Fuze Review

[TVDinner]

I consider myself a super power user. Close to 4-6000 minutes a month in phone calls, thousands of emails and text messages, internet use, full use of web applications, etc. I literally always have the phone in hand, or very close by. I have had the phone for about 2 weeks and was a long long LONG time Blackberry user before getting the FUZE. I just felt it was time to upgrade to a WM phone.

Here is my review and thoughts after spending the past 3 weeks with the FUZE and reading EVERY website, installing MANY applications, programs, plug ins, etc, and then taking some out if I did not like them. I have installed all the advanced config. tools and tweaked and tweaked for performance, etc etc etc…..etc.


1) The battery life is a problem for just about everyone. So far the phone never ever makes it through the entire day without having to be charged up a little or again somewhere along the way. Now this is not that big of a deal because I can leave it plugged in to my laptop when at my desk and I have a car charger if I am out of the office for meetings. When traveling in the airport I always have the charger in my computer bag or the cord to my computer to charge when needed. My next purchase will be a back up battery to keep charged and in my bag.
- I have 4 emails accounts being pulled to the phone. One way I saved battery life was to change the settings to pull over much longer time intervals instead of every 5 minutes. Making them pull at the longest intervals you can deal with adds considerable battery life
- I immediately turned off the automatic weather update, which is also a power drain. I turn it on once in the morning and get the days weather and then turn it off. It still pulls each time a send/receive is done, but not all the time which saves battery life.


2) This is FAR AND AWAY the best all around mini computer phone I have ever used. I am a person who needs actual keys, so an iphone or phone without a full set of keys just will not work for me. I do a ton of typing on the phone all day long, so keys are a must. The keyboard is great and easy to use.
- What I don’t like is no classic auto word correct feature where you can just enter what words you want to auto correct (like in normal Word). The T9 feature is VERY tricky to get used to and many times you have to manually shut it off while typing because it will not recognize something. Also if you type fast it has a hard time keeping up, even with all the tweaks and fixes added in.


3) I LOVE all the sites (see below) where you can get programs and help to add to the phone. Smartphonejunkie and xda are particularly great. I HAVE NOT added a custom ROM or flashed any radios. I want to get the most out of the phone as-is before I start really hacking into it.


4) While TF3D was neat and cool - it takes way to much scrolling around to get to the actual applications in my opinion. it is flashy and the animation cool, BUT not practical for a heavy business user. In my opinion the SPB Mobile Shell program is the best add on for the phone and makes having the touch screen worth it. I have it set so i do not see my today screen ever anymore and the mobile shell screens are the only thing i see. (I like mobile shell way more then the Winterface program.) That being said I WISH mobile shell was customizable a little more then it is. It is still great, but if you could do a few things it would be incredible.


5) The Contact screen is HORRIBLE as is in my opinion. It is hard to find contacts with the keyboard closed and the screen to small. I installed iContact which is much much better, but is not customizable with mobile shell the way I would like. I can still easily access it and use the features so that is very positive.


6) I currently have a 4 gig memory card in the Fuze and I have ordered a 16 gig card that I will get soon. I have all my music, pictures, videos, power point presentations, etc on the card and it works great. I can easily access pictures and files to show clients or friends. and someday I will have a 32 gig card, which will make this phone beyond anything else available.


7) It is RIDICULOUS to me that there is not an included headphone jack ON the phone. Just NUTS. The included usb attachment works fine, but is huge and bulky. This was a BIG BIG mistake by AT&T and I am willing to bet a lot of money that future versions of the phone will have the headphone jack on the actual phone and not through an external jack. Obviously they are trying to push wireless stereo head sets but come on - I use my ipod headphones and they work great.


8) It is easy to move around the youtube application to use it (it is there, just hidden) and I installed the FM radio cab also, which works when the headset is plugged in. So the phone becomes a walkman with FM radio also. Pretty cool IF you use it. I use Sirius (see below).


9) I just ordered this case http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=300275132561 which covers the phone like a skin. For only $10 it seemed worth checking out. I WILL update everyone once I get it and put on the Fuze


Programs I really like and consider must haves. You can get all of these ON THIS SITE.

• Spb Mobile Shell - way way WAY better then TF3D in my opinion. This one program will be the main thing you use to get everywhere on your phone.
• MyMobile - a MUST. lets you see your phone screen on your desk top when attached with usb cord. Way easier to do things on your computer then the phone sometimes, especially installing programs.
• Advanced Config Tool - a must to tweak the entire phone. But to get this on your Fuze you are also going to have to change your NetCF. At least I had to.
• G-Alarm - the best alarm clock in my opinion. Just so feature rich, works with your songs on your system, great snooze, etc.
• Google Mobile Maps. works great and I use it instead of the gps many time and saves tons of battery life. Gives great and accurate directions and finds exactly where you are located and gives perfect directions to where ever you want to go.
• Mobile Sirius - If you have a Sirius account this works perfectly. This does drain the battery but I now listen to Stern live at the gym just like I was listening in my car. It is great.
• Total Commander - you have to have this to make registry changes to the phone.
• S2Play is the music player I am using and love it.

ON TOP OF THIS SITE Here are SOME of the Forums and Blogs about htc phones and windows mobile I have been researching for my FUZE. You NEED to read all the info on how to do things at smartphonejunkie and xda BEFORE trying to do anything big to your phone. But once you take the time to learn there really is no limit to what you can do with the FUZE.

• https://www.wckediden.com/ - one of my favorite FUZE and WM sites. Dash, Fatal_Error and the other people there are VERY cool and extremely helpful.
• http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=437 – the biggest and most serious developer site for mobile phone features. Raphael is the code name for our phones
• http://discussion.wmexperts.com/forumdisplay.php?f=208 – forums for htc products, including our phones
• http://forums.wireless.att.com/cng/b...rd.id=cingular – AT&T forum for htc products
• http://www.fuzemobility.com/ - great blog with months of articles and links to features for the phones.
• http://tiltmobility.com/forums/ - forum with tons of info
• http://wmpoweruser.com/ - another very good blog with info
• http://www.mytodayscreen.com/ - very good blog

There are TONS AND TONS of great Windows Mobile (WM) sites out there. I probably forgot some of them and will update this article regularly and add more.
Summary:


Pros: So far I am very enthusiastic about the features and options of this phone. BUT it should be noted that it does take a lot of playing with, tweaking, and customizing to really make it work the way you personally want it to. It is like buying a new computer that the store or Dell has preloaded with a bunch of basic programs. You have to add to it to really take advantage of all of the things it can do. I can see adding features and adjusting programs on an ongoing basis. There is a VERY active development community online which is really positive. Upgrades and new programs become available regularly and innovation is constant. The phone is also very stylish in design and look. Diamond back plate is interesting and nice, but also a finger print magnet THAT IS ENDLESSLY AGGRAVATING.


Cons:
- The battery life really sucks.
- Having to use an attachment for stereo headphones sucks.
- Currently there are VERY few options for form fitting cases (like silicone or thin hard plastic) that protect the phone but allow you to still use it, without being a carrying case you have to pull the device out of.

I will update this thread regularly with info about my FUZE JOURNEY!