So this thing's definitely got some heft to it -- and honestly, especially for a business-centric device in this class, we don't think that's a bad thing. As with just about everything HTC churns out, the
Touch Pro2 is exquisitely manufactured, feels rock-solid, and the WVGA is absolutely awesome -- we noticed that the gestures and animations are totally smooth and responsive, proving that WinMo is perfectly capable of handling this kind of UI dazzle. The Straight Talk functionality for seamlessly moving between different types of communication will be appreciated by anyone who spends half their business day on the phone and seems to work (and look) positively lovely -- and as for that speakerphone? We can totally picture ourselves slamming this thing upside down during a meeting in a fit of "our company just lost a $100M contract"-style rage with a satisfying, weighty "thud" and instantly bringing the whole room into the conversation. Follow the break for a couple videos of this thing in action (and sorry, no angry speakerphone fits).
posted Feb 16th 2009 7:25AM
Hehe that sounds just like Cleveland Brown from the Family Guy :)
Yea and he almost lost his job nearly dropping that thing. LOL!
He sounds more like Bruce the performance artist. Oh No!
No headphone jack = no sale. I thought we were past this whole use-a-damn-dongle thing. Give me my 3.5mm jack!
He wants to touch on Jerome...'nuf said.
so glad i waited!
So the black guy in his contacts is called jerome? lol.
I thought he sounded more like Bruce.
"Ohh nooooo."
Him and Jerome must have something going on. He must tap on Jerome quite a bit.
Nice handset, poor demonstration.
iTouch that!
My God....
This thing is one sexy device!
who the "man" thalking????
I'm imagining now, all the ways my carrier will cripple this beautiful device...
....Thanks Verizon. assholes.
Let's see...
They'll take the front-facing camera off so we can't have video chat.
They'll cut the processor speed in half
They'll remove a bunch of the memory.
They probably won't offer the 6.5 upgrade. Ever. (The VX 6700 still didn't have 6.1 last I checked)
They'll not include the headset.
They'll disable Manilla when it ships.
Hmm....I think that's a bare minimum of what they'll do.
@ Brad: LOL @ angry rant. HTC already stated that this and the Diamond 2 WILL get the WM 6.5 upgrade, and I've never heard of a carrier reducing the processor speed OR removing the TouchFLO interface entirely (though Bell in Canada replaced it on the Diamond with their own RSS feed heavy custom interface, TouchFLO was still an option in the Today settings, as usual).
Unf unf unf!
Any ideas on a release date for Europe?
He seems to be using it on Vodafone so hopefully sooner rather than later.
what an ugly un-innovative piece of junk. When was the last time they hire a designer?
Oh please.
Aren't you late for school?
Oh look, we have our first assclown iPhone fanboy in here.
You guys make such easy downrank targets, it's like shooting fish in a barrel...
I'm glad they didn't hire a "Californian Designer".
when they created the HTC Touch Pro mk1 ;)
Wow, pretty awesome
but could you do that?
if you answer no, then you are just uglier than the junk *sigh*
Has it got a scroll wheel? Useless otherwise.
the "scroll wheel" on the original touch pro was a gimmick at best... the only app it was useful for was Opera Mobile, didnt really even scroll there either.... oh well.
I mean a proper scroll wheel on the left side like the Hermes and the Tytn II.
scroll wheel is handy. I upranked Jeffrey because it's true. as long as these phones have resistive touch screens I'd like an [ugly] scroll wheel and some "start" and "ok" buttons on the outside too.
yeah, the mogul/tytn had all those wheels and buttons on the outside to cope with the lack of touch-ability on the screen. I just had to setup a user's new Samsung Omnia which only has has the screen, few buttons (not even a stylus hidey spot) and it was very difficult trying to "touch" my way through it, driving my point home.
Which scroll wheel?
The physical one on the side of the phone like the tytn2?
or the useless touch sensitive one like the one on my touch pro1?
i miss the tytn2's scroll wheel.
just realised how fat the thing is.
That's what she said.
its not big, its a feature. its called 'crime deterrent' :D
yes, it is phat.
Most of the fold-out keyboard phones are fatter than those that don't offer that feature.
Hilarious Sprint commercial!
It's thick because it has a 5-row hardware keyboard. I have the Touch Pro version 1, and it's a dream to type on. I'll take the extra thickness to be able to get my emails out quickly, thank you.
now i need to know if it has 3.5 headphone jack
It's an HTC device -- the answer is obvious.
No.
the Touch HD has a 3.5 jack.... :)
Really?
Well that makes the whole device situation even more fucked up. Why they just don't pick a standard, instead of creating such a dichotomy between different regions and the devices they release, as well as the hardware specifications. Putting a 3.5mm jack in every phone can't be THAT hard.
Hell, RIM has been doing it for YEARS with the Blackberry handsets...
http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/10/fud-alert-apple-allegedly-scared-google-out-of-using-multitouch/
;D
No 3.5mm jack. Too bad. They made a wrong choice by not including that.
Nice phone otherwise... nice specs. I really like the keyboard and the fact they brought back the tilt feature.
Oh didn't you hear? Apple invented the 3.5mm jack for phones and has a patent pending on it.
Hell to my next phone.
HTC Touch Pro has served me extremely well already, but this thing is just orgasmic.
Can I have your Touch Pro when this one comes out? Please?
Okay, I have to know, on Josh Topolsky's behalf -- Does this thing have a resistive or a capacitive touchscreen? My enthusiasm will be halved if it's resistive... but it still looks mighty nice. I could wait for this thing to replace my Tilt if there's not better Android gear out by the time this lands on AT&T.
