HTC Radar Pro Reviews

As I've said many times before, Windows Phone devices have very few ways of differentiating right now. There’s hardware design, display quality, camera, and a few bundled apps. The Radar 4G falls below the overall quality of the 4.7-inch Titan, but with a $99 on-contract price tag, it’s clear HTC intended this for the midrange / entry-level market. If you’re unquestionably sticking with T-Mobile and want to dip your toes into Microsoft’s ecosystem, the Radar 4G is quite literally your only choice; you might find a year-old T-Mobile HD7 for pretty cheap, but what you’d be giving up is HSPA+, a Super LCD display, and that “new phone smell,” so to speak. For the carrier agnostic, neither Sprint’s HTC Arrive nor Verizon’s HTC Trophy is going to feel that much different here. Only AT&T is offering a number of different Windows Phone choices in the US right now, and of those, I’d suggest taking a look at Samsung’s new Focus S and Focus Flash before making a decision. Finally, for the platform agnostic — for those who aren’t committed to purchasing Windows Phone hardware — I’m still not quite sure I can recommend this over an Android phone of similar value. Still, the price is hard to argue with, and if you’re the adventurous sort, by all means jump into a new ecosystem and give it a shot.

The HTC Radar is a mix-and-match job, which is kind of inevitable if you want a WP7 phone on a budget. It wears the clothes of the Android Desire line, and has the specs of the previous generation of Microsoft-powered smartphones by HTC. The lines have been drawn. It’s now up to HTC to fill in the space between the flagship and the basic package, while keeping a keen eye on the competition. And yes, the HTC Radar is the basic package. But not a bad start for anyone willing to give the new Windows Phone Mango a try.

The HTC Radar is a solidly made handset, and it’s a good size for the hand and pocket. Although, without memory expansion and Flash support it feels hampered. There’s no particular standout feature to lure us in, while the Windows Phone OS is something of an acquired taste.

Windows 7.5 Mango certainly offers a lot of useful improvements on its predecessor but it’s no game changer. It remains to be seen if developers will embrace it and begin populating the Marketplace in the kind of numbers it will need to compete with Apple and Android. That said, the HTC Radar is a perfectly fine, if unspectacular vehicle for it – more pocket-friendly than the HTC Titan, and with a solid list of features.

With its smaller screen, slower CPU and lower-res camera, it was easy to overlook the Radar as it debuted alongside its larger, bulkier sibling, the HTC Titan. Even we were blinded by shock and awe, but after spending time with the little guy, we must say we're quite smitten. Moreover, it's going to be a tearful goodbye when we're forced to send the little runt back home. Still, whether it's the best phone for you is a different question entirely. If you find yourself in need of a removable battery or more than 8GB of storage, the Radar is out of the question. Its price on contract at T-Mobile is another unknown, but even if it debuts at $100, it'll have a hard time delivering a compelling argument against LG's G2x. If, on the other hand, you're looking for a Windows Phone and are undeterred by the Radar's few shortcomings, its support for HSPA+ alone will make an excellent holiday gift for yourself or someone you wanna see smile.

The HTC Radar doesn't have a dual-core processor or the biggest display around, but its high-quality design and consistently smooth performance makes it a great choice. If you're upgrading to your first smartphone or not really liking Android, give Windows Phone a chance. If you're a tinkerer or advanced user, though, you won't like Windows Phone Mango's limited customization options.

From what we’ve experienced, the mid-range HTC Radar is a great fit if you view it purely as a communications tool. The exquisite unibody design, enhanced by the metal chassis and curved corners, is a refreshing approach away from the angular designs we've seen on other smartphones. With the Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update adding more features to enhance its instant messaging and social network integration, the Radar, by all accounts, works wonders on its communications aspect.

