HTC Touch Review - Features

Touch is, in some ways, the most advanced Windows Mobile 6 smartphone on the market. I say this because the extensive functionality of WM6 Professional is added to by the utility of the TouchFlo interface and the addition of Sprint's multimedia offerings. Honestly, Touch would be all the more useful if it had a physical keypad of some sort for time when the touchscreen just doesn't cut it - primarily for text input. Word is a GSM variant - the Touch Dual - will soon address this issue with a slide-down keypad. Whether or not the Dual with make it to Sprint remains to be seen.

But Touch is here now on Sprint and it's got a lot going for it. The benefits of WM6 Professional - from HTML email to mobile office document creation to enterprise support for syncing and device management - have been well documented elsewhere, so let's look instead at what makes Touch unique.

TouchFlo is basically a customized layer of user interface optimized for stylus-free use on a touchscreen. A revamped home screen provides a clean, attractive grid with a giant clock arrayed above one-touch access to messages, call lists, application shortcuts, and weather info. You can touch various items to dig deeper into their menus and features, or place a finger or thumb at the center of the screen's bottom edge and drag straight up - this activates a cube-like 3D interface. From this screen, you swipe left or right to cycle through three menus: Applications, Contacts, and Sprint Power Vision, the latter offering access to the carrier's premium subscription services including Sprint TV and Sprint Music.

The interface is great - a huge step up in terms of usability and simplicity from the standard Windows Mobile install. Clean grids with big icons and readable text make for easy access to the stuff you use most - messaging, Web, and phone settings. Where Touch lacks a bit is what happens once you get into those applications. While tapping and finger sweeping work well (though I had to be deliberate when it came to sweeps), touchscreen typing or even clicking on smallish icons or Web hotlinks is just a bit more difficult than it should be on this device - all the moreso (here it comes) if you've ever used an iPhone.

Since I invoked the i-word just then, let's be fair and talk about all the things that Touch does that possibly no other touchscreen-centric handset in the world can do. If you're willing to pay for it, you can download music and watch TV and movies over Sprint's Power Vision network. The Music Store is soon to get a much needed visual overhaul (or so rumor has it), but offers an extensive catalog at great prices nonetheless. And you can download music right over Sprint's cellular network - no need for an open WiFi signal. And speaking of networks, Sprint's made it easy to use Touch as a broadband modem to get your laptop online via EV-DO - try doing that with an iPhone. Yeah, you can't.

Sprint TV is cool, but I'm still not a big fan. Quality is usually so-so, and I had particular problems getting the service to work on my Touch loaner. Whether it was the device or Sprint's coverage in the Berkeley-Oakland area, I spent an entire twenty-minute bus ride home from work trying to load some programming and never watched a single frame. I have used the service on other Sprint devices in the same neck of the woods with better results, but I'm still not sold on mobile TV just yet.

The On Demand service, on the other hand, is excellent. I've written about it before, so I'll spare you the long version here. On Demand provides quick snippets of info customized to your locale (set by entering your zip code). It's excellent. And oh yeah, there's integrated GPS as well, for optional navigation and other LBS services.

And then there's all that 3G-enhanced data goodness. The promise of free, open WiFi whenever you go has not yet been fulfilled, and as such there's a lot to be said for smartphones with 3G compatibility. Sprint's EV-DO network is generally excellent for Web browsing and email use, and the WM6 operating system underpinning the TouchFLO enhancements supports full HTML Web browsing and Email. For best results I recommend installing Opera Mobile (or Opera Mini) and using it for Web browsing instead of the pre-installed Internet Explorer. Opera provides a far better browsing experience than IE, hands down.

HTC built Touch with a two megapixel camera with a self-portrait mirror but no LED assist light. The camera’s performance was lacking a little, despite such accoutrements as 5x zoom and a bunch of image settings. Still images captured in natural light and well-lit indoor conditions looked okay, but many shots suffered from strange tints and less than accurate colors.

Video capture on Touch worked fairly well for a camera phone, but also suffered from some image quality issues. Videos may be captured with or without sound in MPEG 4, M-JPEG, or H.263 formats and one of two resolutions. Images and video clips are easily attached and sent off with Emails or MMS messages over Sprint's network.

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