This is my first post, and the Behold II is my first foray onto the Android scene--so brace yourself for a long post. I've been following Android devices...obsessively, I'll admit...for the better part of a year now. I was originally interested in the now-named MyTouch3G, but was quickly won over by the Samsung Galaxy with its beautiful AMOLED screen and flush tactile buttons.
I'm a college kid stuck on my family's T-Mobile plan, and being with T-Mobile, I had to choose from the G1, MT3G, CLIQ, and Behold II. I wanted a slim candybar form factor, good build quality, capacitive screen, 3.5 mm headphone jack, and something better than the typical Qualcomm chipset. Unfortunately, all of T-Mobile's current Androids sport the Qualcomm relic, but I was still pretty set on the Behold II. This wasn't without its drawbacks: TouchWiz, Pricing, and Cupcake.
Pricing: There are three people on our family plan with T-Mobile, and it cost us about 129.99/month for 1000 minutes and unlimited texts. If I bought the Behold II--using an upgrade--I would get the phone for $230, and have to pay $25/month for data. That's alotta dough. Instead, the three of us changed over to the Even More Plus plan with 1500 minutes, unlimited texts, and unlimited data on one (possibly up to two) devices for $110/month. The catch? I had to buy the phone for the unsubsidized price of $450--BUT, by doing this, we saved over $550 over two years when compared to simply adding this phone for $230/$25 to our current plan. So the pricing worked out for me.
TouchWiz: There are some things I like--notification bar with WiFi/GPS/Bluetooth toggling, Music Player, Contacts Navigation, Camera Application--but the rest is pretty much bupkis. That cube...need I say more? Also, the color scheme is often ripped on for being stuck in the '80s with its black backgrounds and neon highlights, but I have a theory behind Samsung's reasoning (and this is only a theory): One of the ways that AMOLED screens are more energy efficient is simply because they do not actively display black as a color; the screen sections that appear as black are actually deactivated pixels--so could Samsung be trying to implement as much black as possible in order to bolster battery life?
I bought this phone with the hope that a hackable exploit would be found. Because of the Android community, and because of the nature of being an open operating system, I think its safe to assume that we really shouldn't have to worry too much about what software comes loaded on our devices. Exploits will be found; phones will be hacked. Instead, worry about the hardware.
As I said before, this phone is a near-replica of Europe's Samsung Galaxy (I7500), with the addition of a couple tweaks: TouchWiz, a dedicated Cube tactile key, and 320 megabytes of RAM. Basically, once hacked, the Behold II will have all the hardware perks of the Galaxy, but with 320 MB of RAM.
------------------------------IMPRESSIONS-----------------------------
I love this phone. All the reviews I've read/watched have simply bashed the Behold II, but I see it differently. The overall build of the phone is great, with my only real criticism being that the glossy back cover makes it a tad slippery. The weighting is light, but not too light, heavy, but not too heavy--quite perfect, really. At first, I was worried about having all those buttons, but using them is a breeze. I love how they are flush against the device, unlike the MT3G, and that they are easy to push and not awkwardly shaped, unlike the CLIQ. The camera button juts out a bit, but it never gets in the way, and the camera is only activated if the button has been depressed for several seconds. The dedicated lock key is flush against the right side, and it works quite nicely. The screen is bright and brilliant and is much brighter than the iPhone/Pre. It's a very nice screen, and it provides great response and feedback overall.
Of course, there is that whole TouchWiz awfulness--but, for the time being, I find that most of this can easily be swept under the rug by downloading a home replacement app--which will be remedied when a hack is available.
The battery life so far has been very impressing. I have only had it for a couple days, but I have been using it NONSTOP--first Android, remember? A battery charge of just 35% lasted 3.5 hours of constant usage (texting, downloading, surfing, pictures, etc). This would imply 10'ish hours of battery life while under extreme usage conditions, which I find to be quite reasonable. To see how the numbers really stack up, I'll write back later with updates.
I do apologize for the absurdly long post; the excitement's just getting the better of me.
To sum up: 3.2" AMOLED screen, 320 MB RAM, beautiful tactile layout, great weight and build quality, remarkable camera and flash, 3.5 mm headphone jack, and is reasonably zippy/long-lasting despite TouchWiz and the Cube. The pricing is too high, but savings in buying this phone in conjunction with T-Mobile's new plans could help you justify the means.
If you have any questions about the phone, please don't hesitate to ask!
Murf
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