HTC's Touch mobile touches down in Australia

Mobile device manufacturer High Tech Computing (HTC) unveiled its first branded smartphone for Australia -- the HTC Touch -- in Sydney yesterday.

The Taiwanese-based organisation acquired smartphone maker Dopod, last year, however, the HTC Touch -- a 2.5G (GPRS/EDGE) handset -- is the first device to bear the moniker locally.

HTC's Touch smartphone

With an interface reminiscent of Apple's iPhone, the HTC Touch features TouchFLO, which is a combination of hardware and software that provides a shortcut to tools, contacts and media by swiping a finger across the display. It is one of the first Windows Mobile 6 devices to debut here.

Although it lacks 3G support, the HTC Touch comes with 802.11g, enabling a wireless Internet connection. It also includes Bluetooth, a 1GB microSD card, a 2-megapixel camera and 2.8-inch, 240x320 resolution touchscreen.

HTC started out manufacturing Compaq's first iPAQ PDA in 2000 and a slew of PDAs and smartphones under an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreement for i-mate, O2, Dopod, Hewlett-Packard and others.

The manufacturer severed its ties with i-mate and 02 in Asia-Pacific late last year, following its acquisition of smartphone distributor Dopod in June.

It will continue selling current devices under the Dopod brand, with all future products in Australia to be HTC branded. HTC will continue to supply devices to Palm, HP and Dell.

The HTC Touch is available this week from Optus partner Officeworks, as well as distributor Brightpoint, and will cost AU$699.