Why I’m Not Dreaming of… The HTC Dream

Posted on 19 September 2008 by


Image via Gizmodo

Image via Gizmodo

For the sake of full disclosure let me point out that I drank deeply from the well last year and have become an avid Mac/iPhone-Fanboy. That noted…

I usually get pretty excited when brand new devices finally get released. This is true whether I am looking to actually get the device or not. For some reason though…this upcoming Android phone… not so much.

Yes, I love the virtual keyboard on my iPhone so I approach this one with an immediate bias, but that Android keyboard looks CRAAAAMPED.

The bigger issue, though, is the total lack of symmetry on the device.

I’ve been spoiled for the last year, but aesthetically this new phone just seems a bit… off.  And functionally… I can’t imagine having to reach one hand over the controls at the base and the other hand not. I have to believe it would be an issue for any and everyone, but for me, having permanently damaged my right wrist a few years ago, that looks like it would send me into convulsions of pain.

I hope Android does well. I really do. And I’m looking forward to seeing one up close and personal soon. So far though, thanks but no thanks.

Image via Gizmodo

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- who has written 2793 posts on Gear Diary.

Having a father who was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, Dan grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. Dan’s father brought home one of the very first video games when he was young and Dan remembers seeing a “pre-release” touchtone phone. (When he asked his father what the “#” and “*” buttons were his dad said, “Some day, far in the future, we’ll have some use for them.”) Technology seemed to be in Dan’s blood but at some point he took a different path and ended up in the clergy. His passion for technology and gadgets never left him. +Dan Cohen

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  • http://www.s-consult.com/index.php Wayne Schulz

    I find phones that slide to be inconvenient — at all the wrong times. I’ve always had problems with them opening when I go to put them into a belt case.

    This is also one butt ugly phone.

    At $200 after contract the only one buying this thing is the early adopters.

  • http://www.mytodayscreen.com Tariq Bamadhaj

    You love the virtual keyboard on the iPhone which has a smaller width than that on the Android and you say the Android’s cramped? Are you serious?

    That being said, I do agree that lack of symmetry and I’m waiting to see how that would play out there.

    Wayne: Remember the 2G iPhone that was released last year for like $499 (or was it $599? I can’t remember). That went out to sell out crowds. I think the Android would as well considering the number of people waiting for it.

  • Dan Cohen

    Tariq- COMPLETELY!
    I find that I need to be much more accurate with a physical keyboard than I do with a virtual one. I hated the iPhone’s virtual keyboard at first but once I started “trusting” the keyboard it became the best keyboard experience I have had to date.

    This is especially so since July 11- most of the time I am able to use the iPhone’s keyboard in landscape thanks to an assortment of apps. That, combined with the predictive text makes a huge difference.