The Titan is a Winner! November 23, 2011

Reviewer:  Bacchus  (Boston, MA USA) -

After a few days of calling every ATT store in the Boston area I finally found a Titan in stock last night and picked it up. I was too impatient to wait and take advantage of the awesome penny deal on Amazon plus I was exchanging my Focus S for the Titan so I took to plunge. (The Focus S is an awesome phone too and I wrote a review last week on Amazon about it. I just wanted to try out the latest and greatest so I traded it in for the Titan)

The Titan's screen is HUGE but the phone still fits nicely in to one had. HTC has designed this phone beautifully and almost the entire front of the device is filled by the screen. The bezel on the left and right side is almost nonexistent. This phone is gorgeous. The screen has a resolution of 480x800 which by today's standard is a bit low but you will be hard pressed to even realize this during everyday use. The Windows Phone OS looks fantastic on this screen and text is very easy to read. Videos and pics look outstanding and the super LCD really nails the correct colors accurately. You will love this screen.

Under the hood the Titan is powered by a 1.5 GHz single core processor. I am not sure why other OS's require dual core processors because Windows Phone OS runs buttery smooth on this phone. No matter what I throw at this phone nothing slows it down. Microsoft has really done a wonderful job keeping this OS lightning fast.

You get 16 GB of storage which for me is plenty. I have a ton of apps, games, music and videos on my phone and still have 9 GB free. Unfortunately there is no memory card slot so the 16 GB is all this phone will ever have. You do get access to 25 GB of free storage on Microsoft's SkyDrive which is integrated well in to the OS so you can always store your pics and docs in the cloud if you run low on storage.

ATT markets this as a 4G phone but it isn't true 4G LTE but just the HSPA+ network which is still plenty fast. In Boston my average download speed is right around 4Mbps a second. Not too shabby at all. The call quality so far seems top notch but quite honestly I have only made a few. The signal strength in Boston isn't that great to begin with so at times I am running with only 2 bars of strength. It doesn't seem to impact calls or the internet so as long as things run well I do not care how many bars I have. It is something I will pay close attention to in the coming days and will update my review if things take a turn for the worse. So far things are fantastic though.

The sound on this phone is great. It can get VERY loud when using headphones so be careful how far you crank up the volume. The external speaker is quite good for a phone but can get a little distorted when you max out the volume. The phone does not come with ear buds so you will need your own set. This really isn't an issue as most of the earbuds that come with phones are junk but I did find it odd that none were included.

I don't want to talk about the OS too much as this is a phone review but for those who have not used Windows Phone yet you will be amazed at how awesome it is. This is the future of mobile now. Once you use this OS going back to iOS or Android is very hard and you will wonder to yourself how you ever got along without Windows Phone and it's brilliant Live Tiles and super smooth operation.

While the app store is not nearly as large as Apples or Googles I have found that almost every app I used on my iPhone 4 has a counterpart on Windows Phone. You will also find the Windows Phone versions of your favorite apps look, feel and operate better than the ones on iOS. Wait to you open apps like USA Today or IMDB. They are truly magnificent. If you are a gamer and own an XBOX 360 then you really should be on Windows Phone as XBOX Live is integrated right in the OS and compatible XBOX Live games on Windows Phone include achievements so even on the go you can get those glorious little achievement notifications that some people have become addicted to!

That is it for now. I have to get back to playing with my new phone! If you have any questions please feel free to leave comments on my review and I will try to answer them as soon as possible.

UPDATE 11/24/2011 - I have had the Titan now for a couple of days and my opinion that this is a fantastic phone is just getting stronger. The battery life is outstanding. I took it off the charger yesterday and used it quite heavily the entire day and when I went to sleep at 11:30 PM I still have about 9 percent left. This phone will easily get you through an entire day.

I have also now played with the camera and can say that the 8 megapixel camera takes great photos. Outside in daylight is where this camera really shines. I took some panoramic shot with the built in software and they came out quite awesome. The colors were very accurate. The video recorder works very well too and I got some great outdoor footage in glorious 720p. Taking pics inside the house at night with the flash on hurts the quality a bit but I still think the inside pics look a lot better than the ones I take on my iPhone 4. I think you will be quite happy with the camera's performance.

UPDATE 11/25/2011 - Office is absolutely awesome on the Titan. While you don't get to see more of your documents on the screen compared to smaller phones due to the resolution what you do get are documents that are much easier to create and edit. I have noticed this especially while using Excel as each cell is much bigger and easier to manipulate. This phone just keeps getting better and better.

UPDATE 12/03/2011 - 4G speeds. After researching 4G speeds on wpcentral.com it appears that AT&T may be throttling their Windows Phones. In Boston where we have HSPA+ speeds I should be seeing twice the download speeds that I am currently getting. I still average around 4 Mbps which is fine for just about everything I have done so far but it sure would be nice to be up around 8. I am still leaving the review at 5 stars because the phone is still incredible but this is something you may want to consider if you are planning to switch over to AT&T.

HTC Titan is an outstanding smartphone! November 26, 2011

Reviewer:  M. ORTIZ 

I bought the HTC Titan on "Black Friday" and I must say that I'm very happy with my purchase! Upgrading from a Samsung Focus, I decided to stay with the Windows Phone devices because they are fast, reliable, and fun to use. I've owned an iPhone 3G and a Samsung Captivate (Android 2.1) in the past, but I prefer the setup of Windows Phone 7.5 overall for my cellphone needs.

