Saturday 6 November 2010

HTC Aria Review : Delving Deeper

As promised in my previous review (click here to read) on the HTC Aria Smartphone, I shall reveal to you my findings and further understanding of the HTC Aria as I got to know this fabulous smartphone better over the course of days. My focus for this post will be on 'smart' part of the 'smartphone' (get it??), showing you more info on why the HTC Aria is among the most coveted smartphones in the market today.

Let me start by touching on the platform that made all the wonders of the HTC Aria possible. The Android OS. Now I'm sure a lot of you have question marks on why techies everyone gets excited at the word Android. Confession : I actually had no idea until I got this HTC Aria to review and started doing my own research.Let me try to explain in laymen terms, like how your desktop or laptop (computers) runs on Windows/Linux/Mac, handphones also run on operating systems; iOS, Windows Mobile, Android, to name a few. And it is a race between the different phone manufacturers (e.g Apple iPhone, Blackberry and HTC) to develop better operating systems for ease of usage for the customers who buy their phones, YOU. So there you go. The Android OS which the HTC Aria runs on was developed by Google, which basically means; Google is managing the HTC Aria for you. This is in fact, HTC's unique factor since most smartphones run on Windows mobile (HTC previously did run on Windows Mobile) and HTC runs on Android. Now do you know why people get excited about Android??

The magic button in the HTC Aria that turns the phone into anything you want is the Android Market icon here:-

With your GMail account, you may log into the Market and download applications and games for the HTC Aria. There are 50,000++ apps and games for download. Some of the apps are paid apps (you have to pay to download them) but there are plenty of free apps available for you to download.
All these turn the HTC Aria into anything you might want for your entertainment!!!

So play games on it!!
Pretty addictive!!

FB on it!!


Watch YouTube videos on it

Check your mail with it.
Read news on it!!
This app will refresh automatically to get the latest news. Keeps you updated.

And if the news has funny words in it, check it up in the dictionary!! On the HTC of course!!

You can even learn languages with the Google Translate app!!
There will be a voice teaching you how to pronounce the sentence if you click the loudspeaker icon.


Having Google running your phone for you sure gives it a cool touch, huh??
It has also taken the appointment book in the HTC Aria one step higher. Now, normally when you key in a reminder for an event or appointment into your phone, the standard info keyed in would be the date and time and place. Like this:-In the HTC Aria, there is a space for you to fill in the venue where your event would take place....
and this gets really cool. If you click on the venue, Google Map will automatically pop up and plot the place for you on the map so that you may see where it is!!

Then from there, you can go further and get directions to your venue with Google Maps.

Or alternatively, you can download a GPS from the Android Market and enable the GPS satellite in the HTC Aria to get live directions while you drive. Yes, the HTC Aria can serve as a GPS!!! I tested it out and the GPS is pretty accurate. And yes, it has a voice and talks like the actual GPS device too. Haha!!
You can access all these with WiFi internet or mobile internet. I don't have a data plan with DiGi (yet) but to get unlimited internet access for a day, I just enabled the mobile internet and hit the RM5 usage tier; and then I could use the internet without any extra charge for the rest of the day. That way, I could use the GPS, surf the internet, update my Facebook and Twitter and download apps, etc, etc through the HTC Aria for a day using the Digi internet access. The internet speed was fair. Let me show you the results of the speed test I did:-
So now do you see the endless possibilities with the HTC Aria?? There will be more and more apps being created and released into the market for download, so you will always have the latest apps available for your download through the Android Market. And for your info, the apps available there are same as the ones available in the Apple Store when you use the iPhone. In fact, some of the apps offer full version in the Android Market while only the Lite version is available in the Apple Store!!

Angry Birds Lite on my iPod
Angry Birds Full Version on the HTC!!!

Also, the apps will constantly be upgraded by their creators, so no worries in being outdated!!
Carrying the HTC Aria is like carrying your phone, dictionary, newspaper, GPS, appointment books and game device with you, all compacted into one!!! Now isn't that cool??Let me just show you another one of the cool apps I downloaded before I come to the end of this review. This app lets me doodle and draw on the HTC like a sketchpad. Such fun!!!

This one's a bit blur so I transferred the actual file from the phone to the computer

Ta-Da!!!
I drew this with only my finger on the touchscreen so it's a bit wonky. Hehe!!!

Yes, I do so love the HTC Aria. I'm happy to have managed to finish up this post which covers the most exciting functions and features of the HTC Aria. Please pardon any inaccuracies in the technical language since yours truly is a accountant in training and not very fluent in techie lingo (am learning and improving though.). It's been a little over a week since Nuffnang and DiGi have entrusted it into my hands for my reviews and it has been splendid to explore and write about my findings. I hope you, dear readers like my reviews, and wish me luck that I will be able to keep this HTC Aria as my own for the reviews!!!

And wait!! There's still more to tell about the HTC Aria. Look out for my next review where I shall focus on the Camera and Recording functions of the HTC Aria. It should interest you readers since the phone camera is a handy and much used feature of phones. So expect a colourful post coming up soon!! Stay with me!!!

The HTC Aria Smartphone is currently retailed in Malaysia for RM1799. But DiGi has a GREAT OFFER for you! Just by signing up for the DG Smart Plan, you can get the HTC Aria Smartphone for as low as RM799! That's up to RM1000 saved for you if you get the HTC Aria Smartphone under the DiGi Smart Plan!! That's right, DiGi is your smarter choice!
For more details, click here to view the DiGi website or visit your nearest DiGi store!

7 squeaked:

TikkoSS said...

seem like a good gadget.. nice review and hope you can win the phone for real..

JoYce said...

Thank you TikkoSS. :) I hope so too. fingers crossed!!!

Hilda Milda™ said...

You're so good in reviewing HTC Aria! What's the app that allows you to doodle call? I want one too! So cute :D

EeSoon said...

good review, dear~
I enjoy reading it.
Very informative.
:)
thanks for sharing~~ :)

JoYce said...

@Hilda Milda
thanks!!! I hope i will be good enough to be able to keep the HTC Aria. :)

@EeSoon
Thanks!! Glad u found it informative. :D

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

hey it was an awesome review..
u helped me in many things to choose Aria
Best review as Engadget..

thnkz

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