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Fully jam packed with features, the HTC TyTN II is no doubt one of the most full loaded PDA's to hit the market lately. Packed in its case is HSDPA/HSUPA, Wi-Fi, 2.8" touch-screen TFT display, hardware QWERTY keyboard, 3 megapixel camera with auto focus and a built-in GPS receiver. Running all of that is a 400MHz processor running Windows Mobile 6.0. No doubt this is one to watch for; let's see how it performs. |
Things I liked:
- Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
- 400MHz Qualcomm processor
- 2.8" 65K color touch-screen TFT display with QVGA resolution
- 3 megapixel auto-focus camera
- Hardware QWERTY keyboard
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
- Tri-band HSDPA/HSUPA 3.6 Mbps with video calls
Things that left me disappointed.
- Very Heavy
- Weak Processor
- No FM Radio
- Hidden off/on key
The HTC Kaiser is marketed as several different units in the marketplace: HTC TyTN II P4550 (this is the one we are talking about here) as well as the T-Mobile MDA Vario III, AT&T Tilt 8925, Vodafone v1615, and Vodafone VPA Compact V.
If you are searching for groundbreaking innovation, this is not the place to look. It is bulky, measuring 112 x 59 x 19 mm and weighing 190 g, but that weight comes with great adfditional features. Right off the bat you notice the QWERTY keyboard, the GPS receiver and HSUPTA. The keyboard not only slides down but tilts up to 120 degrees so you can easily use it on your desk and get full screen visibility.
Slide and tilt
The HTC TyTN II comes in a jam packed box with all the necessary gear to get you started - charger, USB data cable, stereo headset, spare stylus, and a carrying case, plus the usual manuals. I was disappointed to see a memory card was not included.
Unlike its predecessors, the HTC TyTN II runs on a Qualcomm MSM7200 chipset platform. Applications are handled by a primary 400MHz Qualcomm ARM11 processor, with a 274 MHz ARM9 microprocessor to handle the radio equipment. The hardware includes 128MB of RAM and 256MB of ROM (with 133MB available as storage space).
The front panel is overwhelmed by the 2.8" 65K color touch-screen TFT display. Sadly, it is QVGA ( I would have preferred VGA) just above the screen is the video call camera and the earpiece slot.
The next thing you notice ids the D-Pad, with 8 (!) keys plus the navigation keys and the confirming center. The left side of the device has the scroll wheel, the voice dial button and the OK button. They are quite simple to use; the wheel is soft and responsive, with scrolling and selecting a snap.
The right side of the HTC TyTN has only the off/on key and the camera shutter key. To start the camera, you must hold the shutter key down longer than normal. This prevents accidental starts. I wish the off/on key were raised, as it is difficult to find in the dark and hard to press anytime. This is a poor decision from them, as this has to be the most used key on the entire device.
The top of the HTC TyTN II has no buttons or features at all, but the bottom has the miniUSB port, the microSDHC card slot the lanyard loop and the pinhole for the microphone.
The back panel is matte plastic with a ... rubbery feel to it. It keeps a firm grip, but it is a pure fingerprint magnet. Other than the Camera Lens and LED flash, there is a rubber cap with a GPS logo, under which is the GPS antenna connector.
When you slide down the keyboard, the SIM card slot comes into view, right behind the display. However, the SIM card is not hot-swappable; if you remove the SIM, the Pocket PC will shut down with no warning at all.
Since the SIM is accessed on the outside, i see no reason at all you would ever need to remove the rear panel, but if you do, it comes off easily. Underneath it is the 1350 mAh Li-Poly battery. According to specs, it has 400 hours of standby and 6 hours of talk time, but reality says if you use it regularly, you get about a days worth of use out of it. One disappointment was that it took 3 whole hours to charge the battery completely.
The HTC TyTN is size comfortable to work with but you can't really call it pocket size, so this PocketPC is best carried in its case strapped on a belt. However, I found it nice sized to hold in my hand and working with it was a pleasure.
Shiny player
The 2.8" 65K color touch-screen TFT display of the HTC TyTN is very satisfactory. It's typical of most PocketPC screens out there and it has the to be expected low legibility under direct sunlight. Because of it's technology, it's better than the displays of most regular feature phones.
One feature I was so glad to see on the HTC TyTN II was the long awaited QWERTY keyboard. (that is the standard "typewriter" key layout). Plus, the keypad tilts, allowing you to just type, type, type. The keys are slightly convex, making typing actually not a problem at all.
