Review|HTC TyTN II

[HTC TyTN II itching to get out]

[Fresh out of the box]
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The HTC TyTN II [internal code: HTC KAISER] is the succesor to the popular HTC TyTN [internal code: HTC HERMES] series Asian readers will know this as the dopod 838pro. Since HTC bought out all it's Asian subsidiaries HTC will be the branding for all devices from the Taiwanese Windows Mobile behemoth. Having previously owned a TyTN I was hesitant to return to the slider form factor after nearly 10 months with my QWERTY bar palm Treo 750v. But the lure of beefed up specs was too great for me to ignore and so we begin our journey with the TyTN mark II. Buckle up.
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Specifications:
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Cellular Radio: Quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900) + Tri-band UMTS w/ HSDPA (850/1900/2100) ~ UMTS = 384kbps UL/DL and HSDPA = 384kbps UL/3.6Mbps DL A-GPS [Assisted GPS]
Processor: Qualcomm® MSM 7200 400Mhz
RAM: 128Mb
ROM: 256Mb
Display: 2.8 in Touchscreen 65K Colour @ 240x320 (qVGA)
adjustable angle [Tilting function]
WiFi: 802.11b and 802.11g
Bluetooth: v2.0 with A2DP
ExtUSB (HTC's lame spin on the miniUSB) data/power/audio
Mono rear speaker
Data/Text Entry: Slide out QWERTY
keyboard + Touchscreen
Dual Cameras: 0.3MP (Video Telephony) 3MP w/ Auto Focus (Photos/Videos)
Others: Lot's of Buttons and a Scroll Wheel
OS: Windows® Mobile 6.0 Professional [PocketPC]
Battery: Rechargeable/Removable 1350mAH
Expansion: microSD [SDHC ready]
Weight: 190g with battery vs 176g with battery
Dimension: 112m (L) x 59mm (W) x 19mm (T) vs 112.5 mm (L) X 58 mm (W) X 1.95 mm (T)
***specs in grey are for the TyTN
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As you can see the mark II has beefed up specs most noticeable is the doubled RAM/ROM, the A-GPS, the 3MP shooter, the SDHC ready slot and of course the slide & tilt screen. As you can see above the size differences are very small but in the weight department the TyTN II as expected is heavier. Of course I unboxed the beast at the store had a screen protector applied [hp iPAQ rw6828 screen protector fits very well].
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What's In the Box:

[Lot's of Goodies from HTC]
TyTN II
Battery
Stylus
Carry Pouch
Manual + Documentation
mini USB Sync Cable
Stereo Wired Headset [ExtUSB]
AC Adapter [auto volt]
Getting Started + Application CD [Sprite Backup/TomTom Navigator/GPRS Monitor]
Screen Protector
***this is for the EU sales package the Asian package will probably have CE StarSuite and MapKing
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Around the Device:

[Brushed Metal finish adorns the area surrounding the screen, the device looks sexy and professional. A departure from their other sliders this device's QWERTY keyboard slides to the right. This is a bit unsettling especially since I owned the HTC Wizard [dopod 838] and HTC Hermes (HTC TyTN) which slid to the left. The stylus is still placed in a silo on the bottom right when device is in portrait, left if it's in landscape more on that later.]

[The SIM card slot is no longer hidden behind the battery but directly at the back of the screen]

[Screen Tilted ~ Front View: One of the biggest additions to the design of the TyTN II is it's slide and tilt screen this is a great feature if you want to leave your device on your desk to watch videos or if you want to type with the device rested on your desk, perfect for configuration for your office desk]

[Screen Tilted ~ Side View]

[Bellow the screen we see the Dial/Start/Soft Keys/Internet Explorer/D-pad/Messaging/End Call and Ok button ~ unlike it's predecessor the TyTN which had keys on the top and bottom of the screen the mark II has all the buttons in a neat bundle at the bottom much less finger acrobatics]

[The TyTN II has Windows Mobile 6 Professional loaded]

[The TyTN II has bright and crisp screen]

[A neat feature which appeared in the HTC Herald appears on the Mark II as well, Fn and Cap indicator lights just like a desktop keyboard, The TyTN II has a bigger keys than my Treo 750v however the softkeys on the keyboard seem to be on the small side, thankfully response and tactile feedback is great on this keyboard.]

[The right side is bare except for the dedicated camera button and the power button]

[Left Side: We have the scroll wheel, the voice command button and a 2nd ok button ~ the scroll wheel and 2ndary Ok button makes navigating the device a lot easier still I wouldn't count it as completely stylus free.]

[On the Top we see the Earpiece straddled by 2 LED for notifications the 0.3MP video call camera and the HTC branding]

[The bottom part we have a lanyard loop the ExtUSB port the soft reset hole and the stylus silo]

[The stylus thank the maker is a single solid piece not the crappy telescoping kind]

[The rear of the device again we see minimalist branding, this time there is no lock for the battery cover and the whole rear is slid off to get to the battery]

[Here's a close up of the 3MP shooter and the mono speaker, as usual the speaker isn't as loud as I'd like but the 3MP camera with auto focus takes suprisingly good photos with enough lighting of course]

[The rubber gasket with GPS written on it is there to hide the jack where you connect a GPS antenna]
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Inside:
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[Here we see the info about the OS]

[We see some of the specs we mentioned earlier]

[Here we see HTC Home, HTCHomePlug, HTC Task Manager: it was good of HTC to include these useful apps, also included is ARCsoft MMS composer, Adobe Reader for PDF viewing, QuickGPS for faster TTFF (Time to First Fix), Audio Manager, Word Card Mobile for taking photos of business cards, Esmertec for Java apps, and the very familiar Comm Manager to control the myriad of Radios on this device, on the app CD you can get Sprite Backup, Tom Tom Nav, GPRS Monitor. Since TT doesn't have maps for Manila, I installed Mapking instead. All in all a good software package from HTC]

[HTC TyTN II aka HTC Kaiser. Trivia: Kaiser means Emperor in German]
[Here we see what ROM is loaded Aug-2007 kinda dated don't ya think? Hopefully a new ROM with improvements is in the works]

[Heaps of Memory: this is the first device I've owned with 128Mb RAM and 256Mb ROM right on!]
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Compared:

[HTC TyTN II on top of the palm Treo 750v]

[TyTN II vs Treo side by side not much of a difference]

[Of course with the slider open the footprint is bigger than the palm Treo 750v]

[no Beanster™ Blog Gadget Review is complete without the cigarette carton comparisson shot]

[Taller than the carton but not wider]
In Hand:

[TyTN II in hand]

[Slider open and device in hand]
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Conclussion:
A world phone with highspeed data, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS, coupled with the versatility of the Windows Mobile OS makes the HTC TyTN II a solid performer, the beefed up camera and memory really makes using the device a joy. Add the slide out and tilt up screen and you've got a winner.

Pros vs Cons:
+ Ultimate Connectivity [Quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE and Triband UMTS + HSDPA]
+ WiFi
+ Bluetooth
+ Slide out and Tilt up QWERTY keyboardwith indicators
+ Scroll Wheel
+ 3MP camera with auto focus
+ microSD is SDHC compliant [according to some users upto 8Gb has been tested]

- Pricey
- Standard audio jack is absent
- One handed use is out of the question