7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
Near Perfection
Date of Review: Oct 28, 2008
The Bottom Line: But in the end, especially for today's price at Sprint ($49.99 with two year contract), you cannot find a better phone for its price.
This review is in regards to the HTC Touch from Sprint. So my experience may vary from yours if you purchase yours unlocked or from another carrier (i.e. Verizon). I made this purchase as an upgrade from Verizon's Razr.
The first thing you'll notice is how ridiculously small this phone is. When placed side by side with my old Razr, I found the Touch just slightly bigger and the difference in weight was negligible. I carry this phone in my front pocket of my pants, so the transition in terms of carrying it around was very smooth.
The HTC Touch will come with the standard phone, battery, charger, earphones, USB cable, stylus, extra stylus, 512 micro SD card and screen protector. So you'll be able to use the phone right out of the box without any worries of losing a piece (stylus) or scuffing it (screen protector).
The touch screen itself is very nice and responsive. The original screen protector though does take some of the sensitivity away and makes it a bit difficult at times to navigate but a simple upgrade to a nicer one will solve the problem. The screen itself is very bright and has adjustable lighting settings to help conserve power.
The phone is loaded with Windows Mobile. At the time of my purchase, it came with 6.0 but newer versions should be loaded with an improved 6.1. There is the standard love-hate relationship with Microsoft products, and Windows Mobile (WM) isn't an exception here either. What WM lacks in style, makes up for in customizability. Basically what that means is, if you don't like a certain program of how the interface looks, you can change it. This does require a bit of leg work and research but forums scattered across the net have plenty of preset programs already made for you to try out.
I purchased this phone back in March 2008 and it took me up until June to get the phone exactly how I want it. That may seem like a lot of work for some but the result of it was that my phone works perfectly and exactly how I wanted it to.
A few examples:
I can sync Google Calendar to my phone.
I have multiple web browers to give me optimal surfing experiences.
My mp3 player can play with the screen turned off to save power.
I have GPS now (wasn't included when I first purchased the phone).
I can search for cheapest gas prices to my location.
Upgraded the keyboard to a more finger friendly program. (I can now text faster than if I had a full sized keyboard.)
The Touch says it can only handle up to 2GB for the micro SD slot but I'm using 4GB to hold my mp3s and videos and there hasn't been an issue. The upgradable memory is a nice touch and gives you ample of storage for your media files. Just be sure to look on eBay for a micro SD card deal.
The USB jack is your only outlet source which is extremely convenient as there is only one type of cable that you'll need to transfer data, charge your phone but is a bit of a problem as it doubles as your earphones. I'll touch on that more later. But I do give HTC/Sprint props for not trying to monopolize the situation. The Razr I previously owned had the same USB port on the phone but would only charge if I plugged in a verified Verizon charger. The Touch on the other hand will charge as long as you can plug the cable in. I've charged it with my GPS chord in the car, my friend's Blackberry charger and also from a friend's USB cable running from his laptop. It's nice to have options.
The GPS on the phone is fantastic. You can pick up two free programs from Live.com and Google Maps that can handle GPS navigation. I personally use Live Search because of its ability to give out traffic reports and also locate gas prices for me. But Google Maps has a better user interface and at times can find restaurants and other places that Live Search cannot. The GPS is exceptionally accurate but the downside is that neither of them have any voice. Of course you can't expect to have that much with free products but voice would've been a great addition.
Of course the phone isn't without a few imperfections. One problem that many will experience is that the WM has made the interface mostly for a stylus user. Meaning that the texts and buttons are quite small. Granted it's very rare for me to hit the wrong button, but at times I'll need to use my fingernail or pull out the stylus to do what I need to do.
Another issue is the battery power. The battery power itself is fantastic and I've gotten a full day's worth of usage with phone calls, and heavy browser surfing. The problem is that once in a few months the battery will for whatever reason drain itself at an alarming rate (nearly 2-3 times as fast) than usual. The only solution that I've found is to simply remove the battery for a few minutes and recharge. Just a little nuisance but still bothersome.
The HTC Touch does have the problem with keeping clean. I'm not a slob and always wash my hands after a meal but the phone does attract fingerprints, smudges and dust fairly easily. I will have to dissaemble the battery and use condensed air to rid of the dust build up. The screen does pick up the oils from your fingers quite well. That can be solved by just rubbing a micro fiber cloth over it. Nothing major but again, just a hassle to have to deal with.
Another nuisance is that there is only an USB jack for your headphones. Sprint does provide you with some, but you'll need to buy an adapter if you have some favorite headphones that you'd prefer to use.
There is also no wi-fi as the newer generation phones (Diamond and Touch Pro) for faster surfing but Sprint's EVDO is perfectly adequate.
