Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC has been hinting at a major announcement for a while now and here it is: the HTC Touch (photo), the company’s first handset to feature its TouchFLO touchscreen technology (which is likely based on Microsoft’s “Shift” technology) [Editor’s note: we now have confirmation from HTC that TouchFLO is an independently developed technology and is not based on Microsoft’s “Shift” platform]. No, it’s not quite multitouch like the iPhone though it does offer “a new and unique way of controlling touch screen-based devices by recognizing and responding to the sweep of a finger across the screen,” according to HTC’s press release. What’s more, TouchFLO automatically distinguishes between stylus and finger input and will act accordingly. The Touch features a 2.8-inch display, tri-band 900/1800/1900 GSM with EDGE, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, 1GB of microSD memory (expandable), a 2 megapixel camera and Windows Mobile 6. The touch is available now in the U.K., later this month in Europe and Asia and during the second half of this year in the Americas.

For more on the HTC Touch:
– see this press release
– and check out the Touch product page