Reviews and tests | HTC Touch Cruise (Polaris) Review

Touch Cruise (Polaris) cannot be considered a revolution either, after all the model is based off two well-known products – TyTN II (Kaiser) hardware stuff and Touch Dual (Nike) software platform. Besides that an integrated FM-tuner module added for the rest a product is evolutional. The latter is only to HTC advantage, after all the company products are on the rise recently - suffice it to mention a 15 million device plan for the next year which is a level of LG world sales including the region of Asia. These are very good figures, the nearest WM competitors lagging behind not by times and to a degree! As a result before ASUS or Samsung activation in this segment or Nokia entering it HTC will for long remain an absolute platform leader. For this very reason it isn’t worth while expecting serious competition between WM and Symbian in the nearest future, for the latter is developed by such giants as Nokia, Samsung and others (S60) as well as Sony Ericsson, Motorola and others (UIQ). The situation will change only with Microsoft’s desire to share the financial interests with larger licensees of patent rights. However it is unprofitable for HTC themselves first of all that’s why the company shows active resistance to this process though is well informed of negotiations (and even lots of ready Nokia on Windows Mobile prototype smartphones) of which it does not hesitate to speak in public. In any case the next year for HTC will be really hectic not only because of sky-high sale amounts but also the release of smart Nokia phones with touch screens. An interesting time is coming. Well, now let’s talk about the essential …

As evident, it is really a top model - excluding TouchFLO, it is a TyTN II flagman without keyboard moreover with the radio. Considering keyboard WM communicators sell times worse than classical ones, such step is more than justified. At the same time let’s pay attention to size and weight - they are moderate for the model functionality. To tell the truth it can hardly be said about the price which is above the average. The reason is simple once again - HTC does not position Touch Cruise as a mass product. And nobody cancelled the price of a well-known brand; Nokia and Sony Ericsson are similarly overpriced as compared with Sagem and Fly. If one needs the highest possible available decision he’d rather look closely at something less sophisticated like E-TEN and others.

«As evident, it is really a top model - excluding TouchFLO, it is a TyTN II flagman without keyboard moreover with the radio.»

HTC Touch Cruise comes with a bundling typical to most PDA phones; there are no nice extras like a memory card that came with the original Touch or a cradle that came with P3300. The latter decision, however, was taken under the pressure of retailers who complained of a decline in demand for accessories. The sales package also includes a USB/HTC ExtUSB data cable, a wire stereo headset (suited to fit the ExtUSB standard), a battery, a software disk, a printed manual and a case to carry the phone in. The package is a little bit poor taking note of considerable price on Cruise; one could expect a more complete set.

HTC Touch Cruise is very wierdly built. And that’s not the matter of design itself; it is just the one you may dislike. The succession of models is more important, for the novelty looks exactly like P3300 and the absence of screen-to-edge transition makes it allied to Touch. As a result the device combines the tendencies of the company’s two bestsellers. The admirers of either will find something in this model, that fact helps reach maximal coverage. As for Cruise design, smooth surface of the face panel looks disputable - it makes the device more easily soiled and less solid. The latter is particularly critical for a high price range. However, this moment is subjective, we shall not pronounce sentences here, everyone will decide it for himself.

Soft-touch is employed everywhere except for the face panel, the side edges have glossy inserts. The casing is completely made out of plastic, that’s not to top product’s advantage. However the quality is high – it doesn’t creak at squeezing at all, the back panel doesn’t play. The coating is wear-resistant, for a month of active work it got neither worn nor scratched. The same concerns the smooth face panel, that’s why it cannot be considered absolutely unsuccessful. According to popularity of this tendency among ordinary phones (smooth panel models are produced by Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and others) there is quite a number of them.

As it was already mentioned the model enjoys moderately small dimensions, that’s why it sits in hand rather comfortably. The ExtUSB slot is put on the bottom edge unlike with Dual (which had it on the left edge of the body) it is way more convenient - nothing interferes when the headset is plugged in. By illustrations one can think that the navigation block is touch-sensitive, but it is not so – the stylization deceives (as with 8800 Arte). The keys are ordinary with a good stroke but they are only four in number, HTC refused the habitual OK and Start. The loss is minor (when desired the keys can be reassigned) as well as concerning the RollR trackball replacement by the ordinary key in comparison with P3300. The scroll wheel became more convenient and reminds of a similar solution with Samsung, it is especially useful at web-pages scrolling - to some extent it is an equivalent to TyTN II side element. The binding of this element to HTC gallery zoom management pleased, it is really simple and convenient.

