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HTC Ace (aka HTC Desire HD)
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technoflare
01-10-2010
considering getting it outright now, no contract. as long as i can save something like £20 a months in LR it will be worth it to be SIM free and no 24month ball and chain.....so want it now!
lalaland
01-10-2010
Having had a read over the features I am not so sure any longer. I may just stick with my Desire and not bother upgrading for a while, holding on to it to see if anything else is released in the future to be honest.

My Desire does a great job and unless the Desire HD comes with video calls there's not a massive difference between the two.
ACU
01-10-2010
Originally Posted by lalaland:
“Having had a read over the features I am not so sure any longer. I may just stick with my Desire and not bother upgrading for a while, holding on to it to see if anything else is released in the future to be honest.

My Desire does a great job and unless the Desire HD comes with video calls there's not a massive difference between the two.”

for me video calling, is totally useless. Its a gimmick, that you would try it a couple of times, and thats it. Video calling was released on landline phones and never took of. Its not going to take of on a mobile. Its a stupid feature. There is no way you can walk around and take part in a video call, its just not practical.

Its not something I would look for in a phone.
lalaland
02-10-2010
Originally Posted by ACU:
“for me video calling, is totally useless.”

I guess it depends what you want from it. If you want to make a video call then it's anything but useless.
Originally Posted by ACU:
“Its a gimmick, that you would try it a couple of times, and thats it.”

That's not true at all. When Three first launched in the UK I got one of their first handsets. I was making video calls back then and I made them up until I got rid of my last video phone compatible handset - the N97 - prior to buying my Desire. I didn't use them every day, but it was certainly much more than a gimmick.

Originally Posted by ACU:
“Video calling was released on landline phones and never took of.”

Don't make the mistake of confusing landlines with mobiles. While similarities exist and some trends take off on both, others don't. Take a look at texting for example, it's far less popular on landlines than it is on mobiles. Video calls from mobiles is more popular than it is from landlines.

Originally Posted by ACU:
“Its not going to take of on a mobile.”

I wouldn't be so sure. It's not totally unpopular at present, there are many calls of this type made each day. Add to that the fact that Apple have brought it to people's awareness again - although in a half arsed WiFi only way - and I think we could see an increase in video calls over the next few years. There are also apps providing mobile messaging, VOIP and other internet connectivity where webcams are already popular. With the mobile device quickly becoming the internet device we're all using I think video calls are again set to increase in one form or another and a forward facing camera will be more important on internet enabled smart devices.

Originally Posted by ACU:
“Its a stupid feature.”

A can opener attached to your mobile I would consider stupid, but this certainly isn't.

Originally Posted by ACU:
“There is no way you can walk around and take part in a video call, its just not practical.”

Mobiles and other communication devices that offer call features - such as tablets for example, are not solely for making calls while walking.

Originally Posted by ACU:
“Its not something I would look for in a phone.”

However one of the main things about mobiles and features is that we all tend to look for different things in a phone. What may not be an attractive feature for you certainly is for me on this occasion and I believe that if HTC have missed the chance to include one they've made a bit of a slip up that could see their new flagship phone drop a few points when compared to others.

Look at it this way, I work anti social hours. When I'm on nights on the rare occasions I get a spare moment I like to speak to my wife and if they're still up, my child. Having the ability to say good night to them face to face, despite being away from home, is a nice touch and while it may not suit you being able to make a video call suits my needs for this very purpose. You just need to be a little more open minded
Thine Wonk
02-10-2010
http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&i..._a9191_htc_ace

It's not listed there either and that's really detailed.
MrSuper
03-10-2010
I am most likely going to be placing a pre-order for this either tomorrow or Tuesday but i'm definetely getting one!

Released on Fri 8th Oct so i could have it as soon as the next day, Sat 9th!
lalaland
04-10-2010
Originally Posted by Thine Wonk:
“http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&i..._a9191_htc_ace

It's not listed there either and that's really detailed.”

I know, that's what's getting me confused. Nowhere, including the HTC official site, mentions a forward facing camera but HTC customer services UK claim there is one.

I suspect customer services are feeding me incorrect information in reply to my emails, but this will be a good test to see how much we can trust their UK customer services. Once release date is here and someone gets one we'll all know


As for me, I'm not pre-ordering. My Desire is great and at the moment there doesn't appear to be enough to make me want to use my upgrade just yet. I'll wait to see if anything special turns up about this on release date and if not I'll wait another week or so to see the HTC Desire HD+ released. If that's no good I'll wait another week for the HTC Super Desire HD to be released....
finbaar
04-10-2010
lalaland, fair enough marra you may find the idea of video calls usefull but they have been around for years now and they ARE a gimmick. I have had my 'video phone' for a year now and have never made a 'video' call. As for Apple -that would seem to be the most limited way possible to intrduce the service. Texts are popular because they give you less contact than a call and are cheap. A more expensive and intrusive system will have limited appeal.
ACU
04-10-2010
Originally Posted by lalaland:
“I guess it depends what you want from it. If you want to make a video call then it's anything but useless.
That's not true at all. When Three first launched in the UK I got one of their first handsets. I was making video calls back then and I made them up until I got rid of my last video phone compatible handset - the N97 - prior to buying my Desire. I didn't use them every day, but it was certainly much more than a gimmick.

