For Americans, this is the year of LTE. Granted, MetroPCS and Verizon actually launched their first LTE markets and devices last year, but next-gen data has really hit the mainstream in 2011. Virtually all members of Verizon's high-end smartphone line (the iPhone notably excluded) are now LTE-capable, and the network is now in the process of lighting up smaller, secondary markets. If you're a fan of high-speed data ¡ª and who isn't? ¡ª it's a good time to be alive.
AT&T is about a year behind Verizon in the LTE deployment cycle, but it's catching up in at least one regard: it has now shipped its first LTE phones less than two months after launching the 4G network itself ¡ª Verizon took over three months to reach that milestone. To be fair, AT&T has the benefit of an additional year's worth of experience and maturity on the hardware side ¡ª Verizon and HTC were blazing trails back when they released the ThunderBolt ¡ª but if nothing else, it's a sign that AT&T is going full-bore to get on a level playing field with its nearest competitor. Customers understand the need for fast data better than ever, and on some level, all the major carriers appear to recognize that. M600 Cell Phone
That brings us to the HTC Vivid, one of AT&T's first two LTE handsets to hit store shelves (the other being the Samsung Skyrocket, a reworked version of the Galaxy S II). Leaked over the last several weeks as the "Holiday," the Vivid comes to market with a good bit of pent-up anticipation behind it ¡ª not only is the LTE support a big deal, but this marks the first time HTC has brought a qHD display to an AT&T device. Furthermore, it's the first 4.5-inch qHD display in AT&T's lineup, period.
In other words, the hype meter is pegged and the pressure's on. Is the Vivid the right showcase for AT&T's LTE network?
Packaging
I was a little taken aback by the design of the Vivid's box... or rather, the lack of design. Considering the groundbreaking LTE support, you'd assume AT&T would want to position this as a flagship phone ¡ª particularly in light of the high-end $199.99 price tag on contract ¡ª and flagship phones typically get cool packaging. Even phones in the mid-tier and below get tiny, efficient, form-fitting boxes designed for minimal ecological impact. The Vivid, though, has neither a cool box nor a tiny one: it's roughly twice the width of the phone and just looks like an ordinary, orange, AT&T-branded box. Obviously, it's not a big deal at all ¡ª it's what's inside the box that counts ¡ª but a unique unboxing experience can put a smile on your face, and that's always a good way to start a relationship with a new gadget.
Speaking of the box, there's nothing out of the ordinary inside: other than the phone, you've got documentation, a fairly small USB wall charger, Micro USB cable, and a 1,650mAh battery (ours was pre-installed, but yours may not be). What you won't find, though is a microSD card ¡ª nor will you find one in the phone. The Vivid supports expansion of up to 32GB, and I'd expect at least an 8GB or 16GB card to be installed in a $200 on-contract handset these days. Granted, you've got 16GB internal, but only about 13GB of that was accessible to me out of the box. W3000 Analog TV
Hardware / design
Simple, all-black slabs are the norm among Android devices ¡ª and really, among smartphones in general. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with that; simple can be (and quite often is) beautiful in its own right. And from a technological perspective, pushing an extra-large touchscreen out to the edges, practically eliminating the bezel in the process, limits your opportunities for meaningful differentiation.
Thing is, HTC has been far more talented than most of its competitors at taking a few limited design variables and crafting genuinely unique devices. The Legend, Aria, Incredible, Sensation, Amaze, Rezound, just to name a few ¡ª they've all had stand-out elements that make them distinct and immediately recognizable without compromising functionality. Somehow, HTC has lost sight of that design DNA on the Vivid. I don't want to use the term "half-baked," but I wouldn't be surprised if there were some corners cut along the Vivid's development path in order to meet AT&T's goal of a 2011 LTE handset launch ¡ª and gorgeous, unique industrial design is likely one of the easiest corners to cut.
The best way I can describe it is this: if you'd covered all branding on the Vivid and shown the phone to me before I knew what it was, I probably would've guessed it was an LG. That's not necessarily a knock on LG ¡ª it's a testament to the fact that there's very little about the Vivid's design that screams "HTC," and that's odd considering how strongly HTC's personality tends to shine through in most of its products.
Display
Design aside, the display is definitely a bright spot on the Vivid ¡ª and with a name like "Vivid," I'd expect no less. 720p phones like the Galaxy Nexus and Rezound are poised to take the all-out resolution crown away from qHD devices like this, it's true, but make no mistake: the 960 x 540 offered by qHD still looks stellar, and at roughly 245ppi, there was no point that I felt that display elements felt too big on the phone's 4.5 inches of real estate. BIG8 i300
Needless to say, I don't think AT&T is lying about the presence of a Super LCD here. The phone's usable viewing angle is very nearly 180 degrees, in my judgment, and you can't tilt it in a way that makes the colors wash out. If I had to come up with a complaint, it'd be that there's a noticeable gap between the glass and the display ¡ª something that devices like Sony Ericsson's Xperia Arc and the iPhone 4 / 4S have made an effort to eliminate ¡ª but it's not a practical concern in day-to-day use.
Wrap-up
The Vivid is a perfectly average, acceptable Android smartphone. The problem, though, is that "acceptable" doesn't really cut it at $200 on contract ¡ª and regardless of the pricing, AT&T should've been looking to blow people away with its first LTE handsets. Why not? The commercial deployment of LTE is the most important thing to happen to the American wireless industry in years, and carriers that manage to get it off the ground should be celebrating with some truly awesome hardware.