HTC Touch Cell Phone Review - Hardware
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Alfredo Padilla Published on November 07, 2007 Comment on this |
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Keypad
Text Words Per Minute (5.18)
The HTC Touch doesn't have a physical keypad or keyboard, instead depending entirely on touch screen input methods. Like most Windows Mobile Professional devices, the Touch has several on-screen writing recognition and keyboard options. In addition, HTC has added two additional input options meant to be easier to use with a finger. One simulates a phone keypad using T9 predictive text entry, and the other is a QWERTY keyboard with two letters per key, similar to those found on the BlackBerry Pearl, and again uses predictive text entry. Given this plethora of input methods, we decided to use the two-letter-per-key QWERTY, as this is the default text entry method on the phone. To see how easily we could type on the on-screen keyboard we timed how long it took to enter a test phrase using two hands and predictive text entry. We repeated this test five times and took the average for our score. The HTC Touch took an average of 37 seconds to enter our test phrase, which works out to 25.9 words per minute (WPM). This is slower than many regular phone keypads we've tested, the best of which can get up to 40 WPM. It was also much slower than the physical QWERTY keyboards on cell phones like the Helio Ocean. ,It was also much slower than the iPhone's on-screen keyboard. We found the HTC Touch's on-screen keyboard was prone to errors, and although it uses predictive text entry it lacks the active spell correction that makes typing on the iPhone so fast. Anyone who needs a device with solid text entry should look elsewhere.
| Cell Phone | Words Per Minute | Score |
| HTC Touch | 25.9 | 5.18 |
| Helio Ocean | 53.0 | 10.60 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 49.8 | 9.96 |
| HTC Mogul | 44.9 | 8.98 |
| Palm Centro | 39.4 | 7.88 |
| Apple iPhone | 39.6 | 7.92 |
T9 and Auto Complete (10.0)
The HTC Touch has both predictive text entry and word completion, which helps speed up text entry. Even with these technologies, however, text entry is pretty slow on the Touch.
One Hand Usability (4.84)
For those who prefer to type using a single hand we ran our words per minute (WPM) test one-handed. In this case we decided to use HTC's keypad text entry format, as this is easier to use with a single hand. Using one hand and the touch keypad we were able to type almost as fast as we could using the touch keyboard, at 24.2 WPM. Still, this isn't impressively better than most of our comparison phones, despite the fact many of them have true hardware QWERTY keyboards that are often difficult to use with one hand. Once again, the Touch is no impresario when it comes to text entry. | Cell Phone | Words Per Minute | Score |
| HTC Touch | 24.2 | 4.84 |
| Helio Ocean | 28.3 | 5.66 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 26.5 | 5.30 |
| HTC Mogul | 17.7 | 3.54 |
| Palm Centro | 26.6 | 5.32 |
| Apple iPhone | 32.1 | 6.42 |
Keypad Backlighting (0.0)
Lacking a keypad, the HTC Touch doesn't have a keypad backlight.
Controls
D-Pad/Joystick (8.0)
One of the few hardware controls on the HTC Touch is a very nice d-pad. The d-pad is a rounded square with a raised outer edge used for directions and a large but recessed central button that's easy to press but doesn't lead to mistaken presses. We found the d-pad on the Touch to be one of the nicer ones we've used, and the lack of any surrounding control keys means you don't have to worry about accidentally hitting another button. The d-pad also makes moving around the interface much more palpatable than constantly using the touch screen.
Touch Screen (7.0)
The HTC Touch has a touch screen, the same as any Windows Mobile Professional device. What is different on the Touch, of course, is the added functionality added by HTC's TouchFLO technology. This allows you to use the touch screen to scroll long lists or scan around a website. As we've mentioned before, however, this functionality isn't as well implemented as you see on the iPhone. TouchFLO also adjusts some features of the interface to make them easier to use with a finger instead of a stylus, including a larger Start menu, a revamped home screen, an alphabet scrolling bar in contacts, and touch keyboard/keypad. Although these enhancements leave a little to be desired they do make the interface easier to use with a finger than a standard Windows Mobile Professional device, so the Touch scores a little better here than a device like the HTC Mogul. It's not as good as the iPhone touch screen interface, however.
Jog Dial (1.0)
The HTC Touch doesn't have a jog dial, but HTC's TouchFLO allows you to more easily scroll through long lists using your finger, which simulates what you might get from a jog dial. There are issues with this, as we've already mentioned, but we thought it was worth a point.
Soft Buttons (0.0)
The HTC Touch doesn't have any soft buttons. Instead you have to use the touch screen to access soft button functions.
Volume Control (3.0)
The volume control on the HTC Touch is located on the top left of the phone, and is a jog dial you move up and down to control volume. There's a raised bar in the middle of the switch that allows you to find it more easily by feel. We did find it a little slick, however, and we found fine control was a little difficult. We prefer the rocker keys we see on phones like the iPhone.
Power and Standby (4.0)
The power and standby button on the HTC Touch is located at the top left of the device. It sits flush with the surrounding plastic, which keeps accidental presses to a minimum, however we did find this also made it a little difficult to find by feel, and it feels squishy when pressed. We've seen better on other phones.
Other Buttons (2.0)
Unlike most Windows Mobile Professional devices, the Touch doesn't have a plethora of additional buttons. There's a button on the lower left of the device that activates the camera with a single press and voice dialing with a long press. These functions can be reassigned to something else if you prefer. We have to say we did miss dedicated Start and OK keys, as these would have complemented the d-pad. You instead have to reach up to the other end of the device to access these functions on screen.