Above the screen there is a front VGA-camera for video telephony and a speaker with two indicators. The left burns green, yellow and red - a signal, an event and a charge. The right - blue, green and yellow - Bt, Wi-Fi and GPS. The system is rather consistent though sometimes not too obvious - the same Gigabyte realized it in i350 much more successfully, the indicators are more noticeable. A new implementation of the memory expansion slot is a serious step forward in comparison with P3300 and Touch; it keeps with the highest of standards allowing the long-expected hot swapping support. It’s simply wonderful that the HTC guys were smart enough to notice the awkwardness of the side piece hosting expansion and SIM card slots in the earlier Touch model. An under-battery microSD "geography" like with Artemis is a history now.

The power button blocks the keypad just like it used to, which is rather convenient. Besides, multimedia accessories appear gradually that makes Cruise attractive to music fans as well. In November a 3.5 mm adapter will be available as an option and in December - a quality set with the control unit on a wire and a 3.5 mm output on it. It will cost about 40 euros and the adapter will go for about 15 euros. Running a few steps forward let’s note that the Cruise speaker’s maximal volume (as well as that of Dual) is a little bit higher than with Touch and P3300; the audio section is of high quality, even the volume does not let down, there is no problem with Bluetooth (A2DP) as well.

The Touch Cruise device offers the user a unique software solution for data input - the trademark virtual keyboard , being an alternative to the regular keyboard. Unlike the standard Windows Mobile keyboard, it supports stylusless text input - as long as you have at least one finger, you’ll be fine with it. It’s not a critical point though; it allows using keypad without opening the device. The solution could have looked much more reasonable as a part of the original Touch device, but it is better late, than never. Especially since nothing prevents you from installing it on the original of a series.

A significant improvement over touch is the heavily updated TouchFLO. Now the system behaves in a much more correct way, even an inexperienced user can easily handle the 3D HTC interface - unlike the earlier models that could confuse the novice. A number of software additions took place; we’ll dwell upon it in a more detailed way in the following part of the article. There’s the temptation to compare the device to iPhone, but there’s still the huge difference in the concept, design and dimensions, Touch Cruiser being much smaller.

Let’s dwell in detail upon the arrangement of control elements. The upper part hosts the power button and the bottom edge - the ‘ear’ used to fasten the wrist band, the interface slot (ExtUSB), the stylus holder and a soft-reset socket as well. The two-position camera button is located on the right edge of the handset’s body and so does the memory expansion slot (microSD), the left edge hosts the sound volume slide button and the voice control key. The SIM card slot (unlike with Touch) is hidden under the battery cover, but that doesn’t pose any real trouble since you have to turn the phone off anyway.

HTC Touch Cruise right after Touch Dual and TyTN II is constructed on Qualcomm platform having considerable potential, particularly in the matter of communications. As a result to find fault with something here is rather difficult, everything is perfectly realized indeed, there is even an FM-tuner. The devices are designed to be used in GSM 850/900/1800/1900 and UMTS 850/1900/2100 networks; they support GPRS and EDGE, as well as HSDPA and HSUPA. Wire communication is achieved through USB2.0 that makes use of the exclusively designed ExtUSB slot (analogous to the common microUSB). The data transfer speed raises no objections. There's no support for the Mass Storage and PictPridge modes. The ExtUSB-to-3.5 mm adaptor is already available as an option.

The wireless communication of Touch Cruise is represented by the Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) module and Wi-Fi. Both work quite well and give raise to no reprimands. AD2P enjoys a perfect support - the sound is of high quality and rather loud, the communication is almost never interrupted. It's a pity though that should the connection be lost, the sound doesn't stop automatically, the built-in speaker is instantly activated. Besides of it, the following profiles are supported:

Touch Cruise software part is remarkable for the new management application including lots of small improvements like the instant ON/OFF indicator. The functionality is still on the same level, though.

As for the FM-tuner it has been essentially improved since P3300 times, it concerns the quality of reception as well. One will be pleased with the function of switching-off in a certain time and an opportunity of automatic scan and save. The memory, to tell the truth, is moderate - just nine presets, six of which is available from the quick access panel. But it supports RDS.

The GPS support is well done for TyTN II, this aspect of the PDA phone is based off the Quallcomm 7200 chipset. The device was able to detect some seven sattelites on a clear day, which is quite in keeping with the Gygabite standarts and is slightly worse than Mio and E-Ten devices do. The GPS navigation software supplier is TomTom, any card (Moscow, Berlin, etc.) one in number is installed free.

