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 One of the hottest PDAs around lately, the HTC TyTN II is one feature-loaded son-of-a-gun. It's got what it takes to quench your daily communication needs, and more: HSDPA/HSUPA, Wi-Fi, 2.8" touchscreen TFT display, hardware QWERTY keyboard, 3 megapixel camera with auto focus and a built-in GPS receiver. A 400 MHz processor is in charge of all that on a Windows Mobile 6.0 Pro platform. If that's more than enough to tickle our curiosity - and yours - we seem to have the right scratch: the HTC TyTN II review.
Design
The HTC TyTN II comes in an eye-pleasing black box with all the necessary gear to get you started - charger, USB data cable, stereo headset, spare stylus, and a carrying case, plus tons of paper about the device. The only thing we lacked was a memory card perhaps, but you can get one easily. We didn't like the case either, as it uses Velcro instead of a magnetic clip, which is always our preferred choice.
The HTC TyTN II doesn't run on a Samsung processor, unlike most previous models of the brand. Instead, this time the Qualcomm MSM7200 chipset platform is the power plant of this Pocket PC. A primary 400MHz Qualcomm ARM11 processor runs applications, while a secondary 274 MHz ARM9 microprocessor is in charge of radio equipment. The hardware specs include 128MB of RAM (double the size of the original TyTN) and 256MB of ROM (133MB are available to the user as storage space). The front panel is dominated by the 2.8" 65K color touchscreen TFT display. It supports QVGA (320x240 pixels) resolution only - and yes, we would have preferred VGA. Above the display, there is the video-call camera and the earpiece slot. The D-pad below the display is the next thing to draw attention. It's rather packed, hosting a total of 8 keys plus the navigation button and its confirming center. The original TyTN had two keys above the display and that prevented the clutter of keys below the display. But the keys above the display tend to be somewhat uncomfortable when using the handset single-handedly, so lately HTC have ditched that option.  The left side of the HTC TyTN II hosts a scroll wheel, an OK button and a Voice Dial button. They are really comfortable to use - the wheel is really soft and responsive, scrolling and selecting is a piece of cake. This key layout really gets to shine when you use the TyTN in desktop mode - holding it tilted in landscape view. In this case those keys are easily accessible with your right index finger. The voice dialing is not something we use often, especially as you have to pre-record voice labels to your contacts in the case of Windows Mobile. So, as there is no dedicated Communications Manager key, we were quick to reassign that function to the Voice Dial key. The Comm Manager is among the most frequently used applications on any Pocket PC.  The right side of the HTC TyTN II hosts only a couple of keys - the On/Off key and the camera shutter key. The camera will only start upon a longer press on the shutter key. That's good, as it's unlikely that you start your camera by accident. Otherwise the key is elevated enough and easy to use. That cannot be said about the On/Off key, which is rather hard to press and almost impossible to find in the dark, as it doesn't have any elevation whatsoever. That's a really bad move from HTC, with this key being probably the most used one in a Pocket PC, as it puts your portable computer in standby and wakes it back up. The stylus the TyTN II is equipped with, is the regular non-telescopic one that we're used to seeing on recent HTC devices - so no surprises here. The top side of the HTC TyTN II doesn't feature any controls at all. The bottom side however hosts the standard miniUSB port, microSDHC card slot, the wrist/neck strap hole, the microphone pinhole and the reset hole. The back panel of the device is made of matt plastic with a somewhat rubbery feel to it. It provides a firm grip, but is a real fingerprint magnet . Beside the camera lens/LED flash combo, there is also a rubber cap with a GPS sign on it. If you lift it up you will find an external GSP antenna connector. It gets really interesting when you slide the keyboard down and take a look at the back. The SIM card slot is right behind the display. After you release the lock you can slide your SIM card in and close the latch shut. The SIM card however is not hot-swappable - removing it will shut down the Pocket PC automatically with no warning shots fired.  ith the SIM card bed placed outside, you will hardly need to open the back cover. Even so, it gets removed easily to reveal the 1350 mAh Li-Poly battery. It's quoted at 400 h of standby time and up to 6 hours of talk time. In reality the handset lasts around a day with a single charge when you use it heavily. We also did a dedicated video playback battery test and the HTC TyTN II managed to keep on playing video (registered to a 3G network) for good 5 hours. It performed pretty much the same at the dedicated GPS test, where it scored 4 hours of continues GPS lock and lit up screen (again registered to a 3G network). We were a bit let down by the fact that it takes the battery good 3 hours to charge completely - but hey, it's an accumulator of serious capacity.  The HTC TyTN is pretty comfortable to work with but you can't exactly call it pocketable, so this PocketPC is best carried in its case strapped on a belt - there's no doubt about that. However, we found it nice to hold in hand and working with it was a pleasure.  Keyboard
