The HTC Radar - The Beauty of Live Tiles

Currently, the most popular Windows Phone is the Nokia Lumia 800. Nokia has spent a lot on marketing and advertising on their new handset after all. However, unlike the entry-level handsets in Nokia's roster, the Lumia 800 still costs a lot of money. If you're looking to enjoy more from Live Tiles, there is an alternative that will not cost you an arm and a leg. This is the HTC Radar.

If you're not familiar with the Windows Phone platform and its Live Tiles, you must be wondering what the fuss is all about. With this unique interface, everything that matters is right in front of you once you boot up your phone. Let's take a closer look at what Windows' Live Tiles has to offer.

What can be seen on these tiles? Of course, one will show you missed calls or incoming calls. Unlike in other platforms, only a small icon on the top of the screen is shown whenever you miss or receive a call. Here, a tile shows whose calling or who you have to call back. There is also a tile specifically for text messages.

Modern smartphones allow users to check on their emails on the go. This is exactly what Windows Phone has to offer. Again, instead of a small icon found on the top of the display, a designated tile shows you all the information you need to see. On the HTC Radar, you will get see anything from personal to work emails wherever you may be.

With this smartphone, you will never have to look for a PC to check on social network updates. All you have to do is take a look at the home screen to see what you friends are up to. You never have to go anywhere else or launch a special app to check on social network updates.

Multi-media are now an essential part of smartphones. This is exactly what the HTC Radar has to offer. In one of the Live Tiles, you gain quick access to your photo album, videos, or even your music library.

If you're into gaming, there is one tile that you are definitely going to find interesting. This Live Tile on the HTC Radar will give you access to Xbox Live. Here, you can take advantage of all the latest game titles the offering is known for. You can even compare scores or achievements with friends.

Of course, these tiles are in no way fixed. You can customize what you wish to appear on every individual tile on the HTC Radar.

For the best deals on the HTC Radar and the Nokia Lumia 800, visit us at PhonesLimited.co.uk.

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A Look At Zune And iTunes For The HTC Radar And The iPhone 4S

We have recently seen the release of new mobile handsets that incorporate the latest versions of some established operating systems. The Apple iPhone 4S is one such release whilst HTC have released a range of new Windows 7 handsets including the new HTC Radar. Rather than focus on the handsets we thought it would be useful to take a look at the PC based software that these models use and see which is best for synchronisation and for general media player usage.

The iPhone 4S uses the iTunes software package and the Radar uses the lesser known but equally as impressive Zune software. When it comes to the design of these two packages then the Zune software catches the eye slightly more than Apples offering. The iTunes software uses a very familiar layout that is more about the ease of use that it offers rather than its visual impact. The platform has hardly changed over the past four years so although it is simple to pick up the layout does look slightly dated. The Zune software offers a layout which catches the eye thanks to impressive wallpapers and its great Metro user interface. There are some lovely touches on Zune which iTunes would really benefit from. If you are listening to a particular artist for example the software loads a background which is made up of all of the album covers ever released by the performer. Although this serves not practical use it does make the software stand out from its rival.

When it comes to synchronisation then the Zune software on the HTC Radar is a joy to use. When you download tracks or albums on your PC they are automatically added to your Zune library. This is in contrast to iTunes for the iPhone 4S where you have to manually add any tracks that were not downloaded using that program. Individual tracks can also be easily added directly to your Radar handset by dragging and dropping the desired track onto the phone symbol at the bottom of the screen. Both of these platforms support WiFi synchronisation which is great as it eliminates the need to have your phone hooked up to your PC or laptop with a USB cable. Another area where Zune seems to have the edge over iTunes is when it comes to obtaining album artwork. With iTunes if the artwork was missing you could search for it using a web browser and then copy it onto your iTunes but this process is quite time consuming. Zune will search for the artwork automatically and when we have tested the system there has not been one occasion where it has failed to find the image that we required.

There is no question that the iPhone 4S is technically a superior phone to the HTC Radar but the HTC certainly has the upper hand when it comes to the software that is needed to keep your phone up to date with all of your favourite music.

The HTC Radar and the iPhone 4S are available now.

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