HTC Shift hands-on

HTC's Shift finally launched in the US this week, and what do you know, we landed one to check out. Sure as hell ain't too shabby for a UMPC, but while it's got a number of things working in its favor (versatile form factor, solid hardware, lots of niceties like a fingerprint reader, 3G, Windows Mobile, etc.), it's got a number of bits working pretty hard against it. Some thoughts:

• The screen hinge is significantly improved and feels really solid. Without putting it through 20,000 open / close cycles, we think it's fairly trustworthy, definitely good HTC gear.
  
• The microscopic keyboard keys are an absolute nightmare to type on with two hands if you've got normal human mitts. Unfortunately, it's just too small to use regularly, and too large to use with your thumbs; with that kind of real estate we'd have preferred a proper split thumb-board with a nice big track pad in the middle. Major bummer.
• The trackpad is pretty sensitive, but a little difficult to control. The machine itself is certainly snappy enough, though, even running Vista with Aero.
• Hitting SnapVUE / Windows Mobile-mode is instantaneous, albeit a little jarring -- especially since the screen is so huge and WinMo is so clearly not intended for it -- but it's nice to have a lighter weight interface than full-on Windows.
  
• Try though we might, we simply could not find a way to disengage the unit from its leather-bound case. Maybe this was outlined in the Shift's documentation, of which we received none. Quite annoying.
  
• HTC kindly bundles a screen protector, a spare clicky stylus, external USB hub with Ethernet (ahem, Air), and headphones with mic.

All in all not bad, but it's going to take a hell of a lot more than what the Shift's offering up to get us to drop $1,500 on a UMPC of any kind. And it isn't winning it any further points considering that one of the device's main draws -- the keyboard -- may as well not even exist for us fat-fingered fools. Check out the extensive unboxing and hands-on gallery below.

Update: Apparently the case is permanently bolted to the unit and can't be removed, part of some weird FCC requirement regarding antenna distance / SAR. At very least they HTC could have used Philips head screws (and not Torx) to facilitate ease of removal.

Gallery: HTC Shift hands-on

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[Vesh @ Mar 28th 2008 6:13PM]

Am I the only one that read that as "HTC Shit hands-on."

Only 5 pm here, but maybe I need some sleep....

[derX @ Mar 28th 2008 8:17PM]

That title would have been equally fitting.

[DevinOlsen @ Mar 28th 2008 6:15PM]

I'm going to no doubt look like a jackass when I say this... but up until just now,I thought the HTC shift was just the update of the HTC Touch. In other words, I thought it was a phone. When I got to the part about the keyboard being 'just a bit to small to use regularly' I realized that this was either:
A) Giant phone
B) A mini laptop

Regardless, I feel like a fool now.

Looks nice though :)

[Nate @ Mar 28th 2008 6:19PM]

@Ryan

How does the keyboard size compare to an Eee keyboard?

[Ryan Block @ Mar 28th 2008 10:37PM]

I don't have an Eee handy to do a direct comparison, but I'd say the keys are slightly larger. But it's not always size, it's also shape and feel. I can type with limited difficulty on an Eee, but the Shift is utterly impossible for me to type even a single typo-free word on.

[OneLove @ Mar 31st 2008 3:26PM]

..."it's not always size, it's also shape and feel"...thats what she said!

[Ben @ Mar 28th 2008 6:25PM]

Since you didn't love it, why don't you give it to one of us enters-every-engadget-contest-and-has-never-won guys? ;-) Really, tho, 2 questions: 1. How's the battery life? 2. I can only imagine that 90% of people are going to leave it in Vista like 90% of the time (thus hurting question #1 even more). Do you agree?

[nh @ Mar 28th 2008 6:30PM]

The fingers you have used to type are too fat. To order a special typing wand, please mash the keyboard with your palm now.

[Nathan @ Mar 28th 2008 6:34PM]

"Where's the any key?"

"Oooh, I'll have a Tab!"

'No time for a Tab, the computer is starting!"

[boe @ Mar 28th 2008 6:38PM]

I think HTC should try to copy the designs for some better phones and skip this side trip.

Some better phones I'd like to see them make would include -
Gigabyte GSmart MS808
http://www.pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=1128

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1
http://www.pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=1117
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0z8F6jUzVc

I'm not sure why HTC can't move forward from QVGA to higher res screens in small phones - haven't they been available for about two years now?

