HTC MAX 4G review: From Russia with love
Gsmarena have posted a review of the HTC MAX 4G. Here are the key features, main disadvantages and final impression.
Key features:
- Massive 3.8" 65K-color WVGA display
- Tri-band GSM support
- WiMAX connectivity
- Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS (by default comes in Russian)
- TouchFLO 3D UI plug-in and gesture controls
- Wi-Fi and GPS
- Qualcomm ESM7206A 528 Mhz CPU and 288 MB DDR SDRAM
- Dedicated GPU (64MB RAM reserved for graphics)
- 3 megapixel auto focus camera
- microSD card slot
- Accelerometer sensor for auto screen rotation and turn-to-mute
- Proximity sensor to automatically turn the screen off during calls
- Touch sensitive keys with vibration feedback
- miniUSB slot and Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP on board
- miniUSB to standard 3.5mm audio jack adapter included in the retail box
- Active magnetic stylus
- MS Office Mobile document editor
- Excellent Opera 9.5 web browser
- Free WiMAX plan (Yota Russia subscribers only for a limited duration)
Main disadvantages:
- No 3G
- No Back key
- No dedicated camera key, no flash
- Poor camera performance
- Average display sunlight legibility
- No TV out port
- Video recording flops at CIF@30fps
- Battery life not up to scratch
- Fingerprint magnet front (the back is way better though)
- Too big for comfy single-handed use, on the heavy side
- No FM radio
The HTC MAX 4G is without doubt a high end device. Apart from the rather average camera, it pushes the limits of technology available on the market today. WiMAX is certainly a unique feature for a mobile phone and the huge 3.8" WVGA screen make it a very appealing offering.
What marks it down however is that the handset is only available for the Russian operator Yota. And even if you get hold of one outside of Russia, WiMAX is not that widespread yet, certainly not as much as 3G.
The HTC MAX 4G may be the highest of high end, but surprisingly that area is getting terribly overcrowded. Here we count at least five competitors that can measure up to the challenge of the 4G, each having some unique defining quality.
If you're searching for an alternative of the MAX 4G, the HTC Touch HD, is practically its 3G sibling. Sure it lacks the mind boggling maximum theoretical speeds, but the current networks are far from them anyway (both HSDPA and WiMAX). Plus 3G has worldwide reach. The HD also adds a decent 5 megapixel snapper, a 3.5 mm audio jack and has the notable advantage of 8GB of internal storage.
A newcomer that isn't even out yet (but will be in a week or two) is the new offering from Cupertino, the Apple iPhone 3G S. The screen is no match for the size and pixel count of the MAX 4G, but the image quality on the iPhones has always been among the best. The camera is up a notch to 3 megapixel and autofocus but we'll have to wait and see how it fares in terms of actual photos.
Given the generous internal storage of either 16Gb or 32GB and the fact that it's got an Apple at the back (which alone is enough for some) and you've got quite a rival on your hands.
The Sony Ericsson Idou... er, we mean Satio is another contender for the title - its defining characteristic is the impressive, though no longer unique, 12 megapixel camera. It's got a xenon flash and aspires to be the be-all-end-all cameraphone and runs the touch version of the S60 platform. That of course has both its pros and cons so it's essentially up to you.
Another camera-centric touch Symbian device is the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD. While the still photo resolution is "just" 8MP, the Omnia HD distinguishes itself with 720p HD video recording - a first for GSM phones.
Last but certainly not least is the Toshiba TG01. It's got a monster of a screen at 4.1", which really pushes the limits of what we'd call a mobile phone. Its major treat is another monster - the 1GHz Snapdragon CPU. Since the TG01 runs WinMo, like the MAX 4G, Toshiba have decided to mask it away with a 3D user interface of their own.
Looks like quite a fight, doesn't it? The HTC MAX 4G sure has the speed to run for it. The screen makes browsing a bliss and surfing online over WiMAX should be zippier or at least easier on the wallet. If you have access to WiMAX, that is. The main issues with this otherwise great device are the narrow specialty (WiMAX instead of 3G) and the resulting steep price tag. It's a carrier's handset alright, and that has its downsides. But in the end, it's got the focus to cater to its niche and the attitude to outgrow it.