To make this review easier to navigate, I'll break it down into some of the features I consider most important about this device...

1) SIZE & SCREEN: Okay, the first thing I noticed about the HTC Titan is that it's one BIG PHONE! Sporting a 4.7" Super LCD screen, the Titan made my old Samsung Focus (4" Super AMOLED screen) look like a toy! Even though the Titan has a large screen, I still find it comfortable to hold, because the body is pretty thin. While waiting for a phone case and holster to arrive from Amazon, I've been carrying it comfortably in my jean and jacket pockets without any problems. You will hear plenty of folks complain about the Titan's lower screen resolution (480 x 800) compared to Android and iPhone devices, but I don't think it's a problem. Everything displays sharply and well-lit on the Titan and sometimes I casually display it in the presence of iPhone and Android users, just to get a reaction ("Hey, look at THAT!"). Anyway, its like having a 60" 720p HDTV (Titan) and comparing it to a 32" 1080p HDTV (iPhone/Android)... give me the BIGGER SCREEN everytime! Bottomline: the Titan has a large, beautiful screen which looks great compared to other phones. Ignore the haters!

2) PROCESSOR SPEED: The snappier 1.5GHz Processor on the Titan compares favorably to other phones! For those who are considering high-end Android devices or an iPhone 4S just because they have dual-core processors, rest assured that the HTC Titan is no slouch when it comes to speed. Overall, I noticed no slowdown while using my device to run apps, games, or videos. Windows Phone 7.5 doesn't currently support dual-core processors, but there really isn't a need at this point.

3) 16GB MEMORY: Okay, this area is really a shortcoming, in my opinion. Why did HTC only install 16GBs on this beast? Even my old Samsung Focus was expanded to 40GB of memory space! Microsoft needs to really raise the bar in this area, in order to stay competitive. If we are supposed to load our phones with content, why not give us the extra storage space to do it?! Bottomline: HTC needs to expand the storage space to at least 32GB.

4) WINDOWS PHONE 7.5 (MANGO): The Windows Phone operating system is a complete joy to use. Using a home-screen comprised of tiles, you can start your favorite apps pretty rapidly with this device. Multi-tasking is similar to the iPhone in everyday use. Just press and hold the "arrow key" on the phone and you will see screenshots of previously used apps or functions displayed like a row of playing cards. Tap the "card" of your choice and you'll be back in that program in a flash! Windows Phone 7.5 also offers great features like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Microsoft Office, Xbox LIVE, and Bing integration. Want voice recognition software? Just push and hold your "Windows key" and you can issue a large number of commands to your phone (i.e. "Call Lisa", "Local Weather", "Open Office", etc). Microsoft Office integration is greatly improved on Windows Phone. You can access numerous Office files (Word, Excel, OneNote, and Powerpoint) by storing them on your phone or syncing with an outside source like Office 365, Skydrive, or Windows LIVE! Speaking of Windows LIVE, you can import your contact list and appointments in a flash with this operating system.

5) TURN-BY-TURN NAVIGATION/GPS: I had a chance to use the turn-by-turn navigation on this device and its pretty good! You can pair your device to your car's Bluetooth connection (if equipped) and hear the commands over your radio speakers. Miss your turn? Tap anywhere on the map and you'll receive updated directions!

6) 4G SPEED: Hey, this Windows Phone has 4G speeds using HSPA+ networks! Try that, iPhone lovers!

7) WINDOWS MARKETPLACE: Not something specific to the Titan, but it definitely bears mentioning. As of this writing, the Windows Marketplace has over 40,000 apps available for download. Sure, its not near the numbers available on the iPhone or Android devices, but its still a significant number. You will find popular apps in the marketplace, like Weather Channel, Amazon, Kindle, Netflix, Google Search, and a ton of other useful apps. Most apps offer a "trial mode", so you can try them out before purchasing. AT&T will let you buy them using a credit card or by adding it to your phone bill. Look up "Windows Marketplace" online and check out the selection for yourself!

8) HTC APPLICATIONS: The Titan also has some great apps available for FREE from the manufacturer! I downloaded a Skype-like application (Tango), YouTube viewer, LED flashlight app, weather hub, and calculator.

9) 8MP CAMERA/720p CAMCORDER: The Titan has an awesome 8MP camera with auto-focus and multiple settings. Additionally, it has twin LED flash and a camcorder capable of 720p resolution! AWESOME!!

Well, I could go on and on about this device, but I'll bring it to a close. If you want to try something different (Windows Phone 7.5) and don't mind having one of the BIGGEST phone screens around, check out the HTC Titan! Its a great phone and I give it my highest recommendation!

UPDATE: If you are interested in using Skype on this device, it isn't currently available for Windows Phone. However, Microsoft acquired Skype this year for $8.5 billion, so we should see a Windows Phone version soon. In the meantime, the Titan has a 1.3MP front-facing camera and supports a program called Tango. This program is similar to Skype in functionality and is supported on the PC, iPhone, Android devices, and Windows Phone.

UPDATE (10/28/12): Just wanted to mention that Skype is now available for Windows Phone. Additionally, these Windows Phone 7.5 devices are expected to receive an upgrade to Windows 7.8 in the very near future. Although this phone will not be upgradeable to Windows Phone 8, it will still enjoy some of the same features which are not hardware dependent. I would still recommend this phone to anyone, because it is still awesome! The 4.7" screen still trumps the iPhone 5... HOOAH!!

