Well guys, I don’t think Apple iPhone is the only thing we have at the moment to talk about. As we are nearing the Apple iPhone’s release date, we are witnessing a number of companies dropping chic and feature packed handsets to rival the iPhone. The not-so-long list of iPhone competitors includes the LG Prada, Sony Ericsson W960 Walkman phone, Meizu M8 miniOne, Helio Ocean, and yes, the HTC Touch that is going to be launched officially just before the iPhone hits the shelves. Currently, the HTC Touch is claimed to be the most touted competitor to iPhone. The nice-looking PDA-cum-smartphone boasts an innovative touch screen and sleek interface. The most tempting inclusion is the ‘TouchFLO’ touch screen technology that has been developed by HTC itself. The HTC Touch comes in two colors, the black and wasabi green. Expected to cost $600. Let’s take a close look at the pros and cons of the new HTC Touch.
GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900 network
Innovative TouchFlo technology based on Windows Mobile 6 Professional
TI OMAP 850 processor, 128MB ROM, 64MB DDR RAM
2-megapixel camera
1GB microSD card, 802.11b/g WiFi, and Bluetooth
2.8-inch 320 x 240 QVGA touch-sensitive screen
Support for Direct Push Email and HTML emails
Excellent music playback, Stereo Bluetooth headphones
Touch screen phones are all rage these days and the HTC Touch is yet another entrant into this family. Although, it flaunts an innovative touch screen and smooth interface, I don’t find its design anywhere close to that of the sexy iPhone. The compact HTC Touch measures 99.9 x 58 x 13.9 mm and weighs just 112 grams. It feels great to hold the phone in hands, thanks to the rubbery soft-touch finishing. A chrome strip around the edges adds further to the over-all looks of the phone.
The unique design of the phone makes the screen look a bit larger than actual. On turning the Touch round, you will find a 2-megapixel camera. But, its matte black finish showa hell lot of fingerprints and it feels like it has been in use for months. The screen is brighter and sharper than any other Windows Mobile Professional and Standard phones.
Anyway, it’s sleek, sexy, somewhat beautifully designed, and is the smallest Windows Mobile Professional phone in the market.
The most prominent feature of the touch is an overlaying GUI called ‘TouchFLO’ that offers a similar experience to that of the iPhone. Developed by HTC itself, it lets you use you use the tip of your finger to control many tasks on the phone. You have the option of using stylus too. All you need to do is to swipe your thumb upward from bottom to top that will display TouchFLO GUI, which you can navigate through by rotating it like a cube with your thumb. The TouchCube UI (three-dimensional, cubic user interface) has three panels. Did they forget the number of sides of a cube? Lolz...
Once the TouchCube UI is activated, you will find three thumb friendly screens. The first screen offers a grid of 3 x 3 that helps you add photo icons to your most used contacts. The second panel has a 2 x 3 grid that link to Email, SMS/MMS, Internet Explorer, Tasks, Communication Manager and Calendar. Finally, the third screen is a media screen that offers quick access to Music, Photos and Videos.
Simply slide your thumb from ‘left to right’ or ‘right to left’ across the screen to browse through the three screens. You will simply like the transition between the three screens.
If we really wish to talk about the impressive features of the touch, we should better take it as just a Windows mobile phone rather than an iPhone’s competitor. It’s not doubt a smart looking phone and offers some cool features that score over other any other Windows Mobile Professional and Standard phones. Here are a few of the things, which I think will be liked by the customers.
Superb battery life as per Windows Mobile Professional standards
A beautifully designed compact phone for those who want superior application in their PDA
Music playback quality is impressive via stereo Bluetooth headphones
Rubbery finish of the phone feels great in hands
Cool new 3D sweep interface
Large 2.8 inch bright touch screen
Bluetooth and 802.11b/g WiFi runs smooth
The list of bad things about the Touch is unfortunately quite longer. There are a number of downsides which will make the customers think ten times before going for the Touch. Here we go.
It’s pain to enter text with its small onscreen keyboard
Worst positioning of SIM card and microSD slots
Lack of 3G, like the Apple iPhone
Its 2-megapixel camera with fixed focus is good for nothing. No flash or CMOS sensor
Matt black casing shows too much fingerprints
TouchFLO interface is cool but has limited applications
Other than the three thumb friendly screens, Touch has nothing that is impressive
Music player doesn’t support too many formats (Not meant for music nerds simply)
Video playback quality sucks
Need to remove battery cover everytime you need to access the MicroSD card slot
NOT an iPhone competitor at all
HTC Touch is undeniably good-looking, light, compact, and is one of the best Windows Mobile phones we have encountered earlier. The touchscreen interface is fairly impressive along with the integrated Bluetooth and Wi-Fi that takes care of connectivity in the absence of 3G. But, considering the long list of drawbacks of the Touch, I won’t give it more than 5 out of 10. Not recommended if you are taking it as an iPhone rival.
Engadget: We love the way this thing feels, it’s easily the slickest, most caressable keyboard-free device HTC has produced to date. It’s still a Windows Mobile phone beneath the hood though, you’ll know as soon as you drill down into the apps, but we think the unraised bezel and solid glass face is a very positive sign of things to come from future touchscreen (HTC) devices.
Gizmodo: No, this is not an iPhone killer. It’s not even close to being an iPhone killer. The TouchFLO app-which is the majority of where your touching is going to take place-is just a fancy launcher app on top of the Today street. Once you get past there and into the meat of Windows Mobile 6, there’s not much touching to be had.
CNet: The HTC Touch boasts an innovative touch screen and sleek interface, but the lack of a sizable keyboard really limits the usability of this device.
MobileTechReview: The HTC Touch is a beautiful, very small PDA phone, something we just about never get to say. It’s the perfect phone for style conscious buyers who need a PDA’s features and advanced functions, but don’t want to carry an ugly brick.
JavoEdgeBlog: What a disappointment. HTC’s Touch is undeniably a smart-looking phone, but while it’s a stunner in pictures, in your hands it quickly becomes a fingerprint-plastered mess. Yes, it offers some neat touch-control improvements on the standard Windows Mobile 6 user interface, but for all the fancy visuals, it’s no iPhone.
Thanks: YouTube
