HTC Radar Review

There are plenty of Windows Phones in the market. And just like the Android phones, any person who is out there in the market to buy one will be clouded with lot of choices. HTC, Nokia and Samsung has some pretty good number of Windows Phones. If you were curious about HTC Windows Phones, here’s one of the best from their products. HTC Radar is an amazing phone. I call it amazing because it has the perfect mixture of style, price and functionality. These days its very hard to find something that gives real value for money. HTC Radar retails for $450(may vary in some markets). When I first received the phone, I was very curious to try the phone. It was my first Windows Phone experience. I have years of experience with iOS and a few months experience with Android. But I never got to try a Windows Phone until Radar arrived. It was after the release of Mango it got competitive with other platforms. That said, the Radar runs Windows Phone Mango on it.

Before we begin lets take a quick look at the underlying hardware in HTC Radar. The HTC Radar has a 1Ghz processor, 512MB of RAM, 8GB internal storage, 5MP autofocus camera with LED flash and 1520mAh battery.I It runs Windows Phone OS 7.5. It has 3G HSDPA, GPS, WiFi and Bluetooth, FM Radio as well.

Design & Hardware:

The HTC Radar feels very solid in hands. Its crafted from a single piece of polished metal. That gives it a premium feel and look. HTC Radar has a different design. It reminded me about the HTC Hero among the HTC’s range of Android phones. Hero had a different design from other Android phones. Similarly, Radar has a unique design as opposed to other Windows Phones out there. The Radar has rounded curves and through out which is the same as most HTC phones. However, at the bottom you’ll notice that it gets thinner and more curvy. You will also note that the case at the back, which is white makes an appearance on the front bring a mix of silver and white. The silver and white colours together add a lot to the looks of the phone. Like other many other phones that comes with plenty of connectivities which results in plenty of ports on the phone to collect as many dust as it can, Radar doesn’t offer too much. It has a standard micro USB port and 3.5mm headphone jack to connect the inbuilt or any third party headphones. It also helps to keep its design neat.

On top of the phone, you’ll see the 3.5mm headphone jack and the power button. The power button also acts as the Sleep/Wake button. But there are times when you wish if the button was bit more thicker. Sometimes its hard to press it as it almost aligns with the height of enclosing area. But that doesn’t mean its a deal breaker. A few days of getting used to and you’ll be ok with it. The 3.5mm headphone jack helps you connect the earphones that comes in the retail package. It plays music decently. However, if you plan to go for a better third party earphones, you can easily connect them to this port as all standard earphones are compatible with 3.5mm port.

To the right, you can see the volume rockr and the dedicated camera button. The dedicated camera is not usually seen all the models, however phones like Nokia Lumia 800 have a dedicated camera button. The camera button as you would expect launches the camera app and can also take shots once the app is launched. The volume rockr is a single piece with no separation. This may not be everyone’s favorite. However the extra long size of the rockr should prevent any wrong functioning while pressing it.

Towards the bottom you can see the dedicated camera button mentioned above. And at the button there are no ports or buttons. If you’re wondering if you can keep the device upright on the table, then its a no no. The smooth and curved bottom prevents it standing upright on any surface. On the left side you can see micro USB port thats used for charging as well as transferring data between your computer and phone. There’s no covering for the port like seen on the Lumia 800. But its not something thats too necessary either.

When you connect your phone to computer, you can use Zune software for PCs or the Windows Phone connector for Mac. Surprisingly, the Windows Phone connector for Mac does a great job syncing your computer with the phone. It syncs with your iTunes library bringing everything in your iTunes library with just one click. You can also update your phone from the same software. Yes, you don’t need to hunt for PCs anymore. The software also supports wireless syncing. If your phone and computer are connected to the same WiFi network, and if your phone is connected to a power source, then you can easily perform a wireless sync.

On the front you can see the giant 3.8 inch S-LCD capacitive display with approximately 246ppi. S-LCD may not be rich in colors as the AMOLED but its crystal clear, especially the text. The Windows Phone’s tiles look amazing on this display. Not to forget, it uses Corning Gorilla Glass which makes it resistant to scratches and scuffs. Besides the display you’ll also see the front facing camera which at the moment Windows Phone OS can’t natively use, but apps like Tango will help you make video calls over 3G and WiFi. To the left, you can see the proximity sensor for turn off during calls.

At the bottom of the screen, we have the default soft buttons, they are Back, Home and Search. The back button takes you back to the previous screen from any page. A prolonged press launches multitasking window to switch between applications. The Home key takes you to the home screen from any location. A prolonged press initiates the voice command screen that can make calls, text or search the web using Bing upon voice request. The search button initiates the Bing home page for web search. The search button is slightly confusing at times when you are running an app and if you want to search something you tap this search button to search something inside that app. However, this search button launches Bing search than the in-app search.

On the rear side of the phone, you can see the 5MP auto focus camera with LED flash. This is no Carl Zeiss, but it does shoot some decent pictures. And from our tests, most snaps proved better than the results from the Lumia 800 whose camera is not that appreciable at the moment. Videos looked dull from our tests. Especially in low light. We’ve posted some samples below. Check them out.

Camera Samples:

This is an indoor snap with zero external light but flash from the camera.

This is an indoor shot with external lights on(Close-up).

Here’s an outdoor video sample shot using the Radar.

Now here’s an indoor video sample.

Software:

Radar runs Windows Phone Mango 7.5 which is the latest version of Windows Phones. Unlike, Android phones, Windows Phones don’t suffer any update difficulties. Almost all phones gets update as and when they’re rolled out and no phone is denied any update. Atleast until now. Microsoft has also made a good record in bringing the updates to almost all the phones after the rollout which is impressive. The question is, how does Windows Phone stand up against its competitors. If you are really looking for a neck to neck comparison of Windows Phone with iOS and Android, then Windows Phone is not a worthy opponent at the moment. Its still a “Hero” in the making. However, if you are ready to get down into an average users shoes and look at it, then there’s a lot you can know and learn about Windows Phones. So if Windows Phone OS isn’t that great competitor yet, what is that hype all about ?? A question that might have popped up in your mind by now. Well, its the style and appeal of the OS that is speaking for itself at the moment. I wouldn’t put any OS any close to Windows Phone in this particular feature. Windows Phone is beautiful. No, its even better than that. The live tiles that updates itself, the smooth flow of the OS, the social network integration and the overall performance is just breathtaking. So lets take a look at the some of the default apps and see how they are. Since Windows Phones’ does not have an option to take screenshots, we have made a video for the software tour which will give you a better understanding. The video covers almost default apps, a few commonly used social apps etc. Take a look at it below.

So if you’re one of those guys, who’s into music, social networking and cares about style HTC Radar is definitely worth consideration. Android and iOS has been there for a while and if you want to try something new, then Windows Phone is the right choice. HTC Radar retails between Rs 23000 and Rs 24000 in the market.