Design
The most obvious cosmetic feature of HTC's Touch Cruise is actually the absence of a feature. Like PDAs of old, the Touch Cruise is the first in the current line of HTC products without a mechanical keypad. The official product code for the Touch Cruise is the P3650, which makes the Cruise phone the successor to the HTC P3600i, another keypad-less PDA smartphone.
Gone are the rounded piano-black surfaces of the P3600i and in their place is a sharp, modern looking handset with a mixture of matte black rubber and stainless steel finishes. The Touch Cruise is a very attractive smartphone indeed. At 15mm thick the Cruise is (marginally) the thinnest in the HTC family, and at 110 by 58mm we had no problems transporting the phone in our pockets.
The centrepiece of the Cruise is a 2.8-inch QVGA touch display. Below the screen is a basic panel of mechanical keys and a jogwheel for navigation. This jogwheel turns too easily for our liking and moves from selections too quickly, so we've found it much easily to navigate most menus using the touchscreen, either with our fingers or with the stylus.
Volume adjustments can be made using a spring-loaded switch on the side of the phone, but we found the switch difficult to move and often deferred to the touchscreen for volume control as well. The microSD card reader is on the opposite side of the handset, alongside the dedicated camera button. Our test unit came bundled with a 1GB SD card with Co-Pilot 7 navigation software pre-installed and a windshield mount and car charger in the retail sales pack. Having dedicated navigation accessories is a very nice touch.
Features
Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC has been playing a clever game of specs juggling lately. In the last few months we've seen the Touch Dual, TyTN II and now the Touch Cruise. Each runs on similar hardware and Windows Mobile 6 so the basic smartphone experience is constant, however, each features a differing list of included technology.
The Touch Cruise is perhaps the most complete of the recent releases. All popular connectivity options are covered with HSDPA, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth with A2DP stereo audio profile. In addition the Touch Cruise lives up to its name with a GPS receiver built onto the Qualcomm processing unit.
Similar to the Touch Dual, the Cruise also features HTC's Touch Flo technology and funky interface shell. One of the major complaints about Windows Mobile 6 is how unintuitive the interface is. The HTC shell sits "on top" of Windows Mobile and gives quick 'one-touch' access to many regularly used menus and applications, like the organiser and phone profiles, without having to dig deep into the menus system.
Performance
It's difficult to say for certain without having the previous phones in the Labs, but it appears the Touch Cruise may be slightly laggier than the other HTCs we've seen lately. Like the Touch Dual, the Cruise runs on a Qualcomm 400MHz processor with 128MB RAM, and while it's adequate for most tasks, you can expect the Cruise to pause for a moment or two between menu selections and the applications opening.
Likewise, battery life is adequate but not extraordinary. During our tests we used the Web frequently and made moderate use of voice calls and standard messaging, and found each battery cycle to be approximately two days. When testing the Co-Pilot navigation software we needed to charge the phone at the end of the first day.
Those issues aside, the Touch Cruise is a star performer. Reception for voice calling is strong and the internal speaker is loud and clear. The HTC interface shell includes large, finger-friendly soft keypad options, so typing with the touchscreen has the potential to be fast and accurate.
Overall
When casting an eye across the HTC brood the Touch Cruise definitely jumps out. Its sharp looks and impressive list of features make it the pick of the litter. The Cruise also compares favourably to many of the other smartphones on the market. Next to i-mate's Ultimate 8502, the Cruise lacks performance but makes up ground by being a very attractive and easy to use PDA phone, and this is more than enough to earn a recommendation from us.
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MikeMath
05/06/2008, 10:19 PM
rating
7/10
The Cruise is my favourite of the current HTC line-up and compares more than well to most of the competition. HTC also does a good job of making the touchscreen experience easy to use, however, it won't be for everyone. propecia - celexa
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Buy viagra online
05/06/2008, 04:52 PM
rating
10/10
LOVE it. Never had a PDA WM phone before but I am loving it. I dont get why I read all these things about how bad the phone is looks wise. I really really dont think its that bad. Admittedly I almost got the original touch because I liked the look more but after getting this is pretty much grew on me within hours. What a feature packed
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mg1965
02/06/2008, 11:15 PM
rating
10/10
I have to agree with you Ezi, most of the internet reviews are comparing this HTC with other devices that do not have the same features. The iphone has no GPS or WM6 operating system so stop comparing.
Pros: Same good features as everyone has mentioned. Good phone call quality, they seem to have got it right with this one. The GPS receiver worked well in middle of city not like my Nokia.
Cons: Had mine for 4 weeks now and only thing I can think of is the silver paint (about size of math head) has sort of peeled away. Fair enough I have used it every day/night for many many hours and every friend had handled it or given it a go. Still looks ok and not noticable to others .
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EziGadgets
02/06/2008, 11:03 PM
rating
9/10
Great product! When will people realise that it's a PDA first with phone,GPS,WiFi capability. Stop comparing this to the iphone or any other mobile device! You want a phone - go buy a mobile phone!!!
Pros: 3G, fast enough CPU + ram, good phone quality, great GPS receiver, WiFi, small enough to fit in my pocket, decent loud speaker, good CPU performance between applications, Car kit included. I can see the screen when driving with TomTom - something my Mio A702 has a big problem with! I have owned the Asus, Palm, Nokia N95 & Mio A701 and A702 - the HTC Cruise is far better than any of the above.
Want to improve it? Download HTC Home Customiser for enhance your viewing options. I'm happy with my Cruise.
Cons: I have given this a real workout and I'm reluctant to mention any as this has been such a good device. However, to offer a fair review I will list them.
No 3.5mm socket. Although good in the car (GPS navigation), can be hard to see in sunlight.
Thats about all I have to pick with this unit. I was surprised how well it performs compared to my Mio A702. Got mine for AU$672 delivered to my door with 1gb card and original HTC car kit included - now thats reasonable!!!
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A
30/05/2008, 06:59 PM
rating
10/10
Excellent phone! all features are present for the new age.
Pros: GPS, Browsing features, kewl wheel and button, swappable soft keys, various keyboards, lesser weight than the bulky Tytn or Tytn II, better battery life, kewl touch FLO and many more...
Cons: Battery life can be bit better, but its above avg compared to WM phones. Design can be made shiny black, like the Dyamond.
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would like
27/05/2008, 07:50 PM
rating
8/10
what network can i get one of these on?
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aam
08/05/2008, 01:35 PM
rating
9/10
very nice and full of options. you dont need more than it has for me at least, a moment pause and thunder fast is not a big issue.
Pros: full option good looking
Cons: battery might not be as you wish for
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kingofgc
30/04/2008, 12:06 PM
rating
7/10
All HTC phones, that i've seen, have the antenna placement at the top, next to your head. Apple & Motorola are the opposite. Speaker phones are still inadequate, and ppl still put phones next to their ear.
Pros: great features
Cons: poor placement of antenna
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boopolo
24/04/2008, 02:24 AM
rating
9/10
Mine is the O2 version (xda Orbit 2). Have it only one day, and as its my first WM phone, it is taking a bit getting used to. Having said that I have already installed HTC Home Customiser, and got the home page the way I want it. All connection up and running including mail etc
Pros: Small and light. HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Co-pilot inc with the GPS. Fast GPS
Cons: HTC seem to be a stubborn lot. I have no doubt that they can improve the performance of all these PDAs with firmware/drivers.
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kabro
21/04/2008, 01:12 PM
rating
8/10
Were can i get this phone????
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