HTC Shift gets hands on

If you can bear to watch the walkthrough video, GottaBeMobile has a hands-on with the HTC Shift, the first UMPC from the traditionally cellphone only company. It appears as if HTC has a winner on its hands with the Shift, as the reviewer seems completely smitten with the device: HTC has definitely nailed the "feel" of the device in terms of balance and finish. The Pocket PC mode seems to be pretty great too: the extra battery life is welcome, and as the reviewer demonstrates, it's very easy to switch between the two modes. "I'm in Vista Business, I'm back in Pocket PC. I'm back in Vista, I'm back in ... " Check it out at 30:35 in the video after the break.

[noisia @ Aug 13th 2007 8:07AM]

he must have cried like the baby in the background when he had to return it...

[sam @ Aug 13th 2007 8:14AM]

HTC really has some great stuff. The HTC Touch and now the Shift, if they can build something in between, Apple would REALLY have to worry.

[Mickey Jones @ Aug 13th 2007 8:17AM]

Gotta love that freeze-frame. He looks like Richard Simmons brother on a crack binge.

Can the HTC really be that good? Can anything?

[Trevor Maskery @ Aug 13th 2007 8:19AM]

the kaiser (sp?) is a great device. kinda what your after sam. coming soon so sit tight.
whats wrong with that guy talk about long winded. evil fluffy eyebrows too.

[strider_mt2k @ Aug 13th 2007 8:20AM]

I thought he looked more like Joaquin Phoenix.

Swing away, Merill!

Swing away!

[McLoad @ Aug 13th 2007 8:26AM]

Is this guy on crack or mushrooms? I had to break after the first 2 minutes, does the video becomes any better?
I was really looking forward the first video but the first 120 seconds are just crap.

[Jason @ Aug 13th 2007 8:36AM]

Maybe the next one will have DVI, HDMI, or DisplayPort instead of VGA....

So it's 800x480 in Vista and 640x480 in PocketPC? I'm used to a 17"wide+24"Wide LCD... VGA Vista sounds painful...

Really sweet kit though... Dual mode especially.

[BlackCoffeeNoSugar @ Aug 13th 2007 8:52AM]

This guy has talked too much unless things before saying anything useful.

[sfiorito @ Aug 13th 2007 9:08AM]

Yeah, too bad about the VGA out instead of DVI/HDMI. Also would like to see an SSD option for the Vista HDD.

[Trix @ Aug 13th 2007 9:22AM]

Yeah talk about a let down. I mean they could at least have put a pair of 8800GTX in SLI in there... Seriously this is for wimps.

Geez, the nerve some people here have... DVI? There almost aren't any *laptops* with DVI.

[John @ Aug 13th 2007 9:13AM]

This. Guy. Has. Got. To. Be. The. Shittiest. Presenter. Of. A. Video. Walkthrough. Ever.

It really is. It really, really is. :)

[Tom @ Aug 13th 2007 9:28AM]

I can't believe I watched the whole thing. He hurts me.

[Andrew @ Aug 13th 2007 9:28AM]

Well, that's 30 minutes of my life I'm never going to get back.

"I'm in PocketPC, I'm back in Vista. I'm in PocketPC, now I'm back in Vista. I'm back in Vista, I'm in PocketPC, back in Vista, back in PocketPC."

Painful.

[nedy78 @ Aug 13th 2007 9:33AM]

I don't understand why everyone is getting on this guy's case. I mean, what are you looking for in a review? Me, I'd like to get thoughts on build quality, feel, input/output ports, size, functionality, and a comparison to other devices...is that not what he did?

[giuliop @ Aug 13th 2007 11:06AM]

Same things I look for, but you know, credibility just suffers if the guy they come from looks mental.

[zorg @ Aug 13th 2007 11:12AM]

I agree. People are so immature. Not like us.

By the way, I was just waiting for him to bring the crying baby into the frame and have it start cooing when it realizes it can switch from Vista (shittiest OS ever) to PocketPC (second shittiest OS ever, or third after WindowsME) in the SAME device --- and back again! FTW!

[MDBiz @ Aug 13th 2007 9:39AM]

I can't wait to see how excited this guy will be when they create a device like this that's small enough to fit in his eyebrows.

[Neeko @ Aug 13th 2007 9:44AM]

OK CAN WE GET BACK ON TOPIC AND TALK ABOUT THE DEVICE ALREADY.. WHO CARES ABOUT THE PRESENTATION.


