HTC Touch Dual review part two

Mobile-review have posted part two (Part two – software and user interface) of their HTC Touch Dual review. Here is the final conclusion.

Conclusion
The Touch Dual’s reception quality was never an issue in our tests; the loudspeaker’s sound volume was pretty average, and so was the communicator’s vibro alert, although we had no trouble feeling it in pockets. Call quality delivered by the phone was also good, with no noises or static, our calls were loud enough both indoors and outdoors.

Now let's see what the future might hold for the Touch Dual and what sort of competition it is up against. The latter question, however, is not so important, for this communicator is one-of-a-kind on the Windows Mobile market with no counterparts, and the only device that comes close to it is the original HTC Touch, although it is more of a forerunner to the Touch Dual.

Another reason why looking for rivals running the same platform makes little sense in this case is the Dual’s price/punch patio. As far as the WM market is concerned, the vast majority of users do know what they are after and how they are going to use it. In this sense, the HTC Touch Dual won’t seem the best buy to them, despite improving upon the predecessors in terms of usability, user interface – in their eyes it will be way too steep.

Effectively, that’s the way it if – the sales of the Touch Dual kick off at the level of 880-900 USD, which is a jaw-dropping sum of money for a device carrying a meager 2 Mpix camera, a run-of-the-mill display, lacking WiFi and GPS.

But there is another way to look at the Touch Dual. It is essential to get outside the box, stop trying to put it one boat with Windows Mobile devices and realize that in effect it is a totally different device. Evaluating the Dual from the average Joe’s point of view, the lack of both GPS and Wi-Fi is tolerable, as most consumers don’t need them that bad; its bog-standard 320x240-pixel display turns into a decent screen, as far as smartphones and feature phones go, and its looks puts the Dual in a league of its own (alongside the HTC Touch, of course).

So the only barrier left is the Dual price tag that is much heftier than that of the Touch, however it can be readily justified by the slew of software enhancements that will surface right off the bat. These include utilities for viewing images and video, quick menus, calling features – all with focus on gesture-based navigation. All these feats are tacked on the default Windows Mobile interface in the way that at first the user won’t see a trace of the old unattractive UI behind these shining plug-ins. And that’s the best thing about this new member of the Touch Phone family.

The Touch Dual is not the epitome of breakthrough in terms of Windows Mobile ease of use, but while the original HTC Touch was only making humble attempts to seem handier than other communicators employing the default UI, the HTC Touch Dual takes a big step forward in this direction. It doesn’t only seem more convenient in use, the Touch Dual is indeed very easy to handle, which is the maker’s ultimate goal pursued with every device in the Touch range.