Over these last months, rumours and sneak previews regarding HTC's new device have been frequent on all the specialised webzines and blogs - what became increasingly clear was that this handheld was going to be an extremely compact device combined with a sleek and refined body design. Now that the new HTC Touch (also referred to as the Elf or P3450) has been finally and officially unveiled, we discover a PDA that does in many ways appear revolutionary, yet the real surprise goes beyond its physical dimensions and appearance.
The true beauty of HTC's latest offering lies in its unprecedented three-dimensional interface, patented as TouchFLO. The touchscreen allows you to browse lists, web pages and documents with elegant flowing movements across its display. This finger control method, as already seen during Apple's keynote presentation of the iPhone several months ago, is integrated into every aspect of the operating system. Menus and contents continue to respond to the user's input, turning and rotating with eye-pleasing virtual inertia, the movement sometimes naturally slowing down to a halt, other times brought to rest by a simple tap. If you already use Windows Mobile, or any other PDA OS, you'll probably be asking yourself just how precise finger control can be on a PDA's relatively small screen. Suffice to say that this new interface has been purposely studied to allow easy control via fingertips. Everyday commands and actions are easily performed without ever having to remove the classical stylus from its holder: phone numbers can be called from your contacts list, multimedia files can be opened, emails can be read - it's all so simple and the large icons certainly play a big part in making things flow.
A short video of the HTC Touch in which the new dynamic input system is shown in action.
HTC seems to place a lot of emphasis on the importance of their new handheld, which presumably seems destined to cause quite a stir in the high-end mobile phone market. The company seems determined to directly compete against those smartphones based on other operating systems, most notably those pushed by Nokia or SonyEricsson, by emphasising the ease of use and irresistible techno-appeal of its new interface. The launch of a new dedicated website, www.htctouch.com, while giving the opportunity of winning one of 10 Elfs, also goes to show just how strongly HTC believe in their new creation.
Care to know more about what the HTC manages to pack inside such a small form? Let's take a look at the official specs.
HTC seems to place a lot of emphasis on the importance of their new handheld, which presumably seems destined to cause quite a stir in the high-end mobile phone market. The company seems determined to directly compete against those smartphones based on other operating systems, most notably those pushed by Nokia or SonyEricsson, by emphasising the ease of use and irresistible techno-appeal of its new interface. The launch of a new dedicated website, 
