HTC introduced the Touch earlier this year, and this winter they have released the Touch Dual. Both feature TouchFLO, HTC’s touchscreen technology which allows “finger-touch scrolling, panning and photo zooming” with its “3D touch cube interface for quick and easy navigation.” Both have flush mounted screens which allow unfettered finger swiping, both are quite the minimalists with their D-pad and two button fronts, and both have a lovely rubbery coating on their ergonomic and caressable bodies.

And yes, I know that there is a third Touch available, the Touch Cruise, but it looks nothing like its siblings…and since I don’t happen to have a Cruise in my possession, we are going to ignore it in this comparison. mmm-kay?

By now reviews have peppered the web about Touch-Flo and the whole new cube interface and user experience, so I thought it would be fun to approach this review from the hardware only standpoint, as in “What are the main differences between these two Touches?” And “Why might you like one more than the other?”

Let’s take a look!

photos were taken by Jerry

Immediately obvious is that the Touch Dual on the left is the taller and slightly svelter appearing device, whereas the Touch on the right is shorter and wider – but not thicker, as you will see.

The Touch Dual measures 10.7cm (4.2 in) tall x 5.51cm (2.1 in) wide x 1.66cm (.65 in) thick, and it weighs 4.7 oz; the Touch measures 10.1cm (4 in) tall x 6.0cm (2.4 in) wide x 1.44cm (.56 in) thick, and it weighs 3.9 oz. As you can see in the photos, the Touch is the thinner device, although in almost every way the Touch Dual seems thinner.

from left to right: HTC Touch Dual and HTC Touch

from top to bottom: HTC Touch Dual and HTC Touch

from top to bottom: HTC Touch Dual and HTC Touch

from top to bottom: HTC Touch Dual and HTC Touch

The HTC Touch

Let’s start with the Touch, after all – it was the first on the scene. Reviews began popping up for the European version in late July, and the faster processor and larger memory enabled Sprint version showed up in mid-October. As you can see by the branding below, I have the Sprint version. The front is dominated by its 3.25″diagonal flat glass panel, which makes the 2.8″ screen seem even larger at first. The button cluster on the front is one of the cleanest seen on any current PDA – there are only three. From left to right are the call button, the four-way directional pad with center select, and the hangup button. I don’t want to forget the mesh covered call speaker at the top of the device: it also covers the green service LED and the blue Bluetooth LEDs. Everything looks very minimalistic and plain – but in a very stylish and attractive way.

On the back is a 2 megapixel camera along with a circular mirror for checking your teeth after eating dinner. I like how the speaker grill is covered in black mesh – everything just looks so smooth, and it feels very nice in your hand, too. Like I said, these devices are caressable.

Here are the HTC Touch’s specifications. the Sprint specific specs are in italics, and if the specs listed pertained only to the GSM version, they have been crossed out:
Processor – CDMA version has 400MHz TI’s OMAP™ 850, 201 MHz
Operating System – Windows Mobile® 6 Professional
Memory – ROM: 256 MB, SDRAM: 128 MB DDR ROM: 128 MB, SDRAM: 64 MB DDR
Display – 2.8″ LCD touch screen with backlight, 240 X 320 dots resolution with 65,536 colors
Network – CDMA GSM/GPRS/EDGE Tri-band: 900, 1800, 1900 (The device will operate on frequencies available from the cellular network.)
Device Control – HTC TouchFLO™, 5-Way navigation control
Connectivity – Bluetooth® 2.0, Wi-Fi® IEEE 802.11 b/g , HTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB and audio jack in one)
Camera – 2.0 megapixel CMOS color camera
Audio – Built-in microphone and 3-in-1 speaker
Windows Media Player supported formats – AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, MP3, WMA, WAV, QCELP, MPEG4, AMR-NB, AMR-WB
Battery – Rechargeable 1100 mAh Li-lon battery
Standby time – Up to 200 hours
Talk time – Up to 5 hours (Sprint site says 4 hours)
Expansion Slot – microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
AC Adapter -Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60Hz, DC output: 5V and 1A

Let’s make a ring-around-the-device…

On the top are the stylus silo and the power button, which also turns the screen on and off.

