HTC Touch HD review
Having switched from Windows Mobile to the iPhone nearly one year ago to the day I have been waiting for a device with a similar form factor without all the restrictions and frustrations that an Apple device brings along with it. Sure the iPhone does a fantastic job at making usability simple but with it comes a straight jacketed approach that really frustrates me. Welcome to the HTC Touch HD, can it live up to all the hype, is it really the device that can pull me away from the iPhone 3G and condemn it to my sock draw, read on to find out.
What’s in the box
On the outside
This device screams minimalistic from all angles so don’t expect lots of hardware buttons. On the top we have a 3.5mm headphone socket, not recessed at all and fits all headphones with a 3.5mm jack, nice one HTC about time too. To the left of that we have a simple on/off button and a tiny green led which flashes when you have a missed call etc.
The bottom has the mini USB charging port, this is not the normal HTC mini USB charging port as on this occasion all it supports is charging and connectivity to a PC etc, no audio headsets or TV Out functionality. Next to this is the small circular opening for the microphone.
The left hand edge of the phone has one long button however this is a rocker type button for the volume up and down controls. The right edge is totally free of anything but at the lowest point is the access for the stylus, this is similar to the HTC Diamond as it is magnetically drawn into position with a satisfying click when your done. Again when you remove the stylus the device is intelligent enough to know that you need the screen to come on, and come on it does.
The front of the phone has an ear piece speaker grille at the top centre, to the right of that is the front facing video call camera, under that is a fantastic 3.8″ 800 x 480 screen finished at the bottom with four touch sensitive symbols, I say symbols as they are not physical buttons but when selected give a haptic feedback buzz so you know you have activated them. The symbols are call, home, back and end. Strange omission is illumination of the buttons, you cannot see them in the dark and there is no back lighting at all.
The rear plate of the device is a two tone black with a raised brushed chrome effect camera lense housing which proudly announces a 5.0 mega pixel auto focus camera.
Under the cover we have the battery compartment, SIM Card slot and MicroSD card slot. The soft reset button is the small red button.
Software
Ok we have had a look at the outside what about switching it on. To turn the device on a short press and hold of the top button is required, the unit buzzes and starts to boot up with Smart Mobility and the HTC logo shortly followed by the Windows Mobile 6.1 splash screen, total boot time from an off position is approximately 60 seconds however the first switch on needed some setup and probably took around five minutes with customisations etc for specific carrier data settings and screen calibrations. The first thing that strikes you when TouchFlo 3D appears on the screen with the big clock is just how clear crisp and bright this display is, it really does take you by surprise, it just looks fantastic.
One of the best features of the phone is the sensitivity of the touch screen. Windows Mobile devices use a resistive touch screen which reacts to pressure where as the iPhone and recent Google Android G1 handsets use capacitive touch screen’s which react to electrical pulses. Because of this normally you need to press much harder on a resistive screen however this pressure has been massively reduced on the Touch HD although it is still a long way from being as easy to use as the iPhone it is a great improvement. Some would argue that resistive is the better technology as it gives you more accurate input and a choice of finger or stylus, its open to debate.
TouchFlo 3D for those that don’t know is HTC’s overlay on top of Windows Mobile 6.1 that is supposed to make finger navigation easy, does it succeed, until now I would say no, however the large screen and TouchFlo 3D are made for each other, selecting icons, scrolling, flicking, tapping all work perfectly and holding one of the dock icons and moving your finger left to right changes the display in a fluid and consistent way. You can also swipe left to right or right to left across the screen to switch between tabs. One of the original criticism’s of TouchFlo 3D was how deep it went into the Windows Mobile OS or should that be how shallow it went, well that hasn’t changed drastically and go a little way into the OS and again your faced with tiny menus and you struggle to hit a down pointing arrow to open a menu with your finger nail and you have to admit defeat and pull out the stylus, what a shame.
The TouchFlo 3D includes tabs and finger friendly version screens as below:-
Home Screens
Lovely home screen with flip over clock, call history and up to three appointments shown, the dock is at the bottom of the screen with all the tabs for easy access via touch or pressing down on one of them and dragging left or right.
