When I first recieved my Touch HD nearly 2 weeks ago, the first thing that caught my eye was the rather nice packaging. The box is very compact but everything is well packed, and the inside of the box has a nice foam finish around the area the phone sits in, providing ample protection.The box contained the following:
The USB cable also acts as the charger cable as it plugs into the A/C adapter, which otherwise has no cable to connect it to the phone.Once you switch the phone on and it has run through its set up process (which by the the way is rather painless) you can really appreciate how strikingly clear and bright the screen is. The screen is a 3.8" WVGA item, making its resolution a whopping 480x800! The first thing I did was to fit the screen cover, but I was a bit dissapointed as it is very difficult to get it to fit properly. It has to be fitted perfectly straight otherwise it won't fit properly at the edges, and believe me this is not easy. If the screen protector were just a tiny bit smaller it would be much easier to fit it.
FEATURES
The HTC Touch HD has some great features. The bright wide screen display offers great viewing of movies and photographs. The processor is quick enough to allow viewing of movies to be smooth, although I would comment that occassionally there
is a slow down. To avoid this I found it best to close down programs when you are finished with them, as opposed to simply minimising them. This can be done easily enough using the TouchFLO software.
The built in GPS receiver is great, and it allows Google Maps to have added accuracy (it can locate you from the cellular signal, but its quite inacurate). It also allows the phone to run GPS software, although I have not tried it with any yet.
The camera at first seems very impressive, and at 5 mega pixels it offers a great resolution. It has an auto focus feature, however it does take a few moments to do so and so is not great for capturing quick shots. A nice feature is that you can easily select the point of focus by touching the screen where you want it to focus first. There is no hardware button to shortcut to the camera, and also to actually take a shot. This means it can take longer to access the camera. It also means that when taking a photo you have to press a button on the screen, which is not great but does the job. Unfortunately the camera doesn't have a flash, so night time shots aren't really a possibility. There is also another VGA camera in the front of the phone allowing video calling.
The phone has bluetooth 2.0 which is plenty fast enough to allow a decent data transfer speed. I have set it up with a personal area networt (PAN) to my laptop and it shares the internet at a decent speed, also thanks in no small way to the support of the high speed HSPA network (up to 7.2 mb/s) which the Touch HD has.
WiFi is also a great feature, allowing you to connect the phone to hotspots or to your own wireless network. Internet download speeds are really good when using the wireless receiver.
The large 8gb microSD memory card included in the box allows you to load plenty of MP3s onto the phone. There is also a 3.5mm (standard size) headphone jack socket on the top of the phone, which is great as it means you can plug whatever headphones you want into the Touch HD, and not just the supplied headphones. Audio quality is pretty good. You can use either Windows Media Player to play music, or you can play it directly from the TouchFLO software, which personally I prefer.
The Touch HD features an FM reciever, although you do have to have headphones plugged in for it to be used, as they act as an aerial. Reception is pretty good through it though, and if you fancy it you can put it onto loudspeaker to listen to it, although the headphones must remain plugged in.
Like the iPhone, the Touch HD features a G-sensor. This allows you to play motion games. There is one of these included, Teeter, this is a game where you have to tilt the phone to get the ball around a maze, reaching the goal without falling down any holes along the way... There are other uses for this feature though. You can, for example, turn the phone over when you receive a call to silence the phone, which is pretty cool!
Its worth noting that the keyboard on the Touch HD is superb. Its very easy to use it to by hand, rather than with a stylus, and it also has predictive text. In fact to be honest I found that the screen was large enough to use most features with just your fingers, and this i would imagine is how the phone was designed to be used.
SOFTWARE
The operating systems on this phone is Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.1 Proffessional. I was familiar with the way this software runs having had a previous phone running version 5 of the software.
