HTC Touch HD

The HTC Touch HD is a very impressive Windows Mobile device with a large 480 x 800 pixels screen, a camera of 5 megapixels, HSDPA and WiFi support more integrated GPS.

HD is the touch screen 3.8 inch WVGA touch that is certainly one of the best around, and it is certainly more impressive than the iPhone 3G 3.5 inch with 320 x 480 pixels panel. When used in the landscape (wide) mode, the Touch HD 800 pixel wide may make it more comfortable Web pages without having to descend the ladder.

It is one of only a very small number of handsets with such a display, the Nokia E90 was 800 pixels wide display for some time, and the new Sony Ericsson X1 is even closer to HD Touch. The Touch GPS support HD, so it can be used with Google Maps or another application. The large touch screen is ideal for satellite navigation, although you will probably want to add a mounting kit if the vehicle used in the car.

It is a quad-band GSM device with EDGE and GPRS data, more support for UMTS 900 / 2100 and HSDPA, giving a maximum download speed of up to 7.2 Mbps. The Touch HD can also support HSUPA (although this is dependent carrier) giving a maximum download speed of 2 Mbps. Its also 802.11b and g WiFi connectivity.

Windows Mobile devices in general suffer from relatively poor cameras, but the HTC Touch HD comes with a camera with 5 megapixel autofocus (but no flash), plus a secondary video calls camera. Although there are many non-Windows phones with better cameras, the HD Touch may be the best for a Windows device.

The standard Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional interface has been improved with the excellent HTC Touch PRO 3D add-on. The standard multimedia support is reinforced by an FM radio and audio standard 3.5 mm socket. The HTC Touch HD can play various AAC, AMR, MP3 and Windows Media formats, the largest video screen.

The processor is a fairly standard Qualcomm MSM7201a operating at 528 MHz, but there is a good 288MB of RAM too which should help with applications. There are also 512 MB of flash memory which can be expanded or using microSD SDHC cards. The large 1350 mAh battery power can reach up to HD for 6.5 hours on 3G with a maximum of 18 days in standby mode, curiously battery life on GSM, is only 5 hours and 16 Autonomy days of standby time. All measures 115 x 63 x 12mm and weighs 146 grams.

The HTC Touch HD is a very impressive, and if it had a QWERTY keyboard, it might be a viable alternative laptop. HTC did not give any indication on price, but say it should be available throughout Europe during Q4 2008, as well as other regions later, perhaps with a slightly different configuration cell.