I think HTC has a great device now. This is by far the best UMPC to EVER come out. After watching the video i am really interested in this device. Just gotta figure out what this could do for me. The dual OS is a very good idea. I cant wait to see a more detailed description of either OS. And 7 days battery life is amazing for Windows Mobile 6..

[Electroboy @ Aug 13th 2007 9:47AM]

His eyebrows are hypnotic.

[PeteC @ Aug 13th 2007 10:00AM]

You will buy this product. You will buy this product. Relax. Relax.

You're in windows ce, now in Vista, now in CE, now in Vista. CE, Vista, CE, Vista. Now concentrate on my eyebrows. Now relax. rellaaaxxx. Now when I click my fingers you'll feel your arms fall heavy, reach into your pockets, get out your wallet and make the most relaxing and fufilling purchase of your life. Keep focussed on my eyebrows.

[Torben @ Aug 13th 2007 10:25AM]

Unfortunately...

...this "thing" is just as mobile as a brick! Look at it, its bigger than most purses, bigger than this guys head!

[fd @ Aug 13th 2007 10:33AM]

Looks painfully slow.

Resuming vista takes really long. Opening apps takes a long time too. I know, blame it on bulky vista, which likely wasn't optimized in any shape or form; but in an UMPC it would foremost like things to be swift. Much swifter than what I saw in the video. It doesn't seem any faster than 5yr old tablet hardware.

As revolutionary as it may be. Too big to be pocketable. Too slow for frequent use.

[Harry @ Aug 13th 2007 10:38AM]

looks like he dropped two owsley's before the presentation.

[bob cobb @ Aug 13th 2007 10:59AM]

It looks to me like the keyboard is too small for full hands, and too big for thumbs.

[superseagulls @ Aug 13th 2007 11:32AM]

As excited as I am by this product, I'm just not prepared to have my fingers burned by another shoddy, poor quality device from HTC. IF they have there quality issues resolved and USB or charge ports don't get pushed into the casing etc etc then I may have to get one, otherwise as many have commented, you may as well stay with a nice 12" lappy!

[Uncle @ Aug 13th 2007 11:36AM]

Mr. Roger's Australian love child. Somebody wax that kid's eyebrows. Thumb typing giving your biceps a workout? No woner they're part of the coalition of the illing.

[piper @ Aug 13th 2007 11:52AM]

OMG all I heard was the crying baby in the background - Horrible video.

[sfiorito @ Aug 13th 2007 12:49PM]

Why is DVI such a horrible request? New laptops are coming out with DVI, hell some are even coming out with HDMI ports. MacBooks have had DVI for a while. In fact, HDMI would probably be better just for the slimmer size.

[Rajeet Mishra @ Aug 13th 2007 12:58PM]

Hey, lay off Hugo. He lacks the world-weary smart ass so present in most (read: here) tech-blogs. He's excited. Transparent. The product is worth being excited about. And he has the presence of mind to talk through the domestic hoipaloi in the background. Shesh. What a bunch of whiney old women.

[tnkgrl @ Aug 13th 2007 1:15PM]

What's wrong with you people? Hugo Ortega is one of the most connected ultra-mobile PC bloggers out there... He's been doing some of the best reviews of some of the coolest gear! And he's really funny, too - so give the guy a break.

[heath @ Aug 13th 2007 1:38PM]

hugo rocks and i appreciate the walkthrough. the shift looks pretty damn cool. i wonder how much it is gonna hit for in the u.s.?

[turn off cell phone @ Aug 13th 2007 1:41PM]

Ring Ring Ring - wah wah boo hoo (Screaming Baby) that's all I heard. Now what is the product?

[steve @ Aug 13th 2007 1:59PM]

"He my name is Hugo Ortega. Perfectly captured"
Lol
question is, how safe is it to switch between modes mid operation? Do the operation sleep? do they carry on? If so, what happens to battery life when both are "operational?"

when do you need the thumbpad when you have touchscreen?

Price? Weight?

missing great deal of info.

[Loonie @ Aug 13th 2007 2:02PM]

That is a pretty impressive piece of hardware, won't deny it.

But seriously, someone should attend to the baby.

[E. Douglas Jensen @ Aug 13th 2007 2:13PM]

Hm, with a Qualcomm processor, it isn't going to run any of my nice PocketPC apps that are for the ARM processor. And I don't buy anything that doesn't have Verizon's EVDO network.

[Dave @ Aug 15th 2007 9:44AM]

Ummm, yes, it will. Being Qualcomm doesn't mean it's not ARM ... my Sprint Mogul has the Qualcomm MSM7500 chipset (400Mhz, ARM11 applications processor and ARM9 modem proccesor), and runs all the apps I ever ran on my HP HX2755 Pocket PC (WM2003SE) and Sprint PPC-6800 (WM5) just fine.