People and Messages
The People tab is where you can add quick dial numbers with pictures, click on a photo and you can easily access options to call, email,SMS, MMS etc. The messaging tab lets you flick through your recent text messages or create new ones.
Mail and Internet
The mail tab is very similar to the messaging tab but purely concentrates on email, here you have access to your email inboxes, I have three shown but they have no titles so you have to guess which one is which until you get to know their order, you can create new messages from here and also click individual messages which opens up the standard Windows Mobile Outlook screens. As this is a Windows Mobile device the email integration is top draw with support for full HTML email and if you have an Exchange account, push email, contacts and agenda all work flawlessly. This is where Windows Mobile excels.
The Internet tab has quick access to the pre-installed Opera 9.5 Browser, YouTube application and favourite bookmarks. The browser works well and renders pages as fast as the iPhones’s Safari browser but I found the interface mainly due to the resistive screen to be harder to use, maybe practice will change my perspective. When your used to pinching and expanding two figures to zoom in and out having to pull up a toolbar and a slider to do the same does not seem as natural to me. The browser although being a newer version than the one seen on the HTC Diamond or the Touch Pro still has no support for Flash.
Stock, Photos and Video
The Stock tab shows the latest stock prices which is updated as and when required, obviously aimed at the business sector, not something that interests me. The Photo tab has quick access to your stored photos which again you can flick through with swipe gestures and very light flicks at that. Click a photo to open it, zoom in by drawing a clockwise circle on the screen with your finger and out and again with anti-clockwise motion all works really well. You can also access the still camera and video camera from this tab.
Weather and Music
The Weather tab is stunning on the 3.8″ screen, it updates as soon as you select the tab and the graphical representation of the current climate conditions looks fantastic, due to the resolution of the screen you are now able to see the next four days forecast right underneath, up to seven cities can be set, there is no better weather app for me.
The music tab is somewhat basic but does show album artwork although somewhat fussily if that is a word but you can setup repeats, shuffles and playlists as well as access the audio boost settings. You can flick through albums by swiping the screen vertically up or down.
Settings and Programs
The settings tab gives you easy access to various system settings as well as a new option which allows you to change the order and display options of the tabs themselves, a nice addition.
Programs is a simple but highly ef
fective launch grid where you can add shortcuts to your most used programs, simply click on a free space and it opens a list of installed programs, select the one you want and it appears on the grid, reminds me of an iPhone home screen and is very usable
Other additional software over and above the Windows Mobile core worth mentioning is the YouTube application, this like the iPhone gives you access to flash based YouTube videos as the browser cannot handle them. You can search for videos easily as well as look at featured or most watched, a menu allows you to select them based on various different viewing options. Once selected the screen flips to landscape and the video is streamed, works very well over WiFi or HSDPA.
Google Maps, no street view as yet but again the screen shows this application in the best possible light, full satellite imagery in glorious 800 x 480 resolution looks simply stunning, GPS seemed to work fine for me without any of the lag problems others are reporting. I also loaded up TomTom and a free map and tested the GPS and all seemed perfectly fine to me, no different from the stand alone version I have and it kept up without any noticeable lag.
Text entry was my major concern, well HTC have included various onscreen keyboard configurations, Phone Keypad, Compact QWERTY, Full QWERTY, and the usual Windows Mobile Transcriber, Block Recognisers etc. Now these keyboards all serve a function but they are not that great for consistent text entry, the main problem is when you press the key it is hidden along with the keys around it by your finger tip so your never sure you have hit the right key, another problem is the text error correction is very basic compared to other phones I have used and found myself correcting mistakes that the OS should have spotted and been intelligent enough to rectify on the fly.
These are the keyboard screen captures, top left is the Compact QWERTY, top right is the Phone Keypad, bottom left is the Full QWERTY and bottom right is the preferred SPB Keyboard which is actually slightly bigger taking up more space on the screen. As you can see the HTC version highlights the key all around it which is still obscured by your finger where as the SPB version highlights the key above your finger making it easy to see whilst you press the button.
