A Mini Touch Pro (3/3)
HTC S743 with Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard
PERFORMANCE
The Windows Mobile Standard operating system (non-touchscreen) is consistently better performing than the Professional (touchscreen version). The S743 is a well optimized device that can multitask smoothly and moves from screen to screen quite quickly.
BATTERY
The S743 has a modest 1000mAh battery. That said, it has fantastic battery life. With moderate usage (several web browsing sessions, a few calls, some GPS activity), I had about 50% battery left at the end of a day. That's great. With heavy use, expect one day, and with light use, expect 3-4 days.
BUGS AND WISHES
I think that HTC sometimes favors form over function - they rather make it look good than have it be easy to use. A good example of this is the flat D-Pad on the HTC Touch Diamond/Pro. Yes, it is totally sleek and clean, but it's exceedingly cumbersome. The S743 has similar issues. The number buttons on the front are completely flat, and thus difficult to feel for. Also, the call start and end keys, while lending to symmetry, are far too small.
Here is another big usability problem - there are no scroll bars in the Start menu! Yes, this could be remedied with a registry hack, but it will certainly cause confusion for people not realizing that there is more than one screen of icons in the Start menu.
And one more for the usability column - the microSD card has been placed behind the SIM card slot, and is thus not hot-swappable, meaning to change your microSD card, you have to turn off the phone, remove SIM, change microSD, and turn phone back on. That could be a two-minute process.
Admittedly, the S743 doesn't feel thick because it's so narrow - in fact, it feels like an old-style candybar cell phone, and that feels nice. But it's still thick - just 1.7mm thinner than the clunky Touch Pro.
As of late, HTC has increase the quality of their cameras. Devices like the Touch Pro include a flash and have autofocus, both of which the S743 lacks, leading to blurry, noisy, and muddy pictures.
Finally, the exclusion of a 3.5mm jack for audio is not surprising considering that the S743 isn't a high-end smartphone, but it's still bothersome. To use your own headphones, you'll have to use HTC proprietary converter jack. Blek.
PURCHASING
The HTC S743 can be had for $489.99 at eXpansys USA.
PROS
- Beautiful design
- Excellent build quality
- Feels good in hand
- Two keypads
- Above-average battery life
- Improved phone experience compared to other Windows Mobile non-touchscreen phones
- Automatically configures itself to your carrier and works with US 3G (AT&T)
- Vibrates when caller picks up
- aGPS/WiFi/HSDPA/HSUPA
CONS
- Use of flat/small buttons impedes one-handed usability
- Almost as thick as the Touch Pro
- Poor camera with no flash or autofocus
- Screen rotation isn't fast enough
- No scroll bars in Start menu
- microSD slot is hidden, not hot-swappable
- No 3.5mm headphone jack
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OVERALL IMPRESSION
If you're looking for a simple messaging non-touchscreen device that is elegant, capable, and has terrific battery life, the S743 is a great choice. But if you need the best in one-handed usability and productivity, the S743 will disappoint. You're better off going with the Motorola Q9h, which can be found on most of the cell phone carriers in some form (and with better specs than the original Q9h).