Best Phone I've ever owned November 26, 2011

Reviewer:  Steven Elliott 

I've had them all; mostly because it's my job to have them all and develop for them all. I have to say that I was skeptical about this phone and wasn't really looking forward to using it. Well, this phone has gone far beyond my expectations and I'd be so bold as to say it's the most elegant, well-built, beautiful device I've ever owned. I quickly got rid of my iPhone 4S and have gone the WP7 route forever. Best phone on the market today I'd say! I hope more people use WP7 and learn how great their new OS is.

A true upgrade from Iphone and Androids November 30, 2011

Reviewer:  Robert De La Poza  (Elk Grove, CA United States) -

Great hardware to run the next evolution of smart phones. The HTC Titan is a work of art. The Titan is built great, offers one of the best displays available, and runs Microsoft's Metro UI faster than most other windows phone. Windows Phones are just over a year old and they are already better than the much older Androids and Iphones. They are not perfect but overall offer a better way to use a phone. In November of 2011 Windows phones won the Operating System of the Year which was judged at the 2011 Know Your Mobile Awards.

The most important thing about a smart phone should be security, and that in itself should exclude any and all Androids. According to data from Juniper Networks in November of 2011, malware in the Android Market had jumped 472 percent since July of 2011. Unlike Microsoft and Apple, Google does not have a strict approval process in place for its Market. Web surfing with IE9 also offers the best protection against social engineering malware, according to test results released in August of 2011 by NSS. Windows phones use IE9 which blocks over 99%. IE9 left the scores of competing browsers in the dust. Google's Chrome, for example, was 13.2 percent, while Firefox 4 and Safari 5 was a 7.6 percent.
Windows phones are amazing and this phone really makes the Metro UI fast! For those of you new to windows phones let me briefly write down what I love about them.

1: Large Live Tiles! These tiles can flip and display information such as the weather in a city on one side and a Doppler radar image on the other. You can (with the some apps) customize your own tile to include pictures, text, and links to web pages. Tiles just offer so much more than icons and they are a lot more organized than Android widgets.

2: Xbox Live! With Microsoft's eco system, you can expect everything from email, to the PC, to Xbox to be blended together. Take for example the games Kinectimals and Fable Coin Golf. Those games allow you to transfer game info into the Xbox 360! You can also transfer your Xbox 360 Kinectimals to the Windows Phones. What I love about Xbox Live on the Phone is that you can see all the games your friends are playing via their Avatar and compare and compete. I don't have to for example load Angry birds to check out the leader boards; Xbox Live shows me the achievements for all the games! As a bonus you can watch your friend's avatars get upset when you have something they don't! The Avatars also perform some fun displays in Windows Phones. For example you can shake the phone and watch your avatar fall down. Lol. =)

3: Vision button! I love this feature. Go to a store such as Wal-Mart and press the vision button to find the item on the internet. You can then compare prices and or read reviews. It works as a barcode reader as well. The vision thing works great for games locked up behind glass that doesn't give access to a bar code.

4: Music button! Hear a song on the radio or at a club and press the button to have it found. You can then download it if you would like. Works like Shazam which you can also purchase in the app store if you would like.

5: Local Scouts! Now this is handy! Press the local scouts button to see what's around you. You can find places to eat and drink, see things to do, shop, and find highlights. Click on something and find all the information you need including phone numbers and directions. Directions can also be read aloud.

6: Speech: A lot of talk has been around Iphones Siri but let me tell you that Windows Phones have awesome built in voice features too. Hold down the speech button for example and say weather or weather in .... And it will show you either the 5 day weather forecast in your area or the city you asked for. Say text or call someone in your contacts and it will call or text them what you say. Say Open .... And it will launch the application with that name. When you receive text messages you have the option to have them read aloud too. It's simple works great.

7: People Hub: I love this feature as well. All of your contacts will list every possible way for you to contact someone in your hub. You can text, call, email, tweet, facebook etc. You can see have addresses, web pages, and more listed in the people hub.

8: Threads: Threads are cool. You could be texting someone on Facebook, then switch to texting their phone if you would like.

9: Groups: Group your friends in the people hub you would like. Create a family group, club group, golf group etc.

10: MS email: Create a Live.com email and have all your contacts and Xbox live information displayed on your pc. You can then from there locate your phone, make it ring, lock it, or even erase it. You can also check out your skydrive and Xbox Live information.

11: Calendar: Have your facebook and work calendar placed on your phone. Quickly let everyone know that you are going to be late for a meeting if need be. See what's going on even on your lock screen.

12: Zune: I love Zune. Yes you can use spotify if you would like, but I find Zune so much better. If you choose to pay a monthly fee you can listen to all the music you want. If not, that's ok because it will still play all the songs and videos you placed on your phone with ease. Just plug your phone into your PC and you can transfer all the music, pictures, and videos to and from your pc you want. When playing music you can see the artist, bio, and sort in a variety of ways. You can even play a playlist with the artist pictures on the lockscreen. =)

13: MS Office: This was better than I thought. OneNote is cool in that you have the ability to record a voice message, place pictures, text, and a subject line on a tile and pin it to your start screen if you would like. PowerPoint works perfect too. I could view stuff from my work on my phone. Word and Excel are not too bad either. =)

14: Search: I love the search button using Bing on the phone. I can use voice and talk away and find what I'm looking for if I would like. I can see images, web pages, connect with local scouts, see a mall in detail etc. Bing interacts with all the features of the phone. I can't see myself ever needing to use Google again.

