Review: HTC Rhyme for Verizon Wireless
Screen
The Rhyme has a 3.7-inch display that packs in the standard 480 x 800 pixels. It looks great. Colors are rich and text, icons, and graphics are smooth. Finding rough, pixelated edges anywhere is a challenge. Indoors, it looks fantastic, and outside it was surprisingly readable. It isn't stunning, but it is usable, and that's more than I can say for most displays when out catching some sun.
Signal
Signal performance was iffy with the Rhyme. Sitting on my desk, it captured two bars where other phones would get three or four. The Rhyme stayed connected firmly to Verizon's network, though it did drop down to Verizon's older 1xRTT network several times. It didn't drop any calls, nor did it miss any. Some data sessions stalled out when loading web pages in areas that showed less coverage, though. There's no LTE 4G in this phone.
Sound
Voice calls placed through the HTC Rhyme sounded good for the most part. They had a warm tone, and were generally free of interference and noise. The earpiece is capable of producing enough volume that calls can be heard over the din of a household or blaring TV. The loudest environments — bars or restaurants, construction sites, etc. — will overwhelm the Rhyme's earpiece. Call quality over the speakerphone was also good, though I noticed a bit more noise. Volume was acceptable, but not loud enough for a busy office. Ringers and alert tones could be set loud enough that you won't miss calls, but the vibrate alert was anemic.
Battery
I was pleased with the Rhyme's battery life — which basically means it didn't die on me during the middle of the day. The Rhyme can easily pace itself through a long day's use. It won't last two days, though, and probably not more than 1.5 days. Using the illuminated charm didn't appear to have any impact on battery life. Bottom line, you're going to need to keep an eye on the battery strength indicator on the second day if you don't charge every night.
HTC Rhyme for Verizon Focuses On Usability and Reason
HTC Rhyme