I also can't fathom why HTC can't hire a programmer for a week or so to actually work on making Bluetooth work as well on their $500 phones as it does on the free phones you get for signing up for a contract.

Just my crazy thoughts...

[quiksilv3r @ Mar 28th 2008 6:44PM]

Uhh...the Xperia IS made by HTC...

[boe @ Mar 28th 2008 6:50PM]

quiksilv3r - that may or may not be true. At this point it is a rumor started by a single source as far as I know and I don't believe it has been confirmed. If it is true - why TF can't they make a good one under their own name to sell to Verizon and Sprint?

[derX @ Mar 28th 2008 8:32PM]

Okay, here are a couple of thoughts about what you said;

[1] You said they should try new phone style--diversify their forms factors. HTC, if not good for anything, does just this. We have the Cingular 3125 (a very thing flip), the Tilt (A side-slide out QWERTY with a tilting touch screen), the Touch (touch screen PPC), The Vox (bar phone/ side slide out smart phone--like the LG Rumor), and this thing--as DevinOlsen so perfectly put it giant-phone-mini-laptop etc...

[2] You said HTC should move from QVGA screens. This isn't entirely their faults. They only use WinMo and WinMo is optimized for use of QVGA screen. Can they make drivers to do so for higher res, of course. But again, WinMo and 65k QVGA screens just are standard at this point--though there are some, though not relatively many, exceptions.

[3] This is minute. Idk, I've never had any problems with bluetooth. I've used many HTCs--Cingular 3125, 8125, 8525, and a couple I keepy forgetting...anyway--across a relatively good range and no problem. Nor have I heard much about them. But, maybe I just ignorant to them.

[retro77 @ Mar 28th 2008 6:40PM]

Looks cool. I wonder if the track pad sensitivy can be turned down in the control panel applet?

[16 Coming through Roofless @ Mar 28th 2008 6:44PM]

Where is the market for this? UMPC = The new Tablet PC.

[giuliop @ Mar 28th 2008 6:44PM]

* Too expensive
* Too large to fit in a pocket
* Too small to do anything other than casual use
* Waste of processing power to run Vista, could run other OSs (XP, Linux) much faster
* Dual choice of OSs useless; AFAIK, it can't even share information (contacts, etc.) between the two OSs

It may have a good design, but I'd rather buy a couple of Eees and save a grand.
All in all, pretty useless machine.

[Homeboy @ Mar 28th 2008 6:54PM]

I absolutley agree. The device is in no-man's-land, completely confused and suffer from an identity crisis. One is better off spending money of a decent phone and an Eee or HP 2133. $1500 is a completely preposterous sum of money for such a semi-useless device.

[Randy @ Mar 28th 2008 6:51PM]

Another flash in the pan. When does REV 2.0 come?

[Crayola @ Mar 28th 2008 6:59PM]

Am I the only one waiting for Sony UX part deux? C'mon it's 2 years already! Give us something to drool over! Mylo with spiderman font just ain't the same!

[0dDbaLL @ Mar 28th 2008 7:09PM]

The Keyboard is fully useable. No you're not going to be typing up and tomes on this thing but that was never the intention. It is smaller than the eeePC's keyboard, which I didn't find particularly spacious either.
I've had my shift for a couple weeks and I can type fine on it even if it is small, it's just a matter of getting used to it. Same goes for the trackpad. Why do people complain so much when there is even the slightest learning curve? Lazy buggers! Meanwhile everyone is pecking away happily at their ridiculous iPhones.
Vista runs quite decently on it. SP1 actually makes it noticeably faster. Yes it could be faster, but with something so small (it's the same size as one of those fat triple DVD cases), there is going to be a comprimise. It's first and foremost meant to be a portable busines tool (and it handles Office 2007 wonderfully), go play Crysis on something else.
There is work currently going on in the communities to "fix" the WinMO side, and it's going very well. All in all I have to say it is one of the most impressive pieces of technology I've ever laid my hands on.

[giuliop @ Mar 29th 2008 1:16AM]

The question is: compromise for what?

iPhone users are "pecking at their keyboards" because they have chosen maximum portability. Sure, they can't run Office, but they can do a good deal of other things - including making a phone call, a thing you can't do.

But above all else, they can fit their iPhone in a pocket. Since you have to carry this in a bag instead, you have a vast array of other cheaper and more comfortable options, among which the Eee is first. It costs a fifth (!) and it is no doubt more comfortable to work with; I dare you to work for an hour continuosly with this without getting cramps.

