HTC Vivid review: first 4.5-inch tablet on AT&T
By NVONews Tech Correspondent,
AT&T has unveiled two 4.5-inch Android smartphones, HTC Vivid and Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket. Here we review the former one, which is a moderate phone when compared with Skyrocket. HTC Vivid is a strong Android phone with a gorgeous screen, 4G LTE connectivity and HTC Sense UI.
The reasonably priced ($199 with two year contract) Android 2.3 Gingerbread smartphone has gained large media attention. The 4G device works superbly on the 4G LTE network of AT&T. Users can enjoy internet at high-speed on the machine from HTC. Read on to know more about HTC Vivid below.
Tech specs
Dimensions: The new HTC smartphone is with the height of 5.07 inches, width of 2.64 inches and density of 0.44 inches. In comparison to Skyrocket, which has the dimensions of 5.15 x 2.75 x 0.37, Vivid is a bit slighter in height and weight.
Weight: HTC Vivid weighs at 6.24 ounces. Skyrocket is having a weight of just 4.65 ounces.
Display: The HTC phone is with a 4.5-inch qHD LCD display that has a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels.
Processor: Vivid mounts a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 processor that clocks at 1.2GHz. Surpassingly, Galaxy S II Skyrocket is with the same CPU.
Software: Android 2.3 Gingerbread powers the smartphone. It is not clear whether HTC Vivid will get Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update in future.
Camera: The phone features an 8-megapixel camera with an f2.2 28mm lens. The camera performs better that you can use the device instead of a digital camera. A secondary camera is also there for video calls.
Connectivity: HTC Vivid highlights 4G LTE (700/1700 MHz), GSM 3G (Band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband) / 3G 850/1900/2100 (Tri-band), Bluetooth and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi for connectivity.
Battery: The HTC phone provides five hours battery life.
Features
HTC Vivid as its name suggests is a gorgeous smartphone. The device has a high resolution display with 4G LTE internet connectivity. Working on AT&T’s 4G LTE network, the phone provides brilliant internet performance. You also have a robust contact management on the smartphone from HTC. Android 2.3 Gingerbread and HTC Sense UI add into the potential of HTC Vivid.
Shortfalls
Nevertheless, HTC Vivid is a heavy phone. The device performs sluggishly. You have ineffective voice dialing and a spotty AT&T LTE network coverage. In fact, AT&T has not finished conversion to 4G LTE. So there will be some initial hiccups in performance. One another shortfall is that the device’s battery life is very short. Five hour is not enough for a smartphone with high speed internet and modern facilities.
Pricing and availability
AT&T sells HTC Vivid for $199 with a two year agreement.
What others say
“This round two redux takes the form of the Vivid: an all-black, metal-backed unassuming plastic slab that houses a dual-core 1.2GHz processor and 8 megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash under a 4.5-inch qHD display,” says Engadget in its Vivid review.
Sum-up
HTC is building some diverse products these days. So far, the Taiwan technology maker has launched phones like Sensation XL, Rezound, Radar, Titan and many others with some distinctive features. Added with a moderate Vivid, HTC is almost ready for the smartphone battle of the year-end vacation season. Different types of phones will help HTC stabilize its foothold in global smartphone market. Along with Samsung Galaxy II Skyrocket, AT&T has now one more of great phone for 2011 fall.
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