Not only is the HTC TyTN II a regular PDA, it is a full featured Mobile Phone, complete with quad-band GSM support, so you can use it practically anywhere in the world. One pleasnt phone related feature is the Smart Dialing, where by entering the contacts name or number, it automatically searches the contacts. Smart dial even searches in your recent calls list.
The Communication Manager allows you to turn off all connectivity features, such as Bluetooth, WLAN, etc. The TouchFLO technology is basically a software enhancement that allows the touch screen to recognize the difference between using the stylus and using your finger. It enhances user experience by allowing smooth scrolling with fingers. Without it, finger-scrolling of lists or web pages would've been impossible, leaving the side scrollbar as the only option.
day-to-day communication
The Windows Mobile OS has an unlimited contact list with a ton of available fields for each entry. Synchronization with MS Outlook is as textbook as it gets. Unfortunately, there is no letter-by-letter search available in the phone book so you have to use the alphabetic filtering or scroll all the way through the list.
Sending and receiving messages is done via the Inbox, with separate folders for SMS, MMS and email. SMS length is virtually unlimited, as well as the memory available for received and sent messages.
The Outlook Mobile email client supports POP3 and IMAP accounts and multiple email accounts. It has full support for sending and receiving attachments. Windows Mobile 6.0 offers some upgrades to the email client in comparison to Windows Mobile 5.0 - now you have integrated search, plus support for HTML emails.
Managing the files
The Picture gallery of Windows Mobile is called Pictures&Videos and, as you would expect, you use it to browse the pictures and videos. You can zoom in and out, as well as preview the pictures in landscape mode. The files are shown as either thumbnails or as a list. You can even do some basic editing on the images.
The Streaming Media application is another HTC touch to the software package of the TyTN II. It allows you to watch or listen to streaming content. It follows the same stylus-free design of the Audio Manager.
Nice camera
PocketPCs are probably the bottom of the barrel when it comes to camera performance. HTC is obviously addressing that and among the first results is the 3 megapixel camera with auto focus integrated into the HTC TyTN II.
As you no doubt imagine, the huge 2.8" display is a nice camera viewfinder. The TyTN II camera can be operated like a regular digital camera, a half press on the shutter key locks the auto focus and exposure while pressing the key all the way takes the actual picture.
The menu is easy to operate just your fingers. In Burst mode the camera takes a total of 32 snapshots really fast but they are in VGA resolution only. In Panorama mode the camera takes three slightly overlapping images and stitches them automatically to create a panoramic shot. However, each individual shot is taken at VGA resolution. If you want, you can use the front video-call camera to take pictures and video.The HTC TyTN II camera captures MPEG4 or video in CIF resolution (352x288 pixels) at 20fps.
Data transfers are quick
Connectivity is what counts with PocketPCs. Direct USB or Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity allows seamless synchronization with MS Outlook. There is no Infrared port, but you do have Wi-Fi. You can also relay on the tri-band UMTS support plus HSUPA 3.6 Mbps. There are also GPRS and EDGE, so you always have data connectivity options available.
The TyTN II comes with the Internet Explorer Mobile web browser. It falls behind most of the competition, and should be replaced as soon as possible.
The HTC TyTN II has a GPS receiver and supports Assisted GPS. It uses the QuickGPS application that comes pre-installed to download initial positioning data, which the GPS receiver can later use to quickly lock to satellites.When in GPS mode, the battery of the HTC TyTN II lasted about 4 hours of continuous use.
Your office, to go
Windows Mobile has several time-management features and all of them are easily synch-able with MS Outlook. The Calendar is improved in comparison to the one used in Windows Mobile 5, as now it allows searching for events to come. It offers the standard daily, weekly and monthly view. The To-Do list allows you to add tasks and assign them priority.
The Alarm clock has three alarm slots. Each Alarm can have its own repeat pattern. The Calculator is another well-known application (as ugly as it gets), which is among the few things in Windows Mobile intended for stylus-free usage.
All the applications can work in landscape mode, too. As we mentioned earlier, sliding the QWERTY keyboard out automatically rotates the screen to landscape mode.
You can also download the application Live Search for free and with it you can find information on local businesses, restaurants, places of interest and even gas prices.
Final words
The HTC TyTN II is a serious hand-held device and packs some nice features. Its design is high-tech, solid and functional. I really liked the QWERTY keyboard and the notebook-like usability of the device.
On the downside, the TyTN II doesn't have a VGA resolution display and it's not really pocket size. The 400MHz Qualcomm processor is somewhat sluggish.
The HTC TyTN II will no doubt be a highly sought after gadget but don't expect it to be the ultimate communication device. However, the HTC TyTN II is a great option if you are deciding to upgrade from a much older device, or if you are looking for your first Pocket PC.
  
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