On the left side is the volume up and down toggle switch, on the bottom left are the lanyard holes.

On the right, there is a button labeled with the Sprint logo which can be set by the user to open up to two programs with a long and a short press; it comes mapped to the camera and Voice Speed Dial. Behind the middle bar of chrome colored plastic is the microSD slot, which is easiest accessed by removing the battery compartment door.

The bottom of the Touch has (from left to right) the lanyard slot, microphone, miniUSB port, and reset button.

The stylus seems to be a bit of an afterthought, as so many of them are anymore. This one is 3″ long and other than quick jots, would be completely painful to use.

Here’s a shot of the battery compartment with its door removed, as you can see, there is a spot where you can insert a fingernail to open the trim covering the microSD slot. Trying to do this without removing the battery door may work all right a few times, but over time you may damage the door. On the GSM model, the SIM card slot is also behind this side rail.

Of course, there are no dedicated phone buttons, so the Touch may be a little more minimalistic than you might like. In that case, take a look at…

The HTC Touch Dual

There aren’t quite as many reviews of the HTC Touch Dual floating around, because it is still a brand new device. However, a few are starting to trickle out. Matt has posted his initial impressions along with an excellent video (filmed on his N95!) on the improvements that the updated Touch brings; Matt has also since posted his second impressions with more video. Jenneth also plans on doing a full review on her Touch Dual after she has used it for a respectable period.

I’m probably sticking my foot in my mouth by comparing the two (not that that has ever stopped me before), but for some reason this Touch reminds me of the rounded, organic shape of the Motorola PEBL. The Dual has to be one of the most caressable bodies I have felt in a long time on any PDA. You just want to hold it, and it fits perfectly in almost everyone’s palm.

Once again, the entire design of the Touch Dual is minimalistic and clean, and once again, the flush 3″ diagonal glass front makes the screen appear even larger than it is. Since this is a European model, you’ll notice that it has a video camera on the front. This is a basically useless feature for those of us in the states since we don’t have the correct band HSDPA/UMTS band. The three buttons on the front of the Dual will allow you to do almost any phone function between them and the screen, but because the Dual has a hidden keyboard, you’ll also have other options. We’ll look at those in a moment…

Specifications:
Processor – Qualcomm® MSM 7200, 400MHz
Operating System – Windows Mobile® 6 Professional
Memory – ROM: 256MB ; RAM: 128MB SDRAM
Display – 2.6-inch TFT-LCD with backlight LEDs, touch-sensitive screen
Network – HSDPA/UMTS: 2100 MHz; HSDPA: Up to 384kbps for upload and 3.6Mbps for download; UMTS: Up to 384kbps for upload and download; GSM/GPRS/EDGE: Tri-band 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz (The device will operate on frequencies available from the cellular network) Best used in the US with T-Mobile, as it will only work with AT&T in certain geographic areas.
Device Control – HTC TouchFLO™, 5-Way navigation control, Keyboard or Keypad, either the Slide-out 20-key QWERTY keyboard or Slide-out 16-key keypad (Subject to the HTC Touch DUAL model you have)
Connectivity – Bluetooth® 2.0, HTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB and audio jack in one), Hi-speed USB 2.0, HTC H2Wire support
Camera – Main camera: 2 megapixel color CMOS camera Second camera: CIF CMOS color camera
Audio – Built-in microphone and speaker; Ring tone supported formats: MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, WAV, and AMR-NB, 40 polyphonic and standard MIDI format 0 and 1(SMF)/SP MIDI
Battery – 1,120 mAh rechargeable Li-polymer battery; Standby time: Up to 250 hours for UMTS; Up to 180 hours for GSM (Subject to network and phone usage); Talk time: Up to 3 hours for UMTS; Up to 5 hours for GSM; Up to 1.78 hours for video call (Subject to network and phone usage)
Expansion Slot – microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
AC Adapter – Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60Hz; DC output: 5V and 1A

Without handing you mine, I am not sure how to convey the perfect balance between weight and size that this device has. I think it is easily one of the best feeling PDAs I have ever held; everything about it is solid, people who pick it up will want to continue holding it. Think I am kidding? Wait until you hold one.

