HTC knows about livin' large, afterwards all they created the already behemothic and arena breaking HTC HD2 and HD7S. Now that big phones are the trend, they've already afresh fabricated one of the better awning phones on the market, the 4.7" HTC Titan active Windows Buzz 7.5 Mango. Admitting that operating system's max resolution of 800 x 480, it's still a acceptable belvedere for huge screens accustomed the top superior cartoon and typography acclimated in the Metro UI and Windows Phone's multimedia focus. Movies attending artlessly alarming at 4.7", for example.
The Titan joins the Samsung Focus S and the Samsung Focus Beam on AT&T as their aboriginal beachcomber of Mango smartphones. It has a 1.5GHz Snapdragon CPU, an accomplished 8 megapixel rear camera and a foreground 1.3 megapixel video babble camera. Like the Focus S and Focus Flash, it has HSPA+ 4G 14.4 and the accepted WiFi, Bluetooth and a GPS that works with Bing Maps and AT&T Navigator.
The Titan feels and is fast. It's currently the fastest Windows Buzz with a 1.5GHz additional bearing Snapdragon CPU with Adreno 205 graphics. Windows Buzz doesn't abutment bifold amount CPUs, but candidly it doesn't charge one. The OS runs actual fast, video playback is actual bland and XBOX Live 3D amateur run perfectly. The Titan has the accepted 512 megs of RAM (again, a Microsoft accepted spec) and 16 gigs of centralized accumulator with no microSD agenda aperture (they're an acute aberration on Windows Phones).
Honestly, the Titan doesn't feel faster than the 1.4GHz Samsung Focus S, and you're not traveling to apprehension 100MHz in every day use. But it feels faster, decidedly if gaming, than the 1GHz aboriginal gen HTC HD7S POMP M3 and the aboriginal Samsung Focus.
Design and Ergonomics
Let's get this out of the way: yes, it's a ample phone. Among today's 4.3" to 4.5" smartphones, it's not all that abundant bigger or harder to handle. The Focus S is just a few millimeters smaller, and the LG Nitro HD is a hair taller but a little narrower. But if bound jeans and traveling ablaze are your thing, this isn't your phone.
Build superior and abstracts are both absorbing and aesthetically pleasing. I'd say that HTC's unibody architecture and metal aback accept absolutely contributed to active aboriginal sales (most AT&T food awash out bound afterwards the phone's launch). This feels and looks like a superior piece, and it's beefy at 5.64 ounces but not heavy. The aback awning wraps about the abandon of the phone, just like the HTC Sensation 4G and HTC Amaze 4G. Abolish the awning and you've got the amount of a naked buzz with ancillary switches and centralized $.25 viewable. The antenna is anchored in the aback cover, and you'll see chestnut acquaintance credibility on the buzz that accomplish acquaintance with the aback awning if it's on. That agency if you abolish the aback cover, you'll lose a lot of cellular and WiFi signal, so accomplish abiding you've got it absolutely airtight on. We noticed that if you clasp and awning the artificial lower breadth of the awning (hard to do unless you accept ample hands), the cellular arresting drops a bar. This is the breadth area the antennas are amid and allegedly it suffers a balmy case of afterlife grip. So don't awning the absolute artificial breadth of the aback cover, OK? If that bugs you, don't get this phone.
The ability button is calmly amid up top and it's a little beneath difficult to columnist compared to added contempo HTC smartphones. The ample aggregate rocker is on the top appropriate ancillary and the 3.5mm stereo headphone jack is up top. The micro USB anchorage for charging and syncing with the Zune desktop software in Windows and the Windows Buzz 7 Connector for Mac OS X X5 FM Touch is on the larboard ancillary and there are bifold mics for babble cancelling at the phone's top and bottom.
Display
The 4.7" Super LCD is lovely. It's arch and amateur aloft the HTC HD7S with added examination angles, richer colors and bigger brightness. It compares decidedly agreeably with the Samsung Focus S' Super AMOLED Plus affectation in agreement of action and brightness. It's a bit added blush aloof than the Focus S back Super AMOLED Plus displays accept a dejected blush cast. Metro absolutely looks abundant at 4.7", and admitting the dull pixel density, we didn't agenda pixelation or jaggy fonts. I'm abiding HTC would accept admired to put a 720p affectation on the Titan, but Windows Buzz currently alone abutment 800 x 480 resolution. Why Microsoft brand to stick with year old specs, we can't imagine.
Phone and Data
Speaking of endure year's specs, Microsoft's Buzz OS doesn't abutment LTE either. That's why the aboriginal crop of Mango phones run with 3G/4G HSPA+ 14.4Mbps. Not that AT&T's HSPA+ arrangement doesn't bear appropriate download speeds: the buzz averaged 3.5-5Mbps down and 1Mbps up, which is the aforementioned download and upload speeds as the 14.4 HSPA+ iPhone 4S. Web pages amount quickly, emails download with acceptable acceleration and Marketplace apps (those baby abundant to abstain the WiFi-only download designation) accustomed in acceptable time. The buzz has the adaptable hotspot feature, so you can use it as a WiFi hotspot for your laptop and book if you accept AT&T's 4 gig /month with included WiFi binding plan.
