Goodbye Fuze, Hello Aria!
Fuze, I hardly knew ye. Actually, I knew ye very well. You served me admirably for, nigh, on two years. You were my first smartphone. You introduced me to the wonderful world of mobile technology and the great folks at mobilitydigest.com. I have learned so much from you. And my blogging career began because of you.
But when I saw the Aria, I just couldn’t resist. My love for the Fuze was based largely on its small footprint and the Aria took high-performance functioning in a small package to a new level (for a full review, visit Engadget).
The real kicker in my move to the Aria is that it runs, OMG!, Android instead of Windows Mobile. The reality is that I had taken WM 6.5 as far as it could go. I haven’t flashed since April because NRG hasn’t made any major changes to his amazing ROMs. And Cookie Monster’s Home Tab mod made my Fuze simply perfect for my aesthetic and functional needs.
The Aris and its Android innards do perform extremely well. Though only a 600MHz processor, the bench tests rate it as fast as the 1GHz Snapdragon. And my experience is that it is blazing fast. Everything else isn’t that different in terms of moving around the device. The Android Market is rich with free apps that have completed replaced all of my apps on my Fuze. There are some adjustments to be made, but nothing that has caused buyer’s remorse.
Does this mean that I have become a Google Android ‘bot and am against Windows in the future. Not exactly. Under the tutelage of Doug Simmons, the resident Googl/Android guru, I am transitioning from Outlook (email, contacts, calendars) to the Google cloud. But I leave open to the possibility of returning to the MS fold if WP7 turns out to be a winner (unlike the Kin brothers). Because the Aria is such a simple and functional phone (dare I say, iPhone like), if AT&T makes a small and beautiful WP7 phone, I’ll give the Aria to my wife (unlike the Fuze, it is simple and totally reliable).
So goodbye Fuze and thanks for everything you have done for me. And welcome Aria. I look forward to a (somewhat) long and rewarding relationship with you.
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I too, am a Fuze owner and a big fan of NRG. Although I’m not ready to make the switch myself just yet, I am thinking about the Aria for my wife as her old Motorola Z9 is on it’s last leg (half the numbers don’t work). Her AT&T contract is up in a couple of weeks and she needs a new one fast. Keep us updated on your thoughts of the Aria. You never know, I may join the ‘Droid “rage” myself.
I think your wife would like the Aria. I’ll keep you posted.
I had a Fuze, (NRG version of course.) Now I have a Tilt 2 (Also a NRGZ28 Cookie Monster Creation) I am thinking that I will be going Android if AT&T pulls their collective heads out, and figures out that they should be taking Android more seriously. yes, there is a world outside of Iphone. People want more high end Androids. (Evo, Incredible, etc…) I am Not at ALL impressed with what I have seen of WP7 so far. Not to mention Steve “The Phone Nazi” Jobs.
i want to like the aria, but it is just not a big enough step up from the fuze. i’m holding out for the samsung captivate.
@stefymarty: The Captivate is HUGE! Just a different animal than the Aria. To love the Aria, you have to love its footprint.
I once had a FUZE myself. Oh how i looked at it when i got the hd2. So very small. And then I got a hold of a mytouch slide.. Oh dear, how that android os flies. I looked at my hd2 and looked at my mytouch slide… If only the hd2 had that operating system. Im not going to sprint.
But if tmobile ends up with a high end android phone, I’m grabbing it. Oh android os, you are what i wanted winmo to be like. So i gave the mytouch slide to my other line and kept the hd2. LOL! Just that fact that “my screen is bigger than yours”
I was wondering if you were ever interested in the Samsung Galaxy S phones? (especially the Pro version which features the slide out keyboard w Samsung’s 1ghz hummingbird processor)
I’m hoping to get my hands on the Pro version at some point or time to replace my Fuze. I want that front facing camera for maybe something in the future. Maybe AT&T will bring in their galaxy S version the slide out keyboard soon.
Side Note: was that you on XDA’s Aria forum?
As a Fuze Owner (NRG Cookie), i’m glad that you are having a happy experience with it. The Aria is kind of my all back in case the Captivate turns out to be a dud and nothing else higher end is announced. More than anything else i just want a bigger screen.
i used an aria for about a week just to farmiliarize myself with an htc android product (we wont talk about the backflip) i was thoroughly impressed with it, the keyboard out of box was actually manageable without swype and the google and facebook integration (as well as integration of alot of other services im sure i didnt use) was second to none, camera was very decent and even though the screen is smaller than the hd2 and whatnot, it wasnt a lot smaller than my tp2 screen and was very clear. blazingly fast for only a 600mhz processor and on the keyboard right on the left of the spacebar there is a little microphone button, press it and it will ask you to speak, say what you want to type and voila it appears on the screen a mere second later.. and its almost always right, in using that microphone button 20 times, 19 times it was correct, and were not talking three word quips, “meet me at the gas station in 20 minutes” “come over my house later tonight” doesnt matter what it was, even cities… im still not sure if i was more impressed by HTC or android but either way the aria is definately a sick phone…