Review: HTC Touch HD

HTC Touch HD Review

Phone rating:

In a nutshell: The HTC Touch HD has the biggest screen on any phone. With a brilliant touchscreen user interface and the Windows Mobile operating system, this is very powerful but easy to use device. Equipped with a 5 megapixel camera, video calling, a superb web browsing experience, GPS with Google Maps, a media player and an FM radio, it's an all-in-one device that does simply everything. The battery life and memory are also excellent, so there's very little to fault on this phone, except perhaps for its size.
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We've become big fans of the Windows Mobile operating system during 2008. Gone are the days when Windows Mobile was slow and bug-ridden. Microsoft have zapped the bugs and we think that it's a smoother and more robust OS than Symbian these days. It's starting to feature in more and more of the latest generation of touchscreen phones, and it's here in the HTC Touch HD. In fact the Touch HD runs the very latest incarnation: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional.

The Touch HD is an upgraded version of the HTC Touch Diamond. It's a very sleek-looking minimalist slab of black plastic, that looks very futuristic. It isn't a small phone, but its slim minimalist design makes it appear not too big. The first thing that strikes you about the Touch HD is the size of the screen. It's very, very big! In fact, at a ginormous 3.8 inches across, it's probably the biggest screen ever seen on a mobile (the iPhone 3G has a 3.5 inch screen.) Unlike most touchscreen phones, there are no push buttons on the phone at all - just a row of touch-sensitive buttons below the main screen. This makes it very, very sleek and sexy in appearance.

The screen isn't just physically big, it also has an ultra-high resolution: 480 x 800 pixels. Only one other phone can match this resolution - the Sony Ericsson Xperia. To put it into context, the Touch HD has 2.5 times as many pixels as the iPhone 3G! It's this ultra-high resolution that gives the HD its name. Now, as we've commented many times before at Mobile Phones UK, when it comes to touchscreen phones, big is better! The huge expanse of screen real estate means that you can see more options, more virtual buttons, more menus on screen at once, and the whole system becomes much easier to use. The triple combination of Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro plus the TouchFLO 3D user interface plus the HD screen makes the Touch HD one of the best touchscreen phones that we've reviewed. It's a joy to use. HTC are also quick to point out that the HD screen makes the phone great for watching videos too. The built-in accelerometer lets you easily switch between portrait and widescreen landscape modes, just by turning the phone.

The Touch HD is equipped with many features and applications that make best use of the big screen. But the weakest of these is probably the camera. At 5 megapixels, it's an improvement on the 3.2 megapixel camera of the HTC Touch Diamond, but it isn't the best camera around. With the autofocus we find that the results are adequate, and certainly good enough for taking print quality snaps in good lighting. In poor lighting though, the camera suffers from a lack of a flash. The video recording quality is on a par, with results that are adequate but not exceptional. A secondary camera is available for making video calls at up to VGA resolution.

A feature that works rather better is the web browsing capability of the phone. With a choice of WiFi or HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, you can be guaranteed the fastest mobile broadband connection speeds currently possible. Flip the display into landscape mode and you have a full 800 pixel width available for displaying web pages. This makes it feasible to display many web pages in full resolution, without the need to constantly zoom in and out. The web browser is fast to display pages, and overall this is possibly the best implementation of the mobile web that we've ever seen. Top marks to HTC!

Another good feature is the GPS implementation that uses Google Maps. This is another case where bigger is better. The large screen simply lets you see more of the map at any time, so you can get a clearer picture of where you are and where you need to go. The touchscreen navigation works extremely well with this application, letting you scroll and zoom just by tapping or sliding your finger.

The audio capabilities of the Touch HD are brilliant. Equipped with a music player and an FM radio, and with a 3.5mm headphone jack, the audio credentials of the device are impeccable. The music player is capable of playing all the main digital formats - MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+ and WMA - and because it uses Windows Mobile, it's easy as pie to synch the device with Windows Media Player on a PC.

A device this powerful needs lots of memory, and HTC haven't let us down. The phone has plenty of RAM available and can handle microSD cards up to a whopping 32 GB! The battery life figures quoted by HTC are impressive - up to 8 hours talktime and 680 hours standby. But in the real world we don't think that you'll get anything like these. We haven't tested the battery life scientifically, so we're reluctant to stick our neck on the block here, but our feeling is that most users will need to recharge every couple of days. Besides, with such a feature packed phone, you'll probably want to use it to its full potential all day long!

This is a brilliant all-round device, and we can't rate this at anything less than a full 5 stars. While the camera may not match the latest and greatest, this is really the only weak point of the phone. Admittedly it's large and heavy, but you can't have a large screen unless you have a large phone to put it on! We love the big screen, we love the user interface, we love the GPS and the internet. Whether you use your phone for emailing, finding your way around, checking the stock market or weather, or simply making old fashioned phone calls, you'll find everything you need here in one very smart device.

