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Fuzzy Logic HTC Touch: The iPhone “clone wars” start
Fuzzy Logic HTC Touch: The iPhone “clone wars” start | HTC Touch: The iPhone “clone wars” start |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Wednesday, 06 June 2007 | |
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HTC or High Tech Computer has just launched the “HTC Touch” in the UK, less than four weeks before the iPhone launches in the US, and as you’d imagine with its rather indicative name, the HTC Touch is controlled by your finger, letting you make gestures on screen, or use a stylus, to control fingertip enhanced on screen interface. HTC make no specific mention of ‘multi-touch’ technology where you can use forefinger and thumb to enlarge photos or perform other tasks as Apple describes, seemingly giving Apple the upper hand, for now, in the real ‘multi-touch’ stakes. Although HTC say that the Touch brings a “new level of simplicity to the powerful and function-rich device experience that today’s mobile consumers demand”, some have already commented that the touch experience is just a shallow overlay onto the more traditional Windows Mobile 6 Professional interface underneath, especially given the need to draw out the included stylus to type text or email messages and enter data on the small keyboard common to Windows Mobile devices – it is a shame this device doesn’t have a keyboard which slides out from the the phone as with other (much thicker) smartphones on the market, many of which come from HTC already. HTC claim to have been working on their new touch screen technology called TouchFlo for quite some time before Apple’s iPhone announcement back in January. HTC say that consumers only need to sweep their finger up the display to launch an animated, three-dimensional interface comprising three screens: Contacts, Media and Applications. In an attempt to offer some ‘cool’, or perhaps in Microsoft parlance some ‘wow’, HTC say that the interface can be spun by swiping a finger right or left across the display, providing efficient access to the features consumers use most, with TouchFLO also enhancing finger touch scrolling and browsing of Web pages, documents, messages and contact lists. The touch screen system has been programmed to intelligently distinguish between finger and stylus input and then respond accordingly. Peter Chou, HTC’s CEO, says that “With the HTC Touch, access to your most commonly used content, contacts and features is only a simple finger flick away. Mobile phone makers have done a great job of cramming ever-more exciting features into ever-smaller phones. But the way in which one accesses these increasingly sophisticated features has not kept pace. That ends today with the HTC Touch.” The HTC’s new ‘homescreen’ is also somewhat iPhone like, although not an exact copy, providing “one touch access” to emails, text messages, calendar appointments and contacts, as well as current weather conditions and forecasts for hundreds of cities around the world. So, what else does the HTC Touch offer in its quest to offer a viable alternative to the iPhone? Please read onto page 2's conclusion to find out! |
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