Of course, besides the differences already noted in size and weight, what sets the Dual apart from its sibling is the sliding numeric keyboard which is concealed in the bottom half of the device. Available in either a 16 key or 20 key configuration, the keyboard makes the Dual more usable for those who like buttons when dialing, as well as for those who like to text. The only thing missing is a dedicated OK button.

My only complaint with this keyboard is how shiny it is. Everything on the Dual, with the exception of the chromed plastic side rails and screen, is a lovely matte material which hardly shows fingerprints. I think the keyboard would have looked better in a matte metal or even matte plastic, but instead the keys are ridiculously shiny and begging for smudges. Otherwise, the keys have decent feedback, but I did find it to be easy to hit a neighboring button unintentionally; this just means paying a bit more attention while texting…which can be hard to do while driving! Teasing! …kind of.

The back of the phone holds the 2 megapixel camera and the mesh-covered speaker.

On the Dual, the lanyard slot is on the top of the device and on the other side is the Power button which also toggles the screen backlight on and off.

Once again, on the right side is a user configurable camera button – but this time there is no ridiculous side rail to wrestle with. I’ll show you more in a minute, but for now let’s just say that this was a very welcome surprise.

Just peeking on the bottom left, you can see the cover for the microSD door. The divot in the bottom middle of the plastic chrome bar facilitates removing the battery door, and up above it catty-cornered is the microphone.

On the left side are the volume toggle switch, miniUSB port, and covered microSD slot.

Here’s a side-shot which shows how the entire top half of the Dual slides back when the keyboard is exposed.

And here is the back with the battery door removed. The SIM card goes here instead of behind that side rail, so once again – a nice change. Look very carefully to the right of the miniUSB port…that’s the reset button and it is only exposed when the battery door is off.

The stylus silo is on the right side of the device…

…and as you can easily see in this picture, the puny and thin 3.1″ long stylus is not for serious scrawling.

Two different Duals, both very similar and yet very, very different. Which one is right for you? Well, my first question would be how will you use the device? If you primarily make calls and don’t do a lot of texting, then you might like the HTC Touch’s hardware best. It has a very nice screen and overall form factor. Most people who pick it up seem to love it – they want to lay it in their palm and without exception they will comment on how nice it feels.

However, now that it is available, I think that the Touch Dual is going to be even better received – except by those who object to its slightly thicker body. In my opinion, the only thing that might have improved the Touch Dual’s form factor would have been if it could have somehow had a full QWERTY keyboard without sacrificing thickness or adding much more width. If I had to choose one over the other, this would definitely be it. Add GPS and WiFi, and I think a lot of people would consider the Touch Dual a nearly perfect mobile phone.

The HTC Touch is available in both GSM and CDMA models. You can buy the GSM version from several vendors on the web somewhere in the $400 – $500 range, and it is even available in fashion colors (green, white, and even purple). The CDMA version is available from Sprint for $249.99 with a 2 year contract, or $499.99 without.

The HTC Dual is only available in GSM at this time, and it can be purchased from several web vendors in the $600 – $650 range.

