It’s difficult to like Windows Mobile-based phones. Despite having huge power behind the scenes, the interface is fiddly to use, often sluggish and generally obtuse: eons away from the likes of the Palm Pre or iPhone. So we’re delighted to say that the Touch HD is actually an unprecedented joy to use.
There’s a huge expanse of screen real estate to play with for a start: it measures 3.8in across and has a staggering resolution of 800 x 480 – almost double the resolution of the iPhone. It looks truly glorious, and makes a real difference to the usability of both the operating system and the TouchFLO 3D interface that sits on top.
Plays nicely with the internet and the office
Cruising the internet is a particularly thrill: zooming in and out is easy thanks to the Opera Mobile browser, and there’s a handy zoom bar along the bottom of the screen. But the real revelation is being able to read headlines and other text while zoomed out. Plus, you can squeeze in far more email messages, map segments or, if you’re feeeling earnest, Excel data.
Admittedly, it can't match the iPhone's sheer ease of use and elegance of operation, but it's as close as any Windows Mobile phone we've seen. And for some, the full version of Office Mobile (able to create, edit and read Office 2007 documents) will swing the balance in the Touch’s favour.
Feature packed
The hardware’s pretty impressive too. There’s HSDPA for nippy browsing away form hotspots, assisted GPS for the inevitable getting, an accelerometer that rotates the screen when you turn the phone, plus Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and an FM radio. We’re also fans of haptic feedback (which gives a faint buzz whenever you press a link or button onscreen), making all your actions feel more positive.
Other thoughtful touches include a 3.5mm headphone socket – at last, HTC – and a high-resolution five-megapixel camera that takes halfway decent pictures and video, although the lack of flash means it’s not much use indoors. Even the battery life is impressive, lasting about five days as a basic phone, though somewhat less once you start checking emails and using GPS.
A serious choice
So, okay – it doesn’t have the sheer want-one-now factor the iPhone does, but that high resolution screen sure is pretty, the camera cuts the mustard and the work-friendliness and killer battery life does make Apple look somewhat coy. It is very pricey SIM free, but there should be some decent all-inclusive data deals around shortly.
How does the HTC Touch HD compare with its smartphone rivals? Find out in iGIZMO's Top 5 Mobile Phones feature
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