There aren't many Windows Mobile smartphones that could be described as 'sexy', but the HTC Touch certainly qualified. Slim, stylish and with a pleasingly tactile rubberised finish, it both looked and felt fantastic. Unfortunately, a couple of major shortcomings prevented it from being the Windows Mobile equivalent of the Apple iPhone - and those shortcomings are just what HTC has addressed with the new HTC Touch Dual.

Windows Mobile devices have never been particularly easy to use, but by dispensing with a physical keyboard and the usual soft keys found on other handsets, the Touch was more rather more awkward than most. To make matters worse, while HTC provided the slick TouchFLO interface that sat on top of Windows Mobile and acted as a finger-friendly program launcher, it only covered a handful of simple tasks - anything more meant dropping back to Windows Mobile, fishing out the stylus and muttering the usual swear words. 

HTC has solved this problem with the Touch Dual by using a sliding case design with a small keyboard in the bottom half. The case is a bit thicker and longer as a result, but for some reason, it's also a little narrower and subsequently, the screen is marginally (though not really noticeably) smaller too.

The case slides apart vertically with a nicely sprung action to reveal a standard telephone keypad, plus four Windows Mobile shortcut keys. Opening the case also triggers an on-screen menu of shortcuts for creating a new SMS, email, contact, appointment and so on, which is a neat touch.

Unfortunately, HTC hasn't paid quite as much attention to the keyboard itself. The keys are large and are clearly labelled, but they're completely flat with almost no space in between them. If you don't mind looking at the keyboard when you type, this isn't a problem, but more proficient thumb typists will find it an annoyance.

Thankfully, the XT9 predictive text works very well, but despite the provision of a physical button to flip between predictive text, standard keypad entry and numeric entry, there's no on-screen indicator to show which mode you're in.

HTC also supplies a large, finger friendly on-screen keyboard to replace the tiny stylus-only version that's otherwise standard issue with Windows Mobile, though it's a bit redundant on a handheld with a physical keyboard. HTC has pledged to make the keyboard available as a software update to Touch users too (where it is desperately needed), but it has yet to surface.

The other big omission from the Touch was support for 3G and again, this has been fixed for the Touch Dual. Sadly, while it will now let you download files at up to 3.6Mbit/s over an HSDPA connection, you won't be able to do the same via Wi-Fi since 802.11/b/g support has been dropped. Still, there is now a second CMOS camera for making 3G video calls, if you're into that sort of thing.

Otherwise, there's little else to distinguish the Touch Dual from the Touch. The sliding volume control has been replaced by a two-way button; the USB port now sits at the left of the case rather than at the bottom and the SIM card sits under the battery instead of in a slot on the right of the case. The TouchFLO interface is essentially the same, but there's a new photo viewer application and the same Streaming Media program as on the TyTN/TyTN II for violating the T&Cs of your mobile phone contract.

Unlocked, the Touch Dual costs £375 and that's £75 more than the Touch. That's a fair bit to pay for a keyboard and 3G - not least since you're losing Wi-Fi into the bargain. It's available for much less (and free, in some cases) with a contract though, and if you're looking for a slim yet capable Windows Mobile smartphone, that's probably the best way to get the Touch Dual.

HTC Touch Dual

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IM   |18/01/08 8:36 AM I have a Touch Dual. It is much better in normal use than my old HTC Trinity (SPV M700) although the lack of WiFi and GPS is a downer. (Intrigued by suggestions they are there but disabled and a ROM update may be available soon??) It is small like a normal phone, has a phone keypad and the screen can be used almost entirely without the stylus. It runs Tom Tom excellently and all in all, I am glad I upgraded. Reply | Quote

Ray Cawte  - MDA Touch Plus   |03/02/08 4:38 PM I bought the MDA Touch Plus through T-Mobile as a replacement for my ageing MDA vario. The old Vario was a great handset but it was a bit bulky to use as a phone. The new Touch Plus deals with that issue and transforms into a great tactile handset. I like the black rubber feel and it helps to grip the phone as well. I have pretty chunky fingers, but have no problem using the slide out keyboard. The stylus touch type is a bit slower to refresh, but not much of a problem. The Touch Plus synchronised with my MS Outlook brilliantly and is happily downloading mail from 6 of my user accounts. The HSDPA data speed is miles ahead of my old MDA Vario GPRS and web surfing could not be easier. It's early days yet but so far I am very pleased with the small size and feature packed handset. I don't miss the WiFi as if I'm at home, I'll use my laptop on WiFi and leave the MDA Touch Plus plugged in and synch. If I am out and about, then the HSDPA is as fast as my home broadband anyway. I have a data bundle so upload/download costs is not a problem for me using the HSDPA. I agree that it runs my Tom Tom sat nav well so am extremely satisfied with the purchase. Reply | Quote

Christiaan Hemerik  - MDA Touch Plus     |06/02/08 7:21 AM I have an MDA Touch dual for about 3 days now, replacing my old MDA Vario wich I had for almost 3 years. I find it a very handy handset having a lot of benefeits compared with my old phone, but I also found some things I don't like at all. Using it for 3 days now, I had to recharge the batterypack for like two times already. Of course, right after I got it, I had to try it out, configure my e-mail settings and contacts and I did some surfing. Maybe for a longer time than I will do comparable things in the future. But the battery ran out very quickly, especially compared to my old MDA Vario from wich I never updated the battery (for 3 intensive-use-y ears). It also seems that after a certain while of having the screen lit (i.e. using it), the rear side gets a little hot. I really wonder if other users have the same experiences. It could be just my phone, but maybe it goes for all handsets. The pros? It's a lot faster than my old MDA Vario (195MHz against a new processor that does 400MHz), WM6 has some improvements compared to the 'old' WM5 and it's smaller. Reply | Quote

Lisa  - T-Mobile MDA Touch Plus   |02/03/08 12:44 PM I have never had a mda before, and found the transition from run-of-the-mill mobile to mda very smooth. I upgraded to this phone yesterday and I can't put it down. Reply | Quote

credion  - htc touch dual   |07/03/08 1:16 AM just to let you know, your slightly wrong with your review, you said about the predictive text, well there is a button to switch between modes, and it also does indicate which mode your in, if you look at the top and slightly to the right of the middle of the screen, its says 'xt9' when you are in xt9 mode etc etc.... Reply | Quote

mt  - mda touch plus     |24/07/08 11:51 PM nice phone runs quite alot of things if u are getting a upgrade the the htc diamond or t mobile mda compact iv. 1 thing dont use the phone as soon as you get it le tit charge for atleast 16 hours for better battery life Reply | Quote

Chris  - Mr   |17/08/08 8:54 PM I have this phone and i must be honest boring and very boring can any one help with a Rom update to Wm 6.1 or how can i donate this piece of S*@#% to Blend this phone.... Reply | Quote

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