HTC Touch Dual Review (with a 2006 Flashback!)
June 5, 2008 by Jayvee Fernandez
Filed under HTC
It’s really been bugging me. When I set my eyes on the cool and slick real estate of the HTC Touch Dual, I experienced one of those moments that could only be described as an epiphany – finally understanding that thing that has been bugging me at the back of my head. The HTC Touch Dual reminds me of a device that didn’t sell very well and yet was almost brilliant enough to change the way Windows Mobile smartphones were developed. And I’m talking about a blast from the past — the O2 XDA Stealth. Remember me:
O2 XDA Stealth Review from 2006
O2 Stealth: Probably my next smartphone
The HTC Touch Dual capitalizes on a very loud audio experience (regional PR companies are going with the whole musical bandwagon via party, party, party) and this my friends is going to be the Dual’s main selling point. Truth be told I feel that the Touch Dual is an in-between release for the new HTC Diamond as it doesn’t really add anything new to the table. The TouchFlo interface is present, as this is a Touch device. It hasn’t really innovated since the early release of the Touch back in 2007.
What’s rather sad is that the O2 Stealth comes with WiFi and the Touch Dual doesn’t. Wow, two devices almost 2 years apart and this is what we get? Although to be fair, HTC did not manufacture the Stealth – it was made by their OEM competitor, Gigabyte.
Not a lot can be said about the Dual. It definitely got its real estate design right, and the screen is oh so bright, but the device lacks that sort of integration we were hoping for. It’s pretty much the same thing we’ve seen with the Stealth (which by the way did not get stellar reviews). Don’t get me wrong – the Touch Dual is still, all around, a decent phone for someone who has always wanted an up to date Windows Mobile device sporting a pseudo QWERTY thumb board and numerical keypad.
