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HTC Touch p3450, the ElfBy HTC Corp.MGN Rating - (IMG:http://www.mobilegadgetnews.com/modules/Reviews/images/blue.gif) (IMG:http://www.mobilegadgetnews.com/modules/Reviews/images/blue.gif) (IMG:http://www.mobilegadgetnews.com/modules/Reviews/images/blue.gif) (IMG:http://www.mobilegadgetnews.com/modules/Reviews/images/blue.gif) (IMG:http://www.mobilegadgetnews.com/modules/Reviews/images/blue.gif) Rating Legend
1 star: Find something else; save your money
2 star: Below average; not recommended
3 star: Average; performs as advertised but not inspiring
4 star: Good; worth the money
5 star: Great; best of its kind on the market
Review by runningtigerReview Date / July 23rd, 2007I have been asked to do a review of HTC’s Touch and then a follow-along series of getting to know and use it. First things first - I am not a professional reviewer. I am just an average Joe, like you, looking to get the most bang for my buck and not end up being let down by a device that is sweet to look at but does not really deliver the promise. Most of us have been there and done that. I think the Touch is good for first timers as well as seasoned users and so delivers mightily. Read on and see if you agree…
Certainly you have already noticed I have given the Touch the most stars MGN will let me. Let me start off by saying five stars is a hefty rating for this little device. And therein lies why I feel justified giving it 5 stars, defined as “Great; best of its kind on the market”. I believe it to be the only one of it’s kind on the market. Yes, there are other phones that use a touch screen interface. Has anyone heard of the iPhone? There is also the LG Prada that fits this description. I have not seen either of these other devices up close but have read plenty about both of them. However, the Touch is the only one of the three that runs Windows Mobile (the latest incarnation, WM6), therefore making it the only one of it’s kind on the market. If you are already familiar with earlier Windows Mobile devices, then the Touch is enough similar to make transitioning to a newer device painless. If you are not familiar with Windows Mobile, or Smartphones/Pocket PC in general, then this is a user friendly enough device to make transitioning from your Razor – or, what have you – relatively painless.
I have read plenty of reviews of the Touch, and inevitably (it seems) they eventually somewhere try to compare it to the iPhone. In Windows Mobile circles there always seems to be mention of other higher-spec devices to compare it to. I am going to talk about what the Touch IS, rather than what it IS NOT. It is not an iPhone and it is not a high spec device for road warriors or power users.
What it is…is a very small and attractive Pocket PC. I have had it in my hands since Thursday and have been showing it to just about everybody. The initial reaction, almost universally, seems to be “Cool!” People are not intimidated by this device the way many have been of more traditional Pocket PCs past and present (and judging from what is coming over the near horizon, I predict future devices as well). An alternative has been the Smartphone, which has a smaller screen and so less of a WoW! factor, but many appreciated that these devices looked more like “normal” cellular phones. The Pocket PC variant has had a strong “Geek factor” associated with it and therefore many potential users looked away immediately. They just could not see themselves carrying a rather large “Geek box” around. The device just was not “cool”.
Until now, one has had to choose form over function, or function over form. With the Touch, you get both! Now, at long last, there is a Pocket PC option for users that have wanted more from their phone than traditional cellular phones have offered AND a larger screen option than Smartphones have offered.
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Number of downloads: 265Speaking of the screen, the large 2.8” screen consumes most of the front of the Touch. Other than the screen, there is very little else to distract one’s eyes away from that large beautiful bright screen. At first glance, only one other thing on the front of the phone is really noticeable and that is a 4-way directional thumb pad dressed in a brushed/satiny metallic color. Looking closer, you’ll also see the green and red place a call/end a call buttons and at the top a little mesh screen covers the earpiece and lights that indicate the phone is on (and/or charging) and if BlueTooth and/or WiFi is on/off. The mesh screen gives it a bit of a hipper non-stodgy appearance. And, of course, there is also the HTC logo (more on that later). So, the Touch is very sleek looking. That is the word I kept hearing over and over again…sleek. In your hand, it feels like that perfect stone you search for at waters edge to skip across the pond that fits so perfectly in your hand. In your pocket, well, you hardly notice it at all. Weighing in at just less than 4 ounces means you can use the built-in lanyard/strap holder to dangle the Touch around your neck and it is not a pain in the neck to do so!