15: Maps: I love the maps feature of this phone as well. I can get directions to practically anywhere and have it read to me if I wanted. The Map detail is amazing and it also displays traffic. As mentioned earlier, Bing has maps for malls as well.

16: Apps: This phone has plenty of apps now (over 40,000!) that can match most of what you can get on the older iphones and androids now. You can choose from just about anything including a contact barcode maker that someone can scan and import into their contacts for example. You will have plenty of free apps as well.

17: Picture albums: FB and Skydrive albums automatically load to your phone. You can also load your friends FB pictures to your phone as well. This is so much better than loading pictures every time I use FB.

18: Cards: Hold the back key and see the last 5 things you were in.

19: at&t: One of the cool things about this network is that you can place someone on speaker phone and use your phone at the same time. Your text messages are not broken up into 160 letter paragraphs either. =)

20: Camera: I love the 8mp camera on this phone. It takes good pictures and best of all you can access it when the screen is locked.

In conclusion this phone is a great and I'm sure will make any previous Iphone or Android user happy. It does so much more than what I briefly wrote about. This phone doesn't really lock up either; something I hear is very common with Androids. I hope this review helps whoever is interested in buying this phone or a Windows phone in general. Thanks for taking the time to read it.

Best Phone of the year. November 23, 2011

Reviewer:  dawu 

Excellent phone all around. From build quality to performance to the OS.
What reall sets it apart, however is the screen.
- The screen large and gorgeous - it changes the way in which I use the phone - email is a delight, both reading and writing.
- Games are incredible.
- The office suite is extremely usable at that size.
- Readling is delightful, the screen is large, but the phone is light, and the overall dimensions are not out of control due to the impressively small bezel.
- In some ways, it serves many of the functions that a tabelet does, but it is much lighter and it is easily pocketable.

This beautiful phone allows Mango's innovation shine through! December 1, 2011

Reviewer:  Joel Hulen 

I received my HTC Titan a couple of days ago as a result of upgrading from my iPhone. I was taken aback at the unexpectedly fresh (I know, the term is overused) experience. The phone's operation is smooth as butter as I navigate my way through the menus and applications. There are many nice touches that come with the new "Mango" version of Windows Phone operating system. Most of these niceties are in the form of tight integration of social apps into the phone's ecosystem. Coming from the lackluster facebook app available on the iPhone, I was plesantly surprised at how easy it is to contextually share things with my social network.

As a little disclaimer, in my house we have an iPhone 4S, two iPhone 3Gs', four iPods, a Blackberry Curve, a Samsung Infuse Android phone, and obviously, this phone. That said, I am quite experienced with a variety of smart phones and i-devices. I also develop apps for Android, iOS, and soon Windows Phone 7x. I believe this puts me in a unique position to objectively compare each device in a day-by-day usage context. Having used the Titan for a couple of days now, I find it difficult to imagine going back to the iPhone or switching to an Android-based phone anytime soon, despite how charming Siri is :) With the Mango version of the O/S, I see a level of innovation that I've not seen for a while (apart from XBox Live) from Microsoft in a very long time. It is obvious that they've taken their declining smartphone marketshare to heart and have poured a lot of time and expense in coming up with something truly special.

As far as apps go, all the apps that I regularly used on my iPhone are available for this phone. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. And if I am, I'll just build my own!

I have to admit, when I ordered this phone online, I was a little concerned about how large this phone would feel, crammed into my pocket. As I mentioned, I also own the Samsung Infuse Android phone, which has a screen size of 4.5 inches (just 0.2 inches short of the Titan's). However, the Titan feels more sturdy, thanks to the metal body, and is equivalent in body size. It also feels fine in my pocket, thanks to its thin profile and curved edges.

In conclusion, I am very happy with my decision of switching from my iPhone to this phone, despite my initial trepidation. I highly recommend anyone considering Windows Phone 7x to give this phone a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised!