The keyboard is active which means that in standby, you can slide it open to wake it up without pressing power. The Wizard didn't have this which meant you had to turn it on separately. Keys feel comfortable and give a nice subtle feedback. The keyboard lights up white with a light sensor on the upper left corner. Unfortunately the lighting isn't very even. Not really a big deal, but I thought I'd point it out anyways. The keys on the front under the screen could be a bit more solid. By that I mean they feel slightly mushy because of the slight play they have. You would notice this as the whole Dpad unit moves up and down a slight bit. This is not too much of a big deal either. The tilt works well and is useful if you want to see the screen while having it on a table. Screen
The screen is bright and clear. It's not too visible in the sun, but I have a screen protector on, which may contribute to it. However, if the backlight is on high enough, you should still be able to see it. I find that this is more of a touchscreen issue. Nokia uses some of the best screens for direct sunlight as they reflect it without needing the backlight on (although non-touchscreen). SIM Card Slot
The SIM card slot utilizes a lock mechanism which can be slid to unlock. Then the SIM card door can be opened and allows you to slide your SIM card in. Note that when the device is on and you open the SIM card slot, the device shuts itself off. I recommend you turn off the device before you move the SIM card. You can power down the device by holding the power button and a prompt will pop up. Call Volume
At maximum call volume, the ear piece is good. It's loud enough for myself, but is not the loudest I have ever heard. That being said, it should be okay for most. A tip for those that will have it at max and find it is still not adequate would be to press the device a bit against your ear. Call Quality
Overall quality seems good. Each generation of HTC devices seem get better in this department. Tones are well balanced. I'm glad to say that even at maximum call volume, the ear piece is still clear. Some of the older devices distort at high volume, but I have not noticed this on the TyTN II. Speaker Volume
The speaker on the back is about average to good. It's moderately loud, but starts to crackle when pushed to maximum system volume. Same thing when on a call using speakerphone ЎV at max volume, it may distort a bit or crackle. I feel that I should mention that the best speakers I've had were on the N95. Those little speakers were very loud and clear. It definitely helped that the N95 has stereo speakers, with one on each side. HTC should consider bringing this back from the Wizard. Reception
Reception is very good on my unit. I tested this by going to fringe areas where I would usually drop calls or just have borderline reception. My S620 would struggle and would drop calls, but the TyTN II would hold on in these areas. So far this may be the device with the best reception that I've had thus far. Making Calls
Dialing a contact by pressing the green talk button and typing the number or name lookup is straight forward and easy to do with one hand. It's made easier because the dial pad's buttons are large. There is no tackle feedback however, so a few of you may miss it coming from a phone that has a number pad. Another way of calling is to go through the contacts. You can scroll through your list by using TouchFlow and flicking your finger like the iPhone. TouchFlow works throughout the system where scrolling is involved. I'd like to add that some of you may want to try PocketCM (http://www.pocketcm.com/) which can replace your contact list by adding an interface more like the iPhone. Scrolling is smoother in PocketCM and more finger friendly due to the larger icons and buttons. Camera
Coming from a N95, I wasn't expecting too much from the TyTN II. I'm glad HTC has at least made this version with auto-focus. One of the biggest annoyances is the refresh rate isn't very fast. I'm talking about that webcam blurring during movement. This made it easier to blur pictures compared to other devices. As for quality itself, I've attached some sample pictures and you can be the judge. GPS
GPS works much better than I expected as it isn't a SiRFIII type chip. When you're connected to the internet (including ActiveSync), the TyTN II downloads satellite data which speeds up lock times. In a moving vehicle, I get a lock in less than 2 minutes from a cold start. When stationary, it is less than 1 minute. There is an orange indicator LED in the earpiece on the right side which indicates GPS is active when blinking. Software
This final production build of the ROM varies in a number of ways to the demo units we’ve seen so far. The most obvious addition is TouchFLO. Don’t expect the TouchFLO experience to be the same as the HTC Touch, however, as this is a somewhat cut down implementation of the technology and is limited to a home screen plug in offering a large digital style clock, favorite people speed dials, local weather, a quick launch tool and profile controls. You won’t find the 3D cube on the TyTN II and no gesture based swipes across the screen as these both require a more sensitive touchscreen technology. That said, I think that HTC have included the best features of TouchFLO anyway. Conclusion
The HTC TyTN II is an extremely impressive device, I’m an addict after just a few minutes. This really is the device that so many people have waiting for, no compromises, it includes the much needed keyboard, fast CPU and plenty of memory. The built in GPS is starting to become the norm and works well. The TyTN II may be on the heavy side but just think about all the technology crammed into such a small package! |
