HTC Touch review

Apple's iPhone is all over the news, and part of the reason for the hype is its innovative touchscreen interface, which does away with the need for buttons or a stylus.

The Touch is HTC's attempt to steal a march before the iPhone arrives (at least in the UK), with its TouchFlow finger-friendly interface.

Although not as minimalist as the iPhone, the Touch is a gorgeous mobile. It's compact, slim and light, and the matt rubber backing and silver screen surround look stylish and expensive. The usual Windows Mobile 6 shortcut buttons are missing; you just get call answer and end buttons and a directional keypad, because the user interface is operated with your finger.

HTC has heavily customised the Windows Mobile 6 operating system. Running your finger up the display from the bottom brings up the TouchFlow application. The first screen has shortcuts to your music, photos and videos, and if you run your finger sideways across the screen the interface rotates to reveal the contacts, messaging, calendar and email screens. The 'buttons' are huge, so it's easy to launch common applications with your finger.

The TouchFlow interface is essentially a front end for the standard Windows Mobile applications, so standard programs such as Pocket Outlook and Pocket Internet Explorer are unchanged, yet the TouchFlow interface still works. For example, you don't need to use the stylus to scroll through your contacts; instead, just give the screen a flick with your finger. The view scrolls quickly at first, then gradually slows down. It works equally well for web pages or Word documents.

The main problem with TouchFlow is that it doesn't go far enough. Scrolling aside, you'll still have to use the stylus, as menu options and icons on the calendar are too small for a finger. The phone also uses Microsoft's standard on-screen keyboard, which has tiny keys that only an elf could press unaided. It's surprising that HTC didn't add a larger keyboard.

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