I’ve been pretty glowing with the HTC Imagio so far, and quite honestly, it is my favorite device on the market right now. If the HTC HD2 won’t come to the US–which it will–the Imagio would earn a spot on the Chuong’s Pick list. However, there are two negatives about the device that may affect your purchase decision.

1. Echo: The persistent echo is back. The echo was first noticed on the Verizon Wireless HTC Touch Pro2. What is odd is that the echo never was present on the Sprint model, which operates on a similar CDMA network.

2. Buttons: Pressing any one of the five hardware buttons on the bottom of the screen would activate the screen. Granted, the screen turns on with the screen lock in place, thanks to Windows Mobile 6.5, but if you have the device in your pocket and the buttons keep getting pushed, you’re going to wear down your battery life pretty quickly. I had the device thrown in a laptop bag and arrived in a little over two hours later in San Diego to notice that the Imagio was quite warm for having been on most of the time and with a nearly dead battery. I wish HTC would limit the screen on behavior to just one button–perhaps a long push of the power button. Bear in mind that unlike other HTC devices, this one doesn’t have it’s own dedicated power button at the top.

Other than those two issues, the device is solidly built. The amazing hardware feels like it doesn’t come with a user replaceable or removable battery–there is no creaking or flexing noticed when you push against the device. Compared to its cousin, the HTC Pure for AT&T, the Imagio definitely feels better built.