RealFLYNN April 2, 2010 at 00:04

Review of HTC Legend from Gizmodo. Expensive looking

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After the release of the new series of Android backgrounds from HTC, people's opinions about these devices will be divided into two large camps: some will prefer the fancy and brainy Desire , others will be delighted with the beautiful, but less powerful Legend.
HTC Desire (like the Nexus One) is the last word in the field of Android-communicators. This device is for those who know their job and know how to show why such power is needed. Comparing this device with the “legend”, it cannot be said that the second camp is exchanged for trifles, preferring the thin aluminum case to power and the capabilities of the Snapdragon processor. This is not true.
Under the cut pictures.

I tell you - just a sequel.

In terms of internals, the device has not gone so far from its predecessor HTC Hero. But still, the successor is a cut above the predecessor. While “Hero fell tragically from its own slowness,” Legend behaves quickly and accurately thanks to a slightly improved processor at 600 MHz clock speed. The 3.2-inch screen has the same resolution as the Hero (320x480), but the “heroic” TFT-matrix has been replaced by a more advanced AMOLED. The 5-megapixel camera did not add in quality, but got a long-awaited flash. I think the picture is clear: Legend, starting from the finished foundation of Hero, brings in several small upgrades. But each of these changes, despite its smallness, radically changes the impression of the gadget.

The device is controlled by the Android 2.1 operating system,should come out for Hero just after the rain Thursday. In general, the prospect of an update from 1.6 to 2.1 is very, very encouraging: the new system is much faster, the multi-touch is improved, the integration of contacts with social services. networks are more developed, there is support for HTML 5 and many, many gingerbread cookies.

Design in all its glory.

I will say directly: Legend is the most well-assembled device that I had to hold in my hands. This becomes clear from the first touch on the smooth metal of the “unibody” case, with the first feeling of the pleasant weight of the device, with the first contact of a super-responsive capacitive touchscreen. This is the same feeling with which I first picked up a metal iPhone, which has long been out of stock.

The top and bottom of the back side are made of rubberized plastic, so there are no problems with the stability of wireless signals. A ~~thin, thin~~ battery and a convenient mechanism that holds the SIM and MicroSD in place are hidden under the back cover . Moreover, the mechanism is really well made - a trifle, but nice.

Like BlackBerry, HTC abandoned the “ball” trackball in favor of the optical, which pleases. Although, frankly, it is not necessary to use it often - mainly only for correcting errors in the text. And with such a sensitive and accurate screen, these errors are very rare, so I won’t be surprised if HTC completely abandons the mouse in the next line of devices.

There are only seven buttons on the case: “on / off” on the upper end, a volume rocker on the left side, a home-menu-back-search panel in front of the screen and a trackpad button. All of them work fine, although the buttons under the screen look poor compared to the overall "high cost" of the phone.

Is it the same camera?

The device uses the same 5-megapixel camera as Hero - only a flash was added. As the photo below shows, the flash is strong, even too much. However, the quality of the pictures is decent - noisy of course, but they have seen worse.

Girlfriends in the twilight of the cinema hall and a pair of succubi in the background.

Filming in natural light is much better - just look how great the cupcakes turned out! Although you still have to aim for a high-quality image - just pointing and taking it will not work, 5 Mpx does not do weather here.

Cupcakes in the afternoon sun.

HTC Sense - you need to feel it

Most manufacturers strive to decorate Android with their interfaces. MOTOBLUR, Mediascape, S-Class - it's all very cool, although I prefer them all to an ordinary natural android without everything. There are a lot of mistakes in such "gum", and the feelings are not the same;)

But HTC Sense is a completely different song. You probably can’t make the best skins for android anymore, and in Legend it has also been finalized. Among other gingerbread cookies, one can single out the “jump” function, or “view from a helicopter,” as it was called during development. It works like Exposé on MacOSX - lays out all seven desktops on one screen in the form of small cards. The feature is undeniably useful, especially when you can’t remember on which screen you have mail, and on what weather. It is caused by the reduction of fingers - you will have to get used to such a movement, but when you get used to it, you will often remember such a gingerbread with a kind word.

"Jump", or "view from a helicopter."

But sometimes a useful feature is followed by an absolutely useless one. FriendStream is essentially a useful and beautiful widget that collects updates from your friends on twitter, facebook and flickr in one place. But fans who watch every update on their site will rush to get rid of it. For example, I prefer the beautiful and functional separate Twitter client from HTC - “Peep”. I like the standalone Facebook app. Support for flickr is convenient, but completely meaningless if notifications are already received by e-mail.

In addition, FriendStream sometimes seems slow and even ridiculous compared to other widgets. For example, tweets sometimes update for minutes longer than in Peep. This is not a very big problem, but it's still a shame.

Social network "harvester" FriendStreem.

I respect such a battery

Before dying quietly in my arms, Legend worked for 36 hours. Not so bad, considering that during this time I made several long calls (once I chatted for an hour), sent and received about 20 text messages, read Twitter and raped it with the Internet almost all day, sometimes to show it to friends. After the midday deaths of my G1, 1300 mAh “legendary” battery like a balm on my heart.

Legend is the most “solid” phone that I have ever used.

Of course, many phones boast great power and performance, but it's like comparing Sony VAIO (a good laptop, by the way) with a MacBook. There is no point in such a comparison. While the Nexus One and Desire boast of brainwave and gigahertz, Legend is simply fun.

It does not slow down, does not bug like G1 or Hero. And while some complain that it’s better to dig in and spend money on something with Snapdragon inside, I will make Legend the biggest compliment a reviewer can make a device - I will buy one for myself.

This is not the best Android background - the Nexus will remain the leader, or will move to Desire, a matter of taste. But this is by far the best station wagon. At least on the impressions of working with him. This is the first device, after the return of which, I felt deprived of something.

So to summarize. Gingerbread Cookies: