THE HTC Touch Cruise is for all intents and purposes, the ultimate geek handphone without a physical keypad.
Somewhat like the iPhone from Apple, it relies on a clever touch interface, dubbed TouchFLO.
You move around menus and images by using your finger - or thumbs on the screen.
I found myself doing finger slides across the screen, just for the fun of seeing what happens.
There is also a scroll wheel alternative to moving around the icons, if you prefer not to touch the screen.
The multimedia page that links the photo, music and video galleries was the 'killer app' that never failed to wow people.
Using finger slides to flip to the next image, or to rotate the current image - for the sheer fun of it - was always fun.
You can also flip to a contacts page, as well as an applications launcher page that lists the key software one uses daily, like e-mail, Internet Explorer and SMS/MMS.
Below the hood, though, lurks the heart of the Windows Mobile 6 Professional operating system - which also runs on quite a few smart handphones.
For tasks such as surfing the Web using Internet Explorer, it is better to whip out the stylus and use it to touch on hyperlinks and so on.
For e-mails, the device has an onscreen Qwerty keyboard of sorts, with letters grouped on the same button: For example, 'Q' and 'W' are on the same button.
Beyond the stylish touch interface though, the Touch Cruise is packed full of the hottest technologies to incite techno-lust.
Imagine merging a 3-megapixel digital camera with a GPS (global positioning device) and a 3G mobile phone, and throwing in an e-mail device plus an MP3 and video player just for kicks - plus, a dash of designer flair.
This is perhaps the ultimate do-it-all gadget.
But be prepared to live with unsightly fingerprints, unless you clean the screen religiously.
The overachieving Touch Cruise, which costs $1,198, may not be for everyone, but it will touch the hearts of anyone who desires it all in a smart phone.
This story was first published in The New Paper on 11 April 2008.
