The HTC Legend is the successor to the best-selling of the mark, the HTC Hero. An attempt to win as much success as his glorious ancestor, HTC Legend on a unibody aluminium design, AMOLED, Android 2.1 screen and a wrapper software brilliant.
More : Design unibody, more powerful hardware update, multipoint and bright AMOLED screen efficiently, interface HTC Sense 2, Android 2.1.
Less : Poor memory ROM to install applications and still unable to install natively on the map memory, just correct autonomy, scratch sensitive aluminum hull.
Formalized at Mobile World Congress 2010 in Barcelona, had seduced us the HTC Legend (see video presentation and takeover of the Legend). With inspired design constituted a hull unibody aluminum, a compact, efficient interface HTC Sense 2 and the technical specifications at the level, the HTC Legend is proudly the suite of the HTC Hero.
However, the situation of the Google Phones market has evolved with the multiplication of terminals under Android. If the HTC Hero had little serious competitors for the HTC Legend, the task will be more rude…
Design licked, but attention to scratch
Capitalizing on the success of the HTC Hero, HTC Legend repeats many of the specifics. The first compact form factor. With its dimensions of 112 x 56.3 x 11.5 mm for 126 g, the HTC Legend is a compact smartphone. The stylistic novelty is based on a one-piece shell aluminium of the most beautiful effect.
However, as on the iPhone Edge, the shell unibody be sensitive enough to the rayures… Useless to hope to hold together your key and HTC Legend without cover in your pocket.
As is often the case with HTC, the finishes are very good, not quality, coating resistant glass-plastic game no worries on this side there.
Monobloc design requires to access the SIM, MicroSD card and the battery, lift the removable part of the hull. The method is original, but not easy of manipulation to change the SIM or memory card. For colors, only the SFR version will be offered in red and alu, for other versions, the Legend will be black and alu.
Well equipped, but not enough for Roma
Under the touch screen of the HTC Legend, we find the traditional Android smartphones and the optical mouse keys. The latter is precise and just support the touch screen when the Legend with one hand.
HTC Legend has a hardware configuration level based on a processor of 600 MHz and especially 384 MB of RAM. The Legend is very reactive and it is noted that very few slowdowns. Nothing to do with a Samsung Galaxy, for example the Legend itself fast in most cases with version 2.1 of Android which ideally operates the last Phone HTC Google resources.
Lord accuses the management of applications is always problematic on Android. Despite the presence of the latest version of the OS, applications always settled on the ROM memory and not on the card (at least in native). All the more damage that the Legend has only 170 MB of ROM really exploitable, which you seem us light to install a few 3D games or applications.
The HTC Legend home now classical connections for a smartphone, HSDPA up to 7.2 Mbps, Wi – Fi, Bluetooth, A – GPS chip, making jack 3.5 mm, and a mini USB.
GPS us seemed fast enough in the first signal acquisition, however the Legend, although powered by Android 2.1 is private Google Maps Navigation as well as on the Nexus One. The absence of agreement, and available on the European continent mapping makes the Google free navigation service unavailable.
You will find the proximity sensor to lock the touch screen during a call and General sensitivity reception HSDPA as the return of the multiaxial seemed satisfactory. Is no worries on the telephony therefore part.
HTC has accustomed us to fair photo modules. If the HTC Legend is not a camera phone, the Taiwanese manufacturer has made progress in this area in rewarding its Legend many tweaks and 5 megapixels autofocus sensor supported by a LED flash. Restitution remains just correct for a mobile, but at the level of the Korean competition now. The resolution for the video capture is limited to 640 x 480 pixels at 30 frames / second.
A screen AMOLED multi-touch and Flash
HTC Legend enjoys an excellent screen AMOLED technology. View more luminous, more marked contrasts, more vivid colors, the screen of the Legend is illustrated by his quality display showing much better than screen TFT of Hero. In addition, the AMOLED screens are less greedy in power.
HTC Legend screen forward as his grandfather a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels for a 3.2 inches diagonal. If this screen is smaller than an iPhone or a Milestone for example, is the comfort of viewing and you can including surf the Web without too much difficulty.
This capacitive touch screen shows even more accurate than the HTC Hero, HTC Legend offers a great touch experience by responding accurately to finger pressure. True comfort for the user, the multi-touch is present for browsing, viewing photos, but still not in Google Maps.
On the other hand, the management of the Flash via Flash Lite is disappointing. Curiously, what happened on a HTC Hero, no longer works on the Legend! The display of videos including problem. Expected therefore to be updated to take full advantage of Flash with Flash 10.1 should soon be implemented.
The management of the accelerometer is fast and the sensitivity of the screen will limit error of seizure on the virtual keyboard. This screen a real success, it regretted that the Legend does not manages native of standard video formats such as Divx or Avi to exploit the AMOLED screen. There still need to go through the Android Market and to shed a few extra euros for benefit via a comprehensive video player.
Android 2.1 HTC Sense 2.0 and personalization
Next to the hardware update and unibody design, the other novelty of HTC Legend concerns the interface. Found the shiny wrapper HTC, HTC Sense in its version 2 software.
Sense appears to us as the best wrapper available on Android coming ideally support the Google OS. It is always possible to personalize these widgets (Android or HTC) offices and programs.
Note the appearance of the FriendStream Widget that allows to manage its social networks for the home or Office and the News Widget that aggregates RSS feeds. Other programs such as the calendar or clock have also been redesigned.
The copy – paste “intelligent” has particularly attracted us. A the help of the magnifying glass, it selects the part to copy, which can then share by email, sms, twitter, copy it to press paper, perform a search on Wikipedia, translate in many languages through Google translation or search via Google dictionary definition. Undoubtedly this copy – paste is the true innovation of HTC Sense 2.
Android 2.1 brings him also his lot of novelty. If the Google Maps Navigation free navigation solution is absent for reasons of law and mapping, the multipoint is implemented natively, shortcuts are available to manage Wi – Fi and GPS from the desktop and can manage multiple Gmail accounts.
Other programs have been redesigned, some security bugs have been fixed, and Android 2.1 seems better to use material resources, including the battery.
Are the Exchange compatibility in native, same pros will appreciate the appli Quickoffice for the reading of Office documents. The edition of these documents, will require going through the pay box of the application.
With a battery 1300 mAh, the autonomy of the HTC Legend will vary with your use of 3 G and GPS. In most cases, the stage of the day of use is reached (a few calls, web browsing, notifications for RSS feeds and social network, push exchange). As with most smartphones, the Legend is not a runner, but we have seen much worse under Android.
HTC Legend proudly resumed following the HTC Hero. Its screen is a success, it is brighter, more accurate finger, interface HTC Sense 2 is attractive in bringing his lot of novelty and its configuration is sufficient to run Android 2.1 without slowdowns. For picky, we criticize him mainly a ROM memory and just proper autonomy.
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