HTC Titan all up in the FCC's business

The existence of HTC's follow up to the venerable Apache comes as a surprise to no one; after all, we've seeing it time and time again. Still, there's some sort of wave of reassurance that washes over us when we see a promised new handset get two thumbs-up from our boys and girls at the Fed. Still no word on exactly when we'll see the device materialize -- which is expected on Sprint and Verizon alike as the PPC6800 and XV6800, respectively -- but this filing should at least clear the path for both carriers to hold to their roadmaps; with EV-DO Rev. A, Bluetooth 2.0, and beefed-up internal storage all in the cards, those roadmaps really can't come quickly enough.

[Juice @ Mar 5th 2007 4:18PM]

Flat dpad. Nice... NOT

[boe @ Mar 5th 2007 4:33PM]

Major faults with the 6800 -

Still only 256MB of RAM - are they kidding? The iPhone has 4 to 8 GIGABYTES!

Still one fat bastard - 21.5mm - iPhone 11mm

Crappy resolution - 320x240 - iPhone 320x480 - the iMate ultimates 640 x 480! Much better for reading e-mail (including html in WM6) excel spreadhseets, web browsing - pretty much all the things
PPC phones are designed for, it sucks at.

USB 1.1 - Hello? USB 2.0 came out about 5 years ago - way to keep up with technology. Very slow for transfers but with only 256MB you won't be transfering much.

Good thing -
It can run WM6 although there are no guarantees it will include WM6 - not sure if someone will have a hack for the iPhone that will let it run WM6.

It is CDMA so it can run on Sprint or Verizon if you have a good contract - it is a shame both lock their networks so you can't buy the phone you want e.g. an iMate Ultimate and run it on their networks.

Unknown - does it come with a nifty fannypack like the 6700 so you can claim you are just metrosexual, in case you aren't out of the closet.

[Peter @ Mar 5th 2007 4:52PM]

Who the fuck cares about the iPhone? Why must everything be compared to that piece of crap?
Tell me, does the iPhone let you install any of thousands of programs available for Windows Mobile? Heck, does it let you install ANY PROGRAM? NO and NO!

[KnightmareCS @ Mar 5th 2007 5:31PM]

what a homo...

[spacegravity4me @ Mar 5th 2007 6:01PM]

why is it compared to the iPhone? I'll tell you why. STORAGE! All I know is that this day and age if I'm gonna shell out 500 for a phone it better be a mini computer with a TON of internal storage! The iPhone has that and isn't a thousand dollars like some other smartphones we know. Now, show me a smartphone with a slide out keyboard, wifi, bluetooth, good processor, at least 4 gigs, and gps for around 500 and then i'll forget the iPhone exists. Oh and it needs a camera, then it's my perfect phone. So are you gonna make that phone for me? Oh, what? No? I didn't think so. Cause you don't have the resources to do so. Neither do I, or I would. So what I want to know is how come our smartphone buddies haven't made the phone I described yet??? Oh yea, cause they are all retards. Have a nice day and call me when they get things right. Till then I'll hold my breath.

[V1 @ Mar 5th 2007 5:57PM]

You are so sexy when you say that. Now come over here you naughty little pillow biter.

[Brian @ Mar 5th 2007 5:36PM]

The GSM version of this phone was released in November '06 by Cingular as their 8525.

[boe @ Mar 5th 2007 5:41PM]

The reason everything is compared to the iPhone is that the hardware is much more advanced than most WM phones we see here in the States. I compare it because it is a multifunction phone that most people are familar with the size, shape etc. I also compared it to the iMate phone which is SIGNIFICANTLY more advanced hardware wise and runs WM6, has full VGA resolution but not many people here in the States are that familar with it as no US carriers currently have plans to offer that phone. There are FIVE iMate Ultimates all technilogically vastly superior to the i6800.

I also did mention that the iPhone would have WM6 although I wish it did.

[Daniel Wu @ Mar 6th 2007 3:06AM]

first you have to make sure someone could hack the iPhone at all to install ANY applications, then you could keep your hope of a WM6.0 emulator after that.