The virtual control block looks like a prism that can be rotated by moving the finger sideways, each of its facets acting as customizable quick call shortcuts - contacts (up to 9 frequently called ones can be associated with them), multimedia folders (music, photo, video), PIM functions. It’s hard to say how actually convenient this weird thingie is, but it goes without saying it does look cool.

In comparison with the original Touch, in Touch Cruise (as well as in Dual) this function has undergone a noticeable amount of changes towards a better ergonomics. Additional functions like quick activation of the status line were added, - with a single slight move of the finger you can call up the status line. The Start menu can be made larger so it would take more screen space and, accordingly, be easier to operate with finger strokes. Contact book filtering has been improved by adding an alphabetical list to the right side of the screen.

The upper line is used for displaying service indicators like the battery life meter or signal quality, the clock and the telecom protocols availability, Bluetooth visibility, GPRS/EDGE availability in the area, 3G, Wi-Fi, a list of launched application. The lower line contains info about context button functions.

The main part of the desktop can be varied to your liking. By default it shows current day, the service provider info, the owner personal data, messaging stats, the tasklist and schedule, and the indicator area (battery charge, display angle, wireless module manager and backlighting level). The user can customize the order in which these fields follow or remove some of them from the screen completely. Today Desktop can feature a custom picture or a photo.

The extended functionality of HTC Home comes in handy. That's the brand Today screen which offers short stats. It shows the time and three sections showing new messages and missed calls, favorite contacts, weather, launcher and ringtone settings. The lower part hosts the instrument panel which allows switching between the two components. Let's have a look at each function separately:

Main Menu
The tab shows current weekday, the date and local time. When you receive messages or calls, the tab also shows the number of unread e-mails, SMS/MMS messages or missed calls. If the reminders are set, a warning symbol is also displayed here.

Weather tab
This tab shows info about the current weather (through the AccuWeather sevice) and the weather forecast for the four next days. When you use this function for the first time, you have to choose the city of residence, then the phone will automatically establish an internet connection and downloads the necessary data. The weather info includes current temperature, the extremums and a weather icon (cloudy or rainy, etc.).

Launcher
The tab allows adding shortcuts to favorite applications and set access with a single touch. By default it contains shortcuts for comms manager, program list, brightness adjustment, screen rotation, device blocking and ActiveSync. However everything on this tab is fully customizable.

Audio
The tab serves for audio profiles management and displays the selected ringtone.

As we see it, the Home module is surely a winning function for the phone itself and its designers, the HTC company. The weather forecast is probably the biggest advantage offered here. You can get a detailed weather forecast with a single tap of stylus. In earlier models this function was only available through 3rd party software. Another nice feature of HTC Touch is a better support for text scrolling - you can just move you finger along the screen to do this, tapping the scrollbars with the stylus is no longer obligatory. This could be critical to people who often use public transport. In earlier models this function was only available through third party software. Another nice feature of HTC Touch is a better support for text scrolling - you can just move you finger along the screen to do this, tapping the scrollbars with the stylus is no longer obligatory. This could be critical to people who often use public transport.

«As we see it, the Home module is surely a winning function for the phone itself and its designers, the HTC company. The weather forecast is probably the biggest advantage offered here. You can get a detailed weather forecast with a single tap of stylus. »

Another addition to the functionality of Touch Cruise is the Task Manager, displaying a list of running applications that allows to switch between them quickly or shut any running task. Unfortunately this is only available in the Today screen.

There are two kinds of menus in this phone: the quick access menu and the main menu. The former is activated on pressing the Start button and essentially is a vertical list that contains 7 items, info about the 5 recently launched applications as well as grants access to the main menu and settings. The main menu is a list of applications very much similar to a regular Windows-styled window with icons and application names below them. A maximum of 12 icons per screen is allowed.

The window interface has also been changed - the elements got rearranged and mixed with a bunch of nice effects, contributing to the overall style. Now the interface looks more logical, but the functionality is almost the same (besides the above-mentioned feature of the contacts book).

The following applications are either preinstalled on Touch Cruise or come bundled on a disk...

The Office Mobile software packet includes:

Private Data Tab
TTY, Input, Voice Dialing, Personal Data, Block, Sounds and Reminders, Keys, Menu, Today, Phone, Expanded Start Menu.

The System Tab
TouchFLO, Mic, Keypad block, Device Block, Exterior GPS, Task Manager, Information, Quick Tasks Keypad, Error Log, Purge Data Storage, Memory, Backlighting, Certificates, Application Removal, Windows Update Server, Time Settings and Alarms, Encryption, Display, Power Supply, Language and Standards.

