HTC Radar Smartphone
- Screen Size (Diagonal): 3.8 inch
- Installed Memory: 512 MB
- Operating System: Windows Phone 7
- Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB
- Performance: Quad Band
- Design: Mobile
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Windows for smartphones makes a comeback!
Pros
Build quality, Windows Phone 7.5, screen quality & responsiveness, battery life
Cons
Lack of customization, app market is limited for now
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
The Radar 4G was a nice surprise for me, coming from iOS, Android, and BlackBerry - and I love it!
Let me preface this review by saying that I'm a bit of a.. 'cell phone enthusiast' - I usually get a new phone every 6-8 months. I fell in love with BlackBerry from the old Curve 8300, and stayed with them until the 9700. I had an iPhone which was nice, but I felt it was mostly trendy and was a bit too locked down. I made the switch to Android and loved it. Just recently I bought the HTC Radar 4G w/ Windows Phone 7.5 on T-Mobile, which leads me to this review!
Initial impressions:
The build quality is great. The white and silver color scheme is nice. Windows Phone 7.5 is a lot nicer than I expected. The touchscreen works very well. Hooking up with (and signing up for) all of Microsoft's services was a slight pain, but I did the same with Google and Android so no big deal.
How is it as a phone?:
As a phone, it works well. Call quality is good, reception is great (compared to other smartphones in the same location, on the same network), and like Google/Android, you can sync up your contacts to Microsoft's Live servers. You can link your contacts to FaceBook so everyone's picture caller ID is their FaceBook profile picture - I thought that was neat. Battery life is better than my Android phones, probably due to its more modest CPU/processor and more efficient operating system.
How is text messaging?:
I text message a lot, like more and more people do these days. I'm picky when it comes to this on a phone. BlackBerry is by far the best because you can't beat a physical keyboard that was designed by a company who has been at it for years, but I find myself having no problems messaging on my Radar. The portrait layout keyboard is good, a little small but that's usually how I type. The landscape layout keyboard is the best, and I can type really fast, but it limits how much of a message thread you can see, so I tend to use this mode more on websites and what not. There's not much customization, like font size/type or layout, but it gets the job done.
How is the internet?
The Radar is loaded with a mobile version of Internet Explorer, which I know is not for everyone. I use IE on my computers so this is actually preferred for me, but nonetheless, I find the browser works very well. Compared to the stock Android browser, it feels a little faster and I've had no problems with it loading websites. The app market on Windows Phone 7.5 is limited right now compared to Android, but I've found most everything I need either built into the phone/Windows, or in the market - except Wordfeud!
What are some of its notable features?:
The Radar 4G is like its name implies, a "4G" phone. It's not the fastest 4G phone in T-Mobile's lineup, but it can hold its own. The camera is a 5MP unit, with flash and auto-focus, and it does HD video recording. There's an FM radio, which is a feature I think more phone manufacturers should include. The screen is 3.7", which is almost a full inch smaller than my Samsung Galaxy S II, but its size lends itself to an overall smaller more pocketable form factor. The Radar has 8GB of flash memory built-in and is NOT expandable, but that's enough for me. It streams radio and Netflix great.
Now that I've had a few weeks to fully enjoy Windows Phone 7.5, I really like my Radar 4G a lot. Like most people, a previous bad experience with earlier vesions of Windows Mobile (for me, it was v.6.5 on my Touch Pro2) made me never want another Windows phone ever again. Once you get over that initial hesitation, you'll love it. Android is a great operating system, but it has its bugs and can be a little intimidating for the novice - great for folks like me who root their phones and customize it up the ying yang, not so good for those who just want a phone that works.
My conclusion is that the Radar 4G is a great piece of hardware, paired with Windows Phone 7.5 which has the potential to be great. This is the perfect phone for the smartphone newbie - everything just works, and it works well. Don't expect much customization, heck, custom ringtones were only made available recently, but I find the Radar 4G and Windows Phone 7.5 to be a much better alternative to the iPhone and iOS.
Try the Radar 4G out. The hardware is solid, and the software is surprisingly solid too!
Initial impressions:
The build quality is great. The white and silver color scheme is nice. Windows Phone 7.5 is a lot nicer than I expected. The touchscreen works very well. Hooking up with (and signing up for) all of Microsoft's services was a slight pain, but I did the same with Google and Android so no big deal.
How is it as a phone?:
As a phone, it works well. Call quality is good, reception is great (compared to other smartphones in the same location, on the same network), and like Google/Android, you can sync up your contacts to Microsoft's Live servers. You can link your contacts to FaceBook so everyone's picture caller ID is their FaceBook profile picture - I thought that was neat. Battery life is better than my Android phones, probably due to its more modest CPU/processor and more efficient operating system.
How is text messaging?:
I text message a lot, like more and more people do these days. I'm picky when it comes to this on a phone. BlackBerry is by far the best because you can't beat a physical keyboard that was designed by a company who has been at it for years, but I find myself having no problems messaging on my Radar. The portrait layout keyboard is good, a little small but that's usually how I type. The landscape layout keyboard is the best, and I can type really fast, but it limits how much of a message thread you can see, so I tend to use this mode more on websites and what not. There's not much customization, like font size/type or layout, but it gets the job done.
How is the internet?
The Radar is loaded with a mobile version of Internet Explorer, which I know is not for everyone. I use IE on my computers so this is actually preferred for me, but nonetheless, I find the browser works very well. Compared to the stock Android browser, it feels a little faster and I've had no problems with it loading websites. The app market on Windows Phone 7.5 is limited right now compared to Android, but I've found most everything I need either built into the phone/Windows, or in the market - except Wordfeud!
What are some of its notable features?:
The Radar 4G is like its name implies, a "4G" phone. It's not the fastest 4G phone in T-Mobile's lineup, but it can hold its own. The camera is a 5MP unit, with flash and auto-focus, and it does HD video recording. There's an FM radio, which is a feature I think more phone manufacturers should include. The screen is 3.7", which is almost a full inch smaller than my Samsung Galaxy S II, but its size lends itself to an overall smaller more pocketable form factor. The Radar has 8GB of flash memory built-in and is NOT expandable, but that's enough for me. It streams radio and Netflix great.
Now that I've had a few weeks to fully enjoy Windows Phone 7.5, I really like my Radar 4G a lot. Like most people, a previous bad experience with earlier vesions of Windows Mobile (for me, it was v.6.5 on my Touch Pro2) made me never want another Windows phone ever again. Once you get over that initial hesitation, you'll love it. Android is a great operating system, but it has its bugs and can be a little intimidating for the novice - great for folks like me who root their phones and customize it up the ying yang, not so good for those who just want a phone that works.
My conclusion is that the Radar 4G is a great piece of hardware, paired with Windows Phone 7.5 which has the potential to be great. This is the perfect phone for the smartphone newbie - everything just works, and it works well. Don't expect much customization, heck, custom ringtones were only made available recently, but I find the Radar 4G and Windows Phone 7.5 to be a much better alternative to the iPhone and iOS.
Try the Radar 4G out. The hardware is solid, and the software is surprisingly solid too!