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Features of the HTC Touch HD include:

• 5 megapixel camera with autofocus
• Video recording & video calling (VGA resolution) with secondary camera
• Display: TFT, 480 x 800 pixels (3.8 inches)
• GPS receiver
• Music player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA formats)
• FM radio with RDS
• Messaging: SMS, EMS, MMS, Email
• Ringtones: 40 voice polyphonic ringtones / MP3 ringtones
• Wallpaper
• Java
• Internet: GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA (7.2 Mbps)
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate, mini-USB 2.0, Wi-Fi, 3.5 mm audio jack
• Memory: 288 MB RAM plus microSD memory card (up to 32 GB)
• Vibration alert
• Quadband GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) plus HSDPA/WCDMA (900/2100 MHz)
• Size: 115 x 63 x 12 mm
• Weight: 147g
• Talktime: 420 - 480 minutes
• Battery standby: 440 - 680 hours

HTC Touch HD Consumer Reviews

Love your mobile? Hate it? Please share your experiences to help other people choose the phone that's best for them. Please do not review this phone if you have not used it. This is a review site, not a forum, so please don't just ask questions. Please do not use swear words or offensive language, and please, no advertising!

Average rating from 28 reviews:

Reviewed by WttDegs from UK on 29th Dec 2008
Had this HD phone for a few weeks now, and still love it! Does everything I need it to do, and then some more stuff too :-) As noted elsewhere, camera is not fantastic, but good enough - if you want great pics, buy a camera not a phone! Browsing is fast (especially via wifi), and the size of the screen makes it easy too. True, you need to tweak things and set it up properly to get the very best out of it - this is not a phone for techno-phobes!, but there are a couple of great forums out there with all the hints and tips you need :-) As to the HD vs iPhone debate - who cares! LOL If you wants something pretty that works out of the box, get an iPhone. If you want something to invest some time and effort into, and aren't scared of tweaking, then the HD is VERY much worth a go :-) Enjoy!
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Reviewed by Dr.Tech from USA on 27th Dec 2008
You people that 'pay out' on this phone, need your heads checked! The ones that think that Apple's i-Phone is better, u haven't done your research and just 'slag-off' the HTC Touch. Your just jealous and want others to go out and buy an i-Phone! I don't care about HD screens; when r they gonna make a proper one then? This phone is probably the best I've viewed for a PDA!! Whereas an i-Phone, u can't compare to it - because it's not a PDA! The i-Phone is just a Tech-gimmick!!!
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Reviewed by Bahar from America on 25th Dec 2008
this phone is full of junk battery time is limited crashes many a times during start up. video camera mode is blurred. internet is slow both on wi fi and hspda. warning to all don't get this phone at any cost waste of time and money
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Reviewed by SV from UK on 25th Dec 2008
Excellent phone. Great responsive, bright ,HiRes screen.Worth the wait. Feels a bit delicate compared to the Sony Ericsson P1i that I upgraded from.loads of useful features to keep me playing with it for a long while.No flash,though. Still would give it 5 stars.Wanted an Xperia X1 but I changed my mind at the last minute after reading the reviews here.
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Reviewed by JSZ from Poland/UK on 23rd Dec 2008
A phone so well equipped and with such a magnificent display can only have a 5 star rating. I was going crazy about the iPhone 3G when it came out but thankfully kept my head on and never got it, waiting for this. It's off to the shops for me before the new year! HTC, here I come!
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Reviewed by sean from usa on 23rd Dec 2008
much better than iphone
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Reviewed by WJ from UK on 20th Dec 2008
Toyed with the idea of getting an Iphone, but I want to stay with Orange and therefore opted for the HTC HD Touch. Very impressed, and getting to know it better each day. Internet, google maps, MS apps all very good. Have sync'd my outlook contacts and diary without any real problems. Battery needs charging on a daily basis but I suspect I have too much running whilst I am in learning mode! Highly recommended, go for it!
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Reviewed by Ian G from UK on 16th Dec 2008
After careful consideration I was left with the option of two handsets, the Samsung Pixon and the HTC Touch HD. Both are very good phones, but the Samsung is just lacking style. Something the HTC is not lacking. When the phone arrived I was thrilled to find that HTC had not only designed a great phone, but also designed a great way to present it. It comes in a very stylish box with all the usual accessories including a padded cloth cover, something all manaufactuors should include. The phone itself is one of the best looking phones on the market, and it's only rival would be the Iphone. Now they are both touch screen and have all the applications you could possibly think of, but the Iphone is branded with the Apple logo which seems to give them the right to print money. HTC seem to have their heads screwed on as this phone does it all, GPS, touch screen (3D) Games, a 5 Meg camera and so much more. So the plus sides. Well, stylish, touch screen, Windows Mobile 6.1, GPS with Google Maps, stylus, amazing applications, superb web browsing, video calling, FM radio, very big memory On the minus side. Possibly a little large, and the camera could do with being slightly better but not the end of the world.