Like many of the other phones in the HTC range, the Touch HD comes pre-loaded with the TouchFLO 3D software. This replaces the standard Windows Mobile home screen, and gives easy access to many of the most useful of the phones many features. Many other people I know with HTC phones have taken the decision to turn this feature off. I think one of the main reasons for this was that it caused the phone to slow down when it was running. In the two weeks I have been using the Touch HD so far, I don't feel that the TouchFLO software has caused any major reduction in speed, and have therfore chosen to leave it running on my phone. It features a tab allowing you to access contacts, SMS and MMS messages, emails, the Opera internet program (including shortcuts to all you bookmarked pages), stocks, pictures (also a shortcut to the camera), music, weather, settings, and program shortcuts. The touchFLO software looks great, and it is a pleasure to use. However the main criticism I would have of the TouchFLO software is, that as as far as I am aware you can't add any tabs to it, although having said that I would struggle to think of any other useful tabs you might want to add anyway.
Other pre-installed software worth a mention include:
Microsoft Office applications (mobile versions of Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and One Note)
Abobe Reader LE
BBC iPlayer
Google Maps
The Opera web browser is a very nice looking alternative to the standard internet explorer, however I found it to lock up on me occassionally requiring me to close it down and start it again. BBC iPlayer is a great feature however a criticism I would definately have of it is that it won't allow you to stream material unless you are connected to a WiFi hotspot. This means that even if you are running the superfast HSPA connection that Vodafone offer (as I am) you can't stream material.
OVERALL
Having used the phone for a couple of weeks I now feel that I have a good feel for the phone. The phone is a massive improvement over my last Windows Mobile based phone, an O2 XDA Orbit. The TouchFLO software makes it much more iPhone like, and is also very user friendly. There are a few ways in which the phone could be improved, such as the inclusion of a flash and a hardware button for the camera. It would also be nice to have a seperate USB cable, as the one included is needed for the charger, and I like to leave a cable in my laptop bag so I can charge the phone from my laptop if I am caught out without the charger. Fortunately the type of cable is the normal mini USB type, and I had a spare one of these from my old phone. It is also a real shame that Microsoft or HTC don't do a similar thing to apple and have a single place to download apps from. There are plenty of applications out there but they take some finding, and I feel that until they add a feature like this, Windows Mobile phones won't attract the masses like the iPhone has.
Overall I have to say, despite my minor criticisms, I am deeply impressed with this phone. It does everything you expect from a pocket PC and more. It looks great and has a very high quality feel to it. Overall I would recomend anyone looking for a new phone to try this out before you set you heart on getting an iPhone, as its definately a worthy alternative!
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Als VikuitiScreen Protectors DQC160Properties of the film:* Transparency: clear* more
Anti-reflective coating: no* Scratch resistance: Pencil hardness 4H .. 5H* Dirt-repellent: strongFor devices with multiple displays 1 film per display in the packageVikuiti Crystal clear screen protector DQC160Invisible protectionThe scratch-resistant surface protects your display for damages of any kind without being conspicuous. With a very high scratch resistance of 4 .. 5H survives the film itself aggressive contact with sharp objects. Due to the dirt surface remain no trace of ball point pens or similar term.Crystal surfaceThe high transparency and optical quality of the film make it virtually invisible. The glossy surface makes images appear to contrast.Easy to mount, completely removableThe film has a little sticky, slightly wetting adhesive layer. Should you sell your unit back to the film at any time easily and completely removable.
Als VikuitiScreen Protectors DQC160Properties of the film:* Transparency: clear* more
Anti-reflective coating: no* Scratch resistance: Pencil hardness 4H .. 5H* Dirt-repellent: strongFor devices with multiple displays 1 film per display in the packageVikuiti Crystal clear screen protector DQC160Invisible protectionThe scratch-resistant surface protects your display for damages of any kind without being conspicuous. With a very high scratch resistance of 4 .. 5H survives the film itself aggressive contact with sharp objects. Due to the dirt surface remain no trace of ball point pens or similar term.Crystal surfaceThe high transparency and optical quality of the film make it virtually invisible. The glossy surface makes images appear to contrast.Easy to mount, completely removableThe film has a little sticky, slightly wetting adhesive layer. Should you sell your unit back to the film at any time easily and completely removable.