Great Phone, But........ December 26, 2011

Reviewer:  Fuzzy John  (Howell, NJ) -

After conducting an inner fight for several days I decided to return this phone.
As the title says, this phone is great (I did not mean size wise).
The phone is well built. Does not feel cheap at all. The display is excellent. I was hard pressed to see character pixelation regardless it 4.7 inch size. My hands are big and the phone did not feel big at all. Even so, it is just slightly larger than my current phone, HTC Inspire 4G which has a 4.3 inch screen. And it is also slightly lighter, or at least it feels that way when holding it. The operation is very smooth. Scrolls are fluid and the only lag I encountered was when typing the first character on the keyboard. That was a minor lag, not enough to annoy me.
I was able to find most of the apps that I use with my HTC Inspire 4G (Android). Those that I did not find I was able to transition to One Note and Excel.
Wi-Fi connections are established quickly.
Now comes the downside. The glass appears to have a greater affinity for finger prints than the HTC Inspire 4G. It didn't get more of them, they weren't more visible but it took more effort to clean them. They just seemed to hang on the glass longer.
While Mango fixed a lot of things that irked me in the initial release of Windows Phone (copy/paste, hidden network support, multiple calendars from Windows Live and Google, saved camera settings and more) there are still a few things that slightly annoyed me but in all honesty I could have lived with them:
- it does not allow the user to change how pictures are sent via MMS, email or uploaded to SkyDrive. When I sent pictures thru MMS the recipients received them in a smaller size, sometimes too small. Pictures I sent thru email were also reduced for smaller attachment size, as were the ones uploaded to SkyDrive either manually or automatically. Die hard Windows Phone users argue this as savings on the data plan. But I think the user should have a say in this instead of Microsoft dictating how pictures are handled. The only way to get the full resolution, full quality picture is to sync the phone using the Zune software. Unfortunately, when I am my friend's house in LA, he does not have Zune on his computers so I cannot leave any of the pictures in their original format. I cannot even use Wi-Fi to connect to a network share to copy the pictures there. I have to return home to NJ and then email the pictures or send a CD/DVD.
- not all apps provide means to save the data entered. This data is not saved via the Zune software either. So, if I have to perform factory reset on the phone (an AT&T Support favorite) I will have to manually re-enter that data.
- even though in Contacts (People) settings you can filter out contacts based on the service, it does not always work properly. I have all my current contacts from Google. I have a much smaller list of contacts in Windows Live. Even though I filtered out the Windows Live contacts and the list seem to only contain Google contacts I did make several calls to old numbers that were listed in the Windows Live.
- Not all Google Contacts field are handled properly. For example, in Google Contacts I have people with a second Home address. Windows Phone does not show this second Home address.
- Wi-Fi connections seem somewhat slower than the Wi-Fi connections I get with the HTC Inspire 4G at the same locations.
- And finally... ... this was the deal breaker for me. The voice quality during a call as perceived by the people at the other end. Everybody I called claimed that the voice volume was lower and my voice sounded muffled. This issue is mentioned many times in the forums at wpcentral.com ([...]). I even contacted HTC Support regarding the voice quality issue and their response made me decide in favor of returning the phone:
=======
Thank you John for contacting HTC Technical Support. I'm sorry to hear that your HTC Titan does not function as intended. I am more than happy to be able to provide some clarity to the situation at hand.

We have had some reports of the muffled sound on the HTC Titan. Currently we do not have any information if/when a hotfix will resolve your isssue. I recommend performing a factory data reset on your device. After a factory reset, the phone is restored to its default settings--the way it was when you first purchased it and turned it on. You will lose any programs you installed, data you entered, and settings you customized on your phone, and only Windows Mobile software and other pre-installed programs will remain. It is recommended you back up any personal information before performing a reset.
=======
Hopefully the new TITAN like device rumored for a February 5, 2012 release will have this issue fixed.

Update 12/28/2011
A job posting at Microsoft indicates that the next version of Windows Phone will have a phone backup feature. Hopefully phones running Mango will get that version.

A phone that lives up to its name December 4, 2011

Reviewer:  Ken 

Calling all Windows Phone fans, the iPhone of Windows Phones has landed. The Titan is undoubtedly the best Windows Phone on the market right now, with greased lightning operation, top of the line camera, and absolutely GORGEOUS screen. Build quality on this behemoth is superb, with its wonderfully designed and machined unibody means this god-threatener is ultra slim and feels great in your hand. All together, this phone is THE Windows Phone to have.

For those who are wondering about how that single core processor runs, the answer is fast. Way fast. Considering that my old Trophy ran WP7 on par with the iPhone running iOS, the Titan takes it to a whole new level. The boost from 1 GHz to 1.5 really allows WP7 to shine. In the 6 months that I had my Trophy, not ONCE did I have freeze-ups or even stutters in operation and so far neither has my Titan. That is more that Android can certainly say. The thing is, Windows Phone doesn't need dual core power to run like butter. Battery life is great which is probably due to the single core; after a day of moderate use I can still make it home and have 50% life remaining. If i use WP7s battery saver feature, end of day battery life is around 60%. The OS has a smoothness that not even the iPhone has, and all together a million bazillion times prettier than either of them.

For those of you worried about the low resolution, stop. Can you see pixels? Yes, but the beauty of this phone is that 1, Windows Phone's interface looks just as good blown up as it does shrunk down, and 2, there is no need to hold the phone 3 inches from my face. In fact, i can hold the phone at arms length and still be able to comfortably use it. Web pages look great in the the browser, and apps that utilize Metro put any and all well designed Android apps to shame. The screen is on par if not better than the Focus S, considering that whites on the Focus S's Super AMOLED Plus screen has a bluish hue. Contrast is almost as good as the Focus S, and direct sunlight is no problem for the 4.7 inch panel. If you get a chance, I encourage you to check out both phones at an AT&T store, you will be surprised at how great the Titan screen really is. As a bonus, despite its titanic screen, the bezel around the screen is ultra slim, giving the phone a surprisingly smaller profile than one would initially assume.

I was worried that the size of this phone would be a downside, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that its not an issue at all, and my hands are not really all that "big." The massive slab of sexy fits in my pocket fine, although i cant make any promises for those who wear skinny jeans. The benefits to the big size is that while it gives you a generous amount of canvas to play on, it doesn't look so ridiculous to hold up to you face. And showing off pictures and video is actually enjoyable; no worries about poor viewing angles, and the phone can be held back far enough for everyone to see.

The camera really shines in indoor shots, and is really astounding how much light it is able to draw in from limited light sources. Macro shots are great, panorama mode is AWESOME and makes really good wide angle shots, and video at 720p is top notch. The 1.3 megapixel front camera takes good shots (good for a front facing secondary camera that is.) One disappointment is the lack of Skype in the Marketplace, but with Microsoft's recent acquisition of Skype I'm sure an app will be showing up soon, or better yet built in to the OS itself just like Facetime is built into iOS.

