HTC Touch Cruise review: Happy cruising

Retail package - lots of content

The retail box of HTC Touch Cruise is one of the largest we've ever come across and we were quite eager of course to see what it holds. To our greatest disappointment a microSD card was nowhere to be found. However there was a whole bunch of other niceties.

Retail package

The list begins with a handsfree and - quite naturally - a DC charger. A miniUSB cable was also there along with a spare stylus.

Next we came upon the carrying pouch, which evoked mixed feelings around the GSMArena team. For one thing, it is too tight and putting the phone in and taking it out is some feat. Furthermore, it easily gets dirty, even the smallest particle of dust easily seen on the black suede surface.

A screen protector and a hefty amount of paper and CDs complete the retail package contents. It seems there is a manual for everything about the HTC Touch Cruise.

HTC Touch Cruise 360-degree spin

Design and construction

In terms of dimensions the HTC Touch Cruise is right among the compact PocketPCs on the market. It stands at 110 x 58 x 15.5 mm and weighs 130g, which is far not the smallest gadget around but it won't tear a hole in your pocket either. Compared to the TyTN II, the Cruise earns points on both slimness and weight.

In all fairness, the Touch Cruise is far from the LG KS20 and the HTC Touch but those are just the exceptions that confirm the rule.

The earpiece is situated at the center of the top part of the front panel. There are two status LEDs on each side, while the video-call camera is in the right corner.

The right LED glows in green and amber to indicate data transfer, message receipt and network status, as well as battery charging. It also blinks in red when the battery level drops below 5%. The left LED serves as a Bluetooth-on notification, and emits green light for Wi-Fi status. When both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are enabled, their lights flash alternately. It also blinks in amber for GPS status.

Below the earpiece it's all display. The 2.8" touchscreen display is to receive its deserved attention a little later in our review.

Under the screen we see the Call and End keys on each side of the navigation wheel. The latter has four directions and confirming action, topped with a jog-wheel functionality. The two remaining keys on the front of HTC Touch Cruise are the GPS button and the Internet Explorer button, used for launching their respective applications.

The front of the phone

On the top of the device there is a single key - the Power button, which is also used for putting the display in sleep mode and for turning it back on.

The power key topside

The left side of HTC Touch Cruise holds 2 keys - the volume control slider and the voice command key. Pressing and holding the voice command key will initiate recording of a voice note.

The left side hosts the volume slider and the voice command key

Moving on to the right panel of the phone we see the microSD card slot, hidden under a stylish lid. The dedicated camera key and the stylus are the other elements to notice here.

The right side - dedicated camera key and microSD card slot, along with the stylus compartment

Bottomside we get the reset hole and the miniUSB slot. The neck/wrist strap eyelet and the microphone pinhole complete the list.

The bottom of HTC Touch Cruise holds the USB slot, the lanyard eyelet and the reset hole

Turning the handset over we see the 3 megapixel camera, which is located just under the GPS antenna connector. A self-portrait mirror is located just under the lens, while the loudspeaker grill is in the top right corner.

The 3 megapixel camera is the star backstage

Opening the battery cover proved surprisingly difficult. We had to really force the cover open and we did fear breaking it. Under the cover lies a 1350 mAh Li-Ion battery. Talk time is said to be 7h, while the stand-by is quoted at 450 h, which is more than promising on paper. In reality, the battery will last for about 2.5 - 3 days of moderate usage (a few calls, half an hour of using the wireless and about as much using the other phone applications a day).

The Touch Cruise inside out

We have to note here that although it seems the SIM card can be handled without removing the battery, this is not true. There is a special lock mechanism that renders such actions impossible.

"...In terms of dimensions the HTC Touch Cruise is right among the compact PocketPCs on the market. It stands at 110 x 58 x 15.5 mm and weighs 130g, which is far not the smallest gadget around but it won't tear a hole in your pocket either..."

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We would generally call the build quality of HTC Touch Cruise passable. The materials used are of high quality and no creaks were heard while handling it. However, the paint is way below that level. It started to peel off after less than a week of use. Otherwise the phone feels great in hand and is easy to operate with one hand, which is not that common for PocketPCs.

HTC Touch Cruise feels great in hand