I'm not aware that iPhone has external storage capability, by the time iPhone comes out we can scoop 4GB miniSD or even microSD on market for cheap anyways.

and yes, it has a GSM counter part (HTC HERMES)that actually supports UMTS/HSDPA, what kind of "3G" iPhone support? EDGE certainly doesnt count

it's a bit on the heavy side, but who cares. It's a PDA phone and it's meant to be kept in your pocket, plus, iPhone isn't light or slim enough to be hang on your neck either.

and the slide QWERTY works perfect on HTC series. Once the iPhone's out you can have a typing competition between iPhone and HTC. I bet 5 bux on my HTC

[KnightmareCS @ Mar 5th 2007 6:00PM]

wtf?

[spacegravity4me @ Mar 5th 2007 6:03PM]

why is it compared to the iPhone? I'll tell you why. STORAGE! All I know is that this day and age if I'm gonna shell out 500 for a phone it better be a mini computer with a TON of internal storage! The iPhone has that and isn't a thousand dollars like some other smartphones we know. Now, show me a smartphone with a slide out keyboard, wifi, bluetooth, good processor, at least 4 gigs, and gps for around 500 and then i'll forget the iPhone exists. Oh and it needs a camera, then it's my perfect phone. So are you gonna make that phone for me? Oh, what? No? I didn't think so. Cause you don't have the resources to do so. Neither do I, or I would. So what I want to know is how come our smartphone buddies haven't made the phone I described yet??? Oh yea, cause they are all retards. Have a nice day and call me when they get things right. Till then I'll hold my breath.

[Peter @ Mar 5th 2007 6:53PM]

Actually, just buy a smartphone with GPS built in and a 4GB MicroSD card (iPhone has no memory card slot) and it will have 4GB of storage! iPhone does NOT HAVE a slide out keyboard!
What is your phone number, I need to call you!

[JSM @ Mar 5th 2007 6:46PM]

I'll make it easier for you - I think the iphone is me-too, also ran shite when compared to what the asian/european markets already have - BUT, for the US market, HTC is way too little, way too late with this bugger - if they can't play with the imate 7150, and at least match the iphone (and hence what else is out there) in memory specs, well than whoop de effing doo, this is one HTC Universal user who has bought their last HTC product.

You know that this reminds me most of, is the early days of the pc, the ibm/apple/commodore/osbourne days, all were intended for the same purpose, so were far better than the others, and if you stumbled one generation you were road kill. The (still pending) release of this product with 2h '06 features is HTC falling on its' face. And Damn, because i was rooting for them. When should we expect the omni at this rate; '09?

[Peter @ Mar 5th 2007 6:53PM]

also, iPhone has Google Maps, but no GPS.

[boe @ Mar 5th 2007 6:57PM]

I have the 6700 and never use the slide out keyboard. I'm not saying they shouldn't make units without keyboards but it would be nice to offer a choice of thin units without keyboards. I use voice activated dialing for all calling names and numbers. I use voice activated commands for showing contacts, playing music, even checking e-mails. When I do need to type, I use the on screen keyboard. Not a solution for everyone but a good solution for those of us who would gladly give up the bulk for something that fits into our pockets.

[Jeremy @ Mar 5th 2007 6:53PM]

I hate that I'm getting caught up in this and even responding...but have you Mac fanboys ever stopped to listen to yourselves? Wow.

Just what are you going to do with all that storage....? You can't install any third-party programs so the iPhone is relegated to being a glorified music-playing phone. I would even go so far as to say that it's a media player first, a trend symbol second, and a phone third (a very distant third).

The fact that someone called it "more advanced" than the current crop of WM phones is just plain ignorant. How can a device without 3G that is limited to proprietary software be considered "advanced"?

I think I just vomitted a little in my mouth.

[boe @ Mar 5th 2007 6:59PM]

I use iGuidance that takes up over 1 GIG of storage. I would love to download more of my e-mails, keep more documents with me and yes, it would also be nice to have a little storage space for music if any is left over.

[Jeremy @ Mar 5th 2007 6:57PM]

What does Google Maps have to do with anything? Google Maps has a client specifically for Windows Mobile as well.

[JBT @ Mar 5th 2007 8:23PM]

So I have a 6700, and I wont be upgrading to a 6800, just no reason to. A slightly faster upload speed, just doesn't do it for me. Also since I've put the hacked AKU 3.5 ROM on, there haven't been any instability issues to speak of, so if it aint broke...

As for the iphone, it's the wrong comparison. Until we know what the device can support software-wise, right now it's just a feature rich (very rich) music phone. So, what, be compared to a ROKR or a Sidekick...

