Cracking Open: HTC Titan II

>> Bill Detweiler: Nokia wasn't the only company to launch a Windows phone device this spring. HTC launched a new Titan handset, which compared to the older version, has a bigger battery, better camera, and 4G LTE support. How does it compare to Nokia's Lumina 900? Well, I'm Bill Detweiler, head technology editor at CNET's sister site, Tech Republic, and I'm going to find out by cracking open the HTC Titan II.

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>> Bill Detweiler: Opening the Titan II doesn't require any special tools, just a Phillips triple 0 screwdriver and a thin metal or plastic tool. I began by removing the bottom cover from the back of the phone. Next, I removed the three visible and three hidden case screws from the bottom of the back cover. Using a thin metal blade, I gently popped off the upper cover from the back of the phone and, again, removed all the screws. With the screws out, I used a thin metal tool to pry the display assembly away from the body and then lifted the body off. Once inside the phone, I removed the battery, all the internal screws, and the plastic battery compartment. I then disconnected the visible cables from the phone's two printed circuit boards, lifted the boards away from the display assembly, and disconnected the remaining ribbon cable from the underside of the upper board. Next, I separated the two circuit boards, removed the cameras, removed the SIM card reader, LED flash PCB, proximity sensor, and EMI RFI shields. With that, our tear down was complete. So what did I learn about the Titan II from our tear down, and how does it compare to last year's Titan and the Lumina 900? Well, both Titans are similar in size, shape, and weight, and like the original Titan, there's no trick to opening the Titan II. Just a lot of screws to remove and several covers to pop off. Both phones have a replaceable battery, to large circuit boards, a 1.5 gigahertz single core processor, 512 megs of RAM, and 16 gigs of storage. And like the earlier phone, the Titan II has a 4.7 inch LCD with a resolution of 800 by 480 pixels, and it has a single-piece display assembly. What really sets the Titan II apart from its predecessor is its support for 4G LTE, a 16 megapixel camera, and a slightly higher capacity battery. When comparing the Titan II to Nokia's Lumina 900, there are also several similarities. Both phones have the single core qual com processors. Both have 512 megs of RAM, 16 gigs of storage, and the same 3G/4G wireless modem. The Lumina screen does have a higher pixel density, thanks to its smaller size, and comes with Nokia's clear black filter. The Titan, on the other hand, has a 16 megapixel camera compared to the Lumina's 8 megapixel one. Like the Lumina 900, the Titan II's hardware is partially dictated by its operating system. Windows phone's 7.2 doesn't support dual core processors, which are found in many Android devices and the iPhone 4S. Likewise, both phones have less RAM than the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and less storage than the top-end iPhone or Galaxy Nexus. But as I said in my Lumina 900 tear down, higher hardware specifications don't always translate into better performance. Windows phones 7.5 was designed to run well on single core CP use and on 512 megs of RAM, and given my experience with the Titan II and the Lumina 900, it does. At $199 with a two-year contract, the Titan II is more expensive than the $99 Lumina 900. You'll have to decide if the larger screen and higher megapixel camera are worth it. Now to see more Titan II teardown photos, checkout my full cracking open gallery at tech republic dot com forward slash cracking open. For CNET and Tech Republic, I'm Bill Detweiler, and this has been a cracking open of the HTC Titan II.

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