The HTC Freestyle is at the border between your average phone and a high tech Smartphone, but this doesn’t make it any less special. This phone combines both of these worlds and it is practical and efficient at the same time. It comes with a medium sized touchscreen, a couple of interesting features, and a camera that doesn’t impress, but gets the job done. This is not the best phone on the market, but since it is made by HTC, you can be sure that it won’t disappoint you either. Let’s take a closer look and see what this phone is all about.
Design
As soon as you put your hands on the HTC Freestryle you will notice that the screen is only 3.2 inch in diagonal and that the phone is surprisingly small for a touch screen device. This is great for those who are tried of phones that barely fit into their pockets, but we’ll have to see how does its small size translate when you want to start browsing the internet. The phone is 4.2 inches tall, 2.2 inches wide and only 0.49 inches thin, at 4.52 ounces in weight. The HTC logo is displayed above the screen and the AT&T is placed underneath it. A silver grille that doesn’t draw too much attention covers the speaker. Four buttons are placed on the button side of the phone and three of them are very easy to press. The other one is the menu key, which is a little thinner than expected. The HTC is really easy to grip and you will feel like you will never drop this phone on the ground. If you turn it around, you will see the camera on the top center side. The HTC logo and motto are engraved discreetly on the grey side of the phone and the margins are black and rubbery. On the top side, you will find the power off/on button and on the sides, you will feel the volume buttons and the one that activates the camera. The microUSB port and the 3.5 mm headset jacks are the only inputs you will find on this phone. This means that the only way to add or remove the memory card is by taking the cover off, which is not the best mechanism in the world.
Features
The 3.2 mega pixel camera is definitely not the most impressive feature brought to you by the HTC, but we have to take a look at it anyway. If you are not particularly interested in snapping pictures, you won’t see the camera as a disadvantage and it will work fine for the few pictures you need to take outside. Going inside will have a serious effect on the quality of your photos, unless you have a very well lit room. There are little to no features that will help you snap better pictures, so you will have to settle with what you get. You can also record 3GP videos and, depending on the encoder you choose, you can obtain a resolution of up to 480 x 320 pixels and 20 frames per second. This isn’t much, but the camera is definitely not the strongpoint of the HTC Freestyle. The video player performs much better than the recorder itself, so you can watch some movies of your phone without any problems.
Most people who are interested in getting a HTC Freestyle will go online at one point or another. Luckily, the capacitive touch screen performs very well and you will be able to type in the URL and surf the web without struggling. This screen will display 320 x 480 pixels, which is more than enough for its size. Even so, a couple of things are not perfect when it comes to internet browsing. First of all, you have to choose the landscape mode yourself before you go online and second of all, Flash support is not available. Luckily, even without Flash, you can still watch online videos through MobiTV or AT&T Video. Unfortunately, there is no solution to the lack of an accelerometer, so you will have to get used to the landscape button every time you go online or surf the web in portrait mode, which is really inconvenient.
Moving through the menus and even through complex application is a breeze thanks to the Qualcomm MSM 7225 processor that runs at 528 MHz. This is not a high end processing unit, but it will get the job done. You can trust it to run any application you will find in the AppCenter. This is where you will find programs that will allow you to go on eBay, access the GPS, and you will see many other interesting tools. However, keep in mind that The Navigator feature that is very useful for your GPS will cost you $10 per month.
Pros and Cons
If you need a phone that provides a nice balance between performance and looks, the HTC Freestyle won’t disappoint you. The menus are very easy to use, you can surf the web without any problems, and the phone is very well built. The price of this device is much lower than people expect and you will receive a lot more than what you pay for, which is definitely a plus.
Unfortunately, you will have to settle for 3G speeds when going online since this phone doesn’t have Wi-Fi support. The lack of Flash support is also a minor inconvenience as well as the 3.2 mega pixel camera, which doesn’t take exceptional photos.
Conclusion
The HTC Freestyle is not the kind of phone that will disappoint you. The design is great, it comes with enough features to keep you occupied, and it only carries a couple of flaws. If you want to test the Smartphone waters and see how these phones handle, this is a great device and it is not expensive at all. |