instance, you can take burst shots with the snapper or use it to capture a wide panorama of photos.
Both of these photography features worked well in our opinion - whether it will be enough to entice people over to Microsoft's platform, we don't know (although we doubt it) but it's good to see some differentiation.
One irritating point - the audio settings HTC has wedged in there, including SRS Surround Sound and 5.1 virtual audio are both only activated by heading out of the Music and Videos app and into the system settings.
The fact that these can't be activated from within the application itself still shows how far Windows Phone has to go - it really ruins the slick feel of the OS having to navigate this way.
But on the other hand, it's nothing overly exciting to look at, bar the larger screen. A single core processor is hardly ground breaking, despite the added speed, and the functional design of the device doesn't set our pulses racing.
If you want a big screen device, then this (or the Samsung Galaxy Note) are worth checking out, but other than that, we can't see this being really big draw for those that might be thinking of jumping ship to Microsoft.
The unexpected moniker certainly stands for the HTC Titan that, although we heard rumours of it, comes with a surprising 4.7-inch screen, making it easily one of the biggest phones on the market.
It's also running Mango, the latest version of Microsoft's operating system, and is designed to be one of the flagship phones carrying the Redmond OS flag.
We've
extensively trawled through Windows Phone Mango already, so if you want
to see all the new tricks the OS has up its sleeve, take a gander here.
The HTC Titan is big. And we mean big. The thinner, sub 10mm, frame helps it not feel so gargantuan in the hand, but some will still worry about pocketability.
Incidentally, we tried that facet (under the watchful eye of HTC's PR) and it's equally as easy to slip into a pair of trousers as the Samsung Galaxy S2, although given the larger heft, it's easier to feel it's in there.
Design wise, it's not much to write home about. We've been distinctly unimpressed with some of the functional designs offered up for Windows Phone by most manufacturers (perhaps the Samsung Omnia 7 aside) and the HTC Titan takes on that industrial feel too.
It's thin and curved, so it wins points for that, but overall lacks the wow factor of the hewn metal of the iPhone 4 or the sleek lines of the Galaxy S2 - Microsoft should be begging manufacturers to come up with sexier designs to help the platform flourish.
There's a definite feel of the HTC HD7 about the phone, which means we're sad there's no kickstand in sight - it was a real winner on the old phone and should have been ported across in our view.
There's an 8MP camera bolted on the back of the phone, with a 28mm lens and f/2.2 aperture, which is flanked by a double LED flash - this means the range of conditions for photo taking has increased considerably and places the phone in the higher echelons of snap quality (theoretically).
However, the main thing we're interested in seeing is whether the improved 1.5GHz processor, which sadly isn't dual core, is able to cope with constant scrolling and app opening and closing.
The good news: it seems to be able to handle everything we threw at it. Sure, Windows Phone is already very slick, but even with the additional multitasking on offer, this was still a decent experience.
What is weird is that despite the screen being larger, the resolution remains the same as any phone in the WP range (which we knew) but the tiles really look bigger compared to the smaller phones... it feels likes you're a child with the phone.
However, the quality of the Super LCD screen is impressive - the colours are rich and the blacks deep - although as you can see in our side by side comparison, not really in the same league as the Samsung Galaxy S.
HTC's main USP in the Windows Phone range are the additional applications it's developed for the platform and the improved camera - for instance, you can take burst shots with the snapper or use it to capture a wide panorama of photos.
Both of these photography features worked well in our opinion - whether it will be enough to entice people over to Microsoft's platform, we don't know (although we doubt it) but it's good to see some differentiation.
One irritating point - the audio settings HTC has wedged in there, including SRS Surround Sound and 5.1 virtual audio are both only activated by heading out of the Music and Videos app and into the system settings.
The fact that these can't be activated from within the application itself still shows how far Windows Phone has to go - it really ruins the slick feel of the OS having to navigate this way.
Early verdict
Our early impressions of the HTC Titan are mixed: on the one hand, Windows Phone has taken a step forward with Mango, and the Titan is everything its name promises, with a larger screen and hefty proportions that actually fit in the hand quite well.But on the other hand, it's nothing overly exciting to look at, bar the larger screen. A single core processor is hardly ground breaking, despite the added speed, and the functional design of the device doesn't set our pulses racing.
If you want a big screen device, then this (or the Samsung Galaxy Note) are worth checking out, but other than that, we can't see this being really big draw for those that might be thinking of jumping ship to Microsoft.