Standing by their belief that touch is the way of the future, HTC has announced three new cell phones catering to every segment of the touch-frenzied consumers of today. Of the three, the HTC Touch Viva, which we have already talked about, turns out to be the perfect product for any budget-minded consumer, with a few sacrifices in its specifications compared to the other splendid devices that HTC has announced lately. The Touch Viva’s design is reminiscent of the original HTC Touch, a proven winner, but with a few improvements at the expense of losing some. This smartphone is powered by a TI OMAP 850 processor running at just 201MHz helped along by 128MB RAM and 256MB ROM, although the touchscreen TFT display still manages to be generous at 2.8 inches with a 240×320-pixel resolution. All the usual connectivity options seem to be included with Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi in 802.11b/g flavor, and network support is limited to quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz frequencies. The Touch Viva also gets a bump up to Windows Mobile 6.1 compared to the original Touch and gains TouchFLO 3D instead of just good old TouchFLO. A 2-megapixel camera is also added as an afterthought along with microSD support.

The HTC Touch Viva will be available starting next month.

• Processor: TI’s OMAP™ 850 201 MHz
• Operating System: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional with HTC TouchFLO™
• Memory: ROM 256 MB, RAM 128 MB
• Dimensions (LxWxT): 104.5 mm X 59 mm X 15.75 mm (4.114 inches X 2.323 inches X 0.620 inches)
• Weight: 110 grams (3.88 ounces) with battery
• Display: 2.8-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with QVGA (320 X 240) resolution
• Network: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• Connectivity: Bluetooth® 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for stereo wireless headsets, Wi-Fi® IEEE 802.11 b/g, HTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
• 2.0 megapixel color camera with fixed focus
• Built-in microphone and speaker
• Battery: Rechargeable 1100 mAh Lithium-ion battery
• Capacity: Talk time up to 480 minutes, Standby time up to 270 hours
• Expansion Slot: microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)

HTC