HTC's Touch Cruise

HTC Touch Cruise

HTC Touch Cruise

HTC Touch Cruise

HTC Touch Cruise

The HTC Touch Cruise is part of HTC's original "Touch" range, and is arguably the most feature packed. With a large 2.8" touch-sensitive display, HSDPA connectivity, and WiFi, the Touch Cruise is certainly set to impress, but is it better than its siblings?

Physical Aspects

The HTC Touch Cruise isn't what you could call a small phone, measuring 110mm x 58mm x 15.5mm, nor is it particularly light at 130g, but considering all that's packed into its business-like exterior, it's quite remarkable. Unlike the Touch Dual, the Touch Cruise does not feature a physical keypad or keyboard of any type, which means there are no hidden parts to slide out of the device. The exterior is covered with a strange plastic/rubber finish, which feels quite odd, but resists scratches well and is quite grippy too. The screen is made from a very shiny, almost mirrored plastic, and has a mirror finish surrounding it. Unfortunately, this means that it shows up fingerprints very easily, and can be quite difficult to view in bright conditions. Otherwise, the screen looks very attractive and provides vivid colors and good detail for viewing photos and videos.

Just below the screen are the end and send buttons, a dedicated GPS button, and a dedicated internet button. In the middle of all these buttons you can find the Touch Cruise's d-pad, which doubles-up as a scroll wheel and features a select button in the centre. There is also a voice command button and volume switch on the left side of the device, and a camera shutter key and microSD slot on the right side. This slot enables users to quickly swap cards without removing the battery, however I found the door very fiddly and difficult to close once I'd opened it. Unfortunately the volume key was also rather loose, though this didn't detract too much from the overall feel of quality the device offers. Atop the Touch Cruise sits a lonely power button, whilst at the bottom you'll find HTC's usual miniUSB port, plus a lanyard fixing, a reset button, and the microphone. All other controls are found on the device's large touch-sensitive display.

Housed just above this display are the earpiece and front-facing camera for video calls. On the rear of the device you'll find a connection for an external GPS antenna, the loudspeaker grille, the camera lens, and a self portrait mirror. Overall, the Touch Cruise appears very reserved, and looks distinctly business-oriented.

The Touch Cruise's few physical keys gave ample feedback, though I didn't find the d-pad to be quite as responsive as I'd like, sometimes missing presses. The virtual on-screen keys worked well enough, but as we found with the Touch Dual, they seemed to require a harder press than you'd expect for a touchscreen device. Regardless, the screen worked well for most functions, and the option of using the d-pad or scroll wheel was always available, should you require them.

HTC Touch Cruise

HTC Touch Cruise

HTC Touch Cruise