Display
Primary Screen Gross Resolution (8.0)
The HTC Touch has a QVGA (240 x 320-pixel) display, which is par for the course for Windows Mobile devices and is at the mid to high end of devices overall. We are starting to see some devices with higher resolution displays, like the iPhone, but for the most part QVGA is as good as it gets.
| Cell Phone | Resolution | Score |
| HTC Touch | 240 x 320 | 8.0 |
| Helio Ocean | 240 x 320 | 8.0 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 320 x 240 | 8.0 |
| HTC Mogul | 240 x 320 | 8.0 |
| Palm Centro | 320 x 320 | 8.5 |
| Apple iPhone | 320 x 480 | 9.0 |
Primary Screen Pixels per Inch (7.15)
Pixels per inch (PPI) is a measure of how densely pixels are packed onto the screen. Higher pixel density leads to richer colors and sharper images, while lower pixel density can make the screen seem blocky and washed out. The HTC Touch's screen has a pixel density of 142.9 PPI, which as you can see below isn't particularly impressive. We understand having a larger 2.8-inch screen impacts this, but this begs the argument that with a larger screen you should also have greater resolution, like on the iPhone.
| Cell Phone | Pixels Per Inch | Score |
| HTC Touch | 142.9 | 7.15 |
| Helio Ocean | 168 | 8.40 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 164.6 | 8.23 |
| HTC Mogul | 142.9 | 7.15 |
| Palm Centro | 205.7 | 10.29 |
| Apple iPhone | 164.8 | 8.24 |
Screen Physical Size (7.00)
The HTC Touch's screen measures 2.8 inches diagonal, which is a good sized screen when you compare it to anything but the iPhone. This should be sufficient screen real estate for most users, and makes for a decent video or photo viewing experience.
| Cell Phone | Size Diagonal (inches) | Score |
| HTC Touch | 2.8 | 7.00 |
| Helio Ocean | 2.4 | 6.00 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 2.43 | 6.08 |
| HTC Mogul | 2.8 | 7.00 |
| Palm Centro | 2.2 | 5.50 |
| Apple iPhone | 3.5 | 8.75 |
Screen Brightness (8.00)
To see how bright the screen on the HTC Touch gets we pointed the browser at a blank white page and turned screen brightness up to maximum. We then used a lux meter to measure brightness. The HTC Touch's screen measured 105 lux in our test, which is pretty decent. You have 11 levels of screen brightness and you can set the screen brightness differently when the phone is plugged in versus when it's on battery power. Unfortunately, there's no support for automatically adjusting your screen brightness using a light sensor.
| Cell Phone | Brightness (lux) | Score |
| HTC Touch | 105 | 8.00 |
| Helio Ocean | 63 | 4.35 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 105 | 9.50 |
| HTC Mogul | 102 | 7.85 |
| Palm Centro | 54 | 6.90 |
| Apple iPhone | 168 | 15.40 |
Screen Bright Light Performance (1.0)
To see how the HTC Touch's screen handles bright light situations we put 3000 lux of light on the screen, equivalent to a bright sunny day. We then judged how legible the screen was. The HTC Touch did not perform well in our bright light test, as the screen was almost completely illegible and won't hold up well when there's a lot of glare. We recommend you go find a shady spot if you need to use the Touch on a very sunny day.
Color Depth (6.0)
Color depth is a measure of how many colors can be displayed. The HTC Touch's screen can display 65,000 colors, which is par for the course for a Windows Mobile device. In fact, the software is unable to display more colors. Unfortunately this is starting to fall behind other handsets, where 262,000 or even 16 million colors is becoming more common. That being said, however, 65,000 colors should be sufficient for most users.
| Cell Phone | Colors (thousands) | Score |
| HTC Touch | 65 | 6.0 |
| Helio Ocean | 260 | 8.0 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 65 | 6.0 |
| HTC Mogul | 65 | 6.0 |
| Palm Centro | 65 | 6.0 |
| Apple iPhone | unknown | 6.0 |
Ports & Storage
Power & Data Ports (9.0)
The HTC Touch uses a single Mini USB port for both power and data functions. We're very happy to see this standardized port, as it allows you to use any Mini USB cable for the Touch. We are also happy to see charging via the USB port is also supported, meaning you can use a laptop and USB cable to charge the Touch on the road.
Headphone & Jack Compatibility (4.0)
The Touch also uses its Mini USB port for headphones. While we were happy to see Mini USB for power and data, using it for headphones means you're locked into a proprietary system. We would have much preferred to see a more standard 2.5 or 3.5-millimeter headphone jack. Thankfully, if you want to do away with wires altogether the Touch also supports wireless stereo Bluetooth headphones.
Internal Storage (2.0)
The HTC Touch has an impressive 256 MB of internal storage. HTC has steadily been increasing the internal storage of its devices from 64 MB to 128 MB and now 256 MB. Although it's nowhere near the iPhone's 8 GB of storage, it's more than sufficient for storing the standard data and applications you might need, with plenty left over for photos. If you intend on loading the phone up with music and videos, however, you'll need to invest in a memory card.
Expansion Slot & Format (4.5)
The HTC Touch uses a Micro SD card for expansion. It supports the new SDHC high capacity cards that are widely available with up to 4 GB of storage, and we're starting to see cards up to 8 GB appearing. Unfortunately, getting to the card is not easy. First you need to remove the back cover, then open a long flap along the right side of the phone. Getting the flap off is difficult, and we worried we might break the phone when doing it. This is a similar arrangement to the Palm Centro, and we hate it. Most new phones have easily accessible memory card slots, and the Touch's seems poorly designed by contrast.
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