Ok, finally I got this new mobile. Waited some months after my mobile provider told me that they will not sell this specific HTC mobile which I would have converted to a Debian mobile phone device. Darn. But back to the topic.
OUTSIDE:
Looks nice - although I wonder how I shall carry that device in my pocket without accidently sliding it open or scratch the surface with keys or coins. Fingerprints? It has a lock key/slider on the side (learned from Sony Ericsson?). The vibra-feedback is sometimes very slow. Also the menu behaves like syrup. The internet browser it not state of the art. Not thoroughly tested, though.
INSIDE:
Sliding it open reveals the keyboard. Why did they put the space key on the right? Why did they put the "point" key "under" the "M"? Pressing the blue arrow before pressing the point key is... pointless. Why did they put the shift key on the left? In general the keyboard is too small to be fully useable. It is only useful for a quick write. Useability? Anyone thought about it?
JOYSTICK:
The joystick works but it is too small for my big thumb. I always end up pressing the middle key instead of up and down.
DISPLAY:
The display looks nice. Some nice gadgets preinstalled like weather forecast and Facebook. Very sad that the facebook app is not working. Whenever I enter my credentials it tells my that some error occured in an undefined funtion. Very bad.
OVI STORE:
I deleted that facebook app from the phone and tried to reinstall it from the OVI store (for free - registration necessary). Could not find it there while I was surfing with the phone. Then I tried it from my computer - thinking I could download it from the web and reinstall it with the cable or bluetooth. Found it. No download to PC possible - you can only send a link to your phone via SMS. Convinient? Sort of - I thought. Then I got the link on the phone and tried to open it. Link is broken. Darn. How do I get my Facebook app back?!?
BRANDING:
I have the bad feeling that my phone is branded over and over with my mobile provider settings. Updated firmware once every 6 months until they scrap the support after a year. Need to find a way to unbrand it. In the right corner of the display (softkey) it says "my vodafone". Not tried to get rid of it, though.
PC SYNC:
I sync with Lotus Notes 8.02 - It was a pain in the ass to fully sync with my calendar and contacts. Lotus Notes always crashed. When I used bluetooth it also left open the bluetooth connection so that I had to cancel the bluetooth connection manually and restart the sync. In the end I used the USB cable. After starting the sync I always got a "file not found" error (obviously coming from the names.nsf file. I ignored that and after a couple of syncs it finally found the file. Very strange. Why does it always work with Outlook?
CAMERA / GADGETS:
Faster than the N95. Better than the one whose "name is not allowed to be spoken out"
Has a built-in FM transmitter. Attach it to your FM radio to hear your MP3s. The N97 is capable of using VoIP. No client found yet. Reminds me of the desaster with the Sony Ericsson 990i where you had no chance to get a VoIP client. Need to check that out.
FINAL:
So - this is the official successor of the Communicator series? Sorry Nokia - you did a bad job. This is not a business phone. This is a consumer product - made for the masses. I am special. I am a geek. What about a preinstalled SSH client? A VNC client? A VPN client? Not in your OVI store. Bad.
I would not recommend this phone. Maybe I will give it back to the vendor.