I have been fortunate enough to be testing out the SPB Keyboard latest version, now imagine the iPhone keyboard where the letters when pressed jump above your finger tip so you can confirm that you have hit the correct key and that’s how this version performs, text entry in this way is as easy as the iPhone’s, a big relief for me. I have also been trying Touchpal and it takes a little getting used too but again is much better than the HTC included options.
Sound Quality
Being able to use a 3.5mm set of headphones is a major plus as we no longer have to use stock headphones or buy adaptors and it also gives you the option to try out the device’s sound quality with a good pair, I have a set of Bose in ear headphones and the sound playback through the device was very clear and had a lovely strong bass to it, volume was not the highest even at maximum for me but that is my preference as I love my music loud and always have to up the gain in iTunes before synching to my iPhone so I can get some extra volume. All in all very nice sound quality.
Video Playback
The screen on Touch HD should be amazing for watching videos on the go, I tested it with Core Player and a VGA resolution DivX file and it played well without any noticeable stutter, WMV files of higher resolution were not so successful and HD content in WMV format was a non starter, now why is this device called HD? More testing is required here but I am not a big video watcher on the go so I will leave that for others to try out.
Signal Strength and Call Quality
Well this is where I was very pleasantly surprised after using the Xperia X1 a few days earlier and being very disappointed with it’s ability to hold a consistent signal and even losing the signal in my home regularly. The HD proved to be more than capable where I live with its patchy signal strength. Not one dropped call, no signal jumping around just a solid 4 bars at all times, great sound quality in a call and switching between 3G and 2.5G areas again no dropped calls, very pleased with this result. The best phone radio signal of any device I have used. The phone application is the standard HTC keypad we have seen before but again we have no proximity sensor so the phone screen switches off during a call so you have to physically switch it on again to check anything during a call.
Bluetooth connectivity options cover everything I can think of, handsfree and headset profiles, A2DP, AVRCP, DUN and many others, something Android and the iPhone could learn from.
Camera
The camera on the Touch HD is a 5 megapixel camera and should produce great results, again I am no expert when it comes to quality s
o I have taken a few shots at different light conditions and close ups so you can judge for yourself. Unfortunately no flash so night time shooting is a no go. The camera also shoots video in MPEG4 or H.263 format with unlimited recording as long as you have spare storage.
Battery Life
This device has a 1350mAh battery, it’s not that big and that worried me as the screen is so large, now having used it I am not so worried, with the same usage pattern as my iPhone, voice calls, push email and two other half hour automatic Gmail accounts, web browsing etc the Touch HD was much stronger than the iPhone and with casual use I am sure you could manage two days without a charge.
Conclusion
The HTC Touch HD is without doubt the best Windows Mobile experience I have ever had, the screen is simply stunning, TouchFlo 3D works for what it does, the sensitivity of the screen is excellent and the most sensitive that I have used. The form factor of the device is big but not too big and the build quality is good but it is very plasticy and lacks the quality of the first generation iPhone or the recently reviewed Xperia X1.
Now to the crunch, the same old problems still remain in my opinion and it’s not HTC’s fault but Microsoft’s. HTC have pushed the boundary’s as far as possible with this device and given Windows Mobile diehards a device that they will no doubt love, but I don’t think it is going to be enough for me. If you want this device as a business phone, the Outlook integration is unmatched on any other platform no question and the telephony is brilliant, but if your after a device to access your media easily then that is a whole different ball game. Windows Mobile just does not do a good enough job at organising and synching your media or allowing easy access to it at this moment in time in my opinion. Compared to the iPhone’s excellent iPod interface with easy one handed usage it is too far ahead for me to consider changing to this device unless a third party application can deliver that experience. From what I have tried third party developers have failed to deliver anything like what Apple have produced either, with the iTunes media synching capabilities and organisation. Sure by choosing Apple over Windows Mobile you lose a lot of features and that is the question you have to answer. Are you a media lover or a power user?
If you want the freedom that Windows Mobile gives you and can live with the interface then no question you will like this device, in fact I would go as far as to say you will love it. If however you want something that is easier to use but comes with a lot of restrictions then the iPhone may be a better alternative for it’s media prowess, it is for me for now anyway, until Windows Mobile 7 comes out and hopefully delivers the media experience matched to the already great business features with an easy interface, unless of course Microsoft surprise us all and embed the Zune software in the Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrade, now that would make this decision one to revisit if a ROM upgrade would be available. Final verdict is the HTC Touch HD is a brilliant device let down by the same old Windows Mobile problems, if you can overcome them this is a fantastic device, make no mistake.
Pros
3.8″ 800 x 480 Sensitive screen
Email and messaging
Opera Browser
Form Factor
5 megapixel Camera
TouchFlo 3D
Battery life
Proper GPS with ability to use turn by turn software
Cons
Access and use of media
Depth of TouchFlo 3D exposing Windows Mobile non finger friendly interface
Specs
Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
Qualcomm MSM 7201A 528 MHz
RAM – 288 MB
ROM – 512 MB
3.8-inch (480×800WVGA) TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen
HSDPA/WCDMA – Europe/Asia: 900/2100 MHz. Up to 2 Mbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps down-link speeds.
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for wireless stereo headsets
HTC ExtUSB
3.5 mm audio jack
GPS and A-GPS ready
microSD™ memory card (SDHC capable)
FM Radio
Touch sensitive front panel buttons
5 megapixel colour camera with auto focus.
Front facing VGA CMOS color camera.
Rechargeable Lithium-ion or. Lithium-ion polymer battery with a capacity of 1350 mAh
115 mm x 62.8 mm x 12 mm
146g
Warranty 2 Years
Thanks to Clove for supplying the review device so quickly
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Great review Chris, can’t wait for mine to arrive.
Your effort is highly appreciated. Can’t wait for this to hit Saudi Arabia but am not sure if the 8GB microSDHC is included in our retail package.
Mama wants one
Kinoma should sort out the media woes here. It’ll work very well on this.
i am interested about horizontal keyboard, is that available with the onscreen ones?
can you please compare the Touch HD and Xperia please. especially in the screen department.
Flush screen vs Not
Browsing in opera on both
watching movies and videos
camera functionality comparison
video capture and photo resolution and samples
writing text, keyboard vs on screen keyboards
the Touch flow can be installed into the Xperia so that’s not what i am looking for, even though people might be interested.
Chris,
I’m a guy from Italy. I love mobile tecnology too.
I really appreciate your effort. It’s a great review. One of the best I’ve ever read.
You have also been very objective comparing this phone with iphone and you pointed out many good points.
Even tough I still prefer HTC’s phones because they have almost everything inside. So if you really want a all in one device, you have got what you were looking for…
Otherwise if you love just trendy phones then Iphone is the best alternative
[...] Video online gestellt, das Touch HD wird im Video auch mit dem iPhone direkt verglichen: Bei mobiletechaddicts (Englisch) gibt es auch ein sehr detailliertes Review mit guten Fotos. Miniaturansicht [...]
[...] HTC Touch HD review [...]
I’m curious, why do you so called reviewers keep on reviewing WM phones expecting them to magically be finger friendly when you KNOW it is running WM6.1 and the interface is the same as the last WM6.1 phone you reviewed? What’s the real point of this and similar reviews, to bash WM? It’s obvious the only claim to fame of this phone is its screen, nothing else is noteworthy, so what’s the point expecting the OS to have changed?
Maybe sites like yours should stop reviewing WM phones since you aren’t familiar with the OS and wait for the next version you can truly criticize.
“I’m curious, why do you so called reviewers keep on reviewing WM phones expecting them to magically be finger friendly”
Well maybe the clues in the name of the device, HTC “TOUCH” HD if it was called the HTC mostly touch but you have to use a stylus every now and then” HD then I wouldn’t have mentioned it.
Hi, I have a few Q’s: how easy is it to use this as a modem with t-moble internet? On the N95 its quite easy as Nokia PC Suite automatically sets up the modem settings…
Also, how much did you pay for this phone, and if its £500+ how do you afford it!?
About the video recording, are you annoyed its such a low res and why do you think HTC did this?
