Review: HTC Touch2

HTC’s Touch2 is part of the first wave of devices running Windows Mobile 6.5 to hit the stores. As well as sporting the new version of Microsoft’s operating system, The Touch2 has an updated version of TouchFLO on board, HTC’s own front end for Windows Mobile. The result is one of the most finger-friendly Windows Mobile devices out there, but there are still gaps and annoyances.

The Touch2 is relatively small, its 2.8 inch screen nestled inside hardware that measures 104mm x 55mm x 12.9mm. That makes it neat for the pocket. The button row beneath the screen comprises the usual Call, End, Home and Back buttons as well as a Windows button.

The Windows button is a new feature that’ll be on all Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphones going forward. It calls up an icon based menu of applications as well as links to the settings screen. This new menu screen is a WM6.5 innovation and you get it instead of the Start button menu. The Start button is still here, but pressing it calls up this menu. It’s a vertically scrolling screen and if you add your own apps you’ll need a few fingersweeps to get to the bottom of the list.

Between HTC and Microsoft the increased finger-friendliness is beyond doubt. Key contacts sit in two rows of three with huge photo icons, and if you have more, you just scroll down. But choose ‘All People’ and you are right back into an old fashioned Windows Mobile looking screen, and we defy you to search the listing here without using the stylus that sits within the Touch2’s casing.

Ditto when composing SMS or email messages. There’s a fairly large full QWERTY touch keyboard but it isn’t easy to be accurate with the finger and you may need to resort to the stylus here too. Want to set an alarm? You can tap the main screen with a finger to start the process, but then the Windows Mobile settings screen looks the same as it did in Windows Mobile 6.1, with small drop down and scrolling menus that again are likely to need the stylus. For all HTC’s efforts and Microsoft’s tweaking, most of the finger-friendly functions are only skin deep, which is a great shame.

There’s no accelerometer in the HTC Touch2 which means you can’t get a bigger landscape-mode QWERTY keyboard for typing more comfortably. Nor can you swivel the screen round to look at Web pages in wide mode. This is a bad omission, as wide screen viewing really enhances Web browsing. Incidentally, even though Microsoft has revamped Internet Explorer HTC has decided to opt for Opera for its default browser. Internet Explorer is here in the event that you prefer it, though.

This is a 3G device with HSDPA, but there is no front camera for two way video calling. The main camera shoots at just 3.2 megapixels with no flash and fairly lacklustre performance. There is a GPS receiver and Google Maps is pre installed. There’s an FM radio too, and the new Windows Marketplace is pre-installed so you can download apps direct to the handset as is the modern way. There aren’t too many apps available at the moment, but that should change. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are both also here.

In the end the HTC Touch2 proved to be a bit of a disappointment. It’s a nicely designed handset that lacks either a real mark of innovation, or an ultra-aggressive price point to overcome this. Windows Mobile 6.5 is also a bit of a let-down, and despite HTC’s gallant efforts with TouchFLO you still find you need the stylus too often.

Technical specs
Operating system: Windows Mobile 6.5
Processor: Qualcomm MSM7225 528Mhz
Memory: 512MB ROM, 256MB RAM
Dimensions: 104mm x 55mm x 12.9mm
Weight: 110g
Display size: 2.8 diagonal inches
Display resolution: 240 x 320
Expansion slot: 1 x microSD

Essential Verdict
Performance: 8/10
Design: 7/10
Features: 7/10
Value for Money: 8/10
Overall score: 7/10

Written by Sandra Vogel. Originally published in Smartphone Essentials magazine.

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