Don't make the mistake of confusing landlines with mobiles. While similarities exist and some trends take off on both, others don't. Take a look at texting for example, it's far less popular on landlines than it is on mobiles. Video calls from mobiles is more popular than it is from landlines.

I wouldn't be so sure. It's not totally unpopular at present, there are many calls of this type made each day. Add to that the fact that Apple have brought it to people's awareness again - although in a half arsed WiFi only way - and I think we could see an increase in video calls over the next few years. There are also apps providing mobile messaging, VOIP and other internet connectivity where webcams are already popular. With the mobile device quickly becoming the internet device we're all using I think video calls are again set to increase in one form or another and a forward facing camera will be more important on internet enabled smart devices.

A can opener attached to your mobile I would consider stupid, but this certainly isn't.

Mobiles and other communication devices that offer call features - such as tablets for example, are not solely for making calls while walking.

However one of the main things about mobiles and features is that we all tend to look for different things in a phone. What may not be an attractive feature for you certainly is for me on this occasion and I believe that if HTC have missed the chance to include one they've made a bit of a slip up that could see their new flagship phone drop a few points when compared to others.

Look at it this way, I work anti social hours. When I'm on nights on the rare occasions I get a spare moment I like to speak to my wife and if they're still up, my child. Having the ability to say good night to them face to face, despite being away from home, is a nice touch and while it may not suit you being able to make a video call suits my needs for this very purpose. You just need to be a little more open minded ”

It sounds like you will find video calling useful, however I wouldnt. I think most people wouldnt either, however time will tell. The quality of the picture when using 3G would be (in some instances) poor and too blocky to be useful. This is one of the reasons why apple made it wifi only...as you will get a better picture. The networks need to improve the infrastructure for us get a decent picture. If you see the apple ads with people using video calling, I doubt very much the quality of the picture in the ads reflects the quality in real life (when using mobile data). If people think that the quality in the ads will be the quality they get, then they are going to be very disappointed.

With the networks putting on limits of 1GB or 500MB video calling would eat into this quickly. Which would make the feature too expensive to use for most people.

However as you say, people look for different things in a mobile, so whilst video calling for you is a must have, for me its a gimmick, that I would use once of twice.
MrSuper
04-10-2010
Has the HTC Desire HD been delayed? A lot of people are saying it won't be released for 8th/11th and may not see the light of day until the 19th!

Anyone have any news?
MrSuper
05-10-2010
I just called up SuperEtrader and they told me the HTC Desire HD is delayed till the end of October! This is UK wide. The date they've tentatively been given is 29th Oct and allegedly it's due to Google needing to load some new software or something along those lines onto the phone. Handtec give the same info on their website. Although Expansys and Mobile Fun both still say 19th Oct.

Very strange indeed! Seems like Nokia aren't the only ones who are having problems releasing handsets on schedule.

Edit: Already been reported - http://androidcommunity.com/htc-desi...ober-20101005/ and http://blog.clove.co.uk/2010/10/05/h...-late-october/
andythompson76
05-10-2010
October 14th

http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/shop/mobi...-default-78888
MrSuper
05-10-2010
Originally Posted by andythompson76:
“October 14th

http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/shop/mobi...-default-78888”

We'll see what happens. Although that's if you get it as a contract phone.
lalaland
06-10-2010
Originally Posted by finbaar:
“lalaland, fair enough marra you may find the idea of video calls usefull but they have been around for years now and they ARE a gimmick.”

For you to label them as a gimmick seems a little naive on your part.

Perhaps for YOU personally they are a gimmick, but for others as I have already exampled, they are useful. So if not everyone agrees with your view of them being a gimmick and some in fact find them useful then that shows a flaw in your claiming of them to be a gimmick.

Originally Posted by finbaar:
“I have had my 'video phone' for a year now and have never made a 'video' call.”

Good for you

Originally Posted by finbaar:
“As for Apple -that would seem to be the most limited way possible to intrduce the service.”

I agree, but I would expect nothing less from Apple. They made the mistake of telling users what they need on a handset rather than listening to what they wanted - a mistake that's becoming more realised from the Apple users as other handsets have started to appear offering people choice of features. Apple don't want to be seen to giving in to this and then adding an old feature so far down the line, so rather than just biting the bullet they add something that's almost the same but slightly more restricted so they can make it seem like a new idea...

