Thanks to the folks at WirelessImports.com, I had the opportunity to spend a few hours with HTC's new uber-smartphone, the TyTN II. The TyTN II can be thought of as a blend of the HTC Atlas and Touch models, with a twist. Or, more accurately, a tilt. The TyTN II gets its overall design and keyboard from devices like HTC's Atlas, while it inherits some of the HTC Touch's finger scrolling capabilities. But the thing that really sets the TyTN II apart from the crowd is how its display can be tilted up to 40 degrees when it is slid back to expose the QWERTY keyboard. This gives it a laptop like look similar to that of the HTC Universal of 2005.
With that said, though, I don't really find the TyTN II to be any more useful sitting on a desk when it comes to text input. I still prefer to hold it in my hands and to use my thumbs. But the new tilting display does, perhaps, make it easier to read data from the screen while the unit sits on a desk, and certainly should help when it comes to watching videos on the device. Considering that it has tri-band HSDPA 3G data support, that certainly is something the device is easily capable of doing.
There is a price to be paid for all of this, though. The TyTN II weighs in at 192g (nearly 6.8oz). That's pretty heavy for any kind of phone device. I also don't approve of the softkeys that are used on the QWERTY keyboard. They are exactly the same as those on my T-Mobile Wing, and as such can too easily be pressed by accident when typing, since they cut into the area normally reserved for alphabetic keys. I do like the new control cluster that surrounds the d-pad, though. It brings all of the needed keys into easy reach.
In any case, the TyTN II is sure to find popularity with the road warrior set. It packs a mean punch, even if it is a bit thick around the middle. I look forward to doing a full test of the phone in the future.
Description: The HTC TyTN 3G Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 based Pocket PC phone, with its compact size and ultimate connectivity, is truly the complete mobile office solution. Roam anywhere in the world and use the high speed internet access, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. It gives you more control than ever over the way you work.
