(image by Sasha Manuel)

Last night I got to use the HTC Touch. And of course, the first thing I tried was the TouchFLO interface.

On paper, it provides a new dimension to using Windows Mobile. Slide your finger (or stylus) across the screen diagonally, and a special menu fades in. Slide your finger across, and the menu flips like a cube, revealing new options. While you're in a list, flicking up and down scrolls everything.

Ultimately though, there's nothing new, as the items lead to what you can access through the normal interface. Yet the TouchFLO is an intuitive way to enter into popular functions such as the address book, media player, etc.

The HTC Touch I used is either a pre-production model (its software and hardware not yet finalized) or runs on a too weak processor. Whatever the reason, the TouchFLO suffers from a lack of responsiveness, especially when you're scrolling up and down a list.

I didn't get to try the connectivity options, such as the built-in WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 (with A2DP), and EDGE. Yet if they're like anything I've used on other Windows Mobile devices, they should work without a hitch. While 3G is lacking, this is quite a connected device for such a relatively small size.

Speaking of which, I already wrote about the Touch's super-thin 13.9mm profile, but feeling it in person was still amazing. The Touch easily fit into my polo chest pocket, without bulging out of it.

In short, my first impressions of the HTC Touch are quite favorable. But with responsiveness being number 1 in my list of what a smartphone or PDA should feature, let's hope the final retail version proves more responsive than the test unit I tried out. With the local distributor pricing the HTC Touch at around Php 29,000.00, looks like HTC is aiming for the mid-level market with this Windows Mobile 6 PDA Phone.