HTC Touch 2

Despite the inclusion of a number of impressive features, the HTC Touch 2 – which was announced in late 2009, does little to set itself apart from the endless stream of smartphone devices which are currently vying for consumer attention.

One of the more positive features behind the Touch 2 is its Qualcomm MSM7225 528MHz CPU and 256MB RAM, which makes it surprisingly swift for a mid range smartphone. The addition of Microsoft’s revamped Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, which brings with it a number of new features such as the ‘Honeycomb’ start screen and reworked Internet Explorer, also offers a welcome dynamic for those who are used to the platform.

The addition of Opera 9.5 as a web browser also gives the user a level of choice when browsing – a phrase which has not been synonymous with Microsoft in the past. In addition to this the Touch 2 offers a reasonably rich feature list which would cater to the majority of smartphone users. Some of these include 7.2Mbps HSDPA support, WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, a 3.15 Megapixel camera, MS Office Mobile document editor and social media integration.

Unfortunately the Touch 2’s lack of screen real estate becomes a problem when using the device on a daily basis. At just 2.8 Inches with a resolution of 240 by 320 pixels it fails to match up to its competitors – each of which feature displays of 3.15 inch and upwards.

Had HTC included a fold out QWERTY keyboard when developing the Touch 2 the lack of display size may not have been an obstacle but, as the device name suggests, menu navigation is based on a touchscreen interface – a feature which typically requires a larger screen in order for it to be effective on a daily basis.

Nonetheless the inclusion of the TouchFLO HTC user interface does go some way towards making Windows Mobile 6.5 and the device in general more responsive to touch.

In spite of the Touch 2’s generally impressive specification list HTC has chosen to omit a few key features. These include a lack of an accelerometer sensor, no secondary camera for video calls and a lack of handwriting recognition.

Physically speaking the Touch 2 is compact and attractive and as an overall package, at a price of roughly R4999, it is an eye catching deal for the mid range consumer. For the more technologically aware buyer however it fails to adequately match up to other models in its price range.