HTC Tattoo

Oafley Jones

Just saw this phone on Engadget, looks really nice for a budget Android phone. Specs wise it's surprisingly not much different from the Hero except the screen and they've added a radio (hopefully this will be on all future HTC's).

Specs:
528MHz Qualcomm MSM7225 processor, 512MB/256MB ROM/RAM, 106 x 55.2 x 14-mm / 113 grams, 2.8-inch touchscreen LCD pushing 240x320 QVGA pixels, 900/2100MHz HSPA/UMTS and quad-band GSM/EDGE, internal GPS, 802.11b/g WiFi, digital compass, accelerometer, and Bluetooth 2.0.




http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/08/htc-tattoo-aka-click-brings-android-sense-ui-to-all/#comments

http://www.htc.com/www/product/tattoo/overview.html

00sully

meh. pity about the screen resolution - i'd have picked it up for sure if it was HVGA. still coin tossing over hero/magic

Oafley Jones

00sully wrote: »

meh. pity about the screen resolution - i'd have picked it up for sure if it was HVGA. still coin tossing over hero/magic

It's a budget phone, something had to give.

00sully

Oafley Jones wrote: »

It's a budget phone, something had to give.

yeah I know its a pity though. It's nice looks and a small size - probably pretty cheap too compared to the Hero.

cpu-dude

00sully wrote: »

yeah I know its a pity though. It's nice looks and a small size - probably pretty cheap too compared to the Hero.

Resistive Touchscreen - I'm out. I still want the Hero, when it drops a bit and Sense is more fluid.

Oafley Jones

cpu-dude wrote: »

Resistive Touchscreen - I'm out. I still want the Hero, when it drops a bit and Sense is more fluid.

Plenty of great resistive TS out there, if implemented correctly they can be better than capacitive, it wouldn't put me off a phone. You'll see plenty of Resistive TS ignorance on engadget, most of it trolling the readers for comments and hits.

Zagato

I see it's now on Expansys for €369.99, I just bought my Hero yesterday from TTsims who are on Amazon and ebay for £279 sterling - I'm too lazy to do the conversion

Oafley Jones

Zagato wrote: »

I see it's now on Expansys for €369.99, I just bought my Hero yesterday from TTsims who are on Amazon and ebay for £279 sterling - I'm too lazy to do the conversion

For the sake of comparison Expansys have the Hero for €509.99. They've a tendency to pull prices out the air for new products so I'd wait a bit. Can't imagine it being too far off though. €300 would be the sweet spot.

cpu-dude

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Plenty of great resistive TS out there, if implemented correctly they can be better than capacitive, it wouldn't put me off a phone. You'll see plenty of Resistive TS ignorance on engadget, most of it trolling the readers for comments and hits.

All good points but it's a personal preference after using an iPhone for so long and then to a Nokia 5800. Resistive screens are an old technology which can be good - but they won't get much better - that's where capacitive screens come in. Now, obviously they have the advantage of being able to use a Stylus as well as your finger (useful for the Chinese market), it's still an outdated technology. Good uses of the resistive screen can be seen in the new software update for the Nokia N97 but still, it's not as pretty, bright or a fluid as a capacitive screen.

00sully

Zagato wrote: »

I see it's now on Expansys for €369.99, I just bought my Hero yesterday from TTsims who are on Amazon and ebay for £279 sterling - I'm too lazy to do the conversion

£279?? for the hero? :eek: you mean £379?

but yeah as said, resistive for the sense UI on the tattoo seems like a step back along with the screen res and "for that reason....I'm out" :pac:

Zagato

Was £279 they did charge £25 for postage (Incl. insurance), just checked my credit card balance and the whole thing worked out at €361, or possibly a bit cheaper - should be €347 by my reckoning.

Also just got the email to say it's on its way. This is an new unbranded never locked phone i.e. box should still be sealed -that's the theory anyway

Oafley Jones

cpu-dude wrote: »

All good points but it's a personal preference after using an iPhone for so long and then to a Nokia 5800. Resistive screens are an old technology which can be good - but they won't get much better - that's where capacitive screens come in. Now, obviously they have the advantage of being able to use a Stylus as well as your finger (useful for the Chinese market), it's still an outdated technology. Good uses of the resistive screen can be seen in the new software update for the Nokia N97 but still, it's not as pretty, bright or a fluid as a capacitive screen.

Both Capacitive and Resistive technology have been around since the 70's, so dismissing resistive as "old technology" doesn't really hold up. If my sole experience of RT had been the 5800, I'd had have a pretty poor opinion of it as well; but the 5800 is an example of poor implementation of the technology, while the n97 isn't great either - although it seems to be improving with the forthcoming firmware which adds kinetic scrolling etc. Most of Nokia's issues are to do with the software not the hardware. For a good example of RT check out HTC's Touch Diamond 2.

CT and RT are just different technology, and neither should be viewed as better than the other. They both have their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, HTC have today said the reason they went with RT in the Tattoo is the screen is too small for capacitive and they need RT for it's accuracy - a solution which is a lot easier than scaling the UI for Capacitive.

tonyj

cpu-dude wrote: »

Good uses of the resistive screen can be seen in the new software update for the Nokia N97 but still, it's not as pretty, bright or a fluid as a capacitive screen.

Not that RT or CT make any difference to how pretty or bright the display is, of course... For pretty and bright you need AMOLED....