So to wrap up, this is one of the best phones available PERIOD. Great build quality, superb performance, and a rich and well rounded ecosystem (ie. Office, Zune, Xbox, and Exchange,) make this an imposing threat to the smartphone gods. So ready your lightning bolts iPhone 4S, gather your vast armies Android elite, because HTC and Microsoft has just released your challenger from Tartarus, and this time your fate doesn't look to good.

I LOVE THIS PHONE December 1, 2011

Reviewer:  Jpyles 

I was a long time iPhone user, then I bought my wife an LG Quantum WP7 and played with the OS for a while, well to say the least i was impressed with the OS, easy to use the intergration with linkedIn, facebook and twitter was awsome. It even combined her or should i say linked her duplicate contacts from facebook and linkedIn and outlook toghter and gave you one card to view for that person (Very nice).
So I decided to give it a shot with this phone and i am extremly happy, this thing is fast way faster than my iPhone 4 and the screen well at my age im grateful for the additional size (no more squinting to read emails). The app store may not be in the millions yet but it had everything i needed and I'm an IT prefessional so i have all the network scan apps that I need. To say the least I'm in love with the HTC TITAN and WP7 Mango!!!!

TOP CLASS November 30, 2011

Reviewer:  vidi 

No Words for this phone. Best X'mas gift this year. Phone of the year for sure. I personally bought it. Windows 7.5 rocks.Battery runs more than 1 day.Keyboard is so smooth , display resolution is so nice, Camera is fantastic, Sound is great too. OS is amazing.Screen is big , its fun watching videos and playing games.

Cons. Not many apps as iPhone but its on its way. It will rock soon.

My personal Opinion after using this phone is quite positive.

Great phone.Now cannot go back to small screen December 2, 2011

Reviewer:  Rohit Harshvardhan "Rohit"  (USA) -

This is a great product! I got mine during lack Friday sale. The build quality is awesome. The metal body gives it a solid feel. It cures at the edges so it feels great in hand. I had a Samsung Focus before this. It was a good phone. However once O got the Titan I can make out that the G1 Samsung Focus is slower. Web pages loads much faster on Titan and in general it is snappier.
And for a phone this size the battery life is great. It lasted me from 8AM to 1 AM even when I had been experimenting this phone a lot throughout the day.

And did I mention the big screen. So...so much better to consume content. The tiles on WP7 really shines through on the big screen.

I am really happy with it till now.

Not perfect - but the best phone so far December 20, 2011

Reviewer:  R. D. Sanders "rural geek"  (TX USA) -

I bought this phone on sale from AT&T after owning the iPhone 3G and 3GS.

Here are my thoughts:

-- Apps - I did some research at the marketplace to make certain that I could live with the available apps. You should do the same. There aren't nearly as many official apps. I discovered that all of the apps I really need are there (like Amazon and Kindle). Those lacking 'official' apps have third-party alternatives. I have since discovered that some of the Wikipedia alternatives are better than the official app on the iPhone. The third-party Dropbox and Pandora apps seem to work well, too. The only hitch I had was that while some banks have official apps, mine did not. I knew I could use the website. Once I got the phone I realized that the large screen and the excellent browser made online banking a snap. I can even pin the website to the start screen just like an app. The overall experience on the browser is actually better than the iPhone app.

-- Windows Phone 7.5 - Incredible, smooth, fluid, fun, and (here comes an Apple word)... Magical. It is so cool to see your contacts from Gmail and Facebook being linked and all of that information flowing together. I keep up with my grown kids better than ever thanks to that integration. The screens are beautiful and stark. There were a few new tricks to learn since it doesn't work like the iPhone, but it is so refreshingly different from everything else out there and, in my opinion, better.

-- Battery life - no difficulty going all day long and then some on a charge. Even with heavy usage I don't run out of juice. There is a low-battery mode that cuts some of the background activity when you are low. I enabled it just in case.

-- Email - a cinch to set up. The large screen makes it so easy to use. Also, I can search easily in any inbox and not just phone-wide. Since this is my work email, that alone makes it worthwhile. I especially like how sideways finger flicks take you through all mail, unread, flagged, urgent, and back to all so fluidly. I find myself doing more than triage - which is what I mostly did on my old phone.

-- Calendar - great with one exception - I would prefer more views. Once again, the high-contrast and beautiful typography makes reading a snap. I agreed to a party on Facebook and it showed up on my calendar in a different color than my work events. That was cool.

-- Voice - Better than the old iPhones but still needs work. Reading of incoming texts when I'm in the car on Bluetooth is great. Text-to-speech in reply works well most of the time, but there are times when it just can't work out what I'm saying. I'm sure if I had an earpiece with the mic near my mouth it would be better.

-- Office - Works well with SkyDrive integration. I take my notes in OneNote and replicate them to SkyDrive, so I have immediate access. Having all the Office apps is a real advantage since this is mostly a work tool for me.

-- Phone - I almost forgot that this thing is a phone. Call quality is acceptable but could be better. The phone doesn't seem to drop calls like the iPhone. I don't know why, but it hasn't dropped a single one. I never went even a couple of days without a dropped call on the iPhone. Speakerphone is good and loud.

-- Screen - I waited too long for this - This screen is AWESOME! I am not getting any younger and I love how much easier it is for me to read this screen. It is first thing that people notice.

