Do I need a stylus?

[gxtal]

Hi,

I've been out of the Windows Mobile world for a few years after using an iPhone, but I'm now looking to purchase an HTC device because I miss the full Outlook connectivity and (believe it or not) the home screen.

My concern is how well do the the touch only HTC phones (HD2, HD Mini, Touch2) work without a stylus? I still have quite a few windows mobile apps that I would like to use (list pro, codewallet, sprintdb) that were definitely not built for non stylus input.

Would I better off tracking down one of the HTC phones that come with a stylus (I was thinking of the HTC Cruise 2009) or does the HTC software compensate well enough not to require this?

My needs are pretty basic, good screen for reading (RSS reader, eReader/mobipocket), Outlook connectivity and the previously mentioned apps. Whilst the HD2 screen is lovely and the mini stylish, I could save a few hundred by getting the Cruise 2009.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Greg.

[Sven Johannsen]

If you need a stylus, they got it wrong. ;) I am using a an HTC Touch Diamond II, in the form of an AT&T Pure. It comes with a stylus. I rarely pull it out. This phone runs WM 6.5, not 6.5.3 which has a little more finger friendliness. The vast majority of WinMo apps have been upgraded to accomodate finger use. My only concern is that you may be thinking you are going to use the apps you bought 'several years' ago. If you are looking for the functionality of those apps, I think you can easily get there without the stylus, but you will either need to upgrade or get a current equivalent. The HTC software doesn't compensate for anything IMHO. It is an overlay, which makes some things flashier, but you have the same underlying OS, the same native apps, and the third party apps are what they are. The HTC UI is turned off on my Pure.

I also use an iPhone, and if you will allow a personal opinion (which is all you get in these forums ;) ) I much prefer the resistive touch screens to the capacitive ones. While the capacitive screen does seem more responsive to touch, it loses a lot in resolution. I find my Pure reacts to finger swipes darn near as well as my iPhone, but, I can get out the stylus and do 'precision' work if I need to. I can also use a finger nail, or a gloved hand, or a toothpick if absolutely neccessary. On the capacitive screen I really have no choice, it's finger pad or nothing. Sure there are a few 'iphone' pens around, but they vary between writing with a Q-tip and trying to write on glass with a pencil eraser. Even on my iPad, writing with the available options, is less than satisfying, or efficient. Unfortunately MS is moving to capacitive for the new WinPhone 7 it appears. I think that is a mistake, but they don't typically ask my opinion up front. I think a resistive screen can be made to function every bit as well as capacitive, with a lot more flexibility. Multi-touch may be the problem, but not sure you couldn't work around that issue. MS videos seem to show both finger touch and stylus use simultaneously on research devices, and I have had HP tablets that do that, albeit with special pens. I'd like to see that on phones/mobile devices vice just capacitive touch.