Abdullah Hamed
Flush screen vs Not Flush
Flush is much better in my opinion, easier for touch
Browsing in opera on both
Similar although the screen is bigger on the HD
watching movies and videos
Both fine to me but did not test too deeply
camera functionality comparison
Better on HD although SE has a flashlight but its not too good
writing text, keyboard vs on screen keyboards
Keyboard will always be better for text input but it changes the form factor of the phone so its personal choice
the Touch flow can be installed into the Xperia so that’s not what i am looking for, even though people might be interested.
And the other way now too
CafeMambo
Using Windows Mobile is simple to set up internet sharing. There is an application that when run you can select cable of bluetooth and thats it job done. Phone cost is just over £ 500.00
Recording is limited to a 320 x 240 resolution and the Xperia can shoot in full VGA, yes it is annoying and who knows why
[...] design. So far, the device made headlines mainly by its non-availability…but the folks at MobileTechAddicts now have a full review of this [...]
[...] Click Here to Read the Review at MobileTechAddicts. [...]
Unfortunately, Microsoft will be pushing out 6.5 next. So you can count on quite a wait for 7. iPhone for me. But the Bold is looking nice too.
Opera zooming doesn’t require any menus – you double tap anything you want to zoom in to, and it is even smart about that. Then double tap to zoom back out. It’s a killer web browser that makes pocket sized browsing a real pleasure for the first time outside of the iPhone, and with this mouthwatering screen it should be really quite excellent.
I already have the Diamond but may have to get this as well, just for all those lovely pixels. I was sceptical as hell about not having the directional pad, but having used the Diamond I very rarely find myself needing the pad at all… may well find myself a Touch HD user yet.
Here is my question:
Is technical support for the device software and OS differs from one region to another or should I say is applicable for specific region over another, meaning if I buy 1 from UK and myself being in the meddle east and the support for Arabic language comes later (I know that cause this is what usually happen); will I be able to add the language despite the fact that mine was from UK.
I hope I described what I meant correctly because this is the only reason why I am not ordering me one from clover right NOW.
Thanks in advance.
As the device is unlocked I would imagine if you can get the correct rom then you will be able to flash it with any rom you would want. If it is locked in anyway to a country it wont take the guys at xda long to bypass that so I wouldn’t worry too much
[...] mentioned a while ago that the HTC Touch HD was coming to Orange exclusively until 2009, well it is now available to order from their website. [...]
Hello,
Nice review, but the main reason why I could never think of an iphone (despite owning a macbook pro and a macpro 8core) is itunes and the fact that Apple forces you to use it to sync. I hate the process and much rather drag and drop a folder containing mp3’s, artwork, pdf docs, whatever is related to that artist, and putting it on the HTC. Then I can add stuff wherever and however I want and dont need to be using the Proprietory cable or dealing with the insufferable itunes to add music from any computer I choose.
I also heard the iphone audio quality was not as good as the ipod, and AFAIK, most serious audio tests have found ipod inferior to Cowon, iRiver and even Creative.
Thanks again
Mark
UK
sorry to be of such annoyance, but, gun to your head, which would you choose for everyday usage…. the Xperia or the Touch HD?
I have been killing myself over this maater and i am swinging back and forth over this.
Personally the Touch HD, if you dont want a slide out keyboard then the HD is better as it has a bigger screen, my opinion but thats the only one I have
[...] to return the HTC Touch HD and thought I would finish off with a quick look at the software keyboards available and one extra [...]
[...] latest podcast is now available to download, in episode 12 we discuss the HTC Touch HD detailed review and hands on, Xperia X1 Gareth’s view, Windows Mobile 6.5 latest rumours and screen shots, [...]
[...] [Mobile Tech Addicts, CNET UK, Slash Gear, Phone Arena] [...]
[...] [Mobile Tech Addicts, CNET UK, Slash Gear, Phone Arena] [...]
[...] [Mobile Tech Addicts, CNET UK, Slash Gear, Phone Arena] [...]
[...] utilisateur actuelle d’Android). Mais avouez que ce serait assez fantastique, non? [Mobile Tech Addicts, CNET UK, Slash Gear, Phone Arena] [...]
[...] year. 3G is not that good and HSDPA is no-existent in Russia. The handset itself is based on the HTC Touch HD with a few differences. Obviously no 3G, 3.2 MP camera, 8 Gig of built in storage and it is a much [...]
