When the iPhone came out, a lot of people wondered if anything could compete. Honestly, for some time, nothing could.

But back on June 5th, 2007, HTC announced the Touch. Immediately, everyone said it could possibly be an iPhone killer. I thought so, Indi (LaIndia aka Triple B) thought so, and many other people thought so as well.

Well, I am here to tell you if it is an iPhone killer or not; I have been testing it out for the past 2 weeks, and I love it. Before I tell you if it is an iPhone killer or not, read my review and go to a Sprint store and an Apple store to test them both out for yourself. I will say this: if you just recently entered into a contract with a Phone company, I totally believe the Touch is worth breaking your current contract in order to switch to Sprint and get the HTC Touch.

Now let me stop the rambling and get on with the review.

For those of you who haven’t seen my Unboxing of the HTC Touch for Sprint post, check it out, so you can see how the HTC is packaged and what comes with the device. For those of you who don’t want to see, I will just say that HTC took a page out of Apple’s book when it comes to packaging a product. It was done elegantly and reminded me of how my 4th Gen iPod was packaged.  It was very classy on HTC and Sprints part to package the phone like they did.

When I first held the phone in my hand back in August and again in September, I remembered it being light weight and thin. When I heard Sprint was going to have the Phone, I began to worry a bit. I thought it may get a bit thicker and heavier. For example, the Cingular and T-Mobile version of the HTC TyTn is thinner and lighter in weight than the Sprint version. So, I was a bit worried that the HTC Touch for Sprint would be heavier and thicker than what I saw back in August and September. It wasn’t; in fact, it felt a little lighter, but that may be because the ones I saw in the past were in cases or attached by a security cable to a display.

I was pretty happy to see that it kept its form factor and light weight. I also like the feel of the phone. Those of you who have held any HTC phone in the past know they have a silky smooth feel to them, and HTC continued that with the Touch.

The HTC Touch runs Windows Mobile 6 Professional, and HTC seems to have tweaked the hell out of the OS. They have added so many cool features: weather on the home screen, TouchFlo (allows you to flip the screen with the flick of your finger), and picture dialing. Sprint takes advantage of these features to the fullest. Many times you see a Service Provider disable certain features, and Sprint has done that in the past on some phones. It seems that Sprint left the HTC touch alone. The only thing they did was add their OnDemand, SprintTV, and Sprint Music Store software to the phone. All of which have worked flawlessly for me.

I am sure you are all wondering how the navigation is on the phone. Well, there are three ways to navigate the phone: one is with the stylus, the second is the navigation pad on the bottom of the Touch, and the third is the ole mighty finger.

Navigating with the stylus and the navigation pad is self explanatory. You tap where you want to go, or you scroll until you get where you want to go. Using your finger is not that much different than using the stylus. The only real difference is your finger is thicker, longer, and attached to your hand.

Taping here and there and navigating with your finger is easy. The device is responsive, and it kind of felt like navigating on a Tablet PC. For example, if you held your finger down on an application or a contact name a menu would come up. This happens in the same way the properties menu pops up on a Tablet PC when you hold down the stylus.

The TouchFlo feature is really cool too. You swipe your finger up-or-down or side to side to flip between screens. The screen itself is also not overly sensitive. If your finger swipes across it slightly, it won’t register. You kind of have to apply a little pressure for any swipe to register. You can also use the stylus for TouchFlo.

The only problem I really had with using my finger on the Touch was typing a text message or email. Why? Because the keyboard keys when using the full keyboard are very small. However, after a day or so, I got used to it and was able to type like a pro on it. You can also set the Touch to have a 20 Key keyboard. Each button has 2 letters and 1 number or symbol. It uses T9 to basically guess what word you want to write, and it’s pretty accurate. There is also a regular 9 key keyboard with 3 letters, 1 number, and/or symbols similar to what you would find on a standard phone. Overall, typing on the touch isn’t that difficult. Once you become accustomed to it, it just gets easier. If you are into messaging, Sprint gives you a free messaging program on the touch that allows you to communicate with your friends on AIM, Live Messenger, and Yahoo. The communication is instant. However, I recommend you have an unlimited data plan.

