HTC Touch
Dual
Rating:
Features
Those familiar with HTC's modified
Windows Mobile 6 interface will be immediately in their
element with the Touch Dual. Similar to the interface seen in
the Touch and the TyTN II, the modifications to the standard
WM6 include a series of shortcuts on the main standby screen
for quick access to messaging, call log, current weather
details and a customisable launcher for adding application
shortcuts, as well as an overhaul of the visual aesthetic.
Of coarse, these modifications don't affect the usual array
of pre-loaded business apps included with Windows Mobile.
There's the standard Mobile Office suite (Word, Excel,
PowerPoint), calendars, contacts, a world clock, a voice
recorder, MSN messenger, and the list goes on. In regards to
e-mail the Touch Dual supports all common e-mail protocols and
push e-mail for Outlook clients.
Making WM6 cool in any way is a feat of titanic proportions
and HTC have managed this, to an extent, with the funky
TouchFlo interactive menu system that we first encountered on
the HTC Touch. A swipe of your finger from the bottom of the
screen to the top launches the "spinning cube" style menu.
Once launched a similar sweeping motion across the screen
rotates the menu "cube" for access to quick contacts,
multimedia galleries, and more applications. Prepare for your
colleagues to be begging with you to have a play.
The Touch Dual is a world roaming quad-band 3G GSM device,
which is handy for the travelling business-person. Data
connections are made with HSDPA compatibility with a 3.6Mbps
maximum download speed. Unlike the TyTN II there's no Wi-Fi or
GPS built into the Touch Dual but the compensation is, of
coarse, its slim profile.
On the back of the handset you'll find the lens of the
onboard 2-megapixel CMOS camera that features auto-focus but
no flash. The photos we took looked pretty good, bright and
colourful, but predictably soft-focused. However, if you
reading this review we're guessing an amazing camera is
probably not as high on your list of priorities as the Dual's
business sensibilities.
Performance
The Touch Dual has double the
processing power of the original Touch, with a 400MHz
processor and 128MB RAM. Even still, Windows Mobile is a
power-hungry resource, and we found the interface to be a
little bit laggy in responding to our inputs. This isn't to
say we had difficulty using the Touch Dual, just that the
processing and rendering performance is slower than we saw in
the zippy i-mate Ultimate 6150, another Windows Mobile
smartphone.
Web browsing is a joy with HSDPA speed behind it, although,
Internet Explorer Mobile is far from the best or fastest
Mobile Web browser. Of course, the beauty of Windows Mobile is
the ability to hunt down useful applications online and
install them as you would on a PC. Once we had Opera Mobile
installed we were much happier, and we grabbed Google Maps
while we were at it.
HTC has employed an impressive 1,350 mAh battery in the
Touch Dual and have estimate 4.5 hours continuous talk time
and approximately 13 days standby. During our tests we saw
just over four days during charge cycles with moderate use of
calls, messaging and Web browsing.
Overall
While the Touch Dual looks and feels like
a consumer handset, the strengths and weaknesses of its
various features points it directly at the business sector.
The Dual can take pictures and play media but the current
incarnation of Windows Mobile is way too dull to attract a
wider market, even with TouchFlo to spice it up.
The Touch Dual is the perfect smartphone for a business
person who can do without features like GPS and Wi-Fi but
still wants the strong business functionality of Windows
Mobile. It makes a great alternative for people looking at the
BlackBerry Pearl 8120 but who were turned off by the
less-than-ideal 2.5G data speeds.
Want more? Check out our review of the Palm Treo 750 |