I’ve waiting a review of a person who have recived the HTC HD: I can’t wait for mine!
[...] guys over at Pocketnow have just done a comparison test with the HTC Touch HD and SE Xperia X1 to see how each of them handles video playback using CorePlayer. The results are [...]
Brilliant review, kept me going through my break. I will most likely be buying one of these now. It seems to have got everything the iphone has not. But lacks the good points the iphone has.
I previously had a iphone and for anyone thinking of buying one, i would certainly reccomend, but its time for a change
[...] review of the mighty HTC Touch HD. It’s an extremely thorough review and seems to concur with Chris’ take on the device. For a second opinion, it’ll make for familiar reading. Technorati Tags: HTC [...]
Will this device be ble to hold on to a u.s phone service such as t-mobile and will the internet still be active if i used it in the u.s
what an AWESOME REVIEW!!
THANK YOU!!
this mobile is certainly moving in the right direction when it comes to listening to the customers for sure, well done HTC!! however, if you are reading this, please take the following into consideration…
- please add a flash or LED or xenon as its great to double as a flashlight
- landscape mode for sms etc. i mean really, how hard can that be?
- having the microSD card on the outside would be nice, hardly convenient buried behind the battery
- instead of competing for more megapixels please just include a nice 5MP camera with GOOD QUALITY, people prefer a quality 5 MP rather than 12 MP crap
- super high quality video is not needed but please, 640×480 at 30fps must be possible now…
- please integrate the volume button or similar into the camera! fingers should be pushing DOWN for stability, NOT IN or ON
- inclusion of a good media player would be awesome! WMP sucks big time, try bundling VLC or CORE
- FLASH support!! (although not a fault of HTC, so c’mon OPERA and/or ADOBE, get it together already)
and i have some questions for the review person…
does this mobile have aGPS?
are you able to test any third party software? something with ‘turn-by-turn’ instructions?
is it possible to install VLC player?
i have read the video recording is 320×240, any truth to that?
and is there any itunes compatibility? especially for play-lists? any 3rd party software that does this easily?
thanks again for the awesome review and hope i can get my answers on any further followups or on this message board…
[...] announced three new Touch devices a few months back, the Touch Viva which is a low end device, Touch HD which is a high end device and lastly the Touch 3G device which fits neatly in the middle. It is an [...]
I am thinking , like many others , of this device fir te Android OS.
After getting a feel of the hardware potential, what do you think about the integration of Android on this phone?
Excellent review! This is the best review I’ve seen for the Touch HD, especially since I can’t decide to go with this or the iPhone 3G. I use a few 3rd party apps on my windows pc to handle my media organization. That is a weakness of the Touch HD I’m sure I can overcome. Big question: Where are you located? I’m curious if this device will work at full capacity on US networks (AT&T?) for both phone calls and high-speed internet access. Do you know if this phone will work for US networks?
will you review this again after someone cracks android onto this phone. it think its only flaw seems to be windows mobile. i know you say iphone has itunes and thats a good thing, but i cannot stand itunes, it think the software is overly complex and, well i really dont care if it is stylish.
Hi All,
In your Touch HD review, you mention that not all the screens // applications support the GSensor, and here you mention that downloading and installing an application GSEN would fix this. I have downloaded it and installed it onto my Touch HD.
1. Does not fix anything?
2. when the phone boots up it complains that GSEN can’t find GSensor?
Maybe I can downloaded the incorrect GSEN file or got the incorrect application, can you give me a link to where i can go to find the correct application.
Thank you, Karl.
I have the Touch HD and in the above review you mention the different keyboards. I select a different keyboard (settings>input>drop down box), then choose ok etc.
When i then open up the say an SMS or the like the Keyboard has not changed?
[...] have released a bug fix for the Touch HD, apparently sometimes the screen stops responding for about 3 to 5 seconds when running an [...]
[...] it is not directly from O2 but you can now buy the HTC Touch HD with a subsidised price tag from mobiles.co.uk. They have them in-stock right now and have a some [...]
[...] that includes the new version of Internet Explorer Mobile. Well Pocketnow have installed it on heir Touch HD and have produced a video of it in action. It has support for Flash and AJAX, plus has a much [...]
