PDA Reviews

HTC TyTn II Pocket PC/ HTC Kaiser

Since the announcement of the iPhone, there was a lot of hype and talking about it all over the world. It seemed as though it was the only phone that was available and peoples dignity lied in getting hold of it. Some people are still wise enough to even see what the other manufacturers have got in their bags. Apple’s front running rival HTC is considered in this review. We are taking a tour through the iPhone like PDA of HTC which is the HTC TyTn II, otherwise called as, the HTC Kaiser or HTC P4550. This is the successor to the TyTN, which was otherwise called as the varioII or Vodafone v1650 or Orange SPV M3100. The Kaiser was released after a lot of speculation and rumours, now, let us have a look if it is strong enough to pose a threat to the iPhone.

Some tweaks with the design:

The design of the Kaiser is very much similar to its predecessor, but when you have a closer look at the phone you will be able to find significant changes and upgradations made. The HTC P4550 Kaiser Smartphone is having a slimmer dimensions than its predecessor, that being (H x W x D) 110 x 58 x 18mm and weights 160 grams that is, 16 grams lighter. Though it is nowhere near the slimness of the Blackberry 8800, the Kaiser is not a pocket bulgier too. A difference with the HTC P4550 that can go un-noticed is that, it opens form the other side which means, opening the phone with your right hand will be easier but if would want to hold the smartphone in your left, you might feel uncomfortable.

Tilting display:

HTC TyTn II Pocket PC is having a 2.8″ display with a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels resolution. The  display is clear and bright and also does not suffer from the yellow colour cast that has been common on earlier devices. The screen once extended, to reveal the keyboard can also be tilted upwards. The tilting screen is just more than a gimmick as it can be of great help when you are browsing and typing emails. Since the screen can be tilted to any angle between zero to 45 degrees, it is less prone to reflections and you can view it in a way that is comfortable for you.

Body architecture:

The bottom of the HTC TyTn II Smartphone has a microSD card slot that has a complete plastic dust cover. You can also find a External USB connector for syncing or charge and audio. Next to that a reset button and the space for the stylus. The right side of the PDA has the power and camera buttons. And on the left a scroll wheel along with OK and voice notes button. The rear side of the device has the loud speaker and the camera too and the built in GPS is indicated by a large rubber cover over the external GPS antenna socket. In order to insert a SIM card you have to slide the keyboard open and then look on the rear of the screen. Under a flap you will find the SIM card slot.

Fun with keyboard:

The keyboard is a sliding QWERTY keyboard which is quite good. The keyboard itself is great fun to use as you can here a jingle, each time it is opened and closed. The keys are well laid out and very easy to type on for its font size. The numbers and some important symbols can be typed in quickly with just a flick of the function key. A dedicated period key is the most welcome part. There are a pair of soft keys just above the keyboard that allow you to access the main menu any time you with without having to reach the touch screen. You also get a couple of indicator LED’s that show you the Caps and Function status. The keys are back-lit but the back light turns on only when the conditions are fairly dark which saves you more power. The clickable scroll wheel is of great use both in the portrait and as well as in the landscape mode that allows you to navigate through the menus with a great deal of ease. On the front of the TyTN II you will find the five way navigational pad, a couple of soft keys, send and end phone buttons, an IE button, Email button, Windows Button and an OK button. The overall set-up looked like a baby laptop.

The interface:

The windows mobile home screen has an attractive control pad with a big digital clock display along with the weather forecast for your chosen location. The shortcuts for your favourite contacts and applications is also available. Thumb driven scrolling and panning to other applications is possible with the help of the TouchFLO. This allows you to scroll down without using your stylus or using your nails to reach the corner of the phone to get hold of the skinny scroll bars. You will not find the 3D cube on the TyTN II and no gesture based swipes across the screen as these both require a more sensitive touchscreen technology.

Camera:

The camera has been upgraded to a three mega pixel one but still it lacks flash or self portrait mirror. Though the 3 mega pixel sounds to be not a lot, we must keep in mind that this is just a PDA. The pictures are quite good when in outdoors but without the flash, you cannot expect much indoors or in low-light areas. The auto focus is available that allows you to take even the smallest shots with much detail.  There is a front facing camera available for 3G video conferencing. You will not need the self portrait mirror as you are having the front-facing VGA camera.

Robust features and performance:

On top of GPRS, the HTC Kaiser also features HSDPA and 3G for lighting speed browsing if the GPRS does not work that fast for you. Being a quad band phone, you can use is virtually in any part of the world. The inclusion of the GPS is another significant improvement over the original TyTN. The GPS included allows you to choose from a range of navigation software packages including the Wayfinder or the Telmap or even the CoPilot. Its function is good enough that you can also use it as your in-car satellite navigation system. When you enter Comm Manager or look through the settings menu and programs list there is little to give away the fact that the device has built in GPS. There is no definitive GPS on/off switch, you simply enter a GPS enabled application and things should start to work.

As with the Touch, the HTC P4550 Pocket PC applies HTC’s proprietary TouchFLO, thumb-driven interface to the standard Windows Mobile 6 installation. You cannot expect the TouchFLO experience to be the same as the HTC Touch, as this is a somewhat cut down implementation of the technology. Though this does not worry us much, up- gradation is what we are all looking forward to and not any cut downs. The best of the TouchFLO’s features are included though. The HTC P4550 remains powered a 400MHz processor, but this time, by Qualcom and not Samsung as is the case in the original TyTN. The phone cold-boots quickly, wakes up from standby instantly and applications generally launch without undue delay the difference in the speed is much noticeable. There is a pause for a couple of second when you flip the mobile from portraite to landscape mode but that pause is not long enough to make to loose your temper.

The standard internal memory provided for the Kaiser is 256MB, after you load it with the email and contact information, you will be getting around 120MB for the files and 66 plus MB for your applications.

The USB headset provided is nothing more than awful. And the PDA also lacks a standard 3.5mm headphone socket.

Battery:

The battery life of P4550 is quiet good. You will be able to get around three days on occasional usage with a single charge, but if you play your MP3 then, this rate degrades significantly.

Box contents:

The TyTN II comes in the standard black HTC package. The box contents include the PDA itself, Suede effect case, Mains Charger, USB Sync/Charge cable, Application CD with ActiveSync, Sprite Backup, GPRS Monitor and TomTom 6, ExtUSB hands free headset, Battery, Clear screen protector, Spare Stylus, Manual and a getting started guide.

Verdict:

The upgrades that HTC has made form the original TyTN is pleasing and has really worked hard over it. The Kaiser offers you almost everything that you would expect out of a smartphone. Its design, GPRS, 3G, HDSA and GPS features are very appealing. The tilting screen adds the style factor and is a great device for messaging. If you are very fussy with the camera, then you might be disappointed.

HTC TyTn II Pocket PC, having such good features, if you are trying to get hold of one without on contract with any of the mobile phones, then you will have to pay a very dearly cost. Just try to get hold of it on any contract that suites you. We are happy with the features and performance of the PDA.

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HTC P4550 Kaiser Smartphone/Pocket PC - Specification Details

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