Review: HTC Touch Dual Smartphone

HTC Touch Dual

HTC Touch Dual

HTC Touch Dual

HTC Touch Dual

HTC Touch Dual

It is bleedingly obvious that touch interfaces are the in thing for the mobile industry these days, and rightly so. Adding intuitive touch elements to the user interface of a device can make it a lot easier to use, and when it is done right, it can make the device more accessible for users from beginner to advanced.

As with its older brother, the HTC Touch, the new HTC Touch Dual takes the proven Windows Mobile 6 formula and bolts-on elements to make navigating with a finger far easier. What differentiates the Touch Dual from the original Touch is a slide-out keypad, either in a 12-key numeric layout like a regular phone, or a 20 key SureType-like QWERTY layout similar to that seen on some Blackberry and Samsung devices. This addresses the principal concern of the original Touch: data input. Most everything else about the device is the same as the original, which is far from a bad thing, so be sure to check out our review of that device as well as this one.

Physical Aspects

The original HTC Touch, code named 'Elf,' was one of the smallest Windows Mobile 6 devices to come out last year. The Touch Dual keeps the same formula, but measures up a touch narrower and a little thicker than the original. Even being slightly thicker, the Touch Dual is still quite a thin device, measuring 107mm x 55mm x 15.8mm (4.2" x 2.2" x 0.6").

The HTC Touch Dual is a very solid feeling device, and the addition of a slider mechanism hasn't taken away from the great feel of the original. The spring-loaded slider feels very smooth and well made, though does make somewhat of a scraping sound when in motion. Save for the screen, camera lens, and chrome edge, the Touch Dual is covered in a black soft-touch paint, with the keypad adorned in a shiny dark-blue plastic. Overall, the device is satisfyingly attractive, and adds a touch of class to the business handset market.

The front of the device holds a five-way d-pad and two tiny call control keys. The center button of the keypad, while very large, seemed quite lose, which was a bit of a shame. The device we tested had a 12-key alphanumeric keypad, and I am pleased to say that it had an extremely solid feel, with large and easy to press keys. Surrounding the numeric keypad is a Windows Start key, a clear key, and shortcut keys for the Messaging and Internet Explorer applications.

The left side of the device holds volume keys, a miniUSB port, and the microSD memory card slot. The memory card slot is accessible from the outside of the device, which is a big improvement over the original, which forced you to remove the battery cover to get to it. The right side of the Touch Dual has the camera shutter key, while the power key and stylus slot can be found on top of the device. The back of the HTC Touch Dual includes just the camera lens, self-portrait mirror, and external speaker; the whole back of the device can be removed to gain access to the battery. A second camera can be seen above the screen on the front of the handset, and can be used for video calling.

The HTC Touch Dual's display is a mixed bag. On one hand, it is sufficiently bright when indoors, and quite clear and readable overall. On the other hand, color saturation is quite poor, lacking vibrancy, and when in direct sunlight the screen is barely legible. Size wise, the screen on the Touch Dual measures 2.6", which is slightly smaller than the original due to the slightly narrower dimensions of the device.

One thing HTC has got perfect for the Touch Dual is the touch aspects of the display, which will obviously make or break the device. Rarely will you find yourself reaching for the stylus; instead, the screen exhibits smarts to detect when you are using a finger or thumb and will react accordingly. The sensing area of the display extends slightly beyond the viewable area of the screen, meaning even UI elements in the corner of the screen are easy to press. While I did find myself having to press slightly harder than I would have liked at times, the touch screen was otherwise dead on.