Monday, October 15, 2007

HTC S620: HTC Excalibur 100

The smartphones are diversifying. In early autumn, Samsung breaking with an excellent aircraft. HTC was no longer alone in this market, and especially the alternative Korean bring lots of new. With the S620, HTC offers a similar terminal, but with some significant advantages.


With the S620, HTC meets a beautiful way to Samsung and its SGH-i320. The slight overweight is justified by the presence of Wi-Fi and particularly a battery more consistent. The interface suffers anyway JOGGR system, inefficient. The presence of a Azerty keyboard and Wi-Fi terminal distinguish this from previous models, and confirm the target professional.

Azerty ergonomic keyboard, screen very good, Wi-Fi, self-correct, timing and recharge via a miniUSB port.

The same miniUSB connector is also used for the kit pedestrian congestion a little high, little JOGGR system usable.

The S620 is distinguished from other HTC smartphones by his screen horizontally and its Azerty keyboard. You can see this device as a real hybrid PDA / Phone, where the absence of touchscreen is offset by the keyboard. At first glance, it looks very much like the model of Samsung: the functional and technical specifications do differ on some details. It should be noted, still managing the Wi-Fi (which is not necessarily useful for all purposes!) .

The S620 is a very large phone, but also very fine. In a jacket pocket or pants, finesse is more important, this choice seems rather clever. However, the width could hamper important people with small hands. Retain all while using the keyboard while they may seem a little complicated.

Unlike MTeoR (3G smartphone HTC), the side of the S620 are counted. There is only the On / Off button (which is also used to enable a profile). No wheel, key to the volume or action of any kind. This choice is a little confusing at first.

For several generations, HTC products offer connectivity MiniUSB. This allows both synchronization and recharge. With the S620, that port is also used for the pedestrian kit (which is itself office headphone stereos). So even if the latter is not necessarily practical (recharge and listening to music: mission impossible), have a universal connector provides a distinct advantage! The device can be reloaded or used as a modem from any Windows PC USB ...

Technological innovation of this smartphone called JOGGR. It is a tactile area right of the screen used as a wheel (vertical scrolling). Let me be clear: we have fun, and 5 minutes after it disables the function. Indeed, in addition to the scroll, 2 zones allow access to messages or going backwards. So a simle grip a little farm of the unit switch screens. In short, only scrolling could be useful. As it is inoperable (except for the very thorough). It should be noted that to change the volume during a phone conversation, only the directional pad, which is not very easy (especially with the wide all!) .

The keyboard Azerty (Qwerty on the test model) might seem small. The provision classic keys and especially their reasonable spacing can quickly enter text. Do not write a novel complete, but a detailed mail remains entirely feasible.

The S620 can receive cards microSD format extensions. The position of the space reserved for this purpose is very strange. The battery should not unfamiliar withdrawn but the back cover, yes! So not quite practical, but still usable.

The grip is very good. But this device remains a phone. So what about the quality of communications? "Good, but can do better" verdict here is a fairly straightforward. The sound is still too low in noisy environments, but the overall quality is that of its predecessors. The interlocutors sometimes complain of a low volume as well. Side ergonomics, the search through the contact number or name remains as effective. And if the small battery (960mAh) could worry at first glance, it proves to be well exploited. In current usage (data, voice, movement, management PIM) camera held two days. If you spend many calls, this result will decline rapidly. And if you use Wi-Fi, do not take more than 2 or 3 hours.

The AFN disappoints a bit (once again). Sensor 1.3Mpixels only, and compression quite high. On the screen 320x240 beautiful photos appear successful. But once spent on the computer, we soon discovered that this is not the case.

In conclusion, we can say that the S620 seems nice. Faced with Samsung SGH-i320, he brings some added features like Wi-Fi and especially the connection MiniUSB. The design is something relative, but confess, however, that on this side Samsung retains a competitive edge. Autonomy reasonable appeal to demanding users, often disappointed by the poor performance of Windows Mobile smartphones.

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