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pros & cons

A

aekhhi

Well-Known Member
Okay... I need pros & cons for the HTC Aria. I can see one con being the size. It's tiny in my eyes. lol But I still need help. This will be the phone I decide on if at&t allows me to have my upgrade that they took away when I switched to a company discount plan *without knowledge that it would be taken away*

I'm coming from an unlocked blackberry storm 9530 and I've recently started to have a lot of issues with it. freezing.. battery pulls constantly.. etc. I'd also be leaving blackberry after having a blackberry phone for 3-4 years.

Blackberry Pearl unlocked 8100c
Pearl 8100 on at&t
8120
8300
8310
Pearl flip unlocked
Storm 9530 unlocked

Help please :)
 
I wouldn't put it's size as a negative necessarily. I shopped the Inc and X and ended up with the Aria because of $$. Currently considering swapping over to the Captivate, who's size is similar to the X.

While I am excited about the bigger screen, I am not excited about the bigger phone. I dress light and the Aria is pretty perfect weight and size where I feel confident that I wouldn't break it too easily. I'm not sure how I'll carry the Captivate around if I get it.

Negatives would be the video capture is not very good at all. It's very difficult to take good pictures outside because the screen is hard to see, especially when covered in fingerprints (and all the menu workings are on the screen, so even after you wipe the screen off you're touching it moments later). I've put my phone on the highest brightness and it's usuable as a phone in the sun, but you won't be browsing the web or reading a book on it that easily. Battery, once it's broken in, is very respectable. OS, web and menu use is all crisp, clean and fast. Multitasking is great and runs fine.

The Aria surprises most people who end up using it as being a pretty kickass little machine. But pretty much all of those people agree that it's a great 1 year phone. When you start considering it as a two year phone you start to really nitpick at it's issues.

If I wasn't looking for my phone to have a good camera then the only reason I'd be considering the Captivate is the screen and sixaxis (and the latter will only really matter if some great games come to Android which I am not in the know about right now).
 
cons:
- volume and sound quality on speakerphone underwhelming (coming from BB 8310)
- no flash for pictures

Otherwise, I like the phone. I actually like the compact size for the 'pocket-a-bility'.
 
Cons:
- speakerphone, for some reason this things just is NOT loud at all!!!
Pros:
- Just about everything, size, text, battery, reception, quick and responsive, does everything that I need for it to do(calling, texting, social network, google reader, navigation, location finder, phone number lookups (about everything someone would use a phone for)

Only thing I have not tried is videos or massive picture taking, but to me that part on a phone is just there for a quick pic or video of something stupid, if I need an important picture or video or need to play some cool game. I got a camera/video(sony HD device) and a psp/nds for that....
 
well... I broke down and bought the HTC Aria. I called at&t to see why my upgrade disappeared.. she wasn't quite sure why. But she worked something out and I was able to get it for $229.. which is $50 less than at&t premier. I was still getting it for $100 less. at&t premier's site was offering it to me for 279 with a $100 discount.. so that came down from $379, which is what I would have paid for it in the store. Even though I couldn't get it for 129, I still think 229 is a decent price for how much it could have cost me.

So now I get to wait a day or two until I get my phone!
 
Youll like it.


The speaker is not very loud, and its on the back. So turn it around when using as a speaker phone. Unfortunatly setting phone down when speakerphone is activated muffles it, and its too quiet for watching movies anywhere but the quietest of rooms. Use headphones.

At first the phone was underwhelming, till I started downloading a bunch of apps.

My mini review

xfire on my phone
ventrilo on my phone.
it plays movies, music
organizes contacts and synchs them with google gmail
has regular headphone jack
fits in pocket nicely
almost any app you could want, and now the ability to make your own!
 
Jofaba said:
Are you sure that's not with a mail-in-rebate?
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the 379 on att premier's site was brought down to 279 with the discount (company discount thing)

and the 229 plus tax, etc was $243 total.. charged on my card, so I doubt there is a rebate. I'll have to look though when I get it!
 
I was charged the same exact amount but that includes a $100 mail in rebate. That's why I asked. No tax though (was in NH).

To be honest, I've been researching the Captivate pretty extensively and while it seems to be a great phone, and around the size I had originally intended, I'm finding very little persuasion to swap. Right now I'm about 70% sure I'm going to keep the Aria and be very happy with it.

The only benefits I see going to a phone like the captivate or the iphone4 is the screen and the camera. I really was hoping to avoid getting a dedicated camera, but I doubt I'd be happy with any camera phone after a while. So it comes down almost exclusively to screen. Sure it's prettier, but it's much larger and more prone to break, right? And the Aria screen looks fantastic inside, and handles the full web fine even on it's small screen. I hardly ever find myself thinking "damn, wish this was bigger".

Only complaints I have is how the screen performs outside, and how bad the camera (more specifically the video capture).
 
Jofaba said:
I was charged the same exact amount but that includes a $100 mail in rebate. That's why I asked. No tax though (was in NH).

