Sprint announced it will start selling the HTC Touch, a full touch screen smartphone running Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6 operating system. The smartphone has been labeled since its launch in the United Kingdom in June as an "iPhone killer", as it shares some characteristics with Apple's gadget.

Taiwanese company HTC, which has long produced phones for a variety of carriers under their brand, started to brand its own phones this year. HTC modified a stylus version of Windows Mobile 6 to be more usable with a finger, and they called their technology "TouchFLO".

"The Sprint Touch is the result of the strong relationship between Microsoft, HTC, and Sprint and offers customers a fun user experience, the power of Sprint's network and the ease-of-use of Windows Mobile which makes it easy to browse the Web, send email or enjoy your digital entertainment," said Pieter Knook, senior VP of Microsoft's Mobile Communications Business.

Sprint Touch has some features which Apple's iPhone lacks: a microSD card slot that supports up to 4 Gb of expandable memory, stereo Bluetooth, and high-speed data access via Sprint's 3G EV-DO cellular network. However, Sprint's version of HTC Touch does not, unfortunately, have Wi-Fi although the European version does. The Touch has already sold 800,000 units overseas since its debut in June.

With TouchFLO, if the user swipes the screen from bottom to top with your finger, the special menu will appear. Touching the screen from left to right enables swapping between various menu sections. When the contact menu is selected, one can scroll through the contacts quickly by one movement of the finger. The HTC Touch lacks a keyboard, but it still has a stylus for more precision.

The device supports all Sprint-exclusive content, like the Sprint Music Store, Sprint Exclusive Entertainment (SEE), and Sprint TV.

The Sprint Touch will go on sale Nov. 4 for $250 with a two-year contract (with a $100 mail-in rebate), while, in comparison, the 8-Gbyte iPhone costs $400 with a two-year subscription to AT&T. The Touch is smaller and lighter than the iPhone, with a screen measuring 2.8 inches diagonally compared with the iPhone's 3.5 inches.

"We want to build some of HTC value over time," said Peter Chou, chief executive of HTC, to CNN. "We want to show that the HTC brand mean a quality device."

Earlier this month, AT&T announced its latest gadget: the AT&T Tilt. The phone is created by HTC and is the first AT&T-enabled Windows Mobile 6 smart device. The AT&T Tilt features a 2.8-inch color screen that slides back to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard, then tilts up to position the screen perfectly for reading and creating e-mail, browsing online, using applications or just playing videos and games. Tilt offers 3G data speeds from AT&T’s UMTS/HSDPA-based BroadbandConnect network. The phone includes also Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity, which allows for up to six Bluetooth devices to be wirelessly connected simultaneously to the device. The price of the AT&T Tilt is $299.99 with 2-year contract.