When we first heard about the T-Mobile HTC Radar 4G, it sounded pretty disappointing. The paltry 8GB of storage space, a regular 1GHz processor, only a 5 megapixel camera, and a non-removable battery? If you call yourself a power user, you would easily look over the specs and scoff. Fortunately, the device is actually a decent upgrade to the HD7 Windows Phone that T-Mobile started carrying last year. It's noticeably faster than last year's Windows Phones, mainly in the graphics area which you'll notice in the 3D avatar of the Games Hub. That's saying something since last year's Windows Phones are still pretty fast on the new Windows Phone 7.5 upgrade too. The camera button is one of the easiest and quickest I've ever used on a smartphone. And even though the camera is only 5 megapixels of resolution, it is still a huge improvement over many other phones. Heck, I found the Radar 4G to be the most enjoyable and trouble-free smartphone that T-Mobile has carried in a very long time. I also love the size, weight, and build quality of the Radar 4G. The matte metal body is very sturdy and feels great in the hand. I feel like I can drop it and it will either bounce off the rubbery plastic bottom or bounce off the metal rim without much damage at all. It's clearly not something that feels like it's made of glass and will shatter at the slightest slip from a car dashboard. I know some people will think the 3.8" screen size is too small, but I really like it since it's easy to reach all parts of the touch screen while holding it with one hand. The larger screens make navigation more of a two-handed affair. My biggest complaint is the small amount of storage space, however, if you're the type of person that doesn't care about how many movies, songs, and videos that you can load up on the device, then the 8GB would be just fine for a healthy number of apps, games, and photos. If you can get by with that and are looking for something that's fast, responsive, easy-to-learn, doesn't require any tweaking, and is generally a joy to use, definitely consider the Radar 4G.

Despite its weak hardware specs, the HTC Radar 4G is worth a look. We recommend buying it on sale at $50 or less, but give it a try if you’re in the market for a T-Mobile smartphone. The Windows Phone experience will grow on you and has a lot of strong advantages over Android. There’s something to be said for an operating system and device that feels pleasant to use. The Radar is comfortable to hold, looks great, and has a solid camera for its class. We like it.

The HTC Radar 4G isn't the most advanced smartphone on the market, far from it. However, it shouldn't be dismissed because of it. Sure, some will scoff the lack of a dual-core processor, a bigger screen, and support for faster 4G speeds, but HTC has, once again, churned out a beautifully designed product and the new improvements of Windows Phone Mango bring a great user experience with well-integrated features that should please many users. Plus, at $100, it's a pretty decent value.

We would love it if we could divide this review into two parts: one for the HTC Radar's build and calls and one for the operating system. Unfortunately we can't, so this all has to be mixed in together, which is why we're only able to give the HTC Radar 3.5 stars out of 5. The build is top notch, and it feels like a good, solid device. But HTC's rubbish memory allowance and lack of battery is just too much for us. And the operating system is full of issues that should have been ironed out yet still rear their heads (Facebook chat still not working properly, Watch not working and so on). If it's a straight choice between the HTC Titan and the HTC Radar, we'd recommend the HTC Radar every time, because it's so much better in terms of value for money. But it still feels like a work in progress and, despite the fact we know this will upset Windows fans, we can't help feeling that it'd be better to wait for the next crop of handsets or updates before committing. After all, two years is a long time to be tied into a contract and Windows Phone is not a new platform any more, by any stretch of the imagination.

The HTC Radar 4G is a solid Windows Phone 7 device that could easily win some converts over from an Android or iOS handset.

The biggest hurdle that the HTC Radar 4G has to overcome is the fact that its user experience, and 98 percent of its software, is the same as found on every other Windows Phone that is being sold today or has been sold in the past. Differentiation is difficult for a WP7 device. Still, if you like Windows Phone and want a solid camera in an equally solid body, yet don't want to opt for one of the devices with a massive 4-inch or larger touchscreen, the Radar 4G is for you. Apart from the hiss on the calls, it has no problems that are likely to annoy users much.

For a good while there now, there wasn't anything particularly interesting out of the Windows Phone camp, but thankfully enough, the HTC Radar 4G comes off as being a good starting point for the new crop of Mango devices. Rather than coming to the table with something extravagant, it's blissfully one enticing handset for the price. In addition, its $99.99 on-contract price is remarkably warranted, but then again, you can still save up the money for something else bigger and better down the road.

Overall, the HTC radar is an excellent mid-range smartphone. Sure, it has some issues, such as the lack of support for microSD cards. However, the phone looks stylish, feels very robust and is speedy too. In fact, the whole package feels very slick and easy to use, in an almost iPhone-esque way.

The Radar has a good camera and, in the shape of Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, an excellent operating system. The phone's main drawbacks are the lack of Flash and the minimal storage space, but this is still a seriously accomplished mid-range smartphone.

The HTC Radar is designed for those that want to take advantage of the latest Mango features on a new phone from HTC without having to go for the massive HTC Titan. The Radar is a solid handset that delivers a good Windows Phone experience, but not an amazing one. For us there isn’t enough of advancement on the HTC Trophy, considering it has had the Mango update too.

The HTC Radar is all the Trophy was and then some. With a great screen, comfortable, ergonomic design and an attractive interface not to mention all the advantages of Mango. The phone won’t do everything an Android handset will, however, it’s much easier to work your way around, and with the bonus of the decent 5MP camera and fantastic build quality, buy this and you're onto a winner.