-- Browser - I haven't used IE regularly in years, but this thing works really well. I haven't had any real page formatting errors. It doesn't seem to work with Amazon Cloud Drive, but that doesn't matter a lot to me. One thing that I should mention relating to the OS, the screen, and the browser - the 'pinch to zoom' on this phone is so fluid and so easy that you just have to try it to believe it.

-- Camera - I'm no camera nerd, but it seems great to me.

-- Marketplace - no issues. Buying and downloading is easy. All of my favorite podcasts were available. Your mileage may vary.

-- Zune software - This is a big win for me. iTunes on Windows is a terrible program.

Things that need improvement:
*Top button a little hard to get at
*Miss the single 'silent' button (although the one on the 3GS didn't function anyway, which is common)
*Call quality could be better (but at least I don't drop calls)
*Would love expandable storage (but I didn't get it on the iPhone either)

Final verdict:

Like I said - not perfect, but the best phone so far. You'll love it if you get one, but you have to enjoy being one of the few. There aren't a lot of other Windows Phone users out there... YET.

Excellent windows phone with huge screen December 7, 2011

Reviewer:  Adarsha Vishweshwara "Adarsha"  (Madison, WI) -

I was waiting for this phone to come on state side since it was announced. I wanted to compared it against Samsung Focus S as well. I saw Focus, and felt cheap, and decided to get this one. Fortunately BestBuy had this for 0$ on Cyber Monday, and I got one. After getting it my wife liked it too, and I saw a deal on Amazon (add a line for $0.01), I walked in to my local AT&T store (Madison West), and they price matched it. so now I have two HTC Titan's for $0.01 :)

Great Windows Phone Mango experience on beautiful gigantic screen.. at first you may feel its big, but after two days of using you will get used to it.. Now handling Samsung Focus flash feels like a toy..
Pros:
1. Great OS
2. Great Screen
3. easy to use controls
4. very responsive touch screen
5. great HTC apps (with windows phone, Microsoft dictates most of the hardware spec. Each manufacturer is free to distinguish themselves with build quality and device specific apps)
6. great (very loud) speaker for music (it has 5.1 surround if you connect it to a dock)

Cons:
1. Speakerphone volume is very low. For some reason they don't use loud speaker for speakerphone, instead they just use speaker used for handheld use (which goes against your ear) for hands free calls too, hope they fix it in next firmware update.
2. Currently "People" hub in Windows Mango does not fetch private messages from Facebook. You need to install dedicated Facebook app to access them. Hopefully next OS update adds that feature too.
3. that large screen needs lot of battery too, so you may have to charge it on a daily basis (I am getting 1.5 day use out of one charge, and I use it a lot, to read, browsing etc).

Great phone! December 8, 2011

Reviewer:  ds 

Thanks Amazon wireless for such a good phone and even better deal. I bought HTC Titan phone online on 11/22/2011 for $79.00. But there is a catch: I still haven't received my phone but I receive emails every morning from Amazon wireless to cancel the order because they were selling phones for 0.01 which they don't have (you gotta love this business model). Anyway, as a owner of Samsung Focus S phone, I can say everything good about windows phone OS and user interface.

Short and to the point February 29, 2012

Reviewer:  Techiedude  (Orlando) -

I've had my Titan since early December 2011 thanks to Amazon's one penny/Black Friday sale. There are lots of great reviews on here, many of them quite detailed. If you want a (somewhat shorter) synopsis, here it is.

1) Great OS - easy-to-understand and actually fun to use/navigate.
2) Beautiful screen - it's *BIG*, bright and sharp but still usable in one hand.
3) Faaaaaast - the OS is tuned to run fast on the single core 1.5GHz CPU and I've yet to see a hiccup in launching/using multiple apps, which leads to...
4) Loooong battery life - I've had this phone last two days without charging.
5) Very good camera - I'm constantly getting comments on the pix that this thing takes. Every person that has commented thinks that I've uploaded my photos to my phone and not actually taken them with the phone's camera LOL There's also an external camera button that allows you to quickly access the camera w/o having to unlock the phone - nice touch!
6) Great integration - if you use Office, Exchange, SharePoint, or Lync there's great integration already built-in and some improvements still to come. You can also have your pictures auto-uploaded to SkyDrive so they are automatically backed-up. Other integration with FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, XBox Live is excellent as well.
7) OEM apps - HTC has some really nice freebies that are included and others that can be downloaded as well. They also seem to be updated frequently.
8) Bluetooth/speech integration - I was driving one day after buying the phone and was prompted over my car's Bluetooth connection if I would like to listen to or ignore a text message. Huh?!? It read the text to me and allowed me to respond to the text by speaking my response over the Bluetooth connection...wow...
9) Call quality - this will vary with your location and cell tower reception but compared to my last phone/carrier, the Titan on AT&T has been great! It doesn't sound like I'm talking on a CB radio anymore and I don't have to stand near a window or step outside for a good signal.
10) Local Scout - want a quick suggestion about a new city you're in? This is one handy little app; very useful even in my home city. Tells me about places, events, restaurants I never would have known about. Very cool!
11) Keyboard - this is my first virtual keyboard. While I miss the physical keyboard, I've gotten used to the VK and the predictive spelling/typing is quite functional.
12) Miscellaneous - Fit and finish? Excellent. Screen/button responsiveness? Spot-on. Apps? Always a concern or joke about apps from other phone/OS users but there are more than enough and there are only so many $2.99 purchases I want on my phone. Customization? Nice middle ground between iOS' "Do it our way or no way" and Android's "Meh, go figure it out." AT&T/AmazonWireless - both have provided great customer service. I was nervous about buying my phone online/through Amazon but activation went soooo smooth, no complaints. AT&T's plan pricing and nickel-diming customers to death...that's another story...

