[Touch HD General] eaglesteve:
Okay, I was a little too expressive when people tried to tell me that my personal experience and all the reports supporting the poor signal are wrong.

I agree that just because I and many others have experienced it, it does not mean everyone will experience it. That's the very nature of bugs - hard to pin down and isolate. Just a personal story to illustrate this. I have a 1GB data plan which I can't carry forward. 3 minutes before the end of period, I noticed on the ISP's website that I've used about 650 MB. I was happy because I knew I did not exceed the quota that month and would not be charged at an exhorbitant rate of $15,000 per GB for excess. Two days later, I saw the bill which showed my usage of the month to be 680GB. The difference is normal as the website said that it was only an estimate which did not include the more recent usage. I paid the bill. The new month started and I was 6 MB into usgae when I received a SMS message telling me I've exceeded the credit limit. They said I have more than $1200 of outstanding debt. I told them this is impossible as I used only 680MB for the month. They denied and dismissed my complaint and refused to entertain my complaine. Many many phone calls were made. Some supervisors claim it was my phone call as opposed to the data usage. Some said it was for the new period. All were nonsense of course. I told them there is a bug in their system. They said it is impossible to have bug in their system. Up to today, they still refuse to admit it. They said, why am I the only person having this problem? I knew I was not the only person after searching the forum. They said do not believe in those rumours...

Does this story begin to sound like some people's response to the signal problem story? Bugs would have been solved easily if it can be consistently demonstrated. The tough nuts are those which appear randomly. Call it random glitches if it pleases you, but it is still a bug.

For a person to so staunchly dismiss it because HE did not have any problem, therefore all the report must be false is an argument that never hold water. If these reports were cut and past from the same source, you need to back up your claim, and offer reports which counter those. I don't see such substantiation of that persuage me to reevaluate my position. If you can't counter those mountains of reports, I'm afraid I would have to believe them.

I could'nt afford iPhone, so I vilify it? For your info, the HD cost me AUD 1245 include delivery cost, while iPhone was free with a $70 plan that comes with more than $500 call per month and 1GB data usage, which was a very good deal IMO. The effective cost of the iPhone was about $875 paid over two years.

I don't care about how much marketing or customers a phone set has personally. I try not to follow the herd's instinct.

Is iPhone is too much dictated by Steve Job? I agree with the iPhone camp that although this was a valid argument in the past, it is not completely true with jailbroken iPhone. I also agree with them that that's not breaking the law. Having said that, the WM camp clearly still maintain a big advantage when come to choices. Of course, iPhone camp tend to say, if you have the best already, you don't need choices. If you alreadh have the best software keyboard, you don't need third party keyboard...

I, for one, believes that it is a good that you you have the choice to form factors (some wants large 5 inch screen like Athena, some wants real tiny flip phone, etc). It is also an advantage to be able to use both geture AND stylus (you have do Chinese handwriting without a writing area that occupies 3/4 of the screen. You can use drawing program. You can more easily click on web links without the annoying zooming in and out).

Software keyboard is a personal thing. Who is Steve Job to tell me he knows what I prefer? I have tried so many keyboard.. Tengo, Tekso's Finger Tounch, etc. Mackaby loves Finger Touch after trying Tengo. I love Tengo after testing out FInger Touch for a few months. In fact I wrote a detailed comparison between the two in post number 35 in here:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=1602622

I have both Tengo and Finger Touch in my Athena right now, but the Finger Touch is almost never used because I just much much prefer Tengo. I tried out Teksoft's Finger Touch for more than 2 months before rejecting it. I've also tried out keyboards where the characters only goes in when you lift the finger as oppose to touch the screen. None was even near the pleasure of using Tengo. When i used the iPhone keyboard, I found it frustrating to no end. But it was just me. I'm sure Mackaby and many others find it the best in the world. It is wrong to assume that everyone would like the same thing. That's what Steve Job's philosophy is, that we do not need alternatives. He is wrong. That's why people jailbreak to find alternatives.

Did I prematurrely reject iPhone, having tried it for only 2 hours? Well, let me said this: sometimes there are things that just will not change with the length of trying out. You will not get a naviation after a week. You will not get an office software after a week. The battery will not become replaceable after a week. One week of trying out the software may change my view of the iPhone keyboard, I have to conceed.

Are people mad to have chosen iPhone based on its look? I have to confess that even I was so irresistably drawn to it. Like I said, it is a choice between an extremely beautiful but less competent woman versus a more competent but less beautiful woman. You don't always follow your head when comes to matters like this. Nothing wrong with it IMO as beauty does contribute to customer satisfaction. HTC should not be dismissive and stop improving on the built quality, where iPhone in my mind is absolute the benchmark to beat at the moment. Don't believe me? Wait till your HD's paint start peeling off.

Which screen is better? First of all, because my HD has not arrived yet, I can only go by the report of many that while HD cannot match the sensitivity of iPhone, it is nevertheless the most sensitive WM phone on the market. To me, this is sufficient. I don't need it to be overtly sensitive. Also, I do need the screen to respond to finger and stylus. (BTW, that FAT thing for iPhone is not a stylus. It will not let me write a Chinese character with many many strokes in a small area) This is very important to me personally, having just started my Chinese classes. I do use handwriting with stylus for a second language input. So, screen wise, HD wins hands down FOR ME. If you do not have the same requirements, you need not agree, and that's okay. Your conclusion is not any better or worst than mine. So, capacitive screen DOES have serious disadvantage, namely not being able to use stylus. How wrong could one be to conclude that NOBODY ever should need stylus.

Is HD brightness a problem? In door, anyone who says HD's brightness is insufficient would be considered by me to be holding very unique opinion. Outdoor, where I have probably more experience that all of you (because I play golf with it), I can tell you that it is sufficiently bright. The truth is, with iPhone, full brightness will not allow you to last the entire round of golf. It was recommended that you use only 25% of the iPhone brightness in order to last the full round. So, you decide how much of an issue this to your circumstances. For me, it is not going to be a dealbreaker.

I have to agree with Kev that if iPhone was not introduced, HTC might not have come up with the likes o TouchFLO, form factor, and near iPhone size dimension. Let's give Steve Job credit for intensifying compeition.

Nevertheless, to correct some misconceptions, iPhone was not the first in using accelerometer. My Athena had always had that integrated into internet browser to shift web pages. I personally do not see any use of accelerometer, and will switch it off when I receive my HD. I am never impressed by the automatic tilting myself. I use my device while lying down on bed, so the automatic tilting will never work for me.

It's equally incorrect to say that iPhone leads in all areas of innovation. It is ahead in form factor, built quality, and multi touch. However, it is a follower in the concept of all in one convergence. It is a follower, not an inventor in GPS, in camera, in video, in radio, in television, and so on.

But guys in the WM camp, please do not dismiss iPhone as a toy. It is not. It is a phone that would appeal to many as much as WM phones appeal to many. Like Mackaby said, and I have also said many times, it depends on your requirements. It can be a toy if you decide to make it one, and I think it is a good toy. But it can be more than toy. It does not meet many people's requirements, especially those who need word processing, spreadhseet, presentation, navigation, and those working in the field.

Sorry for such a long posts, but I had missed 30 pages since I last signed on ;)