Enjoy music videos, films and streaming like you never thought possible with the HTC Touch more
HD. Experience internet browsing so exhilarating... it feels like you never left your laptop at home. Its all delivered to you on a pixel-packed 3.8 WVGA screen and seamlessly tied together with touch-responsive TouchFLO 3D. The ultrafast 3.5G technology lets you surf and download at true broadband speeds. On HSDPA networks, the HTC Touch HD delivers downlink speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps there is no need to slow down while you work or play. The newly added Stock tab keeps you informed of the latest stock quotes, while the connected Home screen puts e-mail, messages and calendar only a finger-stroke away. Get directions, view satellite maps and find your location using Google Maps. The maps are bigger and crisper thanks to the HTC Touch HD's expansive screen. Tap the onscreen controls to zoom in and view more detail. This is navigation taken to a whole new level.
Prepare yourself for the ulimate visual experiance. Watch movies surf the web and take more
hold of your communication in high definition widescreen for mobile. Prepare yourself for Touch in HD. Enjoy music videos films and streaming like you never thought possible on a mobile device. Experience internet browsing so exhilarating it feels like you never left your laptop at home. It's all delivered to you on a pixel-packed 3.8" WVGA (480 X 800 pixel) screen and seamlessly tied together with touch-responsive TouchFLOTM 3D. The ultrafast 3.5G technology lets you surf and download at true broadband speeds. On HSDPA networks the Touch HDTM delivers downlink speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps - there is no need to slow down while you work or play. The newly added Stock tab keeps you informed of the latest stock quotes while the connected home screen puts e-mail messages and calendar only a finger-stroke away. Get directions view satellite maps and find your location using Google Maps. The maps are bigger and crisper thanks to the expansive screen. Tap the onscreen controls to zoom in and view more detail. This is navigation taken to a whole new level. The HTC Touch HD comes with a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus (but no flash) plus a secondary video calling camera. The Touch HD features GPS support so it can be used with Google Maps or another application. The large touchscreen is ideal for satellite navigation and can be easily mounted in a car. What's in the box? HTC Touch HD Smart Phone Genuine HTC Touch HD Battery Genuine HTC Mains Charger USB Data Cable Genuine HTC Stereo Headset Software CD-ROM User guide
Advantages: wonderful screen, amazing feature list, a verifiable power house. Disadvantages: gets warm under heavy use, a tad bulky, poor legibility of screen under direct sunlight
VanDrake 19.03.2009 (30.11.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of HTC Touch HD
Advantages: Office works well, full vivid HD quality screen and WORKING touch screen! Disadvantages: Battery life can be drained quickly and data charges can be high
JamieLPD 28.12.2008 (28.12.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of HTC Touch HD
Advantages: Huge screen, Excellent camera, Super fast internet, Vast connectivity, Familiar software Disadvantages: Back cover is slightly difficult to remove, could do with more RAM
Gumbertron 19.06.2009 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of HTC Touch HD
Advantages: wonderful screen, amazing feature list, a verifiable power house. Disadvantages: gets warm under heavy use, a tad bulky, poor legibility of screen under direct sunlight
VanDrake 19.03.2009 (30.11.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of HTC Touch HD
Advantages: Stylish, feature rich, range of applications Disadvantages: Opera application crashes the phone quite often, scrolling takes some getting used to.
lrawat 27.07.2009 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of HTC Touch HD
Advantages: Office works well, full vivid HD quality screen and WORKING touch screen! Disadvantages: Battery life can be drained quickly and data charges can be high
JamieLPD 28.12.2008 (28.12.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of HTC Touch HD
Jun 9th, 2009
exceptional by (20%):
very helpful by (80%):
