The Apple iPhone:Windows smartphone

The iPhone is an internet-connected multimedia smartphone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a flush multi-touch screen and a minimal hardware interface. The device does not have a physical keyboard, so a virtual keyboard is rendered on the touch screen instead.
The success of the Apple iPhone has meant handset makers have gone touchscreen crazy, with even BlackBerry launching a device for use with full-sized fingers. Owners of Windows-powered smartphones could only look on in envy, hampered by the menu-based interface of their own devices.

But things have changing and Taiwan’s HTC has made much of the running. HTC makes many of the mobile phone network own-brand smartphones on the market today, including O2’s XDA and T-Mobile’s MDA ranges, as well as Orange’s former SPV range.

These days, the company is also selling phones under its own brand in the UK and its latest device, the Touch HD, is the best attempt yet to crack the touchscreen market for the Windows user base. As with O2 and the iPhone, there is an exclusive network partner – Orange.

The touchscreen is as big as a playing field. At 3.8 inches across the diagonal, it is bigger even than the Apple iPhone’s lovely screen and touts an even more impressive resolution. With such a huge expanse of screen to play with, you would hope for something better than Windows Mobile’s menu-based interface and the Touch HD delivers. Sitting on top of Windows is HTC’s TouchFlo 3D interface, which uses finger gestures rather than stylus taps. I have previously talked about Touchflo 3D in my reviews of O2’s XDA Ignito and Serra smartphones and have found it lacking. However, Touchflo comes into its own on the Touch HD because of its considerably larger screen than those devices.

For those who haven’t seen Touchflo 3D, it works from a new home screen. Along the bottom is a ribbon of icons than you can slide left and right with your finger. These icons access the Touch’s major applications, such as the Opera web browser, email, music player, contacts and calendar. You can still access traditional Windows Mobile using the start menu at top left.

Inside the web browser, Touchflo 3D lets you zoom in and out using a double tap of the finger. However, there is no consistency to the gestures required. If you are looking at photos, zooming in and out requires a circular gesture.

I am still convinced that the iPhone does the best job here, thanks to its support for multi-finger gestures. There are downloads for Windows Mobile which emulate multi-touch but still cannot beat the very intuitive Apple interface.

That enormous and high resolution screen has some other advantages. YouTube addicts will be pleased to know that it works really well on the Touch HD; it is the first Windows Mobile-powered smartphone to really do it justice in the mobile setting.

The Touch HD's exterior is very minimal. There’s a 3.5mm audio jack and power button on the top edge, a discreet magnetic stylus holder on the right edge, flat volume buttons on the right and a mini USB socket on the bottom. The back face – which has a rubberised coating for robustness – is home to the phone’s 5meg autofocus camera. That camera spec makes the iPhone’s 2meg job look like a pinhole camera in comparison. The Touch’s microSD slot is hidden away inside the battery cover – an ideal location given that most people rarely swap their cards.

As for preinstalled software, the Touch HD comes with Office Mobile, offering miniature clones of Word, Excel and PowerPoint. This is very useful if, like much of the corporate world, you use the full blown versions at the office.

WorldCard Mobile is another business traveller friendly inclusion. It allows you to take a photo of a business card and then import the contact information into your address book. It gets a little confused with unusual card layouts and small or compressed text but does a remarkably good job considering. If you are constantly on the road, this could be a real timesaver.