HTC Touch2 review

Rather than include a full QWERTY or just plain old T9 keypad, HTC has opted to include a two letter per key virtual keyboard. Although very awkward at first, it does get easier as you type more. We wouldn’t recommend this for serial texters or emailers.

Directly below the screen is a zoom bar for getting up close and personal to web pages, photos and documents. It’s handy, as the display on the Touch2 is smaller than competitors at only 2.8in. It’s also pretty low resolution for a smartphone at only 240x320 pixels, meaning it’s not the clearest screen out there. That said, it does the job.

The Touch2 has an inoffensive design, and it pretty pocket friendly at 55x12.9x104mm (WDH). It’s not as slimline as the Toshiba TG01, but its height feels a lot more comfortable in the hand.

In the multimedia stakes, the HTC Touch2 rates pretty low. Hurrah for the 3.5mm headphone jack, but a 3.2 megapixel camera that lacks auto focus or flash just leaves us disappointed. The snaps it takes suffer from over exposure, sometimes just coming out bleached and lacking any depth.

The processor is nothing to shout about – it’s the usual HTC Windows Mobile Qualcomm MSM7225 528 MHz fare, which deals with multitasking well, but doesn’t quite run as smoothly as the Toshiba TG01’s Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1 GHz processor.

The preinstalled apps make for very impressive reading. Although most come preloaded on all HTC Windows devices, it’s pleasing to see Adobe Reader, YouTube, Facebook, Opera and Office Mobile all ready to use straight out of the box.

As you’d expect from an HTC device, GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth all make an appearance, and HSDPA (up to 7.2Mbps) allows for fast downloads and swift internet browsing.

Browser-wise, both Opera and Internet Explorer 6 are onboard. And, even considering the updated Microsoft browser, Opera is still easier to use with better-optimised page rendering for a smaller screen such as the Touch2.

In terms of battery life, the Touch2 beats many other touch screen phones hands down, giving us four days use, even with the phone checking for email every five minutes, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth all turned on.

There’s no denying that the HTC Touch2 is a budget smartphone when compared to other devices in the HTC Windows range such as the Touch Pro2 and Touch Diamond 2 (both of which are upgradeable to Windows Mobile 6.5).

It’s a shame to see some corners cut, but whether you opt for the Windows or HTC UI, the Touch2 is a hugely capable device if you just want to carry out simple tasks such as reading documents, checking emails and the internet while away from your PC.