HTC Touch Review - Introduction & Design

Introduction & Design

Introduction
To be fair, HTC was developing the Touch long before Apple's iPhone hit the market. But iPhone came to market first and quickly became the gold standard for a new breed of mobile devices marked by giant touchscreens and smartphone functionality combined with mainstream usability. As such, it's really impossible not to consider iPhone when using or reviewing Touch.

So I'll do my best to look at the Sprint-branded Touch both as a next-gen Windows Mobile smartphone built with a finger-friendly touchscreen and refined UI, and as an "iPhone alternative" in the newly burgeoning world of mainstream-friendly, multimedia-centric handsets. As the former, Touch is one of the best, easiest to use Windows Mobile devices around so long as you don't need to type on it. Touch fits easily in one hand, and the combination of a flush-mounted hard plastic touchscreen and the Sprint-enhanced TouchFlo UI makes it much easier to use without a stylus than any other WM device I've ever tried - including the GSM Touch previously released as an unlocked device by HTC. Beware, however, Touch's virtual QWERTY board. While it's better than the standard WM onscreen layout, it isn't really all that usable for thumb typing - I wound up reaching for the stylus every time I tapped out a message.

From the iPhone alternative perspective, Touch is less expensive and more extendable than iPhone but it really can't hold a candle to Apple's darling when it comes to overall hardware and software design. iPhone's multitouch screen and user interface are head and shoulders above Touch when it comes to touching, typing, flicking, and pinching your way around Web sites, Inboxes, and multimedia content. Still, Windows Mobile offers things that Apple's OS X doesn't, and Sprint's 3G network offers speed and accessibility that AT&T's Edge network can't (even backed by iPhone's WiFi capabilities). So Touch is worth a look whether you're considering an iPhone or a more user-friendly Windows Mobile experience.

And I should say, it's funny ... I've read a review or two written by folks who swear Touch bests iPhone for usability, specifically in the realm of using the touchscreen. I disagree. Wholeheartedly, even. But, hey, I mention it just to say that we all have different preferences and usage patterns - so what I prefer about iPhone's screen design and response might be exactly what draws you to Touch instead.

Design
HTC has made a name for themselves building solid smartphones with imminently usable QWERTY thumbboards and business-ready feature sets. But where their last Sprint device, the Mogul, put a button just about everywhere you could possibly want one no matter how you were using the phone, there's nary a button to be found on Touch. Departing from the tried and true formula of a touchscreen combined with a horizontal slide-out QWERTY board and softkeys everywhere, Touch instead is sleek and simple. You get a D-pad and Call/Cancel keys on the front, a couple of buttons on the edges, and that's it. No QWERTY board, and no oodles of programmable softkeys.

Measuring just 101 x 59 x 14 mm, Touch was also built with a shorter, wider, slimmer body that fits comfortably into the palm of one hand and can be used one-handed with your thumb manning either the D-Pad or touchscreen. Weighing only 114 g, Touch is also plenty light enough for extended one handed use. A side-mounted rocker switch controls volume and there's a power button along the top edge. A mini-USB port on the right edge and the camera lens and speaker on the back round out Touch's minimalist design. Unfortunately, the microSD memory card slot is hidden beneath the back panel by the battery. While you don't have to remove the battery to get to the card, a side-mounted port would have made life with Touch much easier.

The compact, rubberized body is sleek and easy to hold, and the black and dark grey color scheme definitely sets Touch apart from the pack when it comes to WM devices. Where other HTC handsets like Tilt and Mogul are all business in a high-tech executive sort of way, Touch has more of a mysterious executive bent to it. You can pull Touch out of a breast pocket and check messages or view a document with a few swipes of your thumb - advanced functionality demands two-hands and/or the stylus, but many tasks can be accomplished on the down low with a single hand.

On its own merits, Touch deserves praise for its style, innovation, and user interface (which we'll get to in a moment). And then there's the iPhone comparison. Touch's flush-mount, hard-plastic display is far more finger-friendly and scratch-proof than the standard soft-membrane touchscreen but it's not on par with iPhone's hard glass display in terms of performance or durability. Tapping and sliding work pretty well once you get used to the handset, but there's no pinching, zooming here and while two thumbed typing can be a reality on iPhone with practice, it ain't gonna happen on Touch. You'll be hunting and pecking on Touch's virtual QWERTY pad - I found typing with the stylus much less frustrating than trying to do it with my thumb, in fact.

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