Also, cost of ownership has been much lower than the iPhone:
6700 (with contract) - $250
Rugged case - $30
2x 2GB Mini SD (one media, one programs)- $60
Plantronics 640 - $60
BT GPS - $75
Assorted Software to improve functionality - $50
Total: $525

When the Treo was the big bad smartphone on the planet, all of its competitors were knocked for one consistent reason, the Treo had (and probably still has) the best one-handed operation for a device with its amount of features. The iPhone will most certainly break this rule, and with NO tactile feedback to boot. While using this bastion of simplicity you will be using both hands and staring at the screen…no way around it. Multitouch is just a fancy way around the fact that you can’t get work (yes WORK) done without some kind of hardware. I can’t wait to see someone pound out a web address with this thing…

It does look sexy. Yes thats neat, great, awesome. So does my first gen nano… which is slippery as hell .. and never had ear sweat on it....

[boe @ Mar 5th 2007 8:55PM]

JBT I'm not saying your post is wrong, you bring up some good points but there are also some points I think should be addressed. When the 6700 came out it was $650 - you could get it for less with various inflated ebay contracts or for about $500 with a standard Sprint 2 year contract. The price has dropped of course as the unit has been out for quite a while. Let's see how much the iPhone goes for 2 years from now. If you recall the RAZR was about $400 when it first came out - now they are giving them away with a contract depending on your carrier.

As for a comparison - it is a valid comparison hardware wise - not software wise as I stated in my first post but a bunch of MAC phobes figured I had to be a MAC fanboy - which I AM NOT. The issue is the hardware - you don't here me going on about OSX being better than WM6 - DO YOU?

The hardware is the meat of the matter. The HTC 6800 is about 2 years old technology wise. If you read the points of issue, I discuss the antiquated hardware. And yes, the processor in the iPhone is powerful enough to run WM6 - hence my hope that someone will make a WM6 hack for it so that it can run something more useful to business users. HTC's obsolete hardware is the crux of the post.

As for the software, you only list $50 - so you didn't get VC AND SPB Pocket Plus? While you may not have most people I support get both which would be more than $50. You paid $75 for a GPS - what software do you use - as far as I know iGuidance or Tom Tom go for about $100 but that wouldn't fit in your software range.

Mind you I am NOT saying GPS software should come with the phone - MS Live Search is pretty dang good for free although it won't announce your trip like a standard car GPS or Tom Tom or iGuidance. I do think WM should let you customize your today screen so you wouldn't need SPB pocket plus but its worth it in my opinion since it doesn't. MS VC would be a welcome edition and it would be great if it were integrated with the OS so it could be integrated with the AKU.

[boe @ Mar 6th 2007 10:08AM]

Daniel - why would it have to be an emulator? - it could run directly off the processor without being some WM on top of OSX. There are several phones out there that were released with WM5 but WM6 will run on them - no emulator.

The difference is that internal memory runs MUCH MUCH faster than sd cards - particularly the HTC. - just take your card out and plug it directly into a reader - see how much faster the transfers are. Furthermore HTC has the notorious DSOD (Dark Screen of Death)when every you run apps off the sd card, if you don't use your phone for the alloted power saving time - e.g. 1-2 minutes, when you attempt to activate the unit the screen stays dark. Not an issue if you don't have any apps on the SD card.

AGAIN - if you read my posts, I also mention the iMate which has VGA has USB 2.0 is THINNER than the HTC (Including the IMATE with a KEYBOARD). The nice thing is that IMATE offers VGA units with keyboards and without. I realize there are a lot of closed minded people who insist that all PDA phones should include keyboards but Imate realizes some people prefer the on screen keyboard as the bulk of our messages replies are yes, no etc. Our concern is more for receiving messages than writing novels. Again, I am not insisting that NO pda phones should come with keyboards - but it would be nice to be given a choice to shave off about 5 mm if we aren't going to be using it.

[jerzybrotha @ Jul 3rd 2007 9:35PM]

does anyone have an idea when verizon will actually add the 6800 to it's line up?

[Derek @ Aug 10th 2007 7:25AM]

The release is anticipated in August, though there are various other plausible rumors indicating October. The delay was caused by Broadcom suing Qualcomm over patent infringement. Verizon eventually made a deal with Broadcom to pay them per handset to sell the phone.

The HTC 6800 can't be compared to the iPhone, they have completely different form factors and a different target market. Wait for the HTC Touch - it's coming to the US in December (carrier unannounced) and the touchscreen technology and interface directly competes with the iPhone.