I'll concede that the HTC looks better, but that's it. So unless you are obsessed with style, and are willing to pay a lot for it, you have far better choices.

[Sam Winter @ Mar 29th 2008 2:31AM]

"All in all I have to say it is one of the most impressive pieces of technology I've ever laid my hands on."
hahah, are you joking? That is a ridiculous comment. I completely agree with giuliop, this is a solution looking for a problem. Bigger than a smartphone, can't fit in your pocket, but too small for typing and too small to reasonably be able to get anything done on it like a conventional laptop. And outrageously expensive on top of that. And you call it "primarily for business".. are you kidding?

For $1500, ANYONE would be much better off buying an iPhone or their smartphone of choice, and a small, functional lightweight laptop.

[everunman @ Mar 28th 2008 7:11PM]

You guys have to consider it has built in Hsdpa, theres a few hundred BUT


yes do agree its way overpriced and users are reporting 2 hour battery life

[techFTW @ Mar 28th 2008 7:21PM]

Looks nice

[mphayvanh @ Mar 28th 2008 8:01PM]

I thought they discontinued the Palm Folio?!

[giedrys @ Mar 28th 2008 8:06PM]

Absolutely pointless gadget. I agree, if it doesn't fit in your pocket, it's not "mobile" enough. I'd rather buy HTC Tytn II and full size notebook for that kind of money, which i already did.

[slumcat @ Mar 28th 2008 8:16PM]

How about a reference object for a sense of scale? Maybe somebody's hands on the keyboard, or the old classics like a Hershey bar or a stick of gum or something. I have no idea how big or small this thing is, and the pics just make it more ambiguous.

[dmihalic @ Mar 31st 2008 10:38AM]

Holy crap! I read through all of those posts and the very last one finally mentions what I was thinking the whole damn time! With those 100+ plus some un-boxing photos no one thought to put a hand or some other object in at least ONE of those photos in order to get an idea of the SIZE of this thing?!?!? Considering that seems to be a major sticking point with folks here, one would think that someone whould have thought of that....

[mrkorb @ Mar 28th 2008 8:45PM]

IMO the Shift is late to the dance. I had been all gung-ho on getting one since about July or August last year, but then it just kept getting delayed and delayed and there was no news about it. Then in January there was a brief mention here on Engadget about the Fujitsu Lifebook P1620, and that was the end of my interest in the Shift. Sure, the P1620 costs about $600 more, but it was available right away, had better specs, and I had money to burn on a UMPC. Frankly I'm pretty happy with my purchase, and there are no regrets about what might have been with an HTC Shift.

[Scott @ Mar 28th 2008 9:12PM]

Amazingly the leather case cannot be removed (without ruining it). Apparently HTC could only get it through FCC testing by including the case as an integral component. Doesn't exactly help with a fairly oversized UMPC anway.

[Blake Bowen @ Mar 28th 2008 9:44PM]

WTF? I dunno about you, but I don't spend fifteen hundred bucks on a device I need to dremel before usage.

[saq @ Mar 28th 2008 9:36PM]

Put up some reference sizes against an HTC Kaiser/Titan/Wizard, an iPhone, a DVD case and such.

[Blake Bowen @ Mar 28th 2008 9:47PM]

In my opinion, HTC really dropped the ball on this one, in the following ways:
-2 hours of battery life? That is NOT a mobile device
-Vista
-No full copy of windows mobile - that would have multiplied the usability a great deal. It would be nice to have a windows mobile device with a nice big screen and a ton of battery life, and the ability to temporarily switch to full windows for something you can't do on Mobile.
-Trackpad - the hell? HP already proved people hate this concept with the hx4700. Speaking as a 4700 owner, tiny trackpads are a horrible, horrible idea.

[Travis @ Mar 28th 2008 11:30PM]

Read all about it here.

http://www.jkontherun.com/2008/03/jkontherun-revi.html#more

[freakmarket @ Mar 29th 2008 12:37AM]

This is a tablet PC ... why is everyone comparing it to a phone?

[thatboyp @ Mar 29th 2008 2:26AM]

I own the GSM HTC Shift version and it great. I have owned many other small UMPC devices and laptops (EEE PC 8G, Sony Vaio TZ, Motion tablet, and many pda devices).

LOL, I wonder how many people in here are really business professional? So what do you used you pda for? Reading emails...LOL

How many of you bring your huge laptop to do presentation for a meeting and then turn it off? What..you run MS Office on it? LOL..that all we pro do in a business enviroments.

