HTC Touch2 review: Beyond the basics

GPS does matter

The HTC Touch2 features a built-in GPS receiver - it's the Qualcomm gpsOne chipset, which comes along with the Qualcomm MSM7225 platform.

The HTC Touch2 supports the A-GPS so you can download current satellite data over Wi-Fi or the 2G/3G network for a much faster GPS satellite lock.

The Touch2 A-GPS data download manager

The HTC Touch2 comes with a trial version of CoPilot Live 7 and the free Google Maps. The 2.8" touchscreen of the Touch2 is hardly enough to rival dedicated GPS units. Anyway, you have 14 days to test the CoPilot Live and decide if you can cope with a screen of this size.

CoPilot Live in action

Chipset sensitivity of the HTC Touch2 seems to be quite decent for a reasonably fast initial satellite lock.

Final words

The HTC Touch2 makes a small point but makes it right for the most part. To begin with, it looks sharp enough to get you interested but won't intimidate first-time PocketPC users. It has a solid enough spec sheet with a few nice bonuses like a 3.5 mm audio jack and the zoom bar.

However, some of the things it lacks cannot go unnoticed. The essentials are well covered of course - and in PocketPC terms essentials imply quite an all-round set of connectivity and office features. But the Touch2 tries to be a budget balancer which makes compromises inevitable.

It becomes all too obvious in direct comparison with the most important rival - Samsung B7300 OmniaLITE. Between the two, the Touch2 looks by far the more credible PocketPC but that impression won't hold upon closer inspection. Screen size and resolution, autofocus camera and the accelerometer are the key points in favor of the Samsung - not to mention the multimedia capabilities (losing on 3.5mm audio connectivity but gaining back on DivX and XviD video support). And what is even more important, the OmniaLITE keeps the asking price lower than the Touch2.

Samsung B7300 OmniaLITE

And that's hardly the only source of pressure on the Touch2. The Symbian powered Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is a year old already but packs a good enough punch and costs way less. The recent HTC Tattoo and the Samsung I5700 Galaxy Spica go around at nearly the same price as the Touch2. They offer similar capabilities but have one major advantage (well, some would call it a disadvantage - a matter of taste): Android OS.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic • Samsung I5700 Galaxy Spica • HTC Tattoo

It looks like the HTC Touch2 has more responsibility than its rank suggests. While the whole place is abuzz with Android, HTC are quite reasonably trying to update their midrange and respond to the competition, while in the same time reshaping the company and brand image from the ground up.

The Touch2 has another important role as the first HTC handset running the updated Windows Mobile 6.5. For a company that does PocketPC for a living, it's quite an important role. But then, WinMo 6.5 turned out not much of a big deal - so that's why the Touch2 is just another sequel - quite in line with the company's recent naming pattern. Maybe it will take Windows 7 for HTC to display the depth of their vocabulary.