Key features:
- Massive 3.8" 65K-color WVGA display
- Tri-band GSM support
- WiMAX connectivity
- Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS (by default comes in Russian)
- TouchFLO 3D UI plug-in and gesture controls
- Wi-Fi and GPS
- Qualcomm ESM7206A 528 Mhz CPU and 288 MB DDR SDRAM
- Dedicated GPU (64MB RAM reserved for graphics)
- 3 megapixel auto focus camera
- microSD card slot
- Accelerometer sensor for auto screen rotation and turn-to-mute
- Proximity sensor to automatically turn the screen off during calls
- Touch sensitive keys with vibration feedback
- miniUSB slot and Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP on board
- miniUSB to standard 3.5mm audio jack adapter included in the retail box
- Active magnetic stylus
- MS Office Mobile document editor
- Excellent Opera 9.5 web browser
- Free WiMAX plan (Yota Russia subscribers only for a limited duration)
Main disadvantages:
- No 3G
- No Back key
- No dedicated camera key, no flash
- Poor camera performance
- Average display sunlight legibility
- No TV out port
- Video recording flops at CIF@30fps
- Battery life not up to scratch
- Fingerprint magnet front (the back is way better though)
- Too big for comfy single-handed use, on the heavy side
- No FM radio
The HTC MAX 4G is without doubt a high end device. Apart from the rather average camera, it pushes the limits of technology available on the market today. WiMAX is certainly a unique feature for a mobile phone and the huge 3.8" WVGA screen make it a very appealing offering.
What marks it down however is that the handset is only available for the Russian operator Yota. And even if you get hold of one outside of Russia, WiMAX is not that widespread yet, certainly not as much as 3G.
The HTC MAX 4G may be the highest of high end, but surprisingly that area is getting terribly overcrowded. Here we count at least five competitors that can measure up to the challenge of the 4G, each having some unique defining quality.
If you're searching for an alternative of the MAX 4G, the HTC Touch HD, is practically its 3G sibling. Sure it lacks the mind boggling maximum theoretical speeds, but the current networks are far from them anyway (both HSDPA and WiMAX). Plus 3G has worldwide reach. The HD also adds a decent 5 megapixel snapper, a 3.5 mm audio jack and has the notable advantage of 8GB of internal storage.
A newcomer that isn't even out yet (but will be in a week or two) is the new offering from Cupertino, the Apple iPhone 3G S. The screen is no match for the size and pixel count of the MAX 4G, but the image quality on the iPhones has always been among the best. The camera is up a notch to 3 megapixel and autofocus but we'll have to wait and see how it fares in terms of actual photos.
Given the generous internal storage of either 16Gb or 32GB and the fact that it's got an Apple at the back (which alone is enough for some) and you've got quite a rival on your hands.
The Sony Ericsson Idou... er, we mean Satio is another contender for the title - its defining characteristic is the impressive, though no longer unique, 12 megapixel camera. It's got a xenon flash and aspires to be the be-all-end-all cameraphone and runs the touch version of the S60 platform. That of course has both its pros and cons so it's essentially up to you.
Another camera-centric touch Symbian device is the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD. While the still photo resolution is "just" 8MP, the Omnia HD distinguishes itself with 720p HD video recording - a first for GSM phones.
Last but certainly not least is the Toshiba TG01. It's got a monster of a screen at 4.1", which really pushes the limits of what we'd call a mobile phone. Its major treat is another monster - the 1GHz Snapdragon CPU. Since the TG01 runs WinMo, like the MAX 4G, Toshiba have decided to mask it away with a 3D user interface of their own.
Looks like quite a fight, doesn't it? The HTC MAX 4G sure has the speed to run for it. The screen makes browsing a bliss and surfing online over WiMAX should be zippier or at least easier on the wallet. If you have access to WiMAX, that is. The main issues with this otherwise great device are the narrow specialty (WiMAX instead of 3G) and the resulting steep price tag. It's a carrier's handset alright, and that has its downsides. But in the end, it's got the focus to cater to its niche and the attitude to outgrow it.
Posts
No comments: