subject: The HTC Freestyle [print this page] The HTC Freestyle The HTC Freestyle
Since the initial release of the Android operating system, the smart phone world has been flooded with a seemingly endless torrent of increasingly sophisticated models. Each one is faster and more powerful than the last, and that's fine for most consumers. Many consumers need a device that excels in messaging and voice calls. The HTC Freestyle is one such device that's aimed squarely at that demographic.
In terms of aesthetics and overall design, the Freestyle is one of the most attractive phones to come around in a great while. And although it isn't an iPhone, it does boast a sleek aluminum unibody casing that's both smooth and pleasing to touch. The phone measures at 4.2 x 2.2 in with and is about 4.5 oz in weight. One of the features that is pretty much standard with all smart phones nowadays is the 3.5mm headphone jack and mini-USB port.
The Freestyle is fairly run of the mill when it comes to hardware. The Freestyle has a 528 MHz processor that is supported by a 512 MB of RAM. The expansion microSD slot can handle up to 32 GB of additional storage which is fairly standard nowadays. The large 3.2 inch screen has an amazing 320 x 480 resolution screen. Although these specs are fine, they don't seem that impressive with it comes to a lot of the competition out there. The real magic with the Freestyle is in the software.
One of the biggest differences between the Freestyle and the rest of the HTC pack is that the Freestyle uses the Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless, or BREW MP operating system. While it's Linux-based like Android, This makes porting applications from one platform to another a lot easier. That versatility opens up a wider world of software for end users. Running on top of the BREW MP foundation is the wildly popular Sense UI. Most users won't notice any difference between BREW MP and Android in terms of speed and performance, and the experience is uniformly slick and intuitive.
Aside from the first-rate operating system, the Freestyle's biggest selling point is the massive selection of applications available as well as the stock programs that are pre-loaded by default. The popular Friend Stream application comes standard right out of the gate, as well as a plethora of AT&T apps like Navigator, Music, Radio, GPS, FM Radio and many others. The Freestyle also features a full webkit-based HTML browser and support for nearly every audio and video codec you can think of, including AAC, M4A, MPEG4, and WAV. You can also add up to 12 contacts on your home screen for quick, one-click text, E-mail or voice mail messaging.
It's a great phone, and doesn't use the tactics of the "everything but the kitchen sink" tactic. To keep that fetching LCD clean and scratch free, a screen protector and a HTC Freestyle case would probably be good ideas if you decide the Freestyle's the phone for you. There are plenty of additional accessories available online to enhance the experience. If you want a powerful smart phone that'll serve you well over the long haul, the Freestyle may just be the best one out there at the moment.
