[HarryT]

I've been looking for my "perfect" combination of smartphone and "backup" bookreader that I can always have with me for a while now, and I think I've finally found it in the form of the "HTC Touch" Smartphone.

I've uploaded a picture with my mouse alongside just to show how incredibly small it is - about half the size of my iPaq Pocket PC! Runs Windows Mobile 6 so, as the picture shows, my first action was to install Mobipocket Reader onto it, which works great. The 2.8" screen is big enough to be readable, but small enough to comfortably carry in your pocket.

It's a device with absolutely "minimalistic" controls. There are only three buttons on the front of the machine - a central 5 way rocker/enter switch which is the main control switch, a "talk" button on the left (for making phone calls) and a "hangup" on the right, which also takes you back to the main "Today" screen.

The really nice thing about this device is that they've replaced the standard "Today" screen with a custom version that shows a large clock, a local weather forecast, and a rapid application launcher. All works amazingly well.

Another neat thing, and the reason for the "Touch" part of the name, is that there's custom software which interprets "finger wipes" on the screen in various ways. For example, in the contacts list you can scroll up and down the list just by pulling your finger down or up the screen. The machine does have a stylus, but what HTC have done is to ensure that you can access all the phone and PDA functionality without having to use it. You really only need it if you load an app with a "standard" Windows Mobile user interface (like MobiPocket, in my case).

All in all, a very impressive machine. Looking forward to using it.