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Reviewed by Busewa from Denmark on 14th Dec 2008
Brilliant device, very little to fault. Have crashed the software once (fiddling with music while it was receiving an sms - locked the phone up and I had to restart it) Works brilliantly with Tom Tom 7, all in all- hats off to HTC, this is the ultimate tablet phone, makes my Touch Dual seem positively old, although it wasn't a bad phone right up until I unpacked the HD!
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Reviewed by Jason from UK on 14th Dec 2008
THIS PHONE IS AN iPHONE KILLER! On the iphone you cant bluetooth, you only have 3g (being ripped off if you bought the first iphone) and it doesnt have WIFI! The HTC Touch HD does far more than iphone. It has WIFI twice as many data connections, the screen is far more vivid and a higher resolution than iphone and you can bluetooth anything to anyone! The camera is better by 3 milion mega pixels too! iphone is a Chavs phone. The touch interface on iphone is a little more fun but HTC have developed a phone for those who want it all. also on iphone you cant expand memory or record video!
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Reviewed by Graham from Scotland on 12th Dec 2008
This is an excellent device. Other people have had problems with signal strength and dropped calls but I have had no such problems, with excellent clarity and volume on both my end and the other persons end (in south and west Glasgow). Syncing the HD to my work Exchange account was very quick and easy and I now get notices of new emails whenever the HD is connected over Wi-Fi or the HSDPA is turned on. Text input took a bit of getting used to but I've never had a touchscreen before so they may all be the same. I'm a pro now. The camera is good for well-lit shots with decent quality pictures and the whole screen becomes the viewfinder which is quite nice. Simply touching an area on-screen focuses on that spot which is also quite cool. But don't get this phone for the camera. But I think one of the biggest plus points for this phone hasn't even been mentioned here in that the HD comes with an 8GB miscroSD card as standard (with Orange anyway). This is a great addition because the audio and especially the video playback on the device are brilliant. Windows Media player can play basically any audio format as well as wmv, mp4 files and you can download DivX mobile and play DivX files all in full screen. I've been able to rip DVDs to my pc that I own, convert them straight to DivX and put them straight onto the phone to watch on the train and the quality is excellent. It can play more file types than the iPhone so, with a 16GB miscroSD card, or even the included 8GB one, this is a great Personal Media Player + phone. The internet is good too and, being an amateur software developer, I like the ability to easily install and run home-made Java programs on such a big screen. Battery lasts a couple of days of moderate use but about a day with lots of Wi-Fi and video playing but that's the same of most smartphones. So much more than a phone, the HD is highly recommended if you're after the above features.
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Reviewed by sangamesh from india on 5th Dec 2008
i am verh happy to inform that i saw and i stuied about HTC TOUCH , it has huge sreen and 5 megapixel camera however its very easy to use and aplanned to buy this
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Reviewed by eachel from uk on 3rd Dec 2008
i luvvvvvvvv this phone!
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Reviewed by rachel from uk on 3rd Dec 2008
love it takes getting used to especially with browsing on the internet. all in all pros outweighs cons hence 4*
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Reviewed by Joe from UK on 3rd Dec 2008
This phone is excellent. It has every single feature under the sun.. the new way of texting has taken a little getting used to, but I do love this phone. The widescreen is great for using Opera and tomtom/google maps.. I am very pleased with it. Got a great deal on orange too, so my missus also has a HD handset. :)
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Reviewed by Mark from UK on 1st Dec 2008
Got as a 'free' upgrade from Orange. Used it for a 3 days and then returned it... Ok so it packs all the right features, but it looks like HTC never really tested out the phone in real every day world. I have no idea why they put a huge volume button that doesn't lock when you lock the rest of the keys, meaning you left it on silent mode but by the time you've put it in your pocket and moved around it's now on loud. Very annoying when in the office. Typing text is also very fiddly. Whereas I can usually bang out the "hi honey, I'm running late and i'll be home in a couple of hours" message in a couple of seconds flat, I found myself giving up and making phonecalls. However, maybe that's just the way with touch-screen phones? Also I found the scrolling slow, and once a few aps are open the whole things slows right down. I'll miss it as a PDA, and the stock function keeps you checking back to see if you've lost any more money but as a phone I'm back on my old W910i waiting for someone to bring out a slim phone that does the basics very well. Also if you're buying this for the 'weather' feature, I suggest looking out the window will give you slightly better results! Sorry HTC, you've still got a lot of work to do with this one.
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Reviewed by Tihomir from Croatia on 30th Nov 2008