22 Original Responses to “A Tale of Two HTC Touches”

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1. 1 Wayne Schulz Dec 20th, 2007 at 5:05 am Of course I don’t condone this, but next time you’re out (driving) and about please send an email from this Touch and provide feedback. Is it easy to do or are you too distracted for anything but a word or two? How about text messaging? I’ve seen Britney doing it from her car so I think it’s probably ok…

   1. How does this compare to the iPhone? For nearly the same price it seems that the comparison would be made by many.

   BTW, I wish I could find the link now. One of the forum leaders at Sprintusers.com was gushing over this device. Two thumbs up. Perfect in nearly every way (my paraphrase) and then the next week I stumbled upon a message from the person indicating the phone went back to the shop.

   Also, some on that Sprint forum are talking about emailing eCare with complaints about the Mogul and being offered an upgrade to the Touch or Moto Q9C for no or low money down. Not that I condone any abuse of the Sprint customer service avenues.

   I’m wondering if the lack of keyboard may be something that grinds away at you over time.

   Never thought I’d do this, but if the iPhone hits with 3G and memory improvements – I think I’m in for one. The browser and interface on my iPod Touch has me sold, and I was a HUGE, never would buy an iPhone, critic.

   Last question, if Lynne Spears Christian published “Guide to Parenting” is permanently cancelled, is there any chance that you think it might come out on the Kindle? I was looking forward to that book – not so much as a “how to” as more of a guide for “what not to”. Proves that money can’t buy class or happiness.

   PS – you think I’m bad — the Boston Herald has the Lynne Spears book story headlined as “Mama Spears book on parenting aborted” — I am not kidding:

   http://www.bostonherald.com/tr…..id=1054939

2. 2 Judie Lipsett Dec 20th, 2007 at 9:51 am Wayne, I wouldn’t tap out a longer email on either Touch – although if I had to it would be on the Dual. Texting is fine on the Dual’s keyboard, but I don’t like the soft keyboards on either.

   I think the lack of keyboard would definitely grind over time for anyone that is a heavy texter or editor – there are too many constraints not having a full QWERTY.

   How does either Dual compare to the iPhone? Quick and dirty:

   I like the form factor of the iPhone better, I like the rubbery feel of the Touch better, I like the screen size of the iPhone better, I like the iPhone interface better, but I miss the WM functions terribly. The iPhone’s screen seems more responsive, but I like the D-Pad on the Touches.

   All of the devices here have quirks and faults, I wish I could combine the best of each into one SUPER-PHONE.

   And as far as Lynn Spear’s book – I have been watching the trainwreck that is Britney for the past couple of years, and now Lynn’s 16 year old daughter is pregnant. What qualifies her as a good parent, much less one others should learn from?.

   When I think of all the talented writers who struggle daily to find an agent, and then to sell their first book, when someone with absolutely no authority in the matter can write a how-to retrospective and people will buy it simply because they recognize the authors name. Urgh…just urgh.

3. 3 palmsolo Dec 20th, 2007 at 9:59 am Very nice comparison Judie. Just to clarify a bit, there was a first generation GSM Touch that I recommend people avoid since it only had a 200 MHz processor and 64MB RAM and was a dog. I had given up on the Touch as a device, but the Sprint Touch and Touch Dual completely changed my opinion with better specs and a much better implementation of TouchFLO.

   I see you had an AT&T SIM in the Touch Dual. The Touch Dual is tri-band and doesn’t support the 850 MHz band that AT&T primarily operates on. Does the Touch Dual work for you with AT&T? You may get a stronger signal with T-Mobile. I use T-Mobile with it and find it keeps a very solid connection most of the time.

   Even though I consider myself a power user, I am LOVING the Touch Dual due to its “caressability” and solid performance. IMHO, it is the best touch screen Windows Mobile device I have used because I can pocket it in my shirt and treat it like a phone, yet have all the power of a Professional device right in the palm of my hand.

   BTW, that first impressions video I took was bad quality (recorded on a Nokia N95 in my hotel) and I just posted a much nicer version and my 2nd impressions on my blog yesterday.

   Have a Merry Christmas!

4. 4 Judie Lipsett Dec 20th, 2007 at 10:08 am Hi Matt!
   