Connections Tab
Bluetooth, HSDPA, Connection Setup Wizard, Comm Manager, GPRS Settings, USB to PC, Transfer, Connections, Wireless Lan, SMS System, CSD Communication Manager.

As wee see, new options have been added to the traditional ones, for instance the blocking option. Unfortunately, it goes crazy upon contact with any magnet so using a phone case with a magnet element will cause the device to unblock, which can be quite annoying.

Conversations are in charge of the Phone application, which can be activated either by pressing the Call Button or by activating the corresponding menu item in the Start menu. The main screen of the Phone application hosts three tabs - Calls, Quick Dial and Phone Settings.

Touch Cruise stores contacts within the Contacts application. The SIM-card stored contacts share the same list with the user-memory stored contacts. A SIM-stored contact can be transferred to user memory and vice versa. The PDA phone supports three types of contacts:

MS Outlook contacts can either be created directly on the PDA phone or synchronized with a PC or an Exchange Server contacts database. Each contact stores a few phone numbers, e-mail addresses, instant messaging contacts, home and work addresses and misc info like post, date of birth, etc. Each Outlook contact can be associated with a unique picture and ringtone.

USIM/SIM card contacts. Any of those can only store a name and a phone number.

Windows Live Contacts are used by the Windows Live Messenger (MSN). Likewise the Outlook contacts, Windows Live contacts can contain detailed data about the person.

Only one phone number is allowed per USIM/SIM-card stored contact. If you copy a user memory contact to SIM/USIM, the SIM Card Manager program splits any multiple phone numbers associated with a single contact into separate contact records for the USIM/SIM card memory. A special suffix is added automatically to the names of such duplicate contacts to tell between them (by default "/M" stands for Mobile, "/W" for Work and "/H" for Home).

To make a phone call, you can equally use the Phone application, the Contacts book, the Quick Dial or the Calls menu as well as the SIM card manager. Traditionally there's support for Smart Dialing which makes dialing easier than before. Once you input the initial symbols of the phone number or the person's name, the phone filters all the contacts automatically to fit the search criteria. This sorting works automatically for contacts stored both in user memory and on the SIM card and is applicable to the contacts book and the call log. This saves a bit of time while searching for some person's name in the phonebook. By default, the call log displays information about all calls but it's customizable to filter missed, outgoing and incoming calls only, sorting by name is also present. Besides the name and the number each record in the log stores the time, the date and the call or all calls length.

The only limit to the size of the contact book is the volume of free user memory. Up to 12 phone numbers of different types of phone numbers, 3 e-mail addresses, home and work address, web page address and a plenty of other details like Assistant's Phone Number can be associated with every contact. It goes without saying that each contact can enjoy its own ringtone and picture as well as belong to one of the customizable user groups.

Traditionally the Messaging application is used for composing, viewing and sending SMS and MMS messages as well as e-mail messages. Once you get a new message, the Today screen displays a special reminder symbol. You can sort your messages in a number of ways, for example you can sort your e-mail messages by topic.

An incoming message is indicated by a pop-up window regardless of the menu the user is currently browsing through. The message can be instantly opened, deleted or ignored. That stands to reason that all the messages are stored within the same folder, at the same time shown in a tree-like structure allowing for easier navigation. We viewed the text input with the help of keyboard above, there is no problem when using MioKeyboard, everything is highly convenient.

E-mail can be set to be delivered automatically (you specify the interval before each message is received or sent automatically). Sorting by date is possible. You can activate simultaneous sending and receiving of mail, set a mailing schedule when roaming abroad and sort incoming messages by size prior to downloading them to the phone.

If you use a Microsoft Exchange 2007 server the message will be delivered instantly and not on the next synchronization. Full HTML support is present. If the message contains several attachments, all of them are downloaded, but you can activate delayed downloading mode. You can use hot key combinations for quick access to the messaging functions like Reply, Forward, etc.

An able security system is in its place. For example, in ActiveSync any outgoing message can be digitally signed and encrypted automatically prior to sending, an IRM (Information Rights Management) capability allows you to limit access to messages in the way you like.

The Calendar application is used for planning events and meetings, this day's schedule can be displayed on the Today screen. If your PC has a copy of Outlook installed on it, you can synchronize the schedules. Reminders can be set in the form of sound signals or screen flickers.

The Calendar can also be used for arranging meetings via e-mail with the users of Outlook or Outlook Mobile. If the recipient accepts the proposition, the meeting is automatically added to their schedule. When the person affirms to participate, your schedule is automatically updated with an acknowledgement. The Windows Mobile platform has long been known for its strong points in the corporate sphere.