HTC Tattoo Review

Camera, mutlimedia and software:

All snapshots we took with the 3.2-megapixel camera of the HTC Tattoo proved to be of decent quality. They are rather sharp, but have enough details and colors look realistic. Unfortunately, the phone comes without flash and autofocus, so you better stay away from dark places. The settings include white balance, ISO sensitivity, effects, brightness etc.





The maximum video capture resolution is 352x288 pixels and the clips have passable quality, given the low resolution. We cannot say the sound is exactly crystal clear, but it´s acceptable, meaning more often than not you will catch onto what the person is saying.

We decided to test the video playback capabilities of the HTC Tattoo using Meridian Player Evolve (we got it from Android Market), because we find its interface more enjoyable than the one of the built-in application. Unfortunately, the program still doesn’t add support for DivX and Xvid, so basically all we could play on the device was MPEG-4 videos. The phone handles them properly, provided their width doesn’t exceed 480 pixels, in which case the overall performance plummets quickly. 



You can put the 3.5mm jack to good use and plug in the boxed headset. On the overall, sound through the mentioned accessory packs more than enough punch and while the audio quality is not amazing, it´s not disappointing either.

Come to disappointments, the major one is the lack of compatible software on Android Market, due to the non-standard native resolution of the HTC Tattoo of 240x320 pixels. As it is, almost all applications released to date have been developed for 320x480 capable devices. This means we will never see the wealth of software available to owners of other Android handsets come to the HTC Tattoo. This is a serious drawback, given the functionality of any operating system depends to a large extent on whether or not customers are able to install third party applications. Moreover, it seems the manufacturer has made another hardware-related compromise with the HTC Tattoo. We got a copy of the OpenGL-ES 1.1-based game Armadillo Roll that has obviously been converted so as become compatible with cell phones equipped with QVGA resolution displays. It turns out the Tattoo doesn’t support the eye candies the title comes with, because the only thing we could do on starting the game was contemplate a rather boring, whitish blank screen. At the same time we didn’t have any problems with less demanding applications, although we can´t say you´ve got a lavishly rich catalogue of programs at your fingertips.


Android 1.6 adds a small application that allows you to see all running applications and their corresponding energy consumption. We like it, because any information on how to extend the battery life is invaluable.