Originally Posted by finbaar:
“Texts are popular because they give you less contact than a call and are cheap.”

And yet your reply to my texts comment completely fails to address the point I made. If anything you've strengthened the point I made when I was highlighting that texts haven't taken off that well on landlines but on mobiles they have done.

Originally Posted by finbaar:
“A more expensive and intrusive system will have limited appeal.”

Something is only intrusive if you don't want it to do what it's doing. If someone's making or accepting a video call then they are well aware they're going to be on video, which by answering they are actively taking part in the video conversation. By the very fact they are either making or accepting the video call it's not intrusive. If someone doesn't want to take part in the video call they can reject the call or simply make a voice call instead.

I'm still surprised that there are some who are naive enough to call video calls a gimmick. When you consider how popular web cams are for such conversations on desktop and laptop computers you realise they are anything but a gimmick. When you consider that the modern smart phones are internet devices, allowing for many ways to contact people rather than just text messages and phone calls you realise that including a forward facing camera allows for video calls to be made over VOIP techonology and other systems. Being able to make a video call over the internet to someone's desktop PC or laptop, without using your inclusive phone minutes and either using your data allowing or WiFi to do so is a massive step up in mobile communication. Certainly anything but a gimmick in my view.
lalaland
06-10-2010
Originally Posted by ACU:
“It sounds like you will find video calling useful, however I wouldnt.”

That's fair enough, we're all different. Some use features others don't. I don't tweet from my HTC Desire, yet plenty of others do for example.

Originally Posted by ACU:
“I think most people wouldnt either, however time will tell.”

I think video calling may be more popular than you give it credit. While I accept it's not used by everyone, it's certainly used by many. And as for time will tell, it certainly will, when you consider we're talking about Android handsets where software such as Skype is already available - imagine making a video call from your Android handset to your mate on their laptop via your internet connection, I think we're going to see an increase in a demand for forward facing cameras.

Originally Posted by ACU:
“The quality of the picture when using 3G would be (in some instances) poor and too blocky to be useful.”

Mobile networks are producing faster connectivity. Modern video calls over network provider networks are a vast improvement on how the first video calls were with the Three network for example.

Originally Posted by ACU:
“This is one of the reasons why apple made it wifi only...as you will get a better picture.”

I think Apple made a foolish mistake making it WiFi only, limiting the use of a feature, but this doesn't seem unusual for Apple so good luck to them

Originally Posted by ACU:
“The networks need to improve the infrastructure for us get a decent picture.”

I don't believe that's true. I was making video calls from my N97 and they were good quality.

Originally Posted by ACU:
“If you see the apple ads with people using video calling, I doubt very much the quality of the picture in the ads reflects the quality in real life (when using mobile data). If people think that the quality in the ads will be the quality they get, then they are going to be very disappointed.”

You don't need HD quality for video calls. As long as they aren't blocky and stuttery it's fine and it's unusual to get a poor quality video call over WiFi. Most mobile networks produce good quality video calls now too.

Originally Posted by ACU:
“With the networks putting on limits of 1GB or 500MB video calling would eat into this quickly. Which would make the feature too expensive to use for most people.”

That depends on what type of call people were making. If people are making calls from a video phone to a video phone over the network provider's network then it won't actually use the data limit, it will be dealt with as a phone call. The only time the data limit comes in to play is if the call is made over the internet such as a feature on Skype or similar - even then consider that the video images are compressed and we aren't talking about HD video which would obviously ramp up the data usage.

When I was with O2 previously I managed to get a contract that included video calls within my inclusive monthly minutes allowance. I had 1,000 minutes a month and my unused minutes rolled over up to 3 months. Video calls were anything but expensive - sadly I don't get that on TMobile currently.

Originally Posted by ACU:
“However as you say, people look for different things in a mobile, so whilst video calling for you is a must have, for me its a gimmick, that I would use once of twice.”

Yes, we are all different. So gimmick for you, not for others. I suspect you'll notice an increase in video calls as more and more people get smart phones and mobile internet devices, just as you see a popular usage in desktop and laptop computers with webcams.
ACU
06-10-2010
Originally Posted by lalaland:
“That's fair enough, we're all different. Some use features others don't. I don't tweet from my HTC Desire, yet plenty of others do for example.

I think video calling may be more popular than you give it credit. While I accept it's not used by everyone, it's certainly used by many. And as for time will tell, it certainly will, when you consider we're talking about Android handsets where software such as Skype is already available - imagine making a video call from your Android handset to your mate on their laptop via your internet connection, I think we're going to see an increase in a demand for forward facing cameras.

Mobile networks are producing faster connectivity. Modern video calls over network provider networks are a vast improvement on how the first video calls were with the Three network for example.

