HTC Touch review: Smart to touch the spot

HTC Touch 360-degree spin

Smart both ways

The surprisingly compact HTC Touch is the smallest PocketPC, measuring the respectable 99.9 mm in height, still keeping its slimness to 13.9 mm. The 112 g weight is the only indication of the load of features this gadget is carrying. Neonode N1 is the only Windows-based smartphone to beat the Touch in height with its 88 mm, but this comes at the expense of the significant 21 mm thickness. Stylish exterior and rounded edges make HTC Touch a contemporary device, somewhat of a crossover between conservative Windows Mobile smartphones and design-centered handsets. The HTC Touch is pretty comfortable to hold in hand and working with it was a pleasure.

The HTC Touch is pretty comfortable in hand • compared to iPhone, another touch operated device

Like most of the brand's recent models, the 201 MHz TI OMAP 850 is the power plant of this Pocket PC. The hardware specs reveal the meager 64MB of RAM and 128MB of ROM.

Some of the HTC Touch hardware specs, as reported by Windows Mobile

The front panel is dominated by the 2.8" 65K color touchscreen TFT display. It supports QVGA (320x240 pixels) resolution. Above the display is the earpiece grill, which also serves a status LED indicating network coverage, battery charging, Bluetooth on, etc.

The front panel is dominated by the large touchscreen display

The large and comfortable D-pad below the display is the next thing to draw attention. On both sides are the implicit call and end keys. The thin oblong keys only differ from one another by the green and red backlighting on each of them.

The D-pad looks cool and is very comfortable • projecting over the front panel the Call and End keys are equal in shape

The left side of the HTC Touch hosts only the volume control slider. It is really hard to slide up or down unless you use a nail.

"...Stylish exterior and rounded edges make HTC Touch a contemporary device, somewhat of a crossover between conservative Windows Mobile smartphones and design-centered handsets. The HTC Touch is pretty comfortable to hold in hand and working with it was a pleasure..."

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The left side hosts the sliding volume rocker

On the right side only the dedicated camera key is to be seen. When the phone is in power-saving mode, the only way to start the camera is to first bring the phone back to standby by pressing the power button, and then press the camera key. Most of the ornamental silver trim on the right side serves as a cover for the SIM and microSD card slots. Unfortunately, to remove the cap and access the slots the back cover has to be released first. Both the SIM and memory card slot have a quick-release mechanism, which pops the cards out. At the upper corner is the slot for the stylus, which is the regular non-telescopic one we're used to seeing on recent HTC devices.

The right side is home to the camera key, the SIM and microSD slots

The top side of the HTC Touch features the On/Off key. The bottom side hosts the standard miniUSB port, the lanyard eyelet, the microphone pinhole and the reset hole.

The top with the On/Off key topside • the bottom is home to the miniUSB port and the microphone

The back panel of the device is made of matt plastic with a somewhat rubbery feel to it. It provides a firm grip, and doesn't catch fingerprints easily. However, once it gets smudged with fingerprints over time, it's really hard to clean it up and return its new looks back. Beside the camera lens and the self-portrait mirror, which also is a cover for the external antenna connector, there is a round loudspeaker grill.

The back is made of plastic with a rubbery finish • next to the camera there is a round loudspeaker grill

Removing the battery cover reveals only the 1100 mAh Li-Ion battery. It's quoted at 200 h of standby time and up to 5 hours of talk time. In reality the handset lasts around two days with a single charge when used heavily. Otherwise, it lasts for the good 4 days.

The Li-Ion 1100 mAh battery offers good performance