The HTC Touch was the first ever mobile handset to feature the exciting new menu navigation system called TouchFlo, of late this new technology is appearing in more and more handsets, not least the famous Apple iPhone.

The successor to the HTC Touch is the new HTC Touch Dual, although officially regarded as an upgraded model the manufacturer has swapped some important features for others and designed the phone to closer fit the palm of your hand.

Successor to the HTC Touch, the HTC Touch Dual has lost WiFi capabilities but gained 3.5G HSDPA connectivity on top of the existing GPRS and EDGE Technology.

As with the HTC Touch version, the HTC Touch Dual utilises TouchFlo technology, enabling users to control 3D images and browse through emails, messages and music files with their fingertip.

The 2.6 inch touchscreen encompasses handwriting recognition with the use of a stylus for those preferring the old fashioned method.

At the touch of a button, a keyboard is revealed beneath the sliding screen with a choice of either a 12 key number keypad or 20 key Qwerty keypad depending on country and operator.

Because of the sliding mechanism, the HTC Touch Dual has also been referred to as the HTC Slide, but its official name is HTC Touch Dual.

The Operating System is one would expect with today's smartphones, is Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional with Pocket Office and powered by a 400Mhz Qualcomm processor.

Offering 256MB of expandable memory, the HTC Touch Dual is equipped with a 2 mega pixel camera with digital zoom and video record and a secondary front mounted camera for video calling.

The Music Player supports both MP3 and AAC audio file formats and USB connectivity makes for easy synchronisation of contacts and calendar entries plus downloading playlists directly onto your mobile from your PC.

Bluetooth Wireless Technology comes with A2DP Stereo support and with Live HTC Home you can view emails, missed calls, messages, weather reports and more with a single button press.

The HTC family of mobile phones are renowned for their innovative technology and are regualrly picked up by the UK networks and rebranded as their own. Examples of this include the T-Mobile MDA Touch and XDA Nova both of which are actually the original HTC Touch model with new network software installed and a network branded badge on the exterior.

Originally launched on Orange over 4 weeks ago the HTC Touch Dual has now been released on O2 which is great news for consumers as there are now far more tariff options available to better suit their usage requirements.

The HTC Touch Dual is one of the smartest mobile phones to be released and makes navigation and communication easier than ever before.