Windows Mobile phones lag behind Nokia and Research in Motion’s BlackBerry in terms of market share, but Microsoft’s platform is catching up fast.
Gartner calculates that sales of Windows-based smartphones were 20 per cent higher in the second quarter of 2008 than a year ago. One reason is the efforts of handset makers to combine more attractive, easier to use designs with the business functions of Windows Mobile.
Handset maker HTC’s latest business phone – the Touch Pro – shows just what can be done when those elements come together. The Touch Pro combines TouchFlo 3D, the touch interface first shown on the Touch Diamond handset with a slide-out physical keyboard.
TouchFlo is not quite as intuitive as the iPhone’s touch interface, but it works well enough for managing the phone’s basic functions, such as making calls, light web browsing or looking up calendar entries or contacts. Features such as the cute weather page and clock, carried over from the Touch Diamond, make the touch interface fun to use.
The phone has plenty of business features, too, such as support for high speed, HSDPA web browsing, GPS, Wi-Fi, out of the box support for Exchange e-mail synchronisation and the improved security features of Windows Mobile 6.1.
On the downside, the Touch Pro doesn’t feel all that responsive. Touch commands could be quicker. It also takes a few seconds before the phone registers that the keyboard is extended and it allows you to type.
The fact that HTC includes a stylus with the phone serves as a reminder that the Windows menu system is alive and well under the TouchFlo skin: all but the most casual users will use the stylus quite a lot.
The screen is high resolution, but relatively small (2.8 inches), so navigating those menus can be challenging. The Touch Pro is much more pocket friendly than many earlier Windows Mobile phones, but after a few hours use, a larger device might actually feel more comfortable.
Sometimes a larger, lower-resolution screen is easier to use, for example in poor light. Nor is battery life on the Touch Pro – two days at best – good enough to persuade this writer to give up his BlackBerry.
The HTC Touch Pro is one of the best Windows Mobile smartphones yet. But in trying to upgrade a consumer handset to business class, HTC has produced a good smartphone rather than a true wireless PDA for the road warrior. Heavy e-mail users who do not need to run Windows Mobile applications could also look at Nokia’s E71 or the new, 3G, BlackBerry Bold.
By: Stephen Pritchar, via: FT.com
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