My new favorite Cell Phone: Touch HTC. Read my review and why I think it’s currently one of the best around for the money!
As Seen in Woman’s World, June 30th, 2008 Issue
This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!
Awhile back I got asked what my favorite cell phone on the market today was. I got to thinking about it because mine was a little outdated (a year old and outdated – can you believe it?), so I went back to my original criteria for buying a cell phone:
Cell Phone Purchase Check List
- Never Overpay (buy bleeding edge or brand new). This usually means sticking to $250 or less.
- Never Underpay (buy free or sub $100 phones). IMHO – quality is much cheaper.
- Make sure it has the features you want for the next 2 years. This would usually include:
- Quality Camera
- Bluetooth (stereo if using as mp3 player)
- Removable microSD card slot
- Web and Wifi Access
- Phone as Modem
- Adequately sized screen for your type of usage
- Look for positive reviews across multiple sites
So – it was off to do some research. I looked for many hours at PDA’s, flip phones, walkie-talkie phones, sliders, and more…and the “Touch” cell phone by “HTC” was the one that caught my eye. Here are the finer points of this phone:
TouchFLO technology: In layman’s terms “it works like an iPhone” (at half the price). You can use a stylus, but your fingers are just as good.
Windows Mobile 6: You can sync your Outlook, calendar, and contacts with your PC using “ActiveSync” software.
2 Megapixel Camera: Take better quality pictures up to 1200×800 pixels in size – good enough to print or use for desktop backgrounds.
MicroSD memory card slot: will take up to 4GB microSD cards meaning you can store up to 450+ songs in your cell phone.
Stereo Bluetooth: Use your phone as a high quality mp3 player with stereo bluetooth built-in.
Phone as Modem: Browse the web on your laptop through the phone.
4 hours talk time: Pretty darn good for a touch phone.
Rubberized case: Easy to palm and hold, comfortable for long periods of time.
HTC Touch Video Review –
You can use this phone on Sprint, Alltel, Verizon, AT&T (Cingular) – so nearly all the major carriers have it now. You can even find it on eBay – you might even get a deal. The advantage of buying on eBay is if you pay the price there you won’t have to buy into a contract. But if you get it from one of the carriers (Sprint, etc.) you’ll get it cheaper (usually) – but have to sign up for probably a 2 year contract. You might get lucky and get some kind of mail-in rebate as well. Sometimes Amazon has some great deals on phones, so I’ll give you some links below for good deals on the HTC Touch.
Visit Used Cell Phones for both new and used cell phone auctions.
[nms:touch htc -case -clip -charger -stylus -screen -faceplate -adapter -battery -pouch -housing -headphones -car -memory -cable -headset -adaptor -cradle -skin -cover -handsfree -converter -mount -antenna -skins -reader,8,0,0,smorgas.touch.htc]
That is one awesome phone. I’m waiting for December when Android phones should be out in force and get a pick of features. Or better yet, get a phone that will allow me to download / enable additional features as they become available. I have the google pack on my BB already and the maps feature is great. It doesn’t utilize the BB GPS yet, but I believe that will be enabled by December. One thing I don’t use from them is the automated 411. Too frustrating. I have 800-411-SAVE on speed dial since it is free and has real people answering the phone. Let’s see what automation can do, but until then it is humans 1, machines 0. What is your favorite feature?
My favorite feature? The stereo bluetooth!
Hi John,
So nice to find your blog through this article. I too did one of the reviews and talked about my love for the Blackberry because of the great texting abilities.
However, there is no camera so I am glad to know that AT&T carries the HTC Touch and will definitely look into it when my contract comes up. :)