Call superior is good, but not great. The Samsung Focus S wins actuality with its ablaze clear articulation on both ends. The Titan isn't terrible, but admission and decidedly approachable articulation complete a bit digitized, and this is affronted if application Bluetooth access (Bluetooth tends to amplify calling weakness). We acclimated the Titan with our Jawbone 2 angle and BMW congenital Bluetooth and we had no agitation accustomed on conversations, but did occasionally accept to plan to accept a chat or two.
Windows Phone, Zune Multimedia, IE 9 and XBOX Gaming
If you're a Windows Buzz veteran, you can skip this section, but if you're almost new to the OS, apprehend on. Accepted for Windows Phone, you get the actual able and adorable Zune music and video amateur that syncs to your desktop (Zune applicant in Windows, Mac Windows Buzz Connector that syncs to iTunes on Macs active OS X). There's 16 gigs of centralized accumulator with 12.9 gigs accessible for your use, and there's no amplification slot. Afterwards the altercation over the microSD agenda aperture on the aboriginal Focus, I agnosticism we'll see any Windows Phones with agenda slots until the OS supports it in a added convenient fashion.
The Metro UI's is all about breeding and simplicity. In fact, it's absolute calming--think of it as the Chamomile tea of operating systems. If iOS is too bankrupt for your tastes and Android too unfocused, Windows Buzz avalanche about in between, and is afterpiece to iOS in agreement of affluence of use and presenting a structured experience.
That's not to say the OS is boring. It's not, and you've got XBOX Live amateur with a advantageous alternative of top superior amateur to get your claret pumping. XBOX gaming and Zune music are the centerpieces of Windows Phone. Funny for a aggregation that brought us the all business Windows Adaptable phones of old. But there's meat for business types actuality with solid MS Exchange abutment and Microsoft's adaptable adaptation of their Office apartment (view/edit/create docs).
IE 9 (mobile) does a acceptable job of apprehension websites, admitting we still don't rank it as awful as the accepted Android and iPhone web browsers. It gets 95% of CSS and formatting right, but already in a while we'll apprehension a chantry that's not sized appropriately (MS errs on the ancillary of authoritative fonts too ample so things break readable), or an angel that extends above its advised column. Sorry, there's no Adobe Beam Amateur on board, but now that Adobe has appear the abortive annihilation of adaptable Beam Amateur development in favor of HTML5 tools, that will achromatize in importance.
Windows buzz manufacturers can actualize their own Hub or asphalt and a alternative in the Marketplace for chargeless downloadable apps. HTC and Samsung accept the better apps selections, and both action agenda apps, photo editors and more. We decidedly like HTC's actively air-conditioned acclimate breadth in the Hub, and acquisition their camera accessory download that adds panorama and access modes to set them avant-garde of the Windows Buzz crowd.
Camera
We decidedly like the Titan's 8 megapixel rear camera. It has a ablaze bifold LED flash, acceptable autofocus times and it handles low ablaze and abyss of acreage able-bodied by camera buzz standards acknowledgment to HTC's behind aflame sensor and fast f2.2 lens. HTC offers a downloadable camera accessory that adds panorama and access approach shots, and the camera app has the accepted avant-garde alternative of settings for white balance, EV and more. We begin alfresco shots affably aciculate with acceptable detail and affluent colors, while calm low ablaze shots had the accepted babble but maintained reasonable blush saturation. The Samsung Focus S aswell has a acceptable 8 megapixel camera, but the Titan gets an bend for its avant-garde appearance and added accustomed and balmy colors. It aswell handles ablaze alfresco settings with beneath whiteout of highlights than the Samsung.
Battery Life
The HTC Titan has a 1600 mAh Lithium Ion array that's user replaceable. That's a appropriate accommodation array for a buzz with a fast clocked individual amount CPU and a huge display, but we wouldn't accept absent if HTC had fit an even college accommodation array in the smartphone's ample frame. Array activity was acceptable in our two weeks of testing, and we never ran out of abstract afore the end of the day with abstinent use that included 45 account of video streaming, a few 10 minute calls, cutting some photos and the accepted email/web use T2000i.
Conclusion
The HTC Titan and the Nokia Lumia 800 (not yet accessible in the US), are our two top picks for additional bearing top end Windows Phones. While the Lumia is acutely ergonomic and adorable in that Euro-chic way, the HTC speaks to those who ambition the better affectation forth with a top superior metal casing. The Lumia 800 is the Alfa Romeo sports car to the HTC Titan's Escalade sensibility. It's big, it's chic and has all the animal comforts.
We adulation the ample Super LCD affectation and it's the absolute advertise for Windows Phone's Metro UI. The Titan is fast, has a abundant camera and appropriate HSPA+ abstracts speeds. We ambition alarm superior was as acceptable as the Samsung Focus S, but it's a appropriate abundant articulation phone.