[Reid Kistler]

Comments on MobileTechReview's Fuze review:


tap at it with a finger or stylus while it's flat (flattish) on the table and it wobbles a bit.

Hadn't noticed this until the review pointed it out – but if you push down on any corner the unit will wobble. If you have a light touch you should be able to use the on-screen phone “buttons” to dial a number without any perceptible wobbling – but honestly cannot say that have ever used either a phone or my Axim with unit flat on a table.


On the AT&T version the on-screen dialer appears when you select the phone app since it's somewhat distracting to Fn your way into dialing a 10 digit number.

As mentioned in the review, keyboard layout is largely a matter of personal taste – and personally LIKE the numeric layout on the Fuze: two taps on the FN key lock you into numeric mode & the traditional phone key layout then makes entering numbers a snap, whether for phone dialing or within a document.

There is also a handy little FN light that turns green when you are in FN mode.

Would have to agree that entering a long sequence that MIXED numbers & letters would be more of a pain on the Fuze keyboard, but fact of the matter is that does not seem a frequent usage.

Also, would seldom use the horizontal orientation to make a phone call – but if you don't like the on-screen keyboard a simple touch removes it, leaving you free to view the full width of your call history – and to use the hardware keyboard for entry.


AT&T loads the Fuze with more software and branding than does Sprint on the Touch Pro.

Have to take reviewers word as to the Sprint version, but AT&T DOES load a bunch of junk on the Fuze. You can avoid looking at a lot of it – once you figure out where NOT to go – and especially if you defeat the TouchFlo interface. Still this is annoying as it forces you to take time to decide what (if anything) to do about it (Should I remove THIS application? Or might it prove useful at some later date?) - and then even more time to actually do it.
(Hmmm: and it does appear that a bunch of it is simply "built in" - will have to do more research on that!)

Have yet to Accidentally press the Push To Talk button, but it does indeed present you with an “Activate PTT? Yes – or – No” screen – that offers NO insight into what PTT does or whether or not there is a cost associated with it. (Have read that you can DEFEAT the PTT button, but NOT remap it.)


The Fuze has good performance for a phone that's running TouchFLO 3D

Had some initial problems with performance, especially with Text Messaging. Defeated TouchFLO and found no improvement: however then did a Soft Reset & everything seemed fine. Even after re-activating the TouchFLO interface the Fuze remained snappy in all sampled applications. (Have not played with Video beyond playing a short pre-installed sample; have used WiFi & found it better than Axim, although that should be expected as Axim is only an 11b device.)


There's no incoming audio distortion or buzzing, though we did hear a little echo on our end

Not noticed on ALL calls, but have found a bit of echo on some. Phone performance seems fine overall, although not yet used to the lower “signal bars” level yet (purportedly a more realistic measure of the actual signal than most cell phones provide).
Have not yet used Voice Command, nor GPS – although liked review's hints on GPS usage.

Have hardly ever used the camera on any of the phones we've had, but took sample picture with Fuze & it looked pretty good.


Battery Life

Review comments agree with my experience thus far.

Note that “1.5 days” can be trouble if you happen to be on the road without a car charger.


Conclusion / Pro / Con

Felt these were mostly on target.

Again, have YET to accidentally active the PTT button – perhaps simply have a 'lighter touch' than others – and also rather like the numeric keyboard layout.

The Gray TouchFLO theme is not UNattractive, but am also surprised that other options were not included with the unit.

Finally, coming from a PPC PLUS Cell Phone background – and with no real prior experience with “Smartphones” - it should be noted that the COMBINATION of Phone & PPC functionality means re-learning habits for best productivity: Spending some time with the manual and / or Practice reveals ways to get thing done that are not “obvious.”
Still keep finding self stuck into either “Phone” OR “PPC” mode (Mentally...) and thus forgetting that there are often controls for EACH available...