The Freestyle is a phone that is right in between a smart phone and a feature phone. The HTC Freestyle has all the features a feature phone would (e.g. phone, texting, mobile web) and some of the more high end features that you would expect of any smart phone (e.g. multiple home screens, widgets, HTC's Friends Stream). Overall the HTC Freestyle is a unique phone with the less well-known BREW MP platform and customs HTC apps, but disappoints when it comes to some other necessities, such as Wi-Fi and an accelerometer.
Specifications:
The HTC Freestyle is a great phone overall and feels very sturdy in the hand. It is quite thick for the size (almost equal to to the HTC EVO 4G) but is very small and feels good in the hand. Included in this phone are four main buttons on the front, a universal menu button (e.g. such as android), a answer call button that can also act s a phone button, a back button, and a end call button that can also serve the purpose of bringing you back to the home screen. On the top of the phone is a 3.5mm headphone jack and a lock button, on the left side is a volume rocker, on the right side is a dedicated camera button, and on the bottom is a micro-usb port for syncing with a computer and charging. The phone has good build quality, something you would expect out of HTC, and has add features such as the aluminum backing, making this one of the best mid-range phones on the market. Along with the quality, below are some more of the physical specifications:
Processor | Qualcomm MSM 7225, 528 MHz |
Operating System | Brew MP (v. 1.0.2) |
Internal Memory | 256MB/RAM 256/ROM |
Display | 3.2-inch 320x480 HVGA resolution Capacitive touch screen |
Network | Dual mode HSPDA/UMTS (Dual-band 850/1900MHz and GSM/GPRS/EDGE (Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900Mhz) HSPDA/UMTS 3GPP release 5 compliant UE category 8, up to 7.2Mbps peak rate downlink, 384 Kbps uplink |
GPS | Internal GPS antenna |
Camera | 3.2 MP Color CMOS with fixed focus |
Connectivity | USB 2.0 with high speed client 3.5 mm audio jack MicroSD Card Slot |
Battery | Lithium-polymer battery, 1300 mAh |
Talk Time | Up to 384 minutes Standby Time Up to 16.2 days |
Dimensions | L 106.7 X W 56.6 X 2.5(mm) |
Weight | 128 g |
The HTC Freestyle, for being a mid-range phone, is packed full of amazing features. This phone features the BREW MP platform, with HTC's sense, its own added style. HTC Sense gives the operating system its own style and allows for further customization with widgets and "scenes" to change the entire styling. With HTC's customizations come custom applications for things such as the messaging, phone, and contacts, as well as adding things such as Friend Stream, which streams your Facebook news feed and Twitter feed directly to your phone, something you usually only expect out of a higher end phone, FM radio, and the mobile browser, which isn't so special but does load pages up to look pretty close to the full one, something you would not expect out of a phone like this.
Overall the HTC Freestyle is a feature packed phone for what it is. With HTC Sense and some added apps such as Friends Stream, the Freestyle packs in a ton of great features that make this one of the best mid-range phones out there.
Wrap Up:
The HTC Freestyle is $99.99 on AT&T with a new two year agreement or $319.99 no commitment pricing. Overall the phone packs a ton of features with some pretty good specks. HTC adds some of its own features which add some of the more smart phone high end features, making this one of the best mid-range phones out there.
