As Hollywood consistently continues to demonstrate, sequels seldom replicate the artistic success of the original.
For evidence look again at the likes of The Godfather, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Rocky, Rambo, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jaws, Batman, Harry Potter or even Lord of the Rings.
The list could go on forever.
Even so, as any producer will willingly tell you, there’s a lot to be said for exploiting the strength of an established brand franchise. And it’s not just in the movies where this happens to be true.
Of course, it also makes sense to disassociate yourself from your disasters. And sometimes the solution can be as simple as a change of name. However only a cynic would suggest this was the reason for Windows Mobile being relaunched as Windows Phone.
But we digress.
When HTC first introduced the Touch more than two years ago Cnet declared it “a design masterpiece you can proudly take out of your pocket and show off to your mates,” adding “compared to most of the Windows Mobile devices out there it's a great improvement.”
So perhaps it should be no surprise that when it came to naming their first handset running the aforementioned Windows Phone, or Windows Mobile 6.5 as the operating system would otherwise have been known, HTC chose, with considerable originality, to christen it the Touch2.
Whether there will ever be a Touch3, let alone a Touch4 or 5, will depend on the reaction to the Touch2.
For Cnet, first impressions are certainly favourable.
“The Touch2 is packed with the wealth of features that we've come to expect from HTC's Windows Mobile handsets,” Cnet proclaims. “You can record video, listen to music in umpteen file formats, snap photos on the 3.2-megapixel camera, and save everything to a microSD card.
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“There's also an FM radio,” they continue, “or you can stream audio over Wi-Fi or 7.2Mbps HSPA, and you'll hear everything as it's meant to be heard, thanks to the standard 3.5mm headphone jack.”
But a mobile phone is far more than simply the sum of its specifications. Performance and to a lesser extent looks are also critical considerations.
And “this phone isn't what you'd call cutting edge,”pronounces PC Pro.”
Aesthetically it’s “a compact little creature” according to Cnet, while IT Pro describes the appearance as “mainly screen, with only five hardware keys below it.”
“A pretty phone with a svelte profile,” are the words of Wired, with “a reassuring but lightweight heft, a vibrant screen and a subtle, elegant design.”
“It's light, compact, well-made and boasts good batterylife,” acknowledge PC Pro.
Unfortunately, cautions Techradar, “the problem is the screen. We've become spoiled by phones such as the HTC Hero and iPhone, which have 3.2-inch and 3.5-inch screens respectively. The Touch2's screen is a 2.8-inch, 320x240 touchscreen, which doesn't sound like a big difference but its impact is significant, particularly when typing.”
“The touchscreen is still usable, particularly if you use a fingernail or the included stylus,” Cnet argues, and “as well as the Qwerty on-screen keyboard, there's the choice of an alphanumeric or compact keyboard, with two letters to each key. We prefer the Qwerty version, but the keys are very tiny and there's no landscape option, so, if your fingernails have been bitten to the quick, you're sure to struggle.”
The lack of the landscape option is down to the lack of an accelerometer. This means the Touch2, as Techradar explains, “doesn't know when it's being held sideways
What’s more, and “sadly” as IT Pro points out, “the touchscreen is resistive, like all Windows handsets so far,” and “it’s also pretty low resolution for a smartphone at only 240x320 pixels, meaning it’s not the clearest screen out there.”
Similarly “the stylus is a nasty reminder that beneath the glamorous touchscreen lurks Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional,” warns Techradar.
Cnet agrees “Windows Mobile is still frustrating to use. But,” they add, “HTC has done a good job of covering it up with the TouchFlo interface.” PC Pro preferred to profess “we weren't impressed.” Wired were alone in choosing to disagree. “Windows Mobile 6.5 is a different beast altogether,” they declaimed, “rendering the HTC Touch 2 a slick, speedy, easily navigable device.”
But not, it seems, when it comes to taking photographs. “Forget about taking decent snaps with the fixed focus 3.2MP camera, which performs particularly poorly indoors,” sniff Wired sneeringly.
Techradar are similarly dismissive, noting “HTC's cameras have been the source of long-standing grumbling from users, and the Touch2 doesn't rectify the situation.”
“Something else we miss in Windows Mobile 6.5 is multi-touch capability,” say Cnet, returning to the matter of the unloved operating system, “whereby you can zoom in on photos and maps by pinching your fingers together on the screen.”
“On a Web page covered in tiny links,” Cnet continue, “zooming is essential, and multi-touch is so intuitive and speedy compared to other methods that we just don't want to live without it anymore.”
Wired is not alone in observing “that Microsoft's IE 6 has been bumped as the default mobile browser in favour of Opera Mobile” – a good decision in their opinion. “Opera's browser renders pages faster, navigates around sites more intelligently and sports a far less cumbersome interface than Internet Explorer.”
“It's well featured too,” Techradar adds. “It supports Flash, for a start, so those on unlimited data packages will be able to watch YouTube videos.”
Consequently it’s just as well IT Pro confirms that, “in terms of battery life, the Touch2 beats many other touch screen phones hands down,” as downloading all those videos could prove seriously draining.
In conclusion, “there's no denying the Touch2's business capabilities. Even if,” as Techradar says, “Android should remain the operating system of choice for HTC aficionados. But that doesn't stop the Touch2 being a decent handset for a good price.”
PC Pro grudgingly agrees “if you have to use a WindowsMobile handset, it isn't a bad option.” Even though they seemingly can’t imagine you would ever willingly want to.
IT Pro accepts “the Touch2 is a hugely capable device if,” they suggest, “you just want to carry out simple tasks such as reading documents, checking emails and the internet while away from your PC.”
But for Wired on occasion even that might not prove desirable. “I can't imagine how I would achieve the levels of finesse required to operate this phone after a few drinks,” is their confession.
In other words, while nobody has kicked the Touch2 completely in to touch, and the phone certainly has its good points, nobody is vociferously demanding another encore.
Whether or not there will be a further sequel must remain in doubt.