HTC Merge Review

Specifications:
Service Provider: U.S. Cellular
Operating System: Android OS
Screen Size: 3.8 inches
Viewing Information: 480 x 800 pixels, 16 million color TFT LCD capacitive touch screen
Camera: Yes
Network: GSM, CDMA
Bands: 850, 900, 1800, 1900, 2100
High-speed data: GPRS, 1xRTT, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, EVDO Rev A
CPU speed: 800 MHz

Combining HTC adds some real variety of U.S. Heft cell, and not just because it is a weighing chamber. This is a real world phone that works on CDMA networks in the United States and accepts prepaid SIM cards abroad. It is essentially a clone of the HTC Shift EVO 4G ($ 199, 4 stars) in the sprint, except with the GSM intead of WiMAX and a bit softer and the stylish appearance. Even if you do not need a world phone, the quality of the fusion keyboard and good performance can still be convinced. This is the choice of our editors for smartphones with a physical keyboard in the U.S. cell.

Design, call quality, and Applications
Combining measures 4.8 2.4 0.5 inches (HWD) and weighs a surprisingly heavy 7 oz It 'been a long time since we saw the phone and heavy. And 'built better Sprint HTC Shift EVO 4G, with a happy blend of glass, plastic, soft accents and brushed aluminum back cover, that fits the device to feel the solidity and quality. 3.8-inch, 480 x 800 pixel screen is sharp and clear, and the touch response is exactly as it should. The sliding mechanism feels solid. Four row QWERTY keyboard is a flat, oval shaped keyboard that feels a bit 'cheap, but it is easy to type. They are mostly quiet and bright.

The Fusion is a real phone, it supports dual-band EV-DO Rev A (850/1900 MHz), EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) and 2100 MHz 3G HSDPA for speeds of foreign networks. Also 802.11b / g Wi-Fi, which worked well in my WPA2-encrypted network. The voice quality is good but not great. Callers sounded strong and powerful in the headset and my voice came through fairly clearly into the microphone. However, some problems to receive the inequality means that some calls were scattered (although none of them has fallen). Calls sounded clear through an Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth headset Icon ($ 99, 4 stars), and voice dialing over Bluetooth works well without training. The speaker sounded muddy and will not be strong enough to overcome moderate background noise. Battery life is excellent in 7 hours and 55 minutes of talk time.
If you want to connect abroad, you're going to have to roll your own plan. Many people believe that more is to organize its own SIM card is almost always much cheaper than paying roaming charges. If you do not want to fight with a shop selling mobile phones abroad, consider an international SIM card, such as Truphone Tru SIM ($ 30, 3 stars).
Under the hood, a Qualcomm MSM7630 800 MHz processor makes, he was very fast when I use it. Android running Fusion 2.2 (Froy), no word yet on a release date for Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) update. Sense HTC user interface layer is fully operational, with a compliment of widgets and enhanced applications for everyday tasks. As good an Android phone, email merge synchronization, calendar and contacts with Microsoft Exchange and Outlook accounts here given significant attention and direct mail business was also strong with Flash support for WebKit. Fusion also works with more than 150,000 third-party applications available through Android Market.

Multimedia, camera, and conclusions
The size standard 3.5 mm headphone connector and included 8 GB microSD memory card offers music lovers a good start. My own 32GB SanDisk card worked fine little MicroSD card slot located under the stubborn battery cover. The music sounded bright and punchy with Samsung HM6450 Modus ($ 99, 4 stars) Bluetooth stereo headset, but it took two tries to get the streaming media working. HTC has updated the music player application is pleasant to use, showing large thumbnails of album art. Standalone video files played smoothly in full screen, even 720p HD files combination transcoded on the fly.
The 5 megapixel autofocus camera has a single LED flash. Photos test so well together, with a slightly mottled appearance inside and some details buttered on the outside, but with the proper balance of light and saturation. Registered 1280 by 720 pixels high-definition video is a little uneven, averaging 26 frames per second, but much depends on the amount of light available and whether there were sudden camera movements. Recorded video 800 x 480 pixels is much smoother and consistent average of 29 frames per second.

If you need a phone world, but is generally in the U.S. cellular coverage area, HTC Merge is an understatement. U.S. is also the best smartphone cell phone with a physical keyboard, to win our Editor's Choice in this category.
If you do not need a global capacity, or the keyboard, U.S. phone has a number of other Android devices worthy of consideration, which weigh less. Choosing our Editors' for a full-touch smartphone is the Samsung Mesmerize (129 U.S. dollars, 4.5 stars), which is a larger, vibrant color display with Super AMOLED, a processor faster than 1GHz, and weighs only 4, 1 oz. HTC (79 dollars, 4.5 stars) falls to connect a keyboard and weighs less, but keep most of the other good qualities intact. If you want to save money, the LG Optimus U (Free, 4 stars) is not as able, without a keyboard, a slower CPU, and with a lower resolution, but it is equally useful in another way.

Posted in: HTC