[Navstar @ Aug 13th 2007 2:18PM]

Did a couple giant black caterpillars camp out on top of his eyelids??

[LeilaniLad @ Aug 13th 2007 3:40PM]

Dude, the UX kicks this thing's sorry ass. 1024x600 display, 128 gig video ram, I play WoW and Lord Of The Rings Online on it and it's smaller by far. This thing is a trumped up OQO. Good first try, but doesn't hold a candle to the UX series...

[PeterF @ Aug 13th 2007 8:38PM]

@LeilaniLad
128 gig video ram? Holy shit, my desktop doesn't even have that! What would you even need that for a 1024x600 screen?

[taylor @ Aug 13th 2007 3:32PM]

Wow, its almost just like the palm foleo, except, oh whats the word? oh thats right GOOD!

[Daniel @ Aug 13th 2007 4:02PM]

Benchmarks would have been nice, as mentioned before resuming Vista seems really slow. And I would have appreciated to hear about syncing Pocket PC and Vista, or if there is any possibility of accessing the hard drive, webcam and VGA port from Pocket PC. If that’s all possible the combination sounds like a great idea to me, on the road everything most people need is the Pocket PC capabilities with lots of battery life, a nice screen, a touch type keyboard and the option to boot Vista just in case more is needed. At the end it all comes down to the price, I guess sub 1000,- would get quite a number of people to buy it (although I’m sure it will cost more than that).

[Christian @ Aug 13th 2007 5:12PM]

If this was his best thing why was he not excited at all? omg, I have to stop this video before I actually commit evil things...

I suddenly lost interest in that gadget now...

[Semantix @ Aug 13th 2007 5:42PM]

"Look, I'm in Australia.. now I'm in America! Australia... America.. Australia! America! Australia! America! Australia! Amer.."

*POP*

"IN AMERICA WE DON'T TOLERATE THAT KIND OF CRAP, SIR!"

[Richard Walker @ Aug 13th 2007 6:33PM]

now if it were using OSX than that would be something to talk about!

[3rdsun @ Aug 13th 2007 9:10PM]

That there is a mighty fine looking device.
When he reads these comments he wont be giving Engadget anymore shoutouts.

[GaryT @ Aug 14th 2007 3:43PM]

Amen, from another gay reader... Let's keep the offensive comments off this site, and focus on the gadget!

Yeah, the video has some low points, but overall he does a great job and it looks like a great device.

[honk @ Aug 15th 2007 10:24PM]

C'mon engadget readers - what a good piece of news - I don't think this guy deserves any of these negative comments!! if this would be a mac would you also comment like that?! it's Ok i think gadgeteers can also appreciate microsft! but in this case it's appreciating HTC more that anything - and kudos for them!

[alleeum @ Aug 16th 2007 1:40AM]

Guys, guys, guys... Hugo is one of the most plugged-in and prolific of tablet and UMPC reviewers, and he does a consistently fantastic job of telling us absolutely everything we need to know. I've never met the man, but I do know that on this particular day, he recorded three different reviews of new devices before rushing back out of town again--knocking himself out for *our* benefit. He says so in the third one. Even the nastiest among you couldn't expect him to keep a normal, functioning family house dead quiet all day long. I think he assumed the gadget-obsessed would rather have the information early, even with little background noise, than late. And I think he's right.

And as far as his eyebrows go, allow me to tell you those extra ten pounds really do you a disservice. And your pores are looking especially large today. What? That doesn't have anything to do with what you're trying to say? Really?

Do I sound annoyed by your irrelevant and childish comments? I am. You know those Delete Cyber-bullying commercials for kids--the ones that teach them not to say things online they wouldn't say in person?(Because even children know when they're being unnecessarily rude.) I'm ashamed to say they should be making them for you grown-ups, too.

Post when you have something new and important to say about gadgets. Don't make the rest of us read a bunch of unpleasant opinions that don't matter. That way, you don't have to read posts like this, and we can all get back to the point of the site.

Hugo, thank you for a very informative review. I'm sure there are scores of smart people out there who also appreciate your efforts--but have the good sense not to even dignify these... mature and admirable adults, yeah, that's it... with a response.

[batumski @ Aug 18th 2007 8:27AM]

Thank you Hugo. very nice review

[Bogdan Tenea @ Aug 20th 2007 10:00AM]

So i don't get it, i though that this was going to be a mobile phone, and at one point (min 11:45) he said that it will NOT be a mobile phone.