Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Tuesday, 25 March 2008 14:44
Opinion and Analysis
Page 2 of 3
The other cool feature in this new model is built-in Wi-Fi. Why it took HTC so long to offer this feature is beyond me, but they have finally done it. A reader rightly notes the original HTC Touch did indeed have Wi-Fi, which is correct. What it didn't have was 3G or 3.5G, which was rectified with the HTC Touch Dual, as was the missing keypad, but the Touch Dual omitted Wi-Fi.
So the HTC Touch Cruise includes Wi-Fi but the keypad is gone once more, so if a keypad really is important to you, and you still want GPS, the HTC Touch Dual hooked up to a GPS Bluetooth module (and loaded with your own supplied GPS software of choice) will be a better option.
Anyone wanting GPS, Wi-Fi, 3.5G and a keypad or keyboard all built-in will just have to wait for the next version, which will likely arrive before the end of the year, if HTC is planning such a device.
The scroll wheel does actually spin around in circles, but also lets you click in the standard four directions, with an ‘ok’ button in the middle. It’s useful to have the scroll wheel, but I’d have given it up for a keypad.
As you’d expect, Windows Mobile 6 professional is included, which can handle MS Direct Push email and it has a 3.5G HDSPA 2100Mhz chipset (as a 3.6Mbps class device, not the faster 7.2Mbps standard).
There’s 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, a 2.8-inch LCD screen, an FM radio, a 3.0 megapixel autofocus camera, a front mounted camera for video calls, a Qualcomm 400Mhz processor (as with the HTC Touch Dual), and a microSD slot (SD 2.0 compatible).
So, what about the wildly varying talk times that are quoted, including what appears to be a mistake? Please read onto page 3.