Something cool about receiving text messages and instant messenger messages on the Touch is, when you receive the message a little prompt comes up with who sent the message, the subject of the message, and some to all of the message depending on how long it is. I thought this was pretty cool because normally you have to go into your messages to view the message and find out who it’s from.

You don’t have to type on the screen to write a message; there is also a block recognizer and a letter recognizer, so if you know the Block Alphabet or if you want to entrust the letter recognizer, you can use the stylus or your nail to write the message.

But hey, the ability to use your finger to navigate isn’t the only cool thing about the Touch. You can use it to make phone calls. Dialing a number is easy. You just tap the phone icon on your screen and dial the number, or click contacts and select the contact you want to call by tapping on their name. The sound quality is great, I was a little disappointed with the speakerphone volume. It sounds clear, but I wish it were a bit louder. Here in NYC, there is a lot of surrounding noise, and sometimes you need the speaker phone. In this city, the Touch Speaker phone is drowned out by the surrounding noise. Hopefully someone will come out with some tweak that can boost the volume a bit.

The Touch also has a 2.0 Megapixel camera which delivers pretty decent pictures. The camera settings are easier to configure than on previous HTC devices. I also like the picture gallery the Touch has. There is also an album feature that allows you to drag a picture off the screen to the right or left so that the previous or following picture can be seen. You can also do a 180 degree swipe on the picture and change the view from portrait to landscape mode and vice versa. 

You can use it as a MP3 player and Video Player. You can add up to 4GB of storage with a microSD card. I know there are 8GB microSD cards available, but I do not have one to see if the Touch supports 8GB. The manual didn’t say if it did or not, but it handled the 4GB.

The sound quality for music was great. It was not as good as the T400, but good nonetheless. I really had no complaints about that.

The Video quality was good as well. However, the Sprint TV video seemed a bit pixilated, but I blame that more on my signal strength I had when watching SprintTV.

Speaking of signal strength, I constantly had 4 bars or more where ever I was, and the data speed Sprint offers is 10 times faster anything T-Mobile or Cingular offer. Browsing the web, downloading programs, music, and movies on the touch was fast. So, many props go to Sprint for the speedy network. In fact the Sprint Network rocks especially in the NYC area, I have T-Mobile and Cingular phones and for the week of October 20th, service was with both Cingular (at&t) and T-Mobile, Sprint was rock solid.

The phone’s beautiful, sleek, and elegant design is perfect for anyone, even if you are in a corporate setting. The phone also hides the microSD card under the siding of the phone. It took me a while to figure out how to open it and to get it in.

Is the HTC Touch an iPhone killer? The simple answer is no, but it comes pretty damned close. Close enough that most people may find the HTC touch more appealing than the iPhone. Both phones certainly have their own advantages and disadvantages. I personally like the Touch more than the iPhone and so does Indi who has hidden the review sample Sprint sent me and won’t give it back.

Just because the HTC Touch isn’t an iPhone killer doesn’t mean I do not like the HTC Touch more than the Apple iPhone. I do I like the HTC touch more than the iPhone and like the iPhone more than my HTC S620 pro.

My only complaint about the Touch is the OS it runs, Microsoft needs to tweak Windows Mobile so that you can use it with your fingers more efficiently, right now the version of Windows Mobile the Touch is using in my opinion is configured for a Stylus. For example X buttons in the far corners are sometimes impossible to tap on with your finger. So Microsoft work on that please!!!

Overall, the HTC Touch is a fantastic phone, and I use the word fantastic rarely. It’s powerful; it’s fast; it’s affordable, and it offers a lot of features that every user wants. For that, we award it our 5 Start Must Have award. Seriously, I must have this phone. I am seriously considering switching from T-Mobile to Sprint right now just so that I can get it.

The HTC Touch is available at Sprint Stores, Online, or over the Phone and will run you $249 dollars with a 2 year contract and $100 dollar Mail in Rebate. So head on over to Sprint.com.

Treo smartphones on the Palm OS(R) platform:
- Treo 700p
- Treo 680, 650, 600
- Treo 300, 270

Treo smartphones on the Windows Mobile(R) platform:
- Treo 750
- Treo 700w
- Treo 700wx

For Palm OS devices: Check it out
http://News.palmnewsletters.com/cgi-bin13/DM/y/epeb0PWmEv0Ijv0g3H0GA

For Windows Mobile devices: Check it out http://News.palmnewsletters.com/cgi-bin13/DM/y/epeb0PWmEv0Ijv0g3I0GB

at&t and Motorola today annouced that the Moto Q 9h Global will be available exclusively with at&t.

