Review of HTC dream

Well I caved, I needed a new phone so I went out and got HTC Dream ( Google Android based phone ).

Let me start by saying I have read countless reviews on the phone and there were a lot of people that were complaining about several things. So, I decided not to get one until I got to play with one. A buddy of mine got one and I played with it. The first thing I noticed that a lot of the things that the reviews said the phone didn't have, it had, like: camcorder, Exchange Sync, no email (besides gmail), GPS inaccuracy. Well the phone has all those things a later realized that the phones that were reviewed by CNET were the first generation I guess from the UK and the USA.

Since those reviews were written the 'cupcake update' was released. And this generation of the phone comes with the cupcake version already installed.

Now granted this phone is geared more for gadget geeks. It is not as flashy as the iPhone. But hey I was never one for flash anyway.

Though I will admit at first the phone was frustrating but after using it for about a week I think it is fantastic.

What I like:
- It basically took the best of Blackberry (track ball and built in qwerty keyboard) and iPhone (touch functionality) and put them together.
- Fairly easy to use (once you are used to it and you know where everything is).
- Free Market
- Access gmail
- Access to other mail Via POP or IMAP.
- Exchange Sync.
- QWERTY Keyboard
- Maps and GPS work fairly well.
- you can get it at Costco for $50. It actually costs $150 but Costco will give you back $100 in Costco gift cards. So if you shop at Costco often this would be the best option if you want to get one.

What I don't like:
- Bluetooth is only for headsets. This was a pain because I couldn't transfer all my contacts via bluetooth. Though no big deal as I didn't with the sim card. My previous phone (Sony 810i) save the contacts in a Lastname; Firstname format. And the HTC dream just copied it literally. Again irritating but not a deal breaker.
- Lack of standard headphone jack. Though it isn't really a big deal for me. The thing I hate about this is if the included headphones break you are stuck buy proprietary headphones.
- The way the phone 'opens' to reveal the keyboard. Very strange it goes to the left and then up. Though again not a big deal.
- It seems fragile.
- Though I mentioned that the GPS works well it doesn't 'speak'
- A few other little minor UI things that are frustrating at first but once used to it. It's fine.
- 3 Year FREAKIN PLAN!

As for battery life I can not really comment on this at the moment. Though I had two full charges one lasted 2.5 days and another last 1.5 days. But this can also be due to amount of usage as I did go to Toronto this past weekend and the roaming sucks up more power since it is not in range. So I would say it is average?

All in all I am satisfied with it.