Much as we'd like to avoid making the obvious comparison, you can't help but notice the similarities between the new HTC Touch and the iPhone.

Apple's first ever mobile may still be some way off arriving in the UK, but blaze of publicity and blog speculation continues to outburn other gadgets. Will its unusual interface spark a revolution in mobile phone design, in the same way as the iPod revolutionised MP3 players?

Look at the HTC Touch, and there is no doubt that the revolution has already begun. Like the iPhone, this mobile has been designed to be perated using a touch-sensitive screen and the tips of your fingers.

Despite the interface, however, this is not really another me-too product. Despite not having the built-in hardware of the iPhone, this is in some ways a more serious phone. In fact, even though it does not have a built-in typewriter keyboard, the HTC Touch features a fully-fledged Windows Mobile palmtop computing system.

It has all the features that you would therefore expect from a Microsoft-powered business smartphone but offers a design, handling and a user experience that have changed almost beyond recognition.

Handling

Stripping away the Qwerty keyboard and numberpad leave you with a device that is so neat and small you can't help but be impressed. But of course this is not just a PDA, it is also a fully-fledged multimedia device with internet browsing, 2-megapixel camera - and mobile phone connectivity.

What makes the Touch different from other touch-controlled phones and PDAs past and present is that you it has been designed so that you are far less dependent on the supplied stylus.

You still use the pen control for inputting text using the virtual keyboard, and to access the deeper functions of the Windows Mobile operating system, and the software that you have loaded onto it. But the 2.8-inch TouchFlo screen has been engineered so that your finger can access and control many of the functions without having to draw the stylus from its sheath.

The phone uses the latest Windows Mobile 6 Professional version of the operating system, which supports features such as push email and HTML email, amongst numerous other upgrades from version 5.0. But the home screen is rather more attractive and user-friendly than on a normal Windows Mobile device.