The MOTO Q global offers AT&T customers a full ergonomic, integrated QWERTY keyboard; outstanding voice quality; downloads at up to 3.6 Mbps via AT&T’s UMTS/HSDPA-based BroadbandConnect network;2 Windows Mobile ® 6; built-in GPS capabilities; Documents to Go® for document editing; Opera browser; seven dedicated shortcut keys; a 2.0-megapixel camera with flash; and support for both a host of enterprise- and consumer-oriented applications and services. These include the debut of My Q Paks, a suite of third-party application bundles designed to meet a MOTO Q global user’s lifestyle needs. These applications are all made possible through relationships with software developers that are members of Motorola’s MOTODEV Developer network.

at&t customers with a Moto Q 9h Global can use the phone and its internet capabilities in 135 countries.

“The MOTO Q global literally opens up the world to MOTO Q enthusiasts,” said Michael Woodward, Business Voice/Data Products, for AT&T’s wireless unit. “AT&T and Motorola are teaming up to provide our customers with a world-class device, operating platform, applications and services and network experience that they can take with them around the globe.”

“Staying connected, informed and entertained is becoming a way of life for busy professionals and consumers,” said Juergen Stark, corporate vice president, Productivity, Motorola Mobile Devices. “With AT&T, the MOTO Q global delivers unparalleled download speeds, on-board memory, messaging, processing power and voice quality, all packaged within a sleek design for the modern consumer.”

The 9h will be available during the Holidays for $199.99 with a two year contract. 

Today at 381 Madison Ave. in NYC, at&t mobility and Pantech announced the availability of the Pantech duo, a windows mobile powered smart phone that has a numeric keyboard and QWERTY keyboard that slides out.

At the event at&t and Pantech talked about how the phone serves as two phones in one. “The Phone is Stylish enough to go clubbing with, yet professional looking enough where you won’t be ashamed to pull it out during a business meeting” said Frank Fay from Pantech.

The Pantech duo is available online and at at&t stores nation wide. The phone will run you $199 with a two year contract.

The device has a nice form factor and looks sexy, if you don’t believe me check out the pictures below.

T-Mobile has released the T-Mobile Shadow, a stylish phone that the manufacturer reports “makes it easy and fun for people to connect more richly with those who matter most.” T-Mobile says the Shadow is designed for those who are “energized by their personal relationships, and covet people more than productivity.” With its sleek, slider design, the Shadow has one of the largest, most radiant screens of any T-Mobile phone. Including a soft-touch spin navigation wheel, a QWERTY-like slide out keypad with predictive text, and one-click access to IM and e-mail from the home screen, the T-Mobile Shadow comes in a sage or copper finish. It is available to consumes from Oct. 31 at select T-Mobile retail stores and online.

Sprint has agreed to settle a lawsuit which will require the company to Unlock their phones at a customers request, however if you do own a sprint phone you can only use it with Sprint or Verizon so no real big victory. Also the settlement won’t require Verizon activate these phones, and 9 out of 10 times Verizon won’t. So worthless settlement if you ask me.

Sprint said they settled the lawsuit in order to avoid legal fees etc, and plus so what if you unlock a Sprint phone, if you only have one other choice and that choice may or may not activate the phone on their network.

You will only get the unlock code if you do not have any default balance with Sprint. The settlement as of yet has not been approved by a court but once it is we will let you know.

I for the past year have been a T-Mobile customer, and for the past year I have loved their service and suggested people get it over other providers.

I live and work in NYC, and have been happy with the service T-Mobile providers, but this week has completely changed my mind about T-Mobile and their service. T-Mobile Service is Horrible, and it wasn’t just me saying it but at least 6 of my friends and at least a dozen or so business associates.

So what exactly is my problem? Well I can be walking down the street, my phone in hand and suddenly my phone rings to life with a Voicemail alert, but wait a minute my phone did not ring, so I am thinking maybe some other alert with the same voicemail sound, so I look at my phone and sure enough I have a voice mail. So I listen to my voicemail and call the person back, and they said the phone rang 8 times which they thought was odd.

