HTC Touch Cruise Review

Camera and Multimedia:

The 3.2 megapixel camera took respectable shots.  They were a bit blurry, most likely due to the lack of auto-focus.  The camera is very snappy, pictures were captured in under a second and the start time is under 3s.  The interface and options are the same as other recent HTC devices, but there is now a GPS Photo option for geotagging photos.  In this mode GPS has to initialize, which can take a few minutes.  Video performance is more pedestrian but on par with the likes of the Diamond and Pro.



The HTC music player is integrated into TF2D and is basically the same as the TF3D player.  Again, it is not as polished but functionality remains the same.  HTC Album is the default picture and video viewer, and we prefer it over the stock Windows Mobile applications.  Windows Media Player is also available for those who prefer it’s video or music playing capabilities, and indeed we like its library function better for music management.






Software:

Like the original Cruise, the refresh has an emphasis on GPS applications.  It comes preloaded with TomTom Navigator, and the user is given one city map at no cost.  A very cool feature is the included car kit, which consists of a suction cup window mount, vehicle power adapter and custom mount holster.  When the phone is placed in the holster it automatically goes into NaviPanel mode.  This is a finger friendly menu with six large panels: Footprints, Phone, Go Home, Address, Recent Destination and Navigation.  The last four all link to TomTom’s functions.  Stand alone units beware, setups like this offer serious competition and allow the user to carry one less device.  We’ve been using a similar setup with our Diamond for a few months now, but the NaviPanel makes it even more convenient.


Footprints makes its debut on the new Touch Cruise.  It goes beyond geotagging by using the embedded coordinates to map and navigate.  For instance, you’re out for a night on the town in Boston and find a great little pub tucked away in the shadows.  After a few pints and a cab ride home you can’t exactly remember where it was…Footprints to the rescue!  Simply pull up one of the GPS photos you’ve taken in Footprints and you’ll be given all available details, such as the name, phone number, address and coordinates.  You can add notes to help you remember, and then either map it using Google Maps or navigate there with TomTom.  This feature will appeal to certain users more than others, but we definitely see it as an evolutionary step to bridging the gap between cool technology and it actually pertaining to our everyday lives.

Other included software is standard by now, including Office Mobile, Adobe Reader, Windows Live and HTC’s Quick GPS and YouTube programs.