Introduction

As its name makes clear, the focus with the HTC Touch is on the touch screen. The compact, professional looking Windows Mobile smartphone is offered by Sprint and from the simple design of the phone to the unique Touch Cube interface, many features highlight the TouchFLO technology in the screen.

The simple hardware design generally gives users all they need, although the only keypad available is on the touch screen and it is small. Fortunately, there is a QWERTY keypad layout available which could keep some users from reaching for the stylus that comes with the phone. Overall, the screen is very responsive to finger taps and swipes, although occasionally the need to keep tapping repeatedly to press a button on the screen can be frustrating.

While the highlight of this phone is the touch screen, some other features - notably the sound quality - are just okay. But for users looking for a practical, professional smart phone, the Touch has a lot to offer.

It does fall short when compared with Apple's iPhone, on which the interface is much more intuitive, aesthetically attractive and simple to use. The iPhone's larger screen makes better use of the touch screen feature, giving users the opportunity to accomplish more through a touch of the finger - no stylus needed.

The Touch offers great potential for connectivity, with access to Sprint's high-speed EV-DO network, the ability to sync the phone with a PC and to use the phone as a modem for a PC, if the user is signed up for Sprint's Power Vision Modem Plan.

Design

Since the TouchFLO technology takes care of most of the operations on the Touch, HTC was able to keep the phone itself very simple. There are only three buttons on the front face of the phone: a green-lit talk key, a red-lit end key, and a large silver navigation and "enter" key between them. The multi-directional navigation part of this key allows users to move right, left, up and down, and then make a selection by pressing the "enter" key at the center. This key is convenient, and allows users to choose between touching the screen and using the key to navigate through some of the phone's functions. In terms of design, it makes the Touch a little chunkier than the sleeker iPhone navigation key, which is one simple button in the same location near the bottom of the phone.

The smooth black exterior of the phone seems well-made and does not pick up marks or scratches very easily. The surface is hard yet slightly rubbery to the touch, making it easy to grip. The touch screen avoids smudging relatively well, an important feat since users' fingers will come in contact with it a lot - unless they prefer to rely exclusively on the stylus.

A small power button sits on the top left side of the phone, and the small, square earpiece - combined with the notification LEDs - is centered at the top of the phone's face. These LEDs could be helpful, if users can remember the meanings associated with all the different lights. The left LED shows green and amber lights for standby, message, network and battery charging status. The right LED shows an amber light to indicate GPS status, and a flashing blue light when the Bluetooth system is powered up and ready to transmit a radio signal.

The stylus slides into a slot at the upper right corner of the phone, and in general it can be removed easily when the user pushes up on the small ledge on the stylus' head. Below the stylus on the right side of the phone is the storage card slot cover. Unfortunately, plugging in the tiny microSD card can be inconvenient because it requires the back to be removed and a flexible tab on the right side of the phone to be pulled out.

On the bright side, the back of the phone slides up easily in one motion to remove the battery or plug in the microSD card. Immediately below this long tab is the photo button.

There is a tiny reset button at the bottom of the phone, toward the right side, which can be used to soft reset the phone. Since the button is so small, the stylus must be used to do this. The micro-USB port sits in the middle of the bottom of the phone, between a reset button and the microphone, and it does not have a tab. This lack of a tab on the micro-USB port makes charging the device and connecting it to a PC very simple, especially for people who are frustrated by constantly having to fiddle with small tabs every time they charge their phones. Hopefully the uncovered port will not pick up dirt or get damaged.

To the left, at the bottom of the phone, is a small microphone. There is also a slot for a lanyard, and further up the left side of the phone is a volume slider that users can push up or down to adjust volume. The speaker, which is a small circle, is on the back of the phone. The 2.0-megapixel camera is also on the back of the phone, and the self-portrait mirror is just above the camera lens. This unique feature looks like a small silver button and while it isn't big enough to enough to check one's appearance, it does allow users to make sure they are positioned correctly to show up in a photo.

The Touch feels quite small in the hand and is more compact than Apple's iPhone, although the Touch is a little thicker. The Touch is 2.4-inches wide, 4-inches long and just 0.6-inches thick. By contrast, the iPhone is 2.4 inches wide, 4.5-inches tall and only 0.46-inches thick. The Touch is also a light phone, weighing in at 4 ounces.

The Touch is attractive on its own but if design is a top concern, the iPhone is still sleeker and more beautifully designed than the Touch.

Out of the box, the HTC Touch comes with the necessities and also some useful accessories. This includes a headset that plugs into the mini-USB port, a USB sync cable, a 2.5 mm headset adapter, a two mini-USB adapter, a microSD card, a stylus, a pouch, an LCD screen protector and a software installation CD for Microsoft ActiveSync 4.5, Windows Mobile Device Center, a user guide and 60-day trial for Microsoft Office Outlook.

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