We couldn't get a handle on what at first seemed so "bloated" about the
T-Mobile Pulse until we held it up to the iPhone: this is the first production Android phone to get a "regular" 3.5-inch screen, instead of the rather narrow 3.2-inchers on HTC's trio of Android devices. Sure, it's the same resolution, but we really feel the breathing room. Overall we'd say the Pulse lacks a little something something up against the polished design of the HTC Hero hardware or the iPhone 3G, but it's still plenty alluring -- especially considering that this is being positioned as a pay-as-you-go device. The capacitive screen is quite responsive, and so is the Android UI underneath, which has been modded by T-Mobile to include an odd new home screen that you can pan up, down, left and right on, for a total grid of nine screenfuls of widgets and what have you. Interestingly, the phone merges the back button with the home button, which actually cuts down considerably on the madness of typical Android phone button layouts. Overall, we'd say the phone provides a quite alluring example of what manufacturers that
aren't HTC can pull off with Android: a cheap, sexy, powerful device running a "real" OS and the world's best mobile Gmail app. Video hands-on is after the break.
posted Sep 4th 2009 6:10AM
Never even heard about this phone? doesn't even have a phone maker it just says Tmobile lol i never knew tmobile made phones, wow they sure did make it a finger magnet though.
Many of the companies you think make phones don't any more. Just like many of the companies who used to make laptops now handle industrial design and higher-level software but outsource the hardware and lower level software to ODMs in Asia.
This is as much a T-Mobile phone as the Xperia X1 is a SonyEricsson and I think it looks pretty nice!
Since when T-Mobile makes phones?
Something keeps telling me this is made by HTC...
The T-Mobile Pulse is a Huawei's U8220. See http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/03/t-mobile-pulse-runs-android-headed-for-europe/
That's because it is new and being introduced at this trade show, dummy.
"doesn't even have a phone maker it just says Tmobile lol i never knew tmobile made phones"
You are pretty uninformed then, all major networks "make" phones they are rebadged ODM phones, that is how HTC started out making XDA phones for O2 (in the UK) and many other phones for other networks.
You are pretty slow really....
Huawei is a very known brand. Largest telecommunications equipment supplier from China.
I think the OP was a little tongue-in-cheek about how the article doesn't say who *actually* makes the phone.
As one of the largest telecommunication companies in the world (#3 in mobile network gear) and a major handset maker in China, Huawei probably has more technical expertise than HTC. The company had a revenue of over 23 billion USD, if they put more resources into R&D hopefully we'll see more products from them.
Preface: iPhone owner. Reason for post: That phone looks pretty freaking slick. Im diggine the design and the black and blue UI. Finally android coming along nicely.
The phone isn't that thick at all. Pay as you go data though? Carrier rape you enough as is that would be serious.
It depends - you can get a Simplicity PAYG arrangement on O2 that gives you a month to month contract with an unlimited WiFi bolt on for £7.50.
Yeah, but that unlimited WiFi is the o2 cloud... Don't run across that that often. Does simplicity have the proper web bolt on? If not, then - carrier rape.
The important point with this being Pay As You Go is that first of all, the phone has to be affordable without heavy subsidies, and second of all, the startup cost with a prepaid phone is low, and there's no contract. So once this has been rooted and unlocked, it would be easy to grab one, unlock it, and use it on AT&T. . . .
Until you realize that their 3G frequencies are different and you're stuck on Edge. Maybe in Europe unlocking it would be more attractive.
"o2 cloud... Don't run across that that often"
and BT openzone which I find everywhere...
I'm on T-Mobile's prepaid service right now, and it doesn't offer any kind of data service, not even the uberexpensive by the megabyte kind.
Forgot that it was going to T-Mobile Europe division rather than US.
The guy in the background asks if the pulse has support for tethering, because the software on HTC Hero is not capable of it... wtf? I thought this works with every Android based phone, it's the same software after all, isn't it?
Probably asking about carrier approved tethering. You can tether on any Android phone, it just violates your service contract.
"The capacitive screen is quite responsive, and so is the Android UI underneath,"
Hold on a second....we aren't watching the same video right?
So the Xperia 2 lags has a crappy resisitive screen : but your hands on video shows no lag at all.
The Pulse is awesome, no lag, responsive: Your hands on video is a total mess. lag unresposinve to multiple fainger taps etc..
I was tapping on the wrong part of the screen. It's difficult to shoot video with one hand and play with the device with the other!
