HTC Touch HD review: Windows almighty

The Touch HD is storming the WinMo stage to leave a footprint the size of half the HTC portfolio. Not so long ago we saw Windows Mobile changing for the better thanks to the TouchFLO 3D, The latest flagship gets things even hotter with a multimedia twist. And the new screen… well, beauty's in the numbers. 

Looks like all that stands between the Touch HD and legend is the actual performance. A bold statement it is, so what we're about to do is push it to its limits. An unforgiving spec sheet calls for unforgiving scrutiny. Join us as we set sail to explore the HTC Touch HD big sway and little secrets.

   
HTC Touch HD official photos
Key features
Massive 3.8" 65K-color WVGA display 
Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS 
TouchFLO 3D Home screen and gesture controls 
Wi-Fi and built-in GPS receiver 
Qualcomm MSM7201A 528 Mhz CPU and 288 MB DDR SDRAM 
Dedicated graphics chip (64MB RAM reserved for graphics) 
Quad-band GSM and dual-band HSDPA support 
5 MP auto focus camera with nice image quality 
microSD card slot 
Accelerometer sensor for auto screen rotation and turn-to-mute calls 
Proximity sensor to automatically turn the screen off during calls 
Fingerprint resistant rear panel 
Touch sensitive keys with vibration feedback 
Stereo FM radio with RDS 
Standard 3.5mm audio jack 
miniUSB slot and Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP 
Active magnetic stylus 
MS Office Mobile document editor 
Excellent Opera 9.5 web browser 
Rich retail package, including 8GB microSD card 
Main disadvantages:
A wee bit overweight 
Sizeable body (still within acceptable limits though) 
Average sunlight legibility 
Video recording maxes out at CIF@30fps 
There's no dedicated camera key or flash 
No D-pad (offers more precise navigation) 
Power key is really hard to press 
No TV out port 

HTC Touch HD is simply the next big thing in the Windows Mobile realm. And big is by no means limited to size. Indeed, the handset does come out a little too hefty but the feature pack is the kind to make you forget about size. The massive screen and so-unlike-WinMo multimedia skills give HTC Touch HD the kind of crossover appeal to reach beyond the hardcore PocketPC following.