I've now had some time with the HTC Shift and I'm getting to know it a lot better. I've already had some questions posted in response to my earlier post - but I'll repeat the call. I only have this device for the weekend so if there is anything you want me to investigate then post a comment and I'll do my best.
One of the first questions I had was from Chippy at UMPC Portal- is this unit the retail version? The answer is no. I understand the hardware is final, but the it does not have the final version of the system software installed on it. This is an important caveat when I am talking about the software features of the Shift - they are not yet carved in stone.
I thought I would start with a tour of the physical device. I'll follow up with posts about the software, usage and the interplay between the two operating systems.
In slate mode the Shift is small, thin and light. On the front bezel there are a number of features worth noting.
In the top left corner there is a web camera. In the top right there is an ambient light sensor.
The two hardware buttons below the light sensor are function buttons. When in Windows Mobile mode they don't do anything. In Windows Vista the top button launches the Shift Control center. The button below that toggles the screen resolution between 800x480 and 1024x768.
The black square below the two function buttons is a touch pad that allows you to control the mouse pointer in Windows Vista. The left and right mouse buttons are the two buttons below the web camera on the left. There are also two black oval slots. These are the speakers. Below the right speaker is the fingerprint reader. Below the left speaker is the hardware button that toggles between Windows Mobile and Windows Vista. Along the bottom of the screen (under my thumb) there are a number of indicator lights, including power, battery indicator, caps lock indicator, HDD activity, wireless indicator, 3g indicator and alert light.
On the right edge there is the power button, one USB port, the power input and an SD Card slot.
The silver power button is a soft switch. Sliding this to the right toggles the power switch. If you slide the switch to the left it locks in place and this disables all the buttons and the touch screen.
On the left side of the unit is the headphone jack. This is on the left of the picture below. Just visible on the right of the photo below is the inbuilt microphone. There is also another hole on the front edge of the same corner. Roughly in the middle is the slot for the stylus. The stylus is ejected by pressing the end in, it then pops out. When slotted in place it locks in positively.
On the top edge, when in slate mode, is a VGA output.
Sliding the screen upwards reveals a qwerty keyboard. The screen slides up quite easily. You can use the device quite comfortably in this mode while sitting or standing and using the keyboard as a thumb-board.
You can also convert the device into laptop mode. The hinge is fairly stiff - this allows you to position the screen at any angle that suits you. It does mean that you need a fair bit of leverage to pull it up. You can achieve this one handed if you place your thumb at the base of the screen and pull up on the top edge with your fingers.
In order to use the onboard HSPDA you need to insert a SIM card. To do this you need to remove the battery. This is done by removing a cover on the back of the unit to expose the battery. You then slide back two red clips that hold the battery in place.
Once you remove the battery you can see the SIM card slot.
The only other points of interest on the back of the unit are three vents that let out heat and four rubber feel. The rubber feet provide good grip on smooth surfaces - which is important when you have such a smooth finish on the unit.
Overall it is a good looking unit and feels well made. Stay tuned for more on what you get when you fire it up.