   Very nice comparison Judie. Just to clarify a bit, there was a first generation GSM Touch that I recommend people avoid since it only had a 200 MHz processor and 64MB RAM and was a dog. I had given up on the Touch as a device, but the Sprint Touch and Touch Dual completely changed my opinion with better specs and a much better implementation of TouchFLO.

   Agreed – that’s why I made sure to highlight the Sprint version’s much better specs.

   I see you had an AT&T SIM in the Touch Dual. The Touch Dual is tri-band and doesn’t support the 850 MHz band that AT&T primarily operates on. Does the Touch Dual work for you with AT&T? You may get a stronger signal with T-Mobile. I use T-Mobile with it and find it keeps a very solid connection most of the time.

   That is a good point. The Dual worked very well in Amsterdam with the AT&T SIM, and it also worked surprisingly well in San Angelo…but not so well in LA. In the US, the best results are definitely with a T-Mobile SIM card.

   Even though I consider myself a power user, I am LOVING the Touch Dual due to its “caressability” and solid performance. IMHO, it is the best touch screen Windows Mobile device I have used because I can pocket it in my shirt and treat it like a phone, yet have all the power of a Professional device right in the palm of my hand.

   Agreed! Everyone I know who has held the Dual doesn’t want to put it down, it is truly caressable – you can’t help it! And having WM6 is a huge PLUS.

   BTW, that first impressions video I took was bad quality (recorded on a Nokia N95 in my hotel) and I just posted a much nicer version and my 2nd impressions on my blog yesterday.

   Oh! Let me link to that, too. You did very well, I still can’t believe you managed to do the first video with your N95!

   Have a Merry Christmas!

   You too, see ya at CES!

5. 5 Augie Dec 20th, 2007 at 11:53 am that Touch Dual is nice looking! the flush screen on both devices really turns me on, I wish the Mogul had it that good.

   I also agree with Judie..
   “In my opinion, the only thing that might have improved the Touch Dual’s form factor would have been if it could have somehow had a full QWERTY keyboard without sacrificing thickness or adding much more width. If I had to choose one over the other, this would definitely be it. Add GPS and WiFi, and I think a lot of people would consider the Touch Dual a nearly perfect mobile phone.”

   thanks for showing off the Touch Dual! I called Sprint and they have no idea when it’s coming, so I’ll just have to fantasize until then.

6. 6 collin Dec 20th, 2007 at 2:23 pm

   I loved my HTC Touch when I first got it. But when I started doing business travel 3 days a week.. it was not cutting it. I ended up going back to BlackBerry after 4 months use.

   I do not recommend this phone for business application. It is very good for a basic consumer phone who wants email and light internet use on the go.

   My Review
   

7. 7 Wayne Schulz Dec 20th, 2007 at 2:35 pm @Colin – Could you elaborate a little more on what did it for you? What was the moment that you said “Enough” I can’t use this any longer and swapped over to a Blackberry?

   I think it would be interesting to learn of the feature (or features) that you found didn’t work well.

   BTW, I’m a diehard Blackberry user myself — I carry a Sprint Mogule because I do enjoy the vast number of Windows Mobile apps — and I also have the Sprint SERO plan which is a phenomenal deal for mobile data (http://www.sprint.com/sero) as well as unlimited picture and text messaging.

8. 8 collin Dec 20th, 2007 at 3:12 pm HTC Touch is Fantastic for reading and consuming media. Easy access to email folders and the screen responds well to my sausage fingers. I loved the easy access to the little things – like weather updates (simple thing, but very useful)

   The software is great. I wish that more screens looked like the ones you see in the ads, but most of the time, you are navigating very “Microsoft” looking stuff.

   The real problem came in creating content. I used it to Twitter and SMS – No problem. The stylus is simply not useful writing for extended messages (100 characters or more) in email. That is a problem if you are relying on it for 2-3 days on the road with limited laptop time.

