HTC Touch HD phone

The HTC Touch HD is a mobile phone and pocket pc all in one, it is also known as the HTC T828X or HTC Blackstone. The phone is powered using Windows Mobile 6.1 and it is manufactured by HTC. It's part of the HTC Touch family and offers features such as a large high resolution display, larger than those found on usual smart phones, a 5 megapixel camera, a second front facing camera to enable Videophone functionality, an accelerometer, GPS, FM RDS radio reception, high resolution video recording capability and SD Micro card compatibility.

Other features include a quad band GSM and dual band UMTS connectivity, as well as the proprietary TouchFLO 3D user interface which was developed by HTC. Unlike the HTC Touch Pro this model does not offer the left side slide out keyboard. Details of this phone were leaked several days before an official press release and a new product page confirmed the specification and the release date in Europe. HTC then confirmed speculation by announcing the Touch HD would be available in the UK from November 7th 2008. This device is not officially available in the US and there are not any plans to launch it there.

The 5- megapixel camera sounds impressive but we weren't overwhelmed by the picture quality. It sufficed for small to medium-sized prints but wasn't as sharp as we expected. There's no flash, either, so shots in low light don't come out well. Battery life is quoted at 420 minutes talk time with 3G turned on and 680 hours on standby. We found that with regular use - activating features like the GPS and HSDPA -- it lasted for a full day before needing to be recharged.

One reviewer said, “I bought this as a replacement for my PDA. I use it for email more than telephone calls. Overall, I am thrilled with my wonderful new toy. I made a great choice. It's quite slim, which is good, and reasonably large - large enough to accommodate a nice, big touch screen but small enough to fit in my pocket comfortably. The 800x640 screen is a key reason I chose this model. It provides a superior quality of image: great for showing off your photos. Together with WiFI, using my 'phone to watch BBC iPlayer and YouTube in bed becomes an acceptable prospect”. This phone has entered a very competitive market where the traditional battle between iPhone and Blackberry is present.

Some people believe that the HTC is now a viable option over the iPhone, although many people are also yet to be convinced. One major problem is that HTC is unable to compete with Apple in terms of brand power and the strength the iPhone holds within the market. Despite how contested the market is, HTC has attracted many buyers.