Not that we can read this review (it’s in Polish, and there are no decent Polish -> English translations that we can find), but this HTC Herald review looks promising. The Herald is the successor to the TyTN Wizard, featuring similar features in a thinner package. The accompanying video is also pretty neat. There’s now a little ding when you slide the keyboard in and out, and it’s supposed to be a lot more pocketable than the HTC TyTN Wizard.
Polish speakers, hit me up with a translation if you’ve got it and we’ll share it with the rest of the class. My email’s over there on the left. Update: Thanks to the efforts of Adrian, we have a translation! Hit the jump for all his hard work.
Basically, he likes how it feels, and likes how it looks.
Tech specs: Wizard with an upgrade
4 notable changes from the Wizard:
1. microSD instead of miniSD
2. Digital screen is not bigger (went from 1.3 mp to 2mp
3. Larger battery
4. No IR port
Everything else is same story
Texas instruments 201MHz processor – theoretically a little faster than the wizard
128 RAM
64MB storage (only 24.46 left after a hard reboot)
better g wifi than wizard
GSM/GPRS, EDGE
Bluetooth 2.0
Summary:
Biggest difference between wizard – bigger battery for 21 hours (tested)
Over the test period – couple of days, did not freeze or hang up once!
The screen backlighting options are limited – brightness controls are limited (offers 4 brightness presets as opposed to analog style dimming) [nitpicky bastard]
Pros:
Good old wizard in new body
Front panel made of metal
New mechanism to open the keyboard
[something about shift key]
automatically goes to PDA mode when you open keyboard
stronger vibration
fast silence button
2MP camera
8 direction joypad
auto-dim
different backlight settings when charging
WM 5.0 version AKU 3.2
Cons:
Little storage
No IR
Larger battery
microSD
4 backlight levels (what’s with this guy and backlighting??)
miniUSB hookup for headphones – no regular headphone jack
shitty photo quality (summary)
no flash for photos
no big changes in CPU or multimedia from Wizard
HTC Herald – a wizard with a lift
HTC wizard is one of the most popular PDA’s. After a while, families started using it because it’s on internet auctions. Blah blah about low prices due to contracts. HTC didn’t expect such a positive response from the wizard. It’s not surprise that once again they decided to relase the cow into the pasture (a Polish saying that I have never heard before). [Goes on about the first signs of Herald were last year]. [Got bored reading into, moving onto review]
First Look
To be perfectly honest, when I saw pictures of Herald a few weeks ago, I thought it looked ugly. The silver keys with a grey background looked more like a toy and less like the wizard. [blah blah about expectations] I was very happy that they decided to send me the phone to review so that I could see if it met my expectations.
When I got home on Saturday night I saw on my desk the new toy. I received the handheld without accessories. I had 3 days to test Herald, so I had not time to lose. As I tore open the bubble wrap, I realized that it far surpassed my expectations that I had from viewing pictures. My first impression was positive. Thin, fit nice in the hand, and heavey – this PDA had something about it. Mirrorlike keys look much better in person than on photos. [some more stuff with big words that I don’t know]
Appearance
Herald’s build (appearance) can be divided into two parts: the top with the screen, and the bottom keyboard portion. These 2 parts are made out of completely different materials. In previous models, the tops were always plastic. This phone has a metal that is nice to the touch. It is similar to the thin metal area on top of the Wizard. This material makes the entire appearance/construction much better, [some more big words].
Under the screen there are a few buttons missing that were on the Wizard, such as the mailbox button. Instead there are two common buttons and a microphone. Below that are standard WM 5.0 buttons. [describes more buttons that you can see in the picture]
The side buttons are well placed and are difficult to accidentally push while opening the keyboard. This button turns on the digital screen. Also there is a volume button, the open PDA button, microSD slot which has a little cover and a leach attachment on the bottom.
On the other side there is a button to open the PDA [not sure about this].
Review [PDAClub via PocketNow]
Thanks Adrian!
