HTC jumps on touch-screen phone bandwagon

Today in London, HTC showed off its latest mobile phone handset, simply known to as the Touch - referring to its main feature, the fact that functions are accessed and operated through a touch screen...rather like that much-hyped other touch screen mobile phone soon to hit the shores of the US - Apple's iPhone. HTC Touch, …

[Ash]

It's a phone with a touch screen...

... just like they've been making for years.

I have an Orange M1000 / O2 XDA II (HTC Himalaya) which I use as a PDA for work; this "iPhone killer"is no different from any other touchscreen phone / PDA combo they've made. It just has no calendar, contact, make and break buttons.

The only buttons I used.

[Rob]

windows mobile

... it's alright I suppose but I'd be happier to see some of these running linux

[Anonymous Coward]

Sounds nice but...

Why Windows?

[Dillon Pyron]

3G

Again, no 3G. People are saying that will kill the iPhone in Europe, unless they release a new version for Europe. HTC has beat them to the punch, releasing a phone that nobody will want.

[Hayden Clark]

.. with the same bits in as always

Same old 200MHz processor. So it's crap at running Windows Media player(skips occasionally), and can't do Skype properly. Fine for business, useless for consumers.

[Adrian Pickering]

I agree with Ash

HTC were the first on the market with touchscreen telephones, such as the original XDA (HTC Wallaby?)

Then there was the Motorola A925 or whatever it was called in the early days of Three. The apple iphone is not a new idea and certainly not the first

[Chad H.]

HTC jumped on the Touchscreen Bandwagon?

You Mean, kinda like how Apple jumped on the PC bandwagon back in the 80s right?

Come on, I'm sure you've reviewed HTC touchscreen phones on the site before. A little research please? T-mobile Ameo, Vario (I and II), Compact (I and II), the XDA series, and a bunch of other rebadges on other networks.

They are only one of, if not the, favored Windows Mobile Device manfacturer by Microsoft. HTC have been doing touch sceen for so long its old hat. Just cos HTC didnt do a "Welcome Apple" ad like apple did for IBM in the 80's doesnt mean you can forget about them.

Now, if only HTC would dump windows, the phones might actualy be usalbe 100% of the time....

[Brett Brennan]

If only it was 3G

Adding 3G would have made this a true iPhone spoiler: OK, well, I'm not on AT&T (oops -at&t) - but I can get an iPhone clone - AND it has 3G, so I can watch those pesky value-add TV shows!

This might just be the moment that we'll point to later and say "HTC ALMOST won the handset battle..."

Now, if they offer it in a CDMA version...

[Anonymous Coward]

Bandwagon? HTC made all the O2 XDAs and T Moble MDAs...

...this is about the 5th generation of such phones that they have made.

Touch screen phones of this type (i.e. a pda/media player with some limited phone capabiliteis) have existed since at least 2001 when HP released the Jornada 928 (I have one gathering dust somewhere...).

[James Pickett]

Silly question

What happens when you touch/press it against your ear?

[Stu]

Whats the deal here?

I suppose you could call it an iPhone imitator if it is multi-touch. Is this so!?

And have they rewritten WM6 and all its apps to allow for multi touch zooming, scrolling, selecting etc just like how u can on the iPhone?

I think not.

I own the HTC hermes, or as its otherwise known - T-Mobile MDA Vario II, this, and about five or so other handsets over the years have also had touch screen, but not multi-touch.

This article should be pulled and re-written without comparing it against the iPhone just cos its got the word 'touch' in its name. Just ridiculous.

[gabor]

RE: It's a phone with a touch screen...

agreed, using a Tmobile MDA pro (previously a Qtek 9000) from the same company. Wonder if they bring THIS one out with 640x480 screen tho. That's what made me buy the Universal twice already.

Sidenote: 200 hrs standby? ROFL

[Nigel]

Touch Screen

You lot may be missing the point...

The 'touch' term comes from the fact that the phone does not have hardware buttons.

Silly name, and unless they have added some appleesque interface tweaks then I think a WM phone with no hardware buttons will be a pain in the @rse to operate!

The only phones these days without 3g should be the cheapie P&G jobbies - no excuse for no 3G (indeed, no excuse for no HSDPA) on a phone thats likely to be sold to higher volume, contract customers.

And... that processor... talk about weedy. The 400MHz samsung jobbie in my vario-II just about does the job, I would not want is any slower!

Nigel

[Jack Garnham]

I agree with all above.

I won't waste space by repeating what's been said already.

It is plain, however that HTC have lost "touch" with the needs of their market.

[Derek Foley]

what about the xda... why do people assume the iphone is a new concept?

Erm... HTC have been making xda devices for O2 for years, touchscreens are nothing new! I guess if their marketing team was stronger, people would be more aware of this!

[Steven H Taylor]

Is the advent of the iPhone a good or bad thing for HTC?

It's tough to see Apple getting virtually all of the credit where HTC deserves so much for relentlessly pushing the PDA Phone category but at least due to Apple's efforts the public awareness of this product concept is increased substantially which may be a benefit for the category as a whole, making it easier for companies like HTC to sell their stuff to the masses.

[bobbypenguin]

new windows mobile is actually cool!!!!!!!!!

Guys u need to check out the HTC Touch website here http://www.htctouch.com/viral/

as the title of my posting says..the new Windows mobile 6 Pro looks very good..compare it with the new tocuh screen features of the HTC and it seems to be working like a charm!

[Anonymous Coward]

All Of The Above

Was looking good 'til saw no 3G. Are these people mad? Forget it, & don't even get me started on yet another naff 240 x 320 screen.

Roll on the Tosh G900, that's where my money's going