Verizon XV6900 (a.k.a. HTC Touch)
A couple weeks ago, I hit that magic 18 month point in my Verizon contract which gave me the maximum discount on a new phone. I waffled a lot about which phone to get. I finally decided to get the Verizon version of the HTC Touch.
I was shocked when I opened the box at how small the phone is. Compared to my Motorola Q, the Touch is half an inch shorter, a quarter of an inch narrower, and less than a tenth of an inch thicker. Verizon decided to make their version white which is a bit weird, but I can look past that.
My biggest worry about the phone was the lack of a keyboard. Everything is done via the touch screen. I tried a number of different on-screen keyboards, but the SPB fullscreen keyboard has worked the best for me. I doubt that I'll ever be able to type as quickly as I could with the Q, but it's fast enough to not be annoying.
Other than the lack of a keyboard, the unit is beautiful. The HTC home screen with Windows 6.1 Professional makes for a fantastic user experience. All of the main screens are designed for finger presses. If you need more control, you can pull out the stylus and be more detailed.
The device does have EVDO Rev.A (faster wireless broadband) and a full GPS receiver, but both are currently locked by Verizon. The rumor is that both will be unlocked with new firmware this summer. If/when that happens then this will really be a great phone.
I was pretty unhappy with the typing interface at first (I even thought about returning it.) Now that I've learned how to use the full screen keyboard, I think this is a pretty slick phone.
P.S. I talked to a few of you about passing along my Motorola Q, but that's probably not the greatest idea. In the last month it really started to crash a lot (as anybody who tried to call me knows.) I suspect that a fresh firmware would solve the problem, but until I can determine that, I'll be holding on to it.