[Touch Pro, Fuze General] Cassetti:
Wow, i hate lists, but here i'll try to help with some limited knowledge from a touch pro owner since october (my first real smart phone)

use arrow keys left/right to select next person in list when starting to type name

cant help you there, i look up by person's name. There may be alternative software out there for a different address book connected to the main one? SPB mobile shell might have something. Found it! you can do it by going to contacts - then in the menu view-by and select company

maybe those numbers are listed on your sim card and not on your phone book, in the options there should be an option to show both address books

shesh you're picky again, Name one example where you actually need to type both to find the person you want! (i can't think of one example)

Wow, you really think windows thought of everything didn't you? GPS can't do squat without GPS software

This is most likely due to a problem with your firmware - update your ROM and see what happens

Update your ROM - i suggest a nice EnergyROM 2.0 or 1.3 - it is pretty damn stable and bug free - most of your issues from here out sound like things that can be fixed by wiping your phone and installing a better rom than the junk tossed together by the service provider

Why does it fail? What is the backup software? PIMbackup is a pretty solid one, and why do you need to backup nightly? I sync my contacts and calendar with google sync. Thats the only vital data i don't want to loose that changes daily (except for tasks, still waiting for google sync to add tasks)

Again - update your rom! Imagine a car torn apart by a kid in his first year at auto school, and then trying to put it together in a month. That is what the hack jobs who work as rom chefs for service providers do to these phones when they add in their junk bloatware. (Also HTC provided an update with new features, most providers now have released revised versions with their bloatware added of course, but they still work better than the original firmware that comes on the phone)

Battery life depends on use. How often do you have it check for email? My battery lasted only half a day when i told it to check every 5 minutes. Then i realized i really don't care about checking email (and nobody important emails me that often) so i set it to 4 hours - battery life went up drastically. Also turning down brightness, and turning off wifi will save a LOT of battery life. I get a sold day and a half out of my phone now. (with pretty decent amount of use)

Can be another issue with the firmware you're running. There is an app called Advanced Config Editor, I think there is a setting to disable T9

Sigh, indeed, applications are still a work in progress, before the iPhone, there was very little competition for slick applications, but consumers will prevail in the end. For now - its all about keeping up to date with your favorite phone blogs to find out about the latest software available

In all honesty, the TP and other windows mobile phones are not for everyone. They work great if you know what you want to do with them but if you expect to just pick up a phone and go, buy a freeken iPhone and enjoy your watered down smart phone for braindead people. (Hey, i bought my mom one for christmas, she's all happy that she changed the ringtone for me.... despite the fact her past 5 phones could also do that in less than 5 buttons......)

HTC makes a wonderful selection of mobile devices, I have always been pleased with their products.