[...] which one would come out on top. The phones in questions were the Blackberry Storm, T-Mobile G1, HTC Touch HD and the iPhone 3G. They carried out three tests, none of which were very scientific and dropped the [...]
This review has been linked from ReduceGadgetEnvy.com
[...] haven’t heard much about this one since it was announced alongside the HTC Touch HD and HTC Touch 3G and put mostly in the shadows but the guys over a pda.pl have managed to get hold [...]
hi, i was a bit confused with the flash thingy not becuase of flash but just confused by the general syntax of the review. im just going to put it simply, Will skysports.com work? haha
by the way i am being serious
Hey,
Great review!
I got this phone a few weeks ago now – love it. Everyone assumes it’s an iPhone when I whip it out, only to be annoyingly dissapointed and refuse to believe me when I tell them it easily rivals it.
Few questions – do you ever experience a bit of lag when typing texts/emails etc? Occasionally I get a slight pause where it freezes, and I have to wait a couple of seconds to continue – very annoying!
Also, I’m surprised you didn’t mention about the connection – I’ll be browsing away on the internet, facebook etc, then close it down – forgetting that it is still connected. The only way to tell is if you click the icon at the top of the screen. I’ve had mine connected for hours at a time before I realise – very irritating and I hope it hasn’t affected the phone bill!
Also – where can I find applications? I did a quick google, and it didn’t throw up much. Im not a business man, I’m a student – I like my phones to be sleek and modern looking – but when I want to do something with my phone, I expect it to be there already, I like my phone to be able to do EVERYTHING and still look good. I can’t help but feel a little geeky using the stylus though. Also where are the cool apps to rival the iPhone? There is the ‘teeter’ game – but that’s nothing compared to the iPhone (And I love pointless stuff like that to play with when I’m bored waiting for a train or something).
Other than that – it’s a fantastic phone. I don’t have iTunes (Can’t stand it) I’ve always used WMP to handle my music – and this phone intergrates perfectly with my pc – awesome!
Thanks again for the great review!
Fantastic review Chris, Thanks.
Can you tell me which version of Tom Tom you tested? I understood there was a screen resolution problem with Tom Tom 6. I’ve just bought one on ebay and would like to use turn by turn navigation.
[...] we don’t know if this is good or bad, yet another hotfix for the HTC Touch HD after last weeks double fix. A positive look and we say well done HTC for getting these out fast [...]
Hey there Mr Admin. I’m loving the review you gave of the HTC Touch HD and i’m also loving your website =). i have a couple of questions..
1) Do you think that the Touch HD is capable of being upgraded to windows mobile 6.5 OS and maybe even 7 ?!
2) Which would you recommend me buying; the HTC Touch HD, the iphone 3G, the Blackberry Storm or (an odd choice) the Blackberry Curve 8900?
3) Do you think there will be better phones released in the next 4 – 5 months or so?
oh one more thing, i forgot to say thanks.. THANKS!!!.. alot.. =)
The Touch HD should certainly be capable of upgrading to 6.5 as so far it looks like just a refresh / overlay to the UI, having said that until its announced officially we can’t be 100% sure. As for 7 I would say no, and to be honest it will be a dated device before WM7 makes an appearance.
As far as which device I would recommend it really depends what you want it for and in which order, tell me what you want a device for and an order of importance.
There will always be better phones coming out, its the tech way, it never stands still, always improving.
Great that you enjoy visiting the site and hope you enjoy the recent improvements with the layout too.
Chris
i would say i want to use it for the internet (if possible, but not necessary, viewing online videos other than youtube).. viewing word, excel (and powerpoint, if possible) documents, using it for directions i.e. maps/gps aaand having a cool phone =)
there isn’t any real order.. one is just as important as the other.
it’s so hard making my mind up, it’s unbelievable! =S
the layout of your site is way cool man.. i hope the site stays running forever.
thanks for the, previous, quick reply btw
Ha ha the iPhone is great for media and web browsing, Windows Mobile is great for office docs and gps, sounds like Windows Mobile is the way to go if you can live with the less than great UI but the extra power. See what happens later this month with 6.5 then decide
Alrighty then. Thanks alot Chris
Just got mine and it is awesome!!!
