Try it
I am extremely happy with it.
It isn't slow, which was true of some older HTC.
Windows Mobile 6.1 was a great update & now Exchange ActiveSync is a 10 second configuration. With TouchFlow one almost never sees the WM UI it anyway.
It is also the best sounding HTC I ever had, communication is more than decent. And finally, the headphone has a standard xjack, with the plug on top so that one can hear music while the phone is covered. I think HTC really heard the customer feddback.
While it was quite hard to use the screen to tap with fingers on the HTC Touch Cruise, it is really easy to write with the Touch HD.
All in all it is the best HTC ever and certainly a very worthy alternative to the iPhone. I'm just missing TomTom.
The screen is fantastic, just look at it side by side with an iPhone.