Oafley Jones

tonyj wrote: »

Not that RT or CT make any difference to how pretty or bright the display is, of course... For pretty and bright you need AMOLED....

Actually it does. Due to the layers required to make RT work the screens are slightly duller, this used to account for loss of brightness, clarity of about 25%, although with modern screens the difference is negligible.

blocparty

Zagato wrote: »

Was £279 they did charge £25 for postage (Incl. insurance), just checked my credit card balance and the whole thing worked out at €361, or possibly a bit cheaper - should be €347 by my reckoning.

Also just got the email to say it's on its way. This is an new unbranded never locked phone i.e. box should still be sealed -that's the theory anyway

so did it arrive? whats the view on TTsims? brand new unlocked in box?

are you sure you got it for 279? that would be awesome, hope thats including vat so i could claim that back,

let me know as im very interested in getting this phone

Zagato

Yeah it arrived yesterday all good except no screen protector. Just playing with it now, synced with my exchange account perfectly.

That price was including VAT, but when I went back to look and see if I could get it again it was £379.

My invoice says original price £379 and then they deducted 26% for no particular reason. I guess I got lucky, and it's worth keeping a regular eye on it.

finhex

I ordered my black Tattoo from Vodafone and after few days usage I have to say I am really happy with it. Price was very good: under 260 euros delivered.

Only issue I have this moment is that there is some problems synchronizing my calendar data with Outlook. There is now one hour difference between start time of the events even timezone settings are equal with my computer and hand device. Has anybody seen this issue?

strecker

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Plenty of great resistive TS out there, if implemented correctly they can be better than capacitive, it wouldn't put me off a phone. You'll see plenty of Resistive TS ignorance on engadget, most of it trolling the readers for comments and hits.

Thanks for that! an awful lot of knee-jerking. You're right: properly implemented, a resitive touchscreen can be just fine. Even Samsung's Jet has its moments...at times it almost feels like a capacative screen.

Yes, I also hate pinch-zoom :P

Easy Rider

Well. I am due an upgrade on Vodafone and can get this for 79 euro. Thought it might be an okay phone to tie me over, however it is now an 18 month contract, plus the small screen on the tattoo means alot of the apps will not work on the HTC Tattoo from the Android store...

strecker

Easy Rider wrote: »

Well. I am due an upgrade on Vodafone and can get this for 79 euro. Thought it might be an okay phone to tie me over, however it is now an 18 month contract, plus the small screen on the tattoo means alot of the apps will not work on the HTC Tattoo from the Android store...

18 months is a joke. the tattoo is obviously designed to give ppl a taste of android - ie, you either hate it or you learn to love it and get a 'real' android phone. why commit to an entry level handset for 18 month ??? tssk

As to 240x320 resolution - I've been told that Android 2 will solve the prob., but who knows what Vf have done to the fw?

Cyrus

just FYI, i got an unlocked brand new hero from an ebay power seller for the princely sum of £323 delivered last week

best phone i have ever used

Danbo!

Cyrus wrote: »

just FYI, i got an unlocked brand new hero from an ebay power seller for the princely sum of £323 delivered last week

best phone i have ever used

Ah Cyrus, it seems we are always considering getting the same phone about the same time! P1i, iPhone, etc.. Touch diamond too if I'm not mistaken...

So you'd be the perfect person to ask, how does the hero stand after using an iPhone? O2 may be cancelling my contract as I cannot get signal at home, and my only choice is meteor. Considering getting the Hero but not too sure. I loved the Touch Diamond with TouchFlo but WinMo couldnt keep up, was hoping android did a better job.. Opinions? Cheers

Easy Rider

£323 is a good price, who was the power seller. Exactly 18 months, I was thinking sure, I'll get the upgrade until the 1gh processors come more into mainstream, see what is available on all networks...

Cyrus

Easy Rider wrote: »

£323 is a good price, who was the power seller. Exactly 18 months, I was thinking sure, I'll get the upgrade until the 1gh processors come more into mainstream, see what is available on all networks...

ill check later, cant think off the top of my head

Cyrus

Stee wrote: »

Ah Cyrus, it seems we are always considering getting the same phone about the same time! P1i, iPhone, etc.. Touch diamond too if I'm not mistaken...

So you'd be the perfect person to ask, how does the hero stand after using an iPhone? O2 may be cancelling my contract as I cannot get signal at home, and my only choice is meteor. Considering getting the Hero but not too sure. I loved the Touch Diamond with TouchFlo but WinMo couldnt keep up, was hoping android did a better job.. Opinions? Cheers

lol indeed we do

quite simply android is the best OS that i have used, altho ive never owned an iphone, the hero is a lovely device and any slowness issues are sorted with the custom roms

plus android 2.0 is coming

finhex

strecker wrote: »

18 months is a joke. the tattoo is obviously designed to give ppl a taste of android - ie, you either hate it or you learn to love it and get a 'real' android phone....

Size does not matter it is how you use it.

finhex

finhex wrote: »

Only issue I have this moment is that there is some problems synchronizing my calendar data with Outlook. There is now one hour difference between start time of the events even timezone settings are equal with my computer and hand device.

I found suitable solution from another forum. Problem was that my recuirring events were started before DST ending. After I changed event start times at the start of this month synchronisation started to work properly.