Review: HTC Touch for Sprint

HTC Touch (CDMA)

HTC Touch (CDMA)

HTC Touch (CDMA)

HTC Touch (CDMA)

The HTC Touch for Sprint is the second incarnation of HTC's finger based smartphone the company has put out. The original version of the Touch was made for GSM networks and was also the first device to offer HTC's TouchFLO user interface extension that allow users to use a finger where in the past a stylus had been required. This new CDMA based Touch for Sprint not only changes the hardware specs a bit, dropping WiFi and adding EV-DO 3G data, but it also sports a vastly improved version of the TouchFLO system. This review is based heavily on the original GSM version review, but has been updated where needed to reflect the numerous changes that have been made for Sprint.

The result is a traditional stylus equipped Pocket PC that just happens to be quite usable with a finger for most tasks.

It is no accident that the original HTC Touch's codename was the "Elf." At 102mm x 60mm x 15mm (4.0" x 2.4" x .6") in size, the new Touch for Sprint is 2mm longer than the original, but still quite small for a smartphone with these capabilities. At 114g (4.0oz), it is also pretty light for a Pocket PC device. By comparison, HTC's own P4350 (aka T-Mobile Wing) looks like a giant next to the Touch and weighs 53g (1.9oz) more.

The smooth lines that make up the design of the Touch's body, along with its compact dimensions, make the Touch one of the most comfortably held Pocket PC devices ever made. The 77mm (3") long stylus is not going to please a lot of people, though, as it is too short to be comfortably used for an extended period of time.

Luckily, the driving force behind the Touch is that its large 2.8" (44mm x 57mm), 65k color touchscreen display is finger friendly, meaning that users will be able to get away with using the stylus less than with typical Pocket PC devices. Unlike most stylus compatible touchscreens, the display on the Touch is flush mounted to its body, and the touch sensitive surface extends well beyond the limits of its 240x320 pixel resolution. Not only does this make it easier to hit on-screen controls that are located by edges or corners of the display, but it means that we finally have a Pocket PC device whose screen can easily be cleaned with a quick swipe on a pants leg. My only complaint with the display is that it can be a bit hard to read in direct sunlight, though running it at maximum brightness level mitigates the problem to some extent.

Beyond the large screen that dominates the Touch, there is relatively little else to talk about. The small d-pad that is located beneath the screen is well designed and easy to use. It is flanked on either side by very small green and red call control keys. A chrome edge separates the dark front and rear faces of the Touch. A volume slider is located on the left side, a dedicated camera key on the right. The power key is found on the top of the Touch, and the typical miniUSB power/data port is on the bottom edge. The 2 megapixel camera and self-portrait mirror are located on the back cover. The entire back cover can be removed easily, once you learn the trick, to expose the battery and allow the unique microSD card slot cover on the right edge of the phone to be opened.

While I ran into some problems with the SIM/microSD cover on the original Touch, in that I could not get it back in place without some trimming with a knife, I had no such problems with the Sprint version of the device. I still find the cover a bit difficult to open, but it is at least secure and works properly on this new version.

In addition to shipping in a very nice box, the HTC Touch for Sprint comes with a belt case, an extra stylus, and a couple of adapters for charging and using a wired headset at the same time. A power adapter, USB cable, and 512MB microSD card are also included in the kit.