HTC Tattoo

Android smartphones are fast losing their novelty status as more manufacturers get to grips with Google's open source operating system and go the widget way, often developing their own individual take of the basic style. Motorola and Samsung have been recent converts - with their Dext and Galaxy, respectively - but Taiwanese …

[spencer]

price point

at £280 it seems a bit steep. You can get a Hero for the around the same price, which is pretty solid now that the new firmware has been released.

[Grant Quinn]

Tat too

It does seem rather expensive for a "cheap" smartphone. The Nokia 5800 has all that functionality for less than £200 now and you'll get a bigger screen and better battery life to boot.

[Anonymous Coward]

Not the cheapest

'The Tattoo marks a change of positioning for HTC, since the handset aimed very much at the mid-range, and is the cheapest Android yet'

The pulse is £100 cheaper!

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/11/03/review_smartphone_t_mobile_pulse/

[Steve Taylor 3]

Hurrah for 3.5mm plugs

Glad to see they've got a normal headphone socket - perhaps manufacturers are finally realising that stupid proprietary connectors are a major source of phone rage and user grumpiness.

[TeeCee]

Re: Not the cheapest.

The important bit in the price is the words "Sim free". The price in the Pulse review is for a T-mobile locked phone with a PAYG contract.

You're comparing Apples with Pears.

[Anonymous Coward]

Camera

the on-screen digital zoom bar and camera/video toggle are features of Android 1.5 as well.

[spencer]

@TeeCee

It costs ~£20 to unlock an HTC phone, so just add £20 to the final price and then it's an Apples to Apples comparison.

[Monkeigh]

Screen resolution and android apps

I had heard that because of the low screen resolution a lot of android apps aren't compatible with the phone and don't even show up in the app store. This isn't mentioned in the review, is it indeed the case?

[Charles Calthrop]

re screen res

yes, skype for instance isn't in the market when I search for it

I like the phone although the battery life is atrocious.

[Anonymous Coward]

Best phone by HTC

I would prefer to go with HTC Tattoo Smartphone because it has a clean finish, pleasant to the eye and touch. Despite a plastic shell, not creak under the fingers. Same goes for the touchscreen which does not suffer, unless treated wild, no particular weakness. For probably a target of early adopters who want to install a Android smartphone, the silver finish, with a gradient of black, and the logo of the operating system from Google back to the Tattoo are young and apparatus connected.

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/11/10/review_smartphone_htc_tattoo/