Which highlights one of the issues with large form factor screens - you need two hands to operate them.
@Crapolin
Resistive screen doesn't mean slow and laggy device. Also, capacitive screen doesn't mean fluid and fast device.
Paul: Sounds like the gesture recognition system isn't working very well then... a panning gesture on a homescreen shouldn't depend on where you initially tapped, it should be smart enough to work out what the context is and act appropriately.
Fnuky: Except that you can pan inside _stuff_ on the screen as well. So the pan gesture is contextual, not global.
I don't think you guys realize that he was continually tapping and attempting to slide the homescreen on widgets, which is a big no on Android because if you press and hold a widget or icon for little bit longer, you can place them at a different spot on the screen.
I was laughing hysterically at him fumbling around on it. Especially when he was trying to show the picture gallery and then he rotates the screen for landscape and the pictures are back in portrait mode. The dude is obviously a bit unfamiliar with Android a day to day basis or just like he said, he was distracted with the camera.
It's funny that they praise the responsive, capacitive screen, when it's actually resistive which as we all know can only be properly operated with a chisel and an eight pound lump hammer.
"actually resistive"? Where did you get that idea?
The Pulse has a capacitive screen.
Why is the interface in Norwegian?
Because it's at the IFA.
Looks more like Tscherman.
It's German for God's sake! ;-)
The interface is german.
but it is because of the fact that its at the IFA (internationale funkaustellung), which, you guessed it, is in germany (berlin to be more specific), where the german t-mobile presents this device.
qwert
The interface is Norwegian (I am Norwegian) and not German (I also speak German, and English obviously but that is besides the point).
Jensh: You are of course totally right! Two pictures show the interface with norwegian language, and one with German. "Alle Bilder" means "All pictures" in English, and it really doesn't mean shit in German ;)
Leave the Norwegian questions to us Noggies :)
Where is it norwegian?
I dont mean to be an ass, starting a pointless internet argument, but having lived in norway for half of a year i also think i am capable of indentifing the language (heck, i sometimes even understand it ;) ), and here i dont see it.
so that means: one of use is either blind or stupid
Ok, there are a lot of similarities between deutsch and norsk, for example "alle bilder" should work in both, but "zum entsperren nach oben schieben"? No way that this is norwegian!
qwert
Holy crap. It looks... well, sexy. Nice work Huawei.
Price it right, free on a tiny contract (gg Europe/Australia) and cheap off contract, and this will sell well.
Hell, if it wasnt for the N900 I'd probably pick this up. Anyone know what chipset it has?
I actually think this handset looks nice. Lets hope it brings Android to the PAYG masses!
Looks nice, but who makes it?
a lot of t-mobile "made" devices have actually been HTCs but normally you see them in slightly different versions directly from HTC.
But this? As nice as it may be, since its t-mob, it is probably going to be pink branded and locked to death.
NEVER EVER buy a phone from t-mobile! They rape the firmware (and if you are lucky even the hardware) and afterward put their ugly pink cum all over the place. Unlocked directly from the manufacturer is the way to go!
Ok, found it.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/03/t-mobile-pulse-runs-android-headed-for-europe/
its a Huawei U8220
qwert
Ugly and bland imho
When he asked if it has a headphone jack, did he answer? I didnt hear anything.
2.5 mm
its by huwei.
WTF? 2.5mm audio jack? FTW!
Yeah 2.5 is the new 3.5, you know... ;) But this doesn't really matter... This is the worst Hands-On by Engadget I've ever seen (and it's on my RSS feed for 4 years now). The guy handles and operates with the device like it's a piece of s**t wrapped in toilet paper - absolutely clueless click'n'slide through the menus and apps, no explanations, no conclusions, no opinion. BTW this is a good opportunity to bitch about the whole 3.5mm-jacks-in-the-phones thing - why the hell one should have a 3.5 mm jack IN his phone?!? Since my SE S700 I had 5 or 6 years ago, through the W900 after it, then LG Viewty and now with Pixon I have a 3.5 mm jack IN THE HANDSFREE!!! What happens while you are listening to music on your bad-ass 200$ headphones and someone calls? I just don't get it!
Let's calm down now.
@hackxBox Because sometimes you want to feed the phone into an amp if you use it like a media player.
Works nice from my nokia 5800, if the phone rings and it was told it is feeding a lineout the conversation goes through the handset, not blaring it out over the loudspeakers for all the world's annoyance.
