Jason Dunn
06-05-2007, 12:00 PM
At this moment in London, England, HTC is officially unveiling the HTC Touch: a new device that represents a step forward in the way users interact with a Windows Mobile device. The full press release is below, but here are the highlights: the secret sauce is TouchFLO, a touch screen technology that allows easier finger-based navigation. The touch screens we have today can be used with fingers, so I'm slightly confused as to how this is different, but it can apparently differentiate between a finger and a stylus and respond differently. Sounds great on paper, but I have to see this for myself - and, thankfully, I will. HTC is delivering an HTC Touch to me on Wednesday, so stay tuned for my first impressions (I might even bust out the video for this one).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/HTC-touch-LARGE.jpg"><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/HTC-touch-SMALL.jpg" /></a><br />[click image above for high-resolution version]<br /><br />The specifications for the device are as follows: it's based on the HTC Elf design, uses a 201 Mhz OMAP CPU, is 13.9mm thick, weighs 112 grams, and has an 1100 mAh battery for up to 200 hours of standby and 5 hours of talk time. It features 64 MB RAM/128 MB ROM, includes a free 1 GB microSD card, runs Windows Mobile 6 Professional (so it's a Pocket PC), and has a 2 megapixel CMOS camera. It will come in black and "Wasabi Green" - have you <a href="http://img.timeinc.net/cooking/flavorprofiles/wasabi_m.jpg">seen wasabi</a>? It's a funky green, so I can't wait to see what the green version looks like! The black version is described as "elegant soft black" and I was told it will feature the same soft black rubber as the T-Mobile Dash.<!><br /><br />What about the phone part? The HTC Touch is a tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE phone, being launched in the UK immediately after the announcement and available through both Orange and T-Mobile. The operators have not announced pricing, but it will be 449 Euro for the non-subsidized version (which likely means HTC will be selling it directly as well). The phone will be available across Europe and Asia within 30 days, and it will be in North America in the second half of 2007 (and you can bet it will support the 850 band when that happens).<br /><br />My contact wanted to stress the simplified home screen, as HTC has evidently been hearing that the standard Windows Mobile home screen was too complicated. I agree! I think it's great to have a rich, complex home screen for power users, but, too many operators cram a dozen plug-ins on the home screen and call it a day - and you end up with an overwhelming home screen and a sluggish device. As the photo above shows, the new home screen is very simple: time, date, and a weather application that is free for the user and contains data for hundreds of cities around the world. It didn't escape my notice that in order for HTC to use the home screen as a talking point, it means that the operator isn't going to enforce their own "unique" home screen...and that, dear readers, is a good thing.<br /><br />One thing gives me pause: my contact, and the press release, mentioned a "3D interface". Unless HTC has invented some sort of holographic touchscreen technology I'm not aware of, this seems like marketing hype. As far as the user interface goes, apparently you'll be able to swipe your finger one direction and get a list of people that you communicate with most often, and another direction you'll get access to your media. It will be interesting to see how this works in the real world. Will it be useful enough to warrant the exclusion of buttons? The HTC Touch only has two buttons on the front in addition to the control pad, and those two buttons are mapped to softkeys - meaning there's no way to launch applications with a button-push. There's no mention of a scroll wheel either, which I wish more phones came with.<br /><br />Regardless, the HTC Touch looks like an interesting device and I can't wait to get my geeky paws on it!<br /><br />The full press release is below:<br /><br />"LONDON — June 5, 2007 — HTC Corp. (TAIEX: 2498; “HTC”), the world’s leading provider of Microsoft® Windows Mobile®-based smart devices, today announced the global launch of the HTC Touch™, a deceptively small and stylish mobile phone that ushers in an innovative new concept in intuitive touch screen navigation. The HTC Touch™ brings a new level of simplicity to the powerful and function-rich device experience that today’s mobile consumers demand. <br /><br />Building on its rich ten year history of mobile phone innovations, the HTC Touch™ represents extensive research and development and the conviction that fingertip control will enable more efficient, natural and intuitive touch screen navigation. The groundbreaking HTC Touch™ offers a new and unique way of controlling touch screen-based devices by recognising and responding to the sweep of a finger across the screen. It is even intelligent enough to distinguish between finger and stylus input and then respond accordingly. <br /><br />“With the HTC Touch™, access to your most commonly used content, contacts and features is only a simple finger flick away,” said Peter Chou, chief executive officer of HTC. “Mobile phone makers have done a great job of cramming ever-more exciting features into ever-smaller phones. But the way in which one accesses these increasingly sophisticated features has not kept pace. That ends today with the HTC Touch.”<br /><br />Smart, stylish and versatile, the HTC Touch™ brings together a wide variety of communication, entertainment and professional capabilities that enable mobile consumers to balance work and play. The new HTC-designed homescreen provides one-touch access to emails, text messages, calendar appointments and contacts, as well as current weather conditions and forecasts for hundreds of cities around the world. <br /><br />The HTC Touch is the first device to feature TouchFLO™, the new underlying touch screen technology developed by HTC. Consumers simply sweep their finger up the display to launch an animated, three-dimensional interface comprising three screens: Contacts, Media and Applications. The interface can be spun by swiping a finger right or left across the display, providing efficient access to the features consumers use most. TouchFLO™ also enhances finger touch scrolling and browsing of Web pages, documents, messages and contact lists.<br /><br />Leveraging the broad functionality of Windows Mobile 6 Professional, the HTC Touch™ includes Outlook Mobile, Office Mobile, Windows Live and the capabilities to run thousands of third-party applications. Users can surf the web with Internet Explorer®, send and receive emails, chat on Messenger and send files to their own web space through Windows Live®. Other HTC Touch™ details include:<br /><br />• Dimensions: 99.9mm (L) x 58mm (W) x 13.9mm (T)<br />• Weight: 112g with battery<br />• 1GB microSD storage card included / 64MB RAM, 128MB ROM<br />• 2.8’’ LCD touch screen with backlight, 240 x 320 dots resolution with 65,536 colours<br />• Battery Life: Rechargeable Li-Ion battery with a capacity of 1100 mAh<br />• Standby time: Up to 200 / Talk time: Up to 5 hours<br />• Camera: 2.0 mega-pixel CMOS colour camera<br />• Windows Mobile 6 Professional with Direct Push Email and HTML email support<br />• Wireless Connectivity: GSM/GPRS/EDGE Tri-band: 900, 1800,1900, Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g and Bluetooth® 2.0<br />• Choice of two colors at launch - elegant soft black or alluring wasabi green<br /><br /><b><span>Availability</span></b><br />The HTC Touch™ is now available in the United Kingdom and will be released later this month in Asia and throughout Europe. The North and Latin American version of the HTC Touch™ will be available in the second half of 2007. "