I had been anxiously awaiting the release of the HTC Touch ever since I first heard about it. After reading Alan Zak’s review of the GSM/GPRS version of the Touch in the Oct/Nov 2007 issue (smartphonemag.com/_archives/Oct07/htctouch.aspx), I was disappointed seeing his reports of poor memory management and slow processor speed. Fortunately, Sprint’s version of the Touch seems to solve these problems.

Unlike the device Alan reviewed, the Sprint Touch works with Sprint’s CDMA phone network, and its EVDO (Rev “0”) wireless connection blows away the slower T-Mobile and AT&T wireless networks. Sprint is even planning to upgrade the EVDO to the much faster Rev “A” sometime in 2008. In addition, the Sprint Touch has a faster processor (400 MHz) than the reviewed HTC version (200 MHz) as well as more memory (128 MB RAM/256 MB flash ROM) compared to the HTC version (64 MB RAM/128 MB flash ROM). And 151 MB of the ROM is available for data/file storage! The additional speed and memory makes the Sprint Touch an ideal device to run resource-intensive programs. It handles all of my medical programs without skipping a beat.

Windows Mobile 6 and other software

The Sprint Touch sports the Windows Mobile 6 Professional software and comes with a number of add-on programs from Sprint. One of the coolest features is Sprint TV. I have used this on other Sprint devices, but the brilliant, wide screen on the Touch makes it well worth the $9.99/month investment. Other software unique to the Sprint device is a link to Handango via the “Software Store” icon in the programs tab. In addition, when you launch Internet Explorer Mobile, you bring up a Touch homepage and have a link to update the software. This is a great feature, as updates can occur at any time and without notice.

Like the HTC version, the Sprint Touch incorporates HTC’s TouchFLO user interface. While this is a unique feature, I found it to be more “flash” than function.

The one feature lacking on the Sprint Touch, but available on the HTC version, is integrated Wi-Fi. However, with the high speed, integrated EVDO wireless network on board, the only time I would miss Wi-Fi is when I do not have Sprint service available.

My hat goes off to Sprint for making the Touch what it should have been. This small, sexy, sleek, and speedy device is a worthy competitor to the iPhone. It should appear on many holiday gift wish lists!