This is one of the best UMPC/Laptop/PDA I have purchased. I can do all the business crap and only have to lug this small peice of hardware with me. Oh..yeah its has 3G on it built in. Not to many out there has this built in....yeah one can install an express card...but why...why lug another piece of device with you...

Yeah the only bummer on this Shift is the battery life...Oh well.. I guess if you are a business person....we fly business class any way..so plug in the power jack and you are go to go!!

I also own an iphone....lol...great for email and web surfing....I hardly ever used it now...this replace it...My WiMO is crack and running great..

LOL....yeah EEEPC..had it for a month...gave it way...if you love to wait for it to save a doc or freeze on you when it's crunch for power....well I guess this will fit you as a mobile professional...

yeah..go buy your PDA + laptop + cellphone...see how much that will cost you...

XDA will crack this little baby for phone call..

[lUp @ Mar 29th 2008 6:37AM]

Whom are you working for? LOL-Enterprises? You sound like a 15 year old

[David @ Mar 29th 2008 10:00AM]

You must be the worst business person in the whole world if you think:

a) This is better than the Eee. No way the Eee wasn't up to your needs. You're nuts.

b) You paid $1500 for this piece of crap

Oh well, I guess a fool (that's YOU BTW) and his money ARE soon parted.

Are you from Bizarro world by any chance, because your logic all sounds highly illogical to me.

[thatboyp @ Mar 29th 2008 11:02AM]

Really,

What do you guys used your UMPC for in business? Og..please explain this onn to me. Yeah..email, web surfing, and what else?

Play video games??

I guess u never own the EEEPC!!! What do you used your for David'O!!!!! Maybe you should go ask your dad what he does on a business trip or to a meeting?

I laught because everyone looking for a UMPC or very small laptop to do what? The same crap I mention above.

[andycotterell @ Mar 29th 2008 4:16PM]

I have had a European Shift for a week now. The case isn't attached like the one shown here - thank goodness.
I was disappointed to find that it wouldn't make calls (many reviews had said that it did / would and implied that they had tested it) and as a gadget it's pretty ordinary. As a real tool, however, I'm finding it very useful.
I use it for work and it fits my needs very well. For note-taking in a business context, hand-writing with the stylus is useful (it often appears less intrusive than a stood-up laptop) but it's essential to be able to switch quickly to conventional typing every now and again. It has to be possible to do both of these without looking like an idiot or gadget-freak. The Shift does this very well.
Most of the rest of the Shift is also quite practical, including the positioning of the various slots and plug-sockets. I wish the battery life was better, but the Shift seems to re-charge very quickly so it's been less of an issue than with many laptops I've had.
I use the Shift much more than I thought I would because of its convenience, but it us definitely a work tool.

[MasterCKO @ Mar 29th 2008 7:28PM]

Wait, you mean you guys don't have Torx heads? And you call yourselves geeks. *shakes head in shame and disappointment*

[danahyatt @ Mar 30th 2008 1:45AM]

The HTC looks and sounds good for a phone and tablet together. Take a tablet (N810) and call (Skype) me in the morning.

[nytstryk @ Apr 4th 2008 1:14AM]

Great device and they almost had a customer. But if what is said is true, that permanently bolted on, butt ugly brown leather case is a deal killer for me. I will not spend that kind of coin and be forced to use a case that I didn't have a choice in. It looks horrible.

[TareX @ May 4th 2008 6:40AM]

What is with all the rushed in negative comments. This IS the best piece of technology in the UMPC dep ever. That's what it is overpriced. Don't expect it to cost less without a valid competition.

If you need battery life, just hit the toggle button and you got 7 days of power on WinMo6.

What are your other alternatives fora UMPC (if you really need one). OQO m2? Well I'd say good choice, if only it had a touchscreen (forget about 3G too). Sony Viao? Maybe when they decide to upgrade their already dated device.

The Shift is Excellent. Very few -if none- UMPCs offer a tilting screen, gorgeous form factor, and 3G. And this is why it is (and yes it is) overpriced.

I can only hope HTC releases one that is a bit smaller so as to fit into a large coat pocket. Albeit this would cause the keyboard to be smaller, but fine by me (obviously not by Engadget).

For most ppl out there, yes, I agree, invest in a SE Xperia X1. But that doesn't mean the Shift is less than a formidable UMPC with many "exclusives".