HTC Touch smartphone
$848
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When I first got my hands on the HTC Touch, I thought it was love at first sight. But it turned out to be a case of infatuation instead.

The HTC Touch looks like a dream phone: small and sleek, boasting a huge 2.8-inch screen that leaves just enough space on the cellphone for three more buttons.

I was completely smitten when I tried the new TouchFLO user interface. Flick the screen up with your thumb and the main menu slides up; sweep it sideways and the menu block rotates in the corresponding direction to show your media functions or your contact list. Drool.

Given this oh-so-cool interface, the HTC Touch oozes style. But the Windows Mobile 6 interface is hardly finger-friendly with all its tiny buttons and menus.

Using the phone was frustrating at times: there is a full on-screen Qwerty keyboard, but even with the stylus, typing out a text message still took pretty long and my eyes began to hurt after the third sentence.

Features-wise, the phone is decidedly ordinary. The phone lacks 3G capability. Performance slows down significantly after you open a few applications.

Synching videos from the PC generated mixed results: some worked fine while others were jaggy. The camera left much to be desired - I had to be very, very steady to take a clear shot.

The HTC Touch's saving grace is its battery life: it is rated for five hours of talk time but exceeded that by more than an hour. Not bad for a smartphone.

FINAL SAY

The HTC Touch is not powerful enough for the business user, but looks good for those who want a flashy device.