For what it's worth, my work pays for my cellphone and cell plan. I could choose any phone and any provider I want. I switched from my previous provider (after 13 years) to AT&T to get this phone (and it's my first WP7 phone).

Hope this was helpful.

Best phone so far. January 10, 2012

Reviewer:  marilyn ashby  (Hanson, KY, US) -

I normally don't give reviews however this phone is awesome and deserves 5 stars. Had the Iphone and android and this is what they were shooting for. Had phone 6 weeks now not one lock up, no dropped calls nothing. Apps are finally starting to roll out pretty regular. The 4.7" screen makes surfing easy. I hardly ever pick up the ipad anymore. This is truly the swiss army knife of phones.

Titan is a solid phone January 6, 2012

Reviewer:  htatc 

If you are going to Windows Phone 7 give the Titan a try.

Pros:
1. Solid quality build. This phone has a premium feel to it. More so in my opinion than the Samsung Focus S.
2. Large 4.7" touchscreen.
3. Solid web experience.
4. Very easy to navigate.
5. Solid if low call quality. (Call volume only goes to ten.)
6. Smooth, consistent, fast UI experience.
7. Great battery life. Especially with manual email sync and background apps set to refresh only when opened. I go a full day without worry that I will run out of juice. Never happened with my android phones.

Cons:
1. Voices can be a little low coming from other parties. (This may have something to do with the ambient noise filter). Call volume only goes to ten.
2. Volume button a can be little difficult to use at times.
3. Side placement of usb port can make for some awkard charging placement on desk or consoles at times.
4. Windows Phone 7 still missing a few finer details and some apps (Skype, **cough, cough** the official Yahoo Messenger **cough, cough**).
6. Have tried different headphones and believe the music reproduction quality could be better.
7. Maybe too big for some with smaller hands.

Best phone I have ever owned January 5, 2012

Reviewer:  Chuck Mcdaniel "Chuck"  (San Antonio) -

As the title notes, this is the best phone I've ever owned. It is an easy phone to set up & use. I like that at my age. I had one dilemma though. I couldn't access the marketplace the day I got it. However, I talked to AT&T & HTC tech support staff. Neither of them could help me fix the dilemma. I went to a local AT&T store. An employee who had owned the phone worked with me, & I was out of the store in about 30 minutes. He knew exactly what to do.

Should Windows Phones continue on this path, I will become an avid Windows Phone user. I purchased the HTC Titan, because of the good reviews I read & watched. It is everything noted in those reviews. The social networking, the buttery smooth operation (and I do mean buttery smooth, & the lack of bloat ware are the biggest selling points for me.

Also, I am able to easily uninstall ATT & HTC software that came on the phone. The Marketplace is much smaller than IOS & Android, but I'm not from that orientation that believes that more is better. I love this phone. Try it sometimes. Just go to a store & handle it for a few minutes, & you may be able to identify with my experience.

Much better than iphone or android December 27, 2011

Reviewer:  Monetina  (Smyrna, Tn) -

I bought this phone for my husband as a Christmas gift, based on all of the positive reviews on Amazon and other sites. He had a Galaxy phone and was happy with it, but I though he may like a change. The screen of the Titan seems even bigger than the Galaxy. It fits comfortably in my hand, even thought it's a really big phone. The screen is bright and crisp. Windows is butter smooth- and FAST.
If there is one negative, it's just that there aren't as many apps available for Windows as there were for Android or Iphone. I'm not really missing much, but that would be the only negative I can think of for this phone.
I like the way that you can personalize the start page.
I would highly recommend this phone. If you're trying to decide between this and another operating system, go to a store and check out how awesome this phone looks. It's HEADS and TAILS ABOVE both other operating systems, hands down.

Awesome Phone December 27, 2011

Reviewer:  jhvcpa  (Knoxville, TN) -

I upgraded from a Samsung Focus to the Titan. I have been waiting for this phone for years. It's about time AT&T put out a phone with 4.3+ screen size. Speaking of the screen, it's great. As good as or better than the Focus (I still have two). Don't let the size scary you, its barley larger than my Focus so pockets and cases have not been any problem so far. I cannot tell that it is really any faster than the Focus as Windows Phone is a quick OS to begin with. I purchased for the larger display and additional storage. The attentive phone setting are nice, I missed those from the Windows Mobile days. Also HTC gives more options on screen timeout than the Focus (all the way to never go off).

If you want a powerful phone OS that is easy to use and you use a PC this is the phone to get. It's not too complicated (Android) or tied into the Apple ecosystem. The integration with SkyDrive in Windows Phone 7.5 is wonderful. You access documents, pictures, etc. and share them with others too. I share all of my pictures with family members and they can access everything on their Windows Phones without doing any work, just have my contact information. Calendars are great too. I have business, person and family shared calendars. I have yet to find an app that I need to be missing from the market. 50,000+ apps are plenty to comb through. I will admit the OS lacks some customization features, but as a power user you get tired to constantly trying to tweak / customize a phone. I find the live tiles and constant updates provide plenty of customization / differentiation for the phone.