After 3 days I discover Touch HD is the best mobile ever seen. The iGO 8 works better than in original GPS HW, the GUI interface is perfect replacement for WM 6.1 and all the relevant phone features works perfect. What you have to is just to learn how to use it. The phone does excellent job in every functionality included but battery should be better (at least 1500 mA) which should be understand if you use Wi-FI, bluetooth all the time. Rating ***** Outstanding
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Reviewed by David Sims from UK on 27th Nov 2008
After 4 days I have returned this to Orange Gorgeous screen - quite slim I found it quirky to operate e.g. Physical volume button is always being touched when in landscape a PITA The keyboard does not rotate unless you use extra software and difficult to type with fingers despite trying 2 other software keyboards Screen does not always respond to commands and not repeatable Sluggish operation which did improve somewhat with registry tweaks The real deal breaker for me is the poor signal compared to other phones e.g. G600
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Reviewed by tom R from scotland cuz on 26th Nov 2008
dis fone is mash-up cuz it lyke comes wit everything even lyke a touch screen, i maen , bruv, how nang is dat!
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Reviewed by d from uk on 26th Nov 2008
rubbish, pixon all the way
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Reviewed by ted from uk on 26th Nov 2008
brought HTC diamond prior to this but sent it back as camera was shocking. HD much better quality, really pleased with it except for the size as impractical to carry around.
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Reviewed by Tom G from UK on 24th Nov 2008
Great PDA. Lousy phone. Reason - sensitivity. I'm on Orange, and on 3 other phones I get between 3 and 5 bars (out of 5) around the house. The Touch HD gives me between 0 and 2 bard (out of 4). It consistently fails to register on the network and drops calls when the other phones hang onto the calls and give me coverage. Even in my '5 out of 5' bar zone of the house the Touch HD only just hangs onto the call with some dropouts (and 2 bard on its signal strenth meter). I've tried two of them now, both identical, so if you're in an 'off the scale' coverage area fine, but if your coverage is marginal, with regret, I'd advise against it.
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Reviewed by RedKipper from England on 19th Nov 2008
Hmmm... Seems some people can't read?! 'The Screen (on the iphone) is better'? I see, you'll be watching your 480p FULL HD TV as well then will you? D’Oh!!
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Reviewed by RFG from UK on 17th Nov 2008
If you want a standard phone that is only available with one supplier then iPhone is for you. BUT if you want a mobile office that can be used with any supplier and has a battery that you can replace and extra storage space (micro SD cards) then the Touch HD is the phone to go for. The touch flo does a good job of hiding windows mobile flaws, the screen is responsive and the quality (480x800) is excellent. The build quality is good it is the same size as the iPhone but with a bigger screen and I use it for my satnav in place of a dedicated unit. It all depends on what you want from your phone!!!
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Reviewed by Ultdm, from UK on 16th Nov 2008
Great Phone. This is much better than Iphone 3g. I'd recommend this phone... Features + Style = PERFECT.
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Reviewed by josh from england on 15th Nov 2008
terrible iphone 3g much better
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Reviewed by Feastronics LTD from UK on 14th Nov 2008
Hi recieved my Touch HD from Orange yesterday and so far it has been amazing - i upgraded from my 20 month old Nokia N95, and it was a choice of this or the sony xperian X1 - the larger screen on this device one me over. Id did not feel any other phone except manybe the Samsung Omnia (which i nearly bought). The touch flow-3d interface is really nice and fluid - some functionality however could be improved on tho - i still haven't figured out how to save photos and videos onto the 4GB memory card supplied by orange. But the mobile internet is really fast and nice to use - this is the main reason i got the phone - its also very easy to setup push stlye emailing if you have googlemail like i do :-) The google maps feature works really well with the built in GPS - i was impressed at the speed of location and accuracy. So far in these early days i am very happy with the device, the screen resolution is actually very good - even small text is readable and clear. Battry life is hard to comment on at present - but if you ensure your screen is set to lower brightness and ensure you turn off all applications rather than just minimising them (as often occurs on windows mobiles) and turn off wifi and bluetooth when not in use and i expect i should get 2 days moderate use out of it. The only slight dissapointment i can find with the phone so far is the lack of a flash for night time shots - but day shots appear good on the screen and the touch screen focus is a great feature (focus in on any area of the viewfinder by touching the screen in that area). Overall i would give this phone 5 stars, this phone certainly equals if not betters the iphone.
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Reviewed by Randy from UK on 10th Nov 2008
This phone is ok, but lacked some features such as fast networking and also i'm not sure where they get HD from because the screen on mine didnt look HD at all, in fact it was like an ordinary 256K screen, i was very dissapointed, so instead i sent it back and got an Apple iPhone 3G Much better and i am satisfied as the screen is better, plus its faster and i love the app store!
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HTC Touch HD links