Also if you bother to stick $200 headphones into a device you'd be bothered about the quality of skimpy cable the manufacturer used for the hands-free extension.
I want the 8230...
No specs on the 8220/Pulse yet?
You comment in the video that Home and Back are on the same button, but you never show the Home button functionality. Do they really mean that you can get home by tapping the back button repeatedly?
Also, do you have any idea if the App Switcher functionality is still present? On a regular Android phone you long press on the Home button to pull up a list of the last six apps used. It makes multitasking a hell of a lot easier since you don't have to return to the home screen and hunt for icons every time you switch back and forth between apps. It would be a real shame if they killed that feature just to eliminate one button off the face of the device.
I was asking myself the exact same thing. I'm going to blindly assume that they got rid of the "Last Apps" button and you'll just press and hold to get the home screen and simply press to go back. If they were smart, they would map the Menu long-press as the "Last Apps" button, but we'll see in due time I guess.
The Home/Back button has dual functionality: short tap for Back, hold for Home.
I'm pretty sure that means it killed the App Switcher, though I don't actually know for certain.
Actually T-Mobile is the best carrier when it comes to crapping up the firmware.
@qwert
Wow something really wrong here.
What browser are you using? Best as I can tell, Engadget's web designers test everything under Firefox and then call it a day, so everything is broken under any other browser. Of course, it isn't perfect with Firefox either, so you just have to get used to looking for the "replying to" link above your comment and trying again if it isn't there.
The commenting system sucks in firefox too. I honestly wish they'd scrap it.
It's only my guess that they've left it the way it is to prevent a system akin to youtube, where people can vomit through the keyboard, easily.
can we get a post about a phone or an MP3 player without mentioning the ipod? the guy in the sony walkman video seemed like he wanted to shout "apple" like he had turrets syndrome but did a good job holding it in.
i just want a review that focuses on the product and not how said product holds up to an iphone.
Ugh...I dont like this for some reason.
I'll just continue praying for the Rachel to be real =[
I'm using my smartphone with a prepaid SIM card, and it's much cheaper than any contract. As long as you don't constantly watch videos on YouTube, but I don't, I just use the web for mails, news etc., and for that pay as you go is perfect.
Which country are you in? I used a PAYG SIM card when I was back in the UK over Christmas to do exactly what you are doing (mail, google maps etc) and spent about ten pounds including voice over the trip, but in the US I can't find a PAYG operator that will let me have any data at all.
Is this coming To T-Mo USA?
From the first hit on google:
"No fancy user interface like the HTC Sense user interface found on the HTC Hero. It’s a plain vanilla Android implementation that comes with Microsoft Exchange support, so this means that it won’t come with a Google branding on the back of the phone. This also means that the user has to look elsewhere for his/her third party applications, as non-Google branded Android devices are devoid of Google applications such as the Android Market, GMail, etc, which is, honestly speaking, stupid and crazy. This has happened with the HTC Magics on sale in Malaysia, and users have had to jump through hoops to get Android Market installed on their Magics bought locally – thankfully there is a huge community over at the XDA Developers website to help out with hacking HTC’s phones; unfortunately one can’t say the same for Huawei’s phones!"
Without the Android Market and apps, why would ANYONE want this phone?
Uh, you can see "market" right there in the video. The idea that the non "google experience" phones will have no market came from some VERY BAD reporting from a while back and it seems the misinformation still hasn't cleared. It turns out non "google experience" phones just miss OTA firmware updates from Google, but they DO have the market unless the carrier decides to remove it. An Android phone without the market would be severely crippled (though no totally, since you can always directly install apps through the browser if you have the apk link).
This is the nicest looking Android phone yet. It's actually very nice.
I dunno, the chin-less Hero looks pretty sweet too.
Uh, you can see "market" right there in the video. The idea that the non "google experience" phones will have no market came from some VERY BAD reporting from a while back and it seems the misinformation still hasn't cleared. It turns out non "google experience" phones just miss OTA firmware updates from Google, but they DO have the market unless the carrier decides to remove it. An Android phone without the market would be severely crippled (though no totally, since you can always directly install apps through the browser if you have the apk link).
I posted my HD quality video of it at http://techvideoblog.com/ifa/huawei-u8220-android-t-mobile-pulse/
Appreciate it, that was a much better hands on. But I still wish someone would clear up the whole Home-Back button configuration.
Cool, I unlocked it sucessfuly ! I can use vodafone sim !
http://www.unlock-tmobilepulse.com/