HTC Touch HD Review
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Since we have extensive experience with all types of phones, we rarely see something that makes us gasp or eagerly wait for it to see the light of day. HTC’s Touch HD is one of those devices. When the world’s leading manufacturer announces its most feature-rich phone ever people stop and take note, and we were no different. The Touch HD has the potential to become the best ever device running WinMo, but can it live up to that potential?
Design:
Let’s analyze its name – Touch HD. The first word shows that the device belongs to the Touch series, known for its optimized interface in order to be finger-friendly. But what does HD stand for? HTC doesn’t explain it but we know it very well - High-definition, i.e. high resolution images/videos.
This is the key feature for the Taiwanese monster. The large 3.8” display has a WVGA resolution of 480x800 pixels. To give you a better idea we’ll tell you that this is 4 times larger than OMNIA’s (standard for widescreen) and 2.5 than iPhone’s resolution – impressive! This not only gives better DPI (dots per inch) ratio, but is handy for viewing text and Internet pages, visualizing more content. The color reproduction is at a good level when viewing pictures despite the OS limitation of 65,536 colors. We are impressed with its sensitivity;it’s resistive, meaning it reacts to pressure rather than touch like the iPhone. While it compares favorably in sensitivity, the iPhone is much better in direct sunlight. The Touch HD turns into a 3.8” mirror.
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iPhone and Touch HD |
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You can compare the HTC Touch HD with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.
The first thought that comes to mind after seeing the device is “It is huge!”, but we think it’s actually small for what it offers. It’s not easy having a very small phone with a large display. HTC has done a great job and HD’s face is slightly bigger than its display. Nevertheless, the quality build is visible and the device feels solid. It’s not metal, but the rubber-coated back is very nice to the touch. The same material has been used for the side buttons (volume rocker on the left and power on top), аnd in combination with their shape (narrow but long rectangles) and relief they are simply excellent. Even though we’re not completely sold onthe touch sentive buttons on the front, they still perform OK.
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53 Comments
1. emblema (unregistered) posted on 20 Oct 2010, 01:55 0 0
i really love the display of this phone and i am a HTC lover, but i am still considering the xperia .. waiting for a review of it
4. (unregistered) posted on 13 Nov 2008, 13:34 0 0
I was about to buy this one too... Now I'm really considering the Xperia instead. Those 5MP photos look as if they were interpolated 2MP photos. Why couldn't HTC put their hands on some good (e.g. Zeiss) lens, borrow a samsung sensor and give us some good results? Is throwing in a Divx codec that expensive? Ok HTC, take a $150 more for the set and just make it happen... I can't avoid a comparison to say.. KIA motors: for some reason they must be thinking their brand should remain cheap and are trying to keep the prices low even when they don't have to. This way HTC is just losing market. hey.. take $700 per unit, not 550, but give us a decent camera to take photos with and we DO want a Divx player when we buy "HD" devices!
38. (unregistered) posted on 30 Nov 2008, 22:34 0 0
I think there's something wrong with this review. I've read other reviews, as well as seen Youtube videos showing videoplayback and it doesn't seem to be the problem indicated by phonearena. Besides, the HD actually comes with hardware video acceleration, so videos should run fine.
51. yp198408 posted on 26 Sep 2009, 07:05 0 0
I know a free program. Umm, actually, it's commercial, but you can get it for free via... Go ahead! You can also add DVD menu and chapter menu in a flexible way. Check their official site http://www.flvdvd.com/flv-to-dvd-converter/
2. losdrivare (unregistered) posted on 13 Nov 2008, 08:04 0 0
Regarding the bar with letters to the left, sorting the contacts, this can be enabled or disabled in Contacts/Menu/Options, uncheck "Show alphabetical index". Howcome you never covered GPS performance?
5. (unregistered) posted on 13 Nov 2008, 13:43 0 0
...How come the English in this review makes me think they can't afford a good dictionary, let alone a native English speaker to write it? "...we can live with the mediocre camera, but ***why the bad video capabilities*** and not the multiple.."??
3. The Dark Knight (unregistered) posted on 13 Nov 2008, 10:00 0 0
Play.com have changed the price of this handset a few times over the past 4 weeks - it was £549, then £499, then went back up to £519 last week. £474.99 with the discount code is probably the best price for the time being.
6. koko (unregistered) posted on 13 Nov 2008, 15:34 0 0
Hey Guys, its smartphone - with ability to install any third party software like Core player... not only video, but nothing is problem!
23. (unregistered) posted on 15 Nov 2008, 15:32 0 0
If you read the review, they said that Core player didn't work that well with the device, as the video was choppy. READ!!!!!
28. (unregistered) posted on 19 Nov 2008, 18:28 0 0
Bet u monkeys never even touched a smartphone. LOL. There is something in this technological term we call UPDATE. Every softwares will be updated. Just wait for a new version more suited for HD. Not suprised if you don't understand. Don't even bother. Sheesh. Monkeys.
46. Suatae posted on 01 Mar 2009, 04:24 0 0
The latest news on this problem is a new windows program made by Jandre from XDA-Developers. It's called "MP4HtcHD". With that, you can transcode and optimize any (avi, mp4, wmv, mkv, mpg, m2v, mov, vob, flv) video. You can even transcode direct from a DVD, including srt subtitle support for foreign films; as well as the ability to select the audio language of a multilingual DVD. It can also split, join, and preview your video. It's designed specifically with the HD and it's MP4 format. But the built-in quality and format support may change if HTC updates the HD to 6.5 when it releases the next generation touch smartphones.
50. heavybreathing posted on 12 Mar 2009, 13:25 0 0
*All software will be updated. Learn engish. Monkey.
7. (unregistered) posted on 13 Nov 2008, 17:15 0 0
I have just bought this phone (unlocked) & have been experimenting with various video formats that i re-encoded from avi.files. To date the best result i have got from the built in windows media player is a H264 codec, MPEG-4(mp4), video 196kbps, audio 64kbps, 720x480 resolution, 23.976fps & audio sample rate of 44100 Hz. This is acheived by using a prog by Allok. The playback is smooth & in sync. I hope this helps people.
12. koko (unregistered) posted on 14 Nov 2008, 01:21 0 0
its windows mobile, so WMV format must be supported too... try this
30. veronica2s (unregistered) posted on 21 Nov 2008, 02:34 0 0
is the hd support divx?? is any 1 knows? many thanks veronica.
8. (unregistered) posted on 13 Nov 2008, 18:09 0 0
how about standard divx/xvid not converted of recorded tv shows? will it play it with default software without conversion?
17. PhoneArena Team posted on 14 Nov 2008, 07:58 0 0
It doesn't play them at all. If you install Core Player they play, but not well. Check out the review text. Thanks!
31. veronica2s (unregistered) posted on 21 Nov 2008, 02:38 0 0
thank you but how can i install core play? is that will make divx work on the hd? thank you so uch veronica
9. (unregistered) posted on 13 Nov 2008, 20:08 0 0
Until Android gets ported to this thing it will never realize its full potential
24. (unregistered) posted on 15 Nov 2008, 15:34 0 0
LOL!!! At the moment android sucks... It needs time to mature an enough software developers to make it usable.... the G1 was just a taste, not that great of one mind you, but a taste nevertheless of the entree that is to come.
