Product Central
Dispatches from the Reviews Editor's desk
Thursday 14 June 2007, 11:10 AM
HTC's lost Touch
Oh dear. Within a week of making off from the launch of the HTC Touch with the smartphone in my hot little hands, I've killed it. Well, rendered it pretty peaky-looking anyway.
Here's what happened. After a pleasantly hot weekend, I noticed that the Touch's screen had some smudging in the centre that wouldn't polish off — because it seemed to be on the inside rather than the outside. This made the device most annoying to use.
Delving in the box I discovered a clear plastic screen cover. 'Aha', I thought, 'the Touch has a replaceable screen cover, perhaps the discoloration is on that'. So I scratched away at the screen and it did indeed come away — but underneath was a sticky (and soon irrevocably fingerprint-ridden) surface that was definitely not meant to be exposed. A piece of the screen had, of course, broken off, leaving the Touch looking a lot less cool than it had fresh out of the box.
Now I had received a free sample to play with, and will get over the disappointment. But what if I'd just paid £300? Has anyone out there bought an HTC Touch and noticed similar screen smudging on the inside? Or is it just me and my special brand of product testing/mistreatment?
Do let us know.
Wednesday 13 June 2007, 12:18 PM
Samsung Q1 Ultra sighted at ZDNet towers
Samsung UK's Product Marketing Manager for the Q1 Ultra UMPC, Dinesh Chand, was in yesterday to show off the device, which is about to ship in the UK.
Since it was unveiled at CeBIT in March the Q1 Ultra — which like its Q1 predecessor will cost £799 — has shed its fingerprint reader. This now becomes a factory-install option. Also missing at launch is 3G/HSDPA connectivity, which is due to appear as an option in September.
Chand was bullish about the Q1 Ultra's prospects in vertical markets such as education and healthcare, and claimed plenty of interest from — and sales to — businesses.
Despite the Q1 Ultra's improvements in processing power, battery life, screen resolution, input and navigation methods, ZDNet UK remains a little more sceptical: check the Reviews channel for a full review in due course.
