Touch Not iTouch Competes W/iPhone
10.17.07 - 03:11pm
The Touch, soon to be on the market from Sprint, is not to be confused with the iTouch. Rather it competes with Apple’s iPhone. So while the two may have similar names they are at least in different categories.
Sprint’s Touch from HTC is a phone with many similarities to the iPhone including looks, featuring a full touch screen phone with almost no buttons. The touch screen may look the same but it is smaller than the iPhone by a full inch retaining just 2.5 inches vs the iPhone’s 3.5 inches. It too has a full web browser like the iPhone but instead of running OS it runs Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6. (at least its not running Vista!) It too will run music like the iPhone wirelessly, but through the Sprint Music Store. The store, like iTunes, also offers on-demand video and TV shows.
It differs from the iPhone in that the phone is geared towards the businessman with push e-mail connecting with Outlook Mobile. It also has support for third party applications (unlike the iPhone). The Touch includes a removable microSD card supporting up to 4GB of expandable memory but has little memory to start with. It also has stereo Bluetooth and access to Sprints high speed 3G network.
“The Sprint Touch is the result of the strong relationship between Microsoft, HTC, and Sprint and offers customers a fun user experience, the power of Sprint’s network and the ease-of-use of Windows Mobile which makes it easy to browse the Web, send email or enjoy your digital entertainment,” said Pieter Knook, senior VP of Microsoft’s Mobile Communications Business.
The Touch will be available in November and will retail for $250 with a 2-year subscription and a $100 mail-in rebate.
“This device is for someone who can’t live without either the (professional or personal) world,” said Jason Cole, product manager at Sprint.
The touch began selling in June oversees and has sold 800,000 units so far. The iPhone sold a million in the U.S. in a little over 2 months.
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