   The keyboard is too small. It made my eyes go buggy,

   Walking and emailing became very difficult to do at the same time. because of the sensitivity to the screen… always making mistakes.

   I am Canadian, I found that roaming in the US (Mostly in Detroit area) provided some additional issues. AT&T did not provide consistent delivery of email. Sometimes i would wait for 2 hours before I saw an email. At that point, i receive a backlog. In some situations, you know – that can be a real problem. That may not be AT&T’s fault, or HTC Touch, it may be Rogers in Canada, but it’s a problem i do not experience with Rogers or AT&T with my BlackBerry Curve.

   I am a Mac User. As far as syncing goes, forget it. But now that HTC is growing in popularity, somebody will build some bridges there. I would have been better off with an iPhone in that case, but you can’t get them in Canada, and they are data hogs… so even cracked ones cost too much to use

   I can’t speak to US data plans etc. but I can tell you, the hardware user interface is the reason why I can’t make a recco for HTC Touch.

   Quick reminder however, I would keep the HTC Touch if I was only using it as a day to day cell phone. It is perfect for that. Lots of good features, fairly good camera, and awesome sound quality on the ring tones. Teenagers and students will love it.

9. 9 palmsolo Dec 20th, 2007 at 3:25 pm I HIGHLY recommend you try out The Missing Sync for Windows Mobile. It is a wonderful syncing client for the Mac and Windows Mobile that even beats the pants off of ActiveSync on Windows PCs (not that ActiveSync is that hard to beat)
10. 10 TrvlngDrew Dec 20th, 2007 at 4:33 pm Wouldn’t buy a Tri-Band for US at all.. Remember its a phone first!

    My Vertu Ascent is really spotty in Denver…

11. 11 Judie Lipsett Dec 20th, 2007 at 4:36 pm “My Vertu Ascent is really spotty in Denver…”

    Send it to me, Drew…it will work just fine in San Angelo.

12. 12 TrvlngDrew Dec 20th, 2007 at 7:29 pm Wondered if you were paying attention on that one!

    Love the Vertu, but here in the US it won’t get a signal half the time so it sits in the drawer in Sydney waiting for me to get back..

    Keep thinking $300 for a wired headset and $500 for a re-branded JX10

    I do wish the resellers would take the time to explain the difference in the bands and whether or not a specific phone model will be a good operator in a country. It is only getting worse with the different HSDPA flavours..

    For example the HTC Touch Dual HSDPA won’t work with AT&T as its the 2100mhz variety and AT&T is 850. This is really driving the phone makers crazy and its passed along to us..

1. 1 Gear Diary: Touch vs Touch Dual | Mobility Site Pingback on Dec 20th, 2007 at 7:51 am
2. 2 TextGuru’s Phone News: The best news about the latest phones! Pingback on Dec 20th, 2007 at 8:44 am
3. 3 HTC Touch vs. HTC Touch Dual « P@ssioneMobile Pingback on Dec 22nd, 2007 at 11:39 pm
4. 4 Touch Dual Coming to Sprint – Page 3 – SprintUsers.com Pingback on Dec 30th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
5. 5 jkOnTheRun: Pingback on Dec 30th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
6. 6 Judie Tells a Tale of Two HTC Touches at Gear Diary | Just Another Mobile Monday Pingback on Jan 1st, 2008 at 3:49 am
7. 7 Jim Karpen’s Web Guide :: 1/1/2008 Pingback on Jan 2nd, 2008 at 11:29 am
8. 8 test av HTC Touch Dual, test HTC Touch Dual – Konsumentguiden.se Pingback on Jan 7th, 2008 at 2:21 am
9. 9 Gear Diary: Touch vs Touch Dual | – Mobilenewsplanet.com Pingback on Feb 7th, 2008 at 1:56 am
10. 10 Specs Of Rogers Canada Htc Touch – Dogpile Web Search Pingback on Feb 26th, 2008 at 6:34 pm

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