I think people harp on resistive screens a bit too much. Sure, they aren't instant-responsive from the touch of your finger, but the nice thing with resistive screens is that you can use them no matter what you are wearing. Have gloves on in freezing or inclement weather? No problem for a restive screen. No matter what, you can always use the device.
Capacitive screens are the most responsive, but the absolutely require you to have some sort of electrical contact from your body through an appendage.
the thin plastic on the screen of my display is so easy to scratch and just dosnt have the same feel as say an iPhone or a G1 with the glass screen. not knocking my Fuze at all but i would love the ability to easily wipe it with my jeans or jacket and not worry about scratching. also In before screen protector.... if HTC made 1st party protector replacements I would have one for sure, but there's already scratches on my screen and it makes air bubbles and just looks gross.
and of course i also live in Florida, what are gloves? haha
though im thinking about it now and the stylus is EXTREMELY useful, especially in a winmo device. i think ill gladly take a few scratches so that i may retain the ability to poke around with something other than my finger.
I rarely use my stylus on my Touch Pro, which is a testament to how well HTC designed the Touch FLO 3D interface. However, there are some instances when I absolutely have to go deeper into the OS, and that is when a stylus is most useful. Even then, I just downloaded a registry editor and made the scroll bars just a few pixels wider so they would more easily recognize my finger presses.
That's another thing I like about Windows Mobile; it's the fact that you can readily modify and edit nearly any aspect of the OS, and install programs without the need for a pre-approved application store to find apps that actually work on your device.
TouchFlo3D is too much of a resource hog, too glitchy, too slow, too prone to crashing. I have to soft reset my device at least once a day to clear my internal storage cache just to keep my device moving. I'm using a 'cooked' rom (Elite RC2) because the stock AT&T rom made the device almost unusable. I just recently disabled TF3D and now my device is usable, but the interface is ugly as sin.... My best bet now is to try a new rom with TouchFlo HD, which i hear is a lot snappier.
Hrm, that is odd that you have so much trouble with your device. I am using the Sprint touch Pro and I rarely have issues with my device. I don't know if it's because I used PHM Registry Editor to speed up the responsiveness of the Touch FLO, but I do know that my device never freezes. There are times when I have left it on for a few days that it becomes a bit sluggish, but never do I have to reset it every single day to get it to work properly.
I wonder if it's a Fuze issue, or if it's just the model of phone that you are using? I know that Touch FLO and Windows Mobile can be laggy, but I never really experience any major glitches or hang ups.
Myro, you're doing something wrong, terribly wrong.
Have a custom ROM (Mighty ROM) on my Sprint Touch Pro, and haven't had to reset it for days, and only then to update a software installation that required a theme change.
TF3D here = smooth, fast, responsive, intuitive, and virtually no noticeable impact on performance.
my fuze froze on me at least 3 times yesterday when i was showing off my "amazing phone". I was met with laughter and criticism. I know how good my device is but thanks to a crashing Opera mobile and a TF3D which crashed BeeJive almost 20% of the time, nobody else does. :P
I'm trying to find the silver lineing somewhere but i never had this problem with my Blackjack 1, that phone always just worked.
i love my fuze and all, do NOT get me wrong. its just disappointing sometimes.
I'm thinking it has more to do with
a) poor ROM installation / programming
or
b) Some sort of problem that your FUZE has with its hardware
That's really all I can think of at the moment...
Okay, I was being a bit sarcastic when I said my enthusiasm would be halved... I've been listening to too many Engadget podcasts! I don't really mind resistive screens that much, but it's true that they *feel* like an old tech at this point... and like a capacitive screen with a stylus (that actually works with it) could be an ideal best-of-both-worlds scenario.
I've been pretty disappointed that there isn't any hardware remotely comparable to this that's running Android... If they could pump out the G1 last Fall, why couldn't a port to some decent hardware be done by now, or at least by NEXT Fall?
As of right now, it sounds more like the world's tech media are convened at Windows Mobile [6.5] World Congress.
@myro
GET OFF ELITE RC2 or RC3. I hate detracting from the hard work of the guys that took the time to make it, the rom is probably awesome on the European touch pro, but I think its something unique to the ATT Fuze. I was using RC3 with the update and just about every other time I soft reset I had to hard reset. It was terrible but I gave it the benefit of the doubt and worked with it. The final straw was when I was at jury duty and it crashed completely. I had to hard reset and even then would NOT let me align my screen to get it started again. Then the phone was highly unresponsive and slow. It took three hard resets before I could get through the align screen. I thought I had ruined it for good.
I went home and immediately installed ROMeOS rom and everything was a lot better. Its been five days and not one crash. Its an amazing phone.
If this is resistive, I won't touch this thing. I hate having to apply pressure just to navigate the UI. Pressure should be for "clicking" not for navigation. If it's capacitive then +1 for this device. If it's resistive then -1. If it's a combo of touch and pressure sensitive, then +2!
Its resistive, windows mobile doesnt support capacitive
Verging on Sony Ericsson on familiarity of one product to another.
Few small tweaks. Release to HTC fans.
say hello to the Xperia X2 :)
Does the guy's voice in this video remind anyone else slightly of Vincent Price? lol...
Anyway, I wish the "hands-on" videos would have included some hardball questions about the device as well, like:
"Okay, so if there's a pointless mute button where the flash will be, where's the flash going to go to now?"
"Why does HTC continue to negate a 3.5mm jack in all their 'innovative devices'?"
the booth workers would start sparking and blow up because that isnt a pre-programed response. its like asking a robot to divide by zero.
Whoops, not Vincent Price -- I meant John Waters.
I seriously thought that John Waters suddