HTC Touch2 review: Beyond the basics

Design and construction (continued)

At the top of the Touch2 there is a standard 3.5mm audio jack. Now we're talking.

The 3.5mm audio jack broadens the connectivity options on the Touch2

The bottom features the miniUSB port for connecting the data cable and the charger. The other thing to note here is the stylus compartment, which isn't magnetic like on the HTC Touch Diamond or not even active as on the HTC Touch Diamond2. We really miss the functionality of launching the relevant applications as you pull out the stylus - that was quite neat.

The miniUSB port at the bottom • the stylus compartment isn't active

The backside of the Touch2 features the 3-megapixel fixed focus camera lens and the loudspeaker grill. Don't look for a flash, there isn't any.

The camera lacks autofocus and flash

Opening the battery cover reveals the 1000 mAh Li-ion battery that powers the HTC Touch2. The original Touch had a 1100 mAh unit but the Touch2 is obviously running on a much more power optimized platform and can claim up to 500 hours of stand-by against the 200 hours of the predecessor. The talk time of the Touch2 is quoted at 7.5 hours.

A 1000 mAh Li-Ion battery may as well be enough, given the small and low-res screen

The build quality of the HTC Touch2 is quite impressive. During the week we spent with the device we had no reason to doubt its construction and long-term durability. When it comes to comfort - the Touch2 handles very well and has a commendably solid feel in hand - especially for such a small handset. In essence, the Touch2 is a compact and friendly phone and that's a good premise for a wanna-be-popular smartphone.

Compromises were obviously inevitable though to keep within size and price limits. Our main concern is screen size, a three-incher would've been more like it. Some improvements in the camera department would have certainly made a difference - such as adding auto focus. On a different note, the 3.5 mm jack and zoom bar are more than welcome.

The HTC Touch2 is compact and friendly

More TouchFLO, less 3D

The TouchFLO goes without saying on the HTC Touch2 but the attractive and user-friendly plug-in has lost some of its 3D embellishments. Despite the slight differences though, the TouchFLO does well to make WinMo more responsive to touch.

The absence of a capacitive touchscreen on the HTC Touch2 is barely noticeable. The TouchFLO is highly touch-optimized and responds admirably. Of course, when you eventually hit the underlying Windows Mobile, you'll meet some of the not so thumbable parts of the interface.

The TouchFLO Home screen, as usual, offers a choice of full-screen tabs, decked out with some impressive graphics. You can no longer skip through the tabs with a single finger sweep across the screen - instead you have to side scroll the tab thumbnails at the bottom of the screen until you find the one you need.

The available tabs include the home screen itself (with a large clock), favorite contacts, text messages, email, Internet, photos and video, music, weather, map search, settings, and programs.

Now, let's have a closer look at those tabs. A nice thing is that each tab comes with its own set of context keys, but the downside is that those are not customizable to suit your needs. With that TouchFLO homescreen at hand, you'd rarely have to resort to the standard Windows menu.

Other than showing the clock, the Home tab gives you access to the HTC Call log, the calendar, world clock and alarms. The context keys are assigned to the dialpad and the camera.

The Home tab

The second TouchFLO tab is called People and that's where you can set favorite contacts with an assigned image or, in the absence of that, a generic one provided by the software.

The People tab

The Messages tab shows your latest SMS/MMS, and a single finger sweep will take you to your next message. A small shortcut in the top right corner will automatically start a new SMS/MMS in the default Windows message editor.

The Messages tab

The Email tab shows your emails and, again, you can finger-flip through them one by one.

The email tab looks nice

The Internet tab launches the Opera 9.5 web browser or the slick preinstalled YouTube video client. You can also scroll your bookmarks and launch a webpage directly from there.

Opera mini is the default browser in the Internet tab and that's non-negotiable. Now, that's limiting - even if we like the Opera very much. But the bigger problem of the Internet tab is the Search bar, which we saw in the Touch Pro2, has gone missing.

The Internet tab