HTC's Touch was quite an eyebrow-raiser when it hit the streets earlier this year. Windows Mobile Smartphones tend to be fairly staid, but the Touch knocked that for six with its smooth, thin design and clever TouchFLO touch-based interface.

The Touch Dual is more of the same in almost every respect. The Touch had Wi-Fi but the Touch Dual doesn't. On the other hand the new Touch Dual is a 3G handset, which the previous model wasn't, and it is a slider phone. The inclusion of a number pad should appeal to those who want the hybrid mix of standard-key mobile phone and touch-based smartphone.

That TouchFLO business is something you'll either like or loathe, and it is one of several ways HTC has tried to add value to what Microsoft provides in Windows Mobile 6. If you drag a finger from the bottom of the screen upwards when the Today screen is showing, you are dropped into a new screen showing either multimedia services, applications, or speed dial photo contacts. You switch between the three by dragging a finger left or right along the screen.

Most of what is on offer has the standard Windows Mobile look about it, though even here you can swipe a finger up and down the screen to scroll through data like Web pages or the device contacts list.

HTC has developed a new Today screen too, which shows the time nice and large and can also show the weather using information gathered over the air, along with a profile switcher or eight applications or settings.

In everyday use we liked the rubbery feel to the Touch Dual as it helped the device sit comfortably in the hand. The 2.6-inch screen is pretty small, though, and once you are out of HTC's TouchFLO menus, the Windows Mobile standards offer icons and menus which could be a little small to hit accurately if you have larger hands.

There are better specified Windows Mobile devices around and HTC's own TyTN II springs to mind with its GPS and Wi-Fi, slide-out keyboard and clever tilting screen. But there are few slider style Windows Mobile devices, and even fewer that look quite as stylish as the Touch Dual.

In terms of raw specifications the Touch Dual doesn't raise the bar, but TouchFLO is nice and the handset design will appeal to many people looking for some style in their smartphone.