HTC's Touch HD is arguably the best touch-screen Windows Mobile-based phones you can buy. In fact, even before the HTC Touch HD, I always felt HTC mobile phones were the best Windows Mobile phones you could buy. I own an older HTC-based "Apache" XV6700 Windows Mobile with a cooked ROM upgraded to Windows Mobile 6.1 and I'm still pretty happy using it. I still consider my xv6700 one of the top 5 Windows Mobile phones available. Installed on it I have a standalone Youtube player, TCPMP Media Player, Opera Mini, HTC Streaming Media Player, Java (Jbed), Skyfire browser, and more. It does the job and I especially like the slide-out keyboard. I'm not into the iPhone touch-screen's keyboard or the new Blackberry Storm for that matter. I find tactile keyboards work best for typing lengthy emails.
Comparisons between the new HTC Touch HD and the Apple iPhone will no doubt be made, since they both offer large touch-screens. In fact, the Touch HD beats the iPhone's screen with it's 3.8" WVGA (480 X 800 pixel) screen vs. 3.5" (320 x 480) for the iPhone. It beats the iPhone in size and resolution! In addition, unlike the Apple iPhone, Windows Mobile apps can run in the background, which is important for IM & VoIP apps like Skype. You have to jailbreak your iPhone if you want to enable background processing. What's up with Mr. Steve Jobs? 
He can be anally retentive sometimes when it comes to "controlling" Apple products.The HTC Touch HD uses HTC's popular touch-responsive TouchFLO 3D interface, though the interface is not used throughout the Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system. The processor on board, a Qualcomm 7201A, is the same as that on the Touch Diamond and the Google Android. THe Qualcomm 7201a has both ARM 11 and ARM 9 chips, built-in GPS, a couple of DSPs and 2D and 3D graphics acceleration for better video / interface animation.
The Touch HD sports ultrafast 3.5G technology. On HSDPA networks, the Touch HD delivers downlink speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps. Borrowing a page from the iPhone's slick interface, the newly added Stock tab keeps you informed of the latest stock quotes, while the connected Home screen puts e-mail, messages and calendar just a finger gesture away. It even sports FM radio support!
Google Maps are enhanced by the wide screen viewing platform on the HTC Touch HD and works with the integrated GPS. The HTC HD also sports a 5 megapixel camera for photos and video making the Touch HD a better digital camera than the HTC Diamond. Importantly, it's a front-facing VGA camera for video calls. It also has 512MB of ROM, 288MB of RAM, and a beefy 528MHz processor. The 3G handset allows users to video chat, download information over mobile networks or via Wi-Fi 802.11b/g. The smartphone works on WCDMA 900/2100MHz signals and supports quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE.
The Touch HD weighs 147 grams, and measures 115 millimeters by 62.8mm by 12mm.
Full Specifications:
| Model | HTC Touch HD™ T8282 | ||||
| Processor | Qualcomm® MSM 7201A™ 528 MHz | ||||
| Operating System | Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional | ||||
| Memory |
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| Dimensions | 115 mm x 62.8 mm x 12 mm (4.358 in x 2.4722 in x 0.47 in) | ||||
| Weight | 147 grams (5.185 ounces) with battery | ||||
| Display | 3.8-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with 480 x 800 WVGA resolution | ||||
| Network | HSDPA/WCDMA:
(Band frequency, HSUPA availability, and data speed are operator dependent.) | ||||
| Device Control |
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| GPS | GPS | ||||
| Connectivity | Bluetooth® 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for wireless stereo headsets Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g HTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB 2.0) | ||||
| Camera | Main camera: 5 megapixel color camera with auto focus | ||||
| Audio | Built-in 3.5 mm audio jack, microphone, speaker, and FM radio Ring tone formats:
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| Battery | Rechargeable Lithium-ion polymer battery
Video call time: Up to 140 minutes (The above are subject to network and phone usage.) | ||||
| Expansion Slot | microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible) | ||||
| AC Adapter | Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60 Hz DC output: 5V and 1A | ||||
| Special Features | FM Radio, G-Sensor |
HTC and network operator Taiwan Mobile are first launching the Touch HD in Taiwan and not the United States.
The retail price suggested by HTC is NT$25,900 (US$776). HTC representatives did not give a launch date for when the Touch HD will be available in the U.S. But I can tell you when the HTC Touch HD does come to the U.S., I will be one of the first people to buy one and finally retire my XV6700 or sell it on eBay.