I put it off as a fluke, but it continued to happen day after day for the past week, I would get voice mail alerts. But it hasn’t just been happening to me, a person I do business with Terri Stranton had the same exact problem, and according to her so did Nick White (Does WindowsVistaBlog.com), but it didn’t end there, my friend Jessy has been having the same problem, my friend Eric as well. What do we all have in common? T-Mobile!
But voicemail alerts weren’t the only problem we were all having. Sometimes when we made calls they would ring twice and go silent, or we would dial our voicemail and someone would answer the phone, or you can be talking and suddenly the call would drop.

So whats up T-Mobile? What’s changed with in the past few days that has caused your service to go down the dumps? I hope its temporary.

By the way this is just happening with T-Mobile, I have Sprint and at&t phones on me as well (reviews I have received) and the Sprint service has signal everywhere and none of these problems and at&t has none of these problems but the signal at&t has here in NY isn’t that much better than T-Mobile.

We just received a review sample of the HTC Touch for Sprint today, and we thought we would tease you a bit before the review with some images from the un-boxing.

This is the box, isn’t it pretty?

The box with-in the box. Kind of reminds me of how Apple packs their products.

First thing you see when you open the box with-in the box,

Yay we can see the Touch now!!!

What comes in the box with the phone. Lots of stuff, a case and a 512 MB microSD card are included.

Side by side with the T-Mobile Dash (HTC S620 pro)

We will have a review of the HTC Touch for Sprint on or before November 4th when the Touch will be available from Sprint.

Today Sprint announced the availability of the HTC touch Windows Mobile Smartphone.

The HTC Touch has a touch screen and touch flow technology, Touch Flow technology allows you to swipe your finger across the screen to flip the screen, similar to what you get on an iPod touch.

The phone has 3 inch screen, bluetooh, support for MicroSD cards, supports up to 4GG of storage. Additional features include a 2.0 MP camera/camcorder with up to 5X zoom, advanced stereo Bluetooth® and Voice-activated dialing.

“Our customers appreciate the ability to have one device that seamlessly balances both personal needs and business demands,” said Danny Bowman, vice president of product development for Sprint. “Touch by HTC is unlike any other wireless device because it brings together the power of Windows Mobile with easy access to our entertainment applications. This attractive device easily lets you watch news as it happens, respond to email, download your favorite songs and stay connected with the office, family and friends.”

“This device provides a broad set of consumers with the benefits of a smartphone with the style and ease of use they demand,” said Peter Chou, chief executive officer of HTC. “Touch by HTC presents a new, more intuitive touch experience that simplifies access to the most commonly used smartphone features such as dialing, messaging and Web browsing.  It also improves the video and music experience with the addition of Sprint TV and the Sprint Music Store.”

“People want an easy-to-use companion in a mobile phone, freeing them up to leave the office or home and get more done while on-the-go,” said Pieter Knook, senior vice president, Mobile Communications Business, Microsoft Corp.” The Sprint Touch is the result of the strong relationship between Microsoft, HTC and Sprint and offers customers a fun user experience, the power of Sprint’s network and the ease-of-use of Windows Mobile which makes it easy to browse the Web, send email or enjoy your digital entertainment.”

Touch by HTC measures 4.0” x 2.4” x 0.6” and weighs just 4 ounces. This device will be priced at $249.99 with a two-year subscriber agreement and a $100 mail-in rebate. Standard data rates apply for music and other content downloads.

Touch by HTC will be available on November 4 in all Sprint channels including http://www.Sprint.com and 1-800-SPRINT1. Customers can register to be among the first to purchase Touch by HTC at http://www.sprint.com/touch.

In February 2006 at&t wireless then Cingular changed the early termination fee (ETF) to $175. prior to February 2006 if you canceled they charged you 10 dollars per month left on your contract.

Because of that change at&t received a lot of criticism and effective today they have changed their ETF policy again, to the way it was prior to February 2006. No word from at&t if this is just for new contracts or existing contracts as well.

at&t has said they will also no longer require an extension of your contract when you change your service.