To be honest, I've been researching the Captivate pretty extensively and while it seems to be a great phone, and around the size I had originally intended, I'm finding very little persuasion to swap. Right now I'm about 70% sure I'm going to keep the Aria and be very happy with it.

The only benefits I see going to a phone like the captivate or the iphone4 is the screen and the camera. I really was hoping to avoid getting a dedicated camera, but I doubt I'd be happy with any camera phone after a while. So it comes down almost exclusively to screen. Sure it's prettier, but it's much larger and more prone to break, right? And the Aria screen looks fantastic inside, and handles the full web fine even on it's small screen. I hardly ever find myself thinking "damn, wish this was bigger".

Only complaints I have is how the screen performs outside, and how bad the camera (more specifically the video capture).
Click to expand...

I had to literally beg for some sort of discount. I was eligible for my upgrade two weeks ago.. then it disappeared and suddenly it was december for me. my boyfriend and my dad both saw the upgrade thing on the site.. so I knew I wasn't going crazy. She believed me too since its happened to other customers, system didn't show any error either. so the customer service rep just did an override for me and she was able to get it down to $229. She didn't say anything about a rebate though, but then again I didn't ask.

and I wasn't sure about the size either. I'm coming from an unlocked blackberry storm 9530 (the first gen).. I feel bad for leaving blackberry as I've had a phone with them since 2006/2007.. but I was tired of not having enough memory to run applications and I was tired of the freezing and battery pulling all of the time. but I held up my storm to the aria and in all honesty, the size isn't that much different. the phone itself is smaller. the screen size is a tad bit skinnier than the storm, but overall the screen size is about the same.
 
aekhhi said:
I had to literally beg for some sort of discount. I was eligible for my upgrade two weeks ago.. then it disappeared and suddenly it was december for me. my boyfriend and my dad both saw the upgrade thing on the site.. so I knew I wasn't going crazy. She believed me too since its happened to other customers, system didn't show any error either. so the customer service rep just did an override for me and she was able to get it down to $229. She didn't say anything about a rebate though, but then again I didn't ask.

and I wasn't sure about the size either. I'm coming from an unlocked blackberry storm 9530 (the first gen).. I feel bad for leaving blackberry as I've had a phone with them since 2006/2007.. but I was tired of not having enough memory to run applications and I was tired of the freezing and battery pulling all of the time. but I held up my storm to the aria and in all honesty, the size isn't that much different. the phone itself is smaller. the screen size is a tad bit skinnier than the storm, but overall the screen size is about the same.
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yea the storm has a 3.25 inch screen vs the Aria's 3.2 so pretty much identical
 
From what I have read, I think the Captivate will be a better phone: more powerful, better screen (including daylight), hopefully better battery. However, I am leaning towards the Aria because of the smaller size, which is a matter of preference. I wish the Captivate was in between the 3.2 and 4.0" of the two phones.
 
On topic:

Cons:
After removing the back several times it becomes a little loose and squeaks a little when held(not a big deal)
Sometimes the space bar gets stuck when typing. Just hit another key to stop it.
Speaker is fairly weak

Pros:
Too many to list. I love the phone.
 
thanks for all the pros & cons for the phone!

question... for anyone who ordered through at&t's site or on the phone.. mines being shipped FedEx 2Day Delivery... will I need to sign for it? It doesn't say anything on the tracking part of it but I might not be here if it's delivered (work decided to schedule me the same day its to be delivered)
 
aekhhi said:
thanks for all the pros & cons for the phone!

question... for anyone who ordered through at&t's site or on the phone.. mines being shipped FedEx 2Day Delivery... will I need to sign for it? It doesn't say anything on the tracking part of it but I might not be here if it's delivered (work decided to schedule me the same day its to be delivered)
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When you track the package there's a line that says "Service type", what does it say to the right of that?
 
aekhhi said:
thanks for all the pros & cons for the phone!

question... for anyone who ordered through at&t's site or on the phone.. mines being shipped FedEx 2Day Delivery... will I need to sign for it? It doesn't say anything on the tracking part of it but I might not be here if it's delivered (work decided to schedule me the same day its to be delivered)
Click to expand...

I didn't have to sign for my blackjack i got a year ago... lol Fedex accidentally left it at my neighbors place... good thing i have cool neighbors :p
 
i headphone 2 weeks now on i'm still finding shortcuts . i just figured out these 2 today press and hold the home button then you can switch between the last 6 programs opened. in internet explorer press and hold the back button. And it brings up your history
 
artvandalay22222 said:
i headphone 2 weeks now on i'm still finding shortcuts . i just figured out these 2 today press and hold the home button then you can switch between the last 6 programs opened. in internet explorer press and hold the back button. And it brings up your history
Click to expand...

And I bet you posted this from your phone. I'm thinking "headphone" was either your fingers going faster than your brain or you did post this from your phone and it autocorrected for you lol
 
I'm getting my Aria August 1'st... so excited i'm coming from the pantech matrix which is a dumbphone, so getting a good phone is exciting
 
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