I was going to buy a Storm but read about so many problems especially about battery life and ability to hold onto a signal that decided to re-think. After reading this review I had a look at the HTC HD and found it to be great. I have used it in many “dodgey ” signal areas and it holds onto the signal really well. Battery life good even with my daughter playing games on it for hours on end. GPS sensitivity is the best of any device that I have ever used, works inside the house where none of my TomToms can get a single satellite. Camera better than most with quick aquire focus and shoot. Only down side so far is no flash for camera. Cannot view flash code in websites, my daughters website uses flash. But hey you cannot have everything and the pros FAR outway the very few cons. Thanks guys for writing this review that has resulted in me getting a VERY fit for MY purpose mobile phone. Regards Neil.
The weather app, does that cost?
-Also is it availible on pay as you go?
Thankyou for the great review (:
Hi,
Could you expand on TOMTOM, I have both the phone and Navigator 6, but am unable to make them both work. Great phone, but really could do with some decent SatNav.
such a helpfull review for all great work mate
would you please give me some knowledge about UI that what is this and how can we get it on htc touch hd.
regards.
When oh when will we be able to run android on this officially? I have seen evidence of android ports running on the original touch but nothing with full functionality for the hd ie : no gps and no wifi. So what do you reckon oh tech guru`s?
Thanks a lot for this review. Finaly some real good review and comparement with iPhone (personaly I dont like that device) now I really know that this HTC is at the top of the notch
DOES THE PHONE HAVE SPEED DIAL CAPABILITIES ???
ALSO, CAN YOU ACTIVIATE THE PHONE FUNCTION BY PRESSING THE SEND KEY ??
To Admin,
I know the Touch HD doesn’t work on American (AT&T) 3G networks but how do you use the internet? Does it use EDGE or GPRS or is WIFI the only option in the states? I really am in love with this phone but a girl can’t live on WIFI alone, it’s not available everywhere!
It will run on edge and GPRS in the US as well as WiFi, just not 3G
A few more questions:
*I have never used a phone with WinMo or any OS period, how easy is ths phone to navigate?
*If the phone is finger-friendly, why the need for a stylus?
*What’s so bad about the media capabilities? I’m not very tech~savvy and I want something easy to use.
*Would you happen to know the lowest price I can get for it in USD?
*Do you know where I can find a few attractive cases? I HATE leather cases.
(sorry if I’m being a bother…)
Thanks for the honest review, based on that, I’ve just ordered one it will arrive Monday. I really need Microsoft apps, ACT synchronisation and Skype mobile… not too much in to music but do like BBC Radio 4 so the FM radio will be great… just wondering does anyone know of wireless headphones that would work well with the Touch HD?
Hi there
I wonder if you can help me to install an Arabic Language in my htc HD Tuch
That sin Order to download some of the arabic applications software .
Many Thanks
wow, that’s great…
now I’m so confidace to buy it….
thanks bro….
Bug found.
Sometimes the touch screen is malfunction and cannot answer incoming calls.
It occuried after Active Sync has been enabled and screen login password enabled.
Sometimes it keep ringing even the caller has already released the call.
It needs take out the battery to reset the problem.
I try to down load cetain things onto my hand set but i always get ” install the correct Hotfix program.” what is this ,and where can i download it from? Thanks Adrian
chris,
just bought one recently but its been a while since im using PDA. of course i know the very basic thing bout the HD but still, got few question really :p To make it simple, will it be enough if i just browse through the user manual to understand the complete use of the Touch HD? and how to improve my knowledge on the HD itself? if u ask me to go and ask ppl, i find it rather difficult & if through websites, which one will provide me with the latest & correct info?
Take a lok at these videos they may help http://www.clove.co.uk/viewTechInfo.aspx?Content=367A1239-3989-4978-BA7C-4F85656EF463&Category=TECHINFO
[...] is currently on sale for £ 394.00 so is actually cheaper than the Touch HD by roughly £100.00 so based on that it is good value as the specs are similar with the exception [...]