I think Apple made a foolish mistake making it WiFi only, limiting the use of a feature, but this doesn't seem unusual for Apple so good luck to them

I don't believe that's true. I was making video calls from my N97 and they were good quality.

You don't need HD quality for video calls. As long as they aren't blocky and stuttery it's fine and it's unusual to get a poor quality video call over WiFi. Most mobile networks produce good quality video calls now too.

That depends on what type of call people were making. If people are making calls from a video phone to a video phone over the network provider's network then it won't actually use the data limit, it will be dealt with as a phone call. The only time the data limit comes in to play is if the call is made over the internet such as a feature on Skype or similar - even then consider that the video images are compressed and we aren't talking about HD video which would obviously ramp up the data usage.

When I was with O2 previously I managed to get a contract that included video calls within my inclusive monthly minutes allowance. I had 1,000 minutes a month and my unused minutes rolled over up to 3 months. Video calls were anything but expensive - sadly I don't get that on TMobile currently.

Yes, we are all different. So gimmick for you, not for others. I suspect you'll notice an increase in video calls as more and more people get smart phones and mobile internet devices, just as you see a popular usage in desktop and laptop computers with webcams.”

I wasnt aware that mobile networks produce good quality pictures. This would certainly help in making it more appealing. I agree you wouldnt need HD quality.

I wonder how much data a 5 min video call would use, using skype. I think the amount of data used would have a big impact on how successful video calling is. I also have a funny feeling that if video calling was to take of, the networks would stop video calls being taken from talk minutes and taken from mobile data.
RED_
06-10-2010
Looks like im going on the Vodafone, £40pm deal. 18month contract. 600minutes, 3000 texts and 750mb internet. Get my dad to call them tomorrow and haggle with them since hes already on vodafone. Hope they budge a little. Never thought i'd pay £40pm for a phone.
lalaland
06-10-2010
Originally Posted by RED_:
“Looks like im going on the Vodafone, £40pm deal. 18month contract. 600minutes, 3000 texts and 750mb internet. Get my dad to call them tomorrow and haggle with them since hes already on vodafone. Hope they budge a little. Never thought i'd pay £40pm for a phone.”

Where's that deal from?

Vodafone's own site are showing an 18 month tariff for £40 per month that gives 900 minutes, unlimited texts and 750mb internet. This seems better than the deal you're getting...
technoflare
06-10-2010
at £40 though its not a real big saving over the term . im seriously considering getting it SIM outright and then a cheap SIM only deal for £20.
RED_
07-10-2010
Originally Posted by lalaland:
“Where's that deal from?

Vodafone's own site are showing an 18 month tariff for £40 per month that gives 900 minutes, unlimited texts and 750mb internet. This seems better than the deal you're getting...”

My mistake, thats the one im on about, looked at it a while back and posted from memory.

Originally Posted by technoflare:
“at £40 though its not a real big saving over the term . im seriously considering getting it SIM outright and then a cheap SIM only deal for £20.”

That would work out a lot more expensive. The phone on Amazon is £495.99 then theres a sim only 20pm deal for 18 months (using the same length as the £40pm contract) This works out to £855.99 where as the contract adds up to £720, big difference. Plus you'll probably get more minutes/texts/data
Useful Idiot
07-10-2010
http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/shop/mobi.../htc-desire-hd

HD touchscreen - see everything from websites to movies in high definition

If you're looking for a great Android™ experience on a huge, bright high-definition touchscreen

The HTC Desire HD has one of the largest, clearest HD touchscreens around

Erm...

That's great, Vodafone seem to be selling the 'upgraded' version of the Desire HD which now has a HD touchscreen included. I shall definitely be purchasing from them, seeing as nowhere else has included this superb feature to my knowledge.
wod1
07-10-2010
are any other mobile operators getting the desire hd on contract as i was looking to go with 3 and get the desire but shall wait for the desire hd instead.
ACU
07-10-2010
Originally Posted by wod1:
“are any other mobile operators getting the desire hd on contract as i was looking to go with 3 and get the desire but shall wait for the desire hd instead.”

Vodafone will get it first. I am sure t-mobile, O2, orange and 3 will follow after a few weeks.
ThePhenom
07-10-2010
Originally Posted by Useful Idiot;:
“
That's great, Vodafone seem to be selling the 'upgraded' version of the Desire HD which now has a HD touchscreen included. I shall definitely be purchasing from them, seeing as nowhere else has included this superb feature to my knowledge.”

What upgraded version? What are they selling that nobody else is?
ACU
07-10-2010
Originally Posted by ThePhenom:
“What upgraded version? What are they selling that nobody else is?”

Bollocks is what they are selling.

I think useful Idiot is taking the p out of vodafones advert
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