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Number of downloads: 264On the top of the Touch there is a power button, on the left side a volume slider, and on the right a well hidden stylus plus a dedicated camera button (user setup allows you to change the application you want to launch with this button if the camera is not your highest priority). The back side has a 2.0 Mega Pixel camera with a tiny little self-portrait mirror and a small (but, relatively powerful) speaker - also covered in mesh. That is it. That is the clean, not cluttered, impossibly slim little HTC Touch. Yes, with it’s soft velvety exterior it appeals to the sense of touch, but with it’s eye-candy good looks it also is very easy on the eyes. Two thumbs way up as far as I am concerned!
Under the hood there is not too much new other than it is running the latest version of Windows Mobile, WM6. Meaning it has great integration with your PC for syncing your contact list, email, calendar, tasks, music, etc. That is one of the main attractions of a Windows Mobile device to begin with!
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Number of downloads: 250Wait a minute, did I say not much new? Actually, HTC has come up with a completely new system they call TouchFlo. This is a user-friendly interface that does not scare people away, rather it draws them in! Just placing your thumb (or finger, whichever is more comfortable to use) on the HTC logo on the front of the phone and swiping upwards calls up “the cube” as it’s been nicknamed in certain circles. This cube has three sides and a thumb swipe left or right rotates the cube to one of it's other sides. Very cool! One side of the cube offers up easy links to email and SMS/MMS, Internet, your tasks and calendar, and lastly the communications manager (where you can easily turn on/off the phone and change from ringer to vibrate mode, access phone settings like ring tones etc., turn on/off BlueTooth and WiFi, disconnect from a data connection, initiate ActiveSync, and easily toggle between automatically receiving and/or manually retrieving Outlook emails (if you have Microsoft Direct Push setup). Another side is your media hub and gives you quick access to your music, photos, and videos. And the third side is for your “favorite 9” from your contacts list. Attach photos to your favorite contacts and you have got a very nice visual speed dialer.
People seem to get this cube thing very instinctively and immediately they were pressing the large finger friendly on-screen buttons to bring up the most commonly used applications. I have handed my prior Pocket PC to people and they just stared at it, having no idea what to do with it. Once I showed off the TouchFlo, everyone was off and running.
Experienced Pocket PC users may find the TouchFlo system gimmicky and avoid it all together. That’s fine, it’s very much out of sight, out of mind. But, for the newcomer, it definitely seems to make things a lot easier. Plus, it is cool to look at. The designers have put together a very appealing package.
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Number of downloads: 243Part of that package is a new Audio Manager to play your music files in place of the standard Windows Media Player. Windows Media Player is still on board, if that is your player of choice. But, again, the large finger friendly buttons of the new Audio Manager will make many a convert.
Finally, the Touch also comes with a Today homescreen plug-in that utilizes three tabs. The first is “home” and it shows a VERY large digital clock that when touched brings up the screen for setting alarms and other clock options. There are also status indicators for unread emails, SMS/MMS messages, and missed phone calls. Simply pressing on any one of these takes you to the appropriate list (email accounts, SMS/MMS inbox, and calls list respectively). The next tab is a fantastic looking 5-day weather forecast and current temperature for the customized locale of your choice (or, a nearby larger metro area if your specific town is not available). The default view for this tab is the current (or, most recently downloaded) conditions. Swiping your finger across the weather display (or, simply touching it) will bring up the remaining four days forecast showing expected conditions (sunny, cloudy, rainy etc.) and the forecasted highs and lows. The graphics are very eye catching. The last tab is a launcher screen for 9 of your most used/favorite/quick access applications. It does not have to be an application however. Anything available to you in the start menu can be added to the launcher. For instance, if you make shortcuts to your playlists and put them in a folder on your start menu, you can have instant access to the playlist of your choice.
The bottom half of the Today Screen remains available for standard Today Plugins like tasks, calendar, Windows Live Search etc.
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Number of downloads: 257The Touch is a very nicely designed device that is user friendly in a way unlike any Pocket PC that preceded it. The diminutive size and weight (lack of!) make it a pleasure to carry. The inexperienced can use it "as is" right out of the box and more experienced users can customize, and customize, and customize.
There are plenty of very detailed techy reviews out there. That was not the goal here. I intend to share how I use the Touch and what the hits and misses are as I see them. Check this space and follow along for the next week or so and I will take you through the basics (and, some not so basics) of using the Touch to it’s fullest. I will discuss the lack of a slide-out keyboard (is that a good or a bad thing), personalizing the Today screen, connecting to your home and/or office WiFi “hotspots”, take a look at the camera and media player and a few other goodies along the way. I hope you will have a better idea afterwards if the Touch will be your next (or first!) Windows Mobile device and just what it can (and can’t) do for you.
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