Review of HTC Legend from Gizmodo. Darling

After the release of the new series of android backgrounds from HTC, people's opinions about these devices will be divided into two large camps: some will prefer the heaped up and brainy Desire , others will be delighted with the beautiful, but less powerful Legend.
HTC Desire (like the Nexus One) - the last word in the field of Android-communicators. This is a device for those who know their business and know how to show why such power is needed. Comparing this device with the “legend”, it’s impossible to say that the second camp is a trifle, preferring the thin aluminum case of power and the capabilities of the Snapdragon processor. This is not true.
Under the cut pictures.

I tell you - just a sequel.

In terms of viscera, the device is not so far gone from its predecessor HTC Hero. But all the same successor head and shoulders above its predecessor. While Hero tragically fell short of its own sluggishness , Legend behaves quickly and accurately thanks to a slightly improved processor with a 600 MHz clock frequency. The 3.2-inch screen has the same resolution as Hero (320x480), but the “heroic” TFT-matrix has been replaced with a more advanced AMOLED. The 5-megapixel camera did not add in quality, but acquired a long-awaited flash. I think the picture is clear: Legend, starting from the finished foundation of Hero, introduces several small upgrades. But each of these changes, despite its smallness, radically changes the impression of the gadget.

The device is controlled by the operating system Android 2.1, it should come out for Hero just after it rains Thursday. In general, the prospect of an update from 1.6 to 2.1 is very, very encouraging: the new system is much faster, multitouch improved, the integration of contacts with social. networks are more developed, support for HTML 5 and many, many gingerbreads have appeared.
')

Design in all its glory.

I will say straight out: Legend is the most well-assembled device that I had to hold in my hands. This becomes clear from the first touches of the smooth metal of the Unibody case, with the first feeling of pleasant gravity of the device, with the first contact of a super-responsive capacitive touchscreen. This is the feeling with which I first picked up a metal iPhone, which has long been out of stock.

The top and bottom of the back side are made of rubberized plastic, so there are no problems with the stability of the wireless signals. Under the back cover there is a ~~thin thin~~ battery and a convenient mechanism that holds the SIM and MicroSD in place. And the mechanism is really well made - a trifle, but nice.

Like the BlackBerry, HTC abandoned the “ball” trackball in favor of optical, which pleases. Although, frankly, it doesn’t have to be used often - mostly just for correcting errors in the text. And with such a sensitive and accurate screen, these errors are very rare, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the next line of HTC devices doesn’t give up the mouse at all.

There are only seven buttons on the case: “on / off” on the upper end, a volume rocker on the left side, a home-menu-back-search panel under the front of the screen and a trackpad button. All of them work fine, although the buttons under the screen look poor compared to the total “high cost” of the phone.

Still the same camera?

The device uses the same 5-megapixel camera as Hero - only a flash was added. As you can see in the photo below, the flash is strong, even too much. However, the quality of the pictures is decent - noisy, of course, but they were even worse.

Girlfriends in the twilight of the cinema and a couple of succubus in the background.

In natural lighting is removed much better - just look at how great the cupcakes turned out! Although you still have to aim for a high-quality snapshot - you just can't bring in and take pictures, 5 Mpx doesn't do the weather here.

Cupcakes in the afternoon sun.

HTC Sense - you need to feel it

Most manufacturers strive to decorate Android with their interfaces. MOTOBLUR, Mediascape, S-Class - it's all very cool, although I prefer them to all the ordinary natural android without everything. There are a lot of mistakes in such "elastic bands", and the sensations are not the same;)

But HTC Sense is a completely different song. The best skin for android probably will not be done anymore, but in Legend it was also finalized. Among other cakes, you can select the function "jump", or "view from a helicopter," as it was called during development. It works like Exposé on MacOSX — lays out all seven desktops on one screen in the form of small cards. The feature is undoubtedly useful, especially when you can not remember on which screen you have mail, and on what weather. It is called the reduction of fingers - you will have to get used to such a movement, but when you get comfortable, you will often remember such a carrot with a kind word.

"Jump", or "view from a helicopter."

But sometimes a useful chip is absolutely useless. FriendStream is essentially a useful and beautiful widget that gathers updates of your friends on Twitter, facebook and flickr in one place. But fans to watch every update on their website will hasten to get rid of it. For example, I prefer the beautiful and functional separate client for Twitter from HTC - “Peep”. I like a standalone Facebook app. Flickr support is convenient, but completely meaningless, if notifications already come by e-mail.

In addition, FriendStream sometimes seems slow and even ridiculous compared to other widgets. For example, tweets are sometimes updated for minutes longer than Peep. This is not a very big problem, but still offensive.

Socio-network "harvester" FriendStreem.

I respect such a battery

Before I die quietly in my arms, Legend worked for 36 hours. Not so bad, considering that during this time I made several long calls (once I talked for an hour), sent and received about 20 text messages, read twitter and almost all day raped him with the Internet, sometimes to be shown to friends. Afternoon deaths of my G1, 1300 mAh of the “legendary” battery as a heart balm.

Legend - the most "solid" phone, which I happened to use.

Of course, many phones boast great power and performance, but this is how to compare the Sony VAIO (a good laptop, by the way) with a MacBook. There is no point in such a comparison. While the Nexus One and Desire boast brains and gigahertz, Legend just gives pleasure.

It does not slow down, not buggy as G1 or Hero. And while some people complain that it is better to dig up and spend money on something with Snapdragon inside, I will give the Legend the biggest compliment that a reviewer can make a device - I will buy one for myself.

This is not the best Android background - the palm will remain with Nexus, or go to Desire, a matter of taste. But this is definitely the best wagon. Although, according to impressions from working with him. This is the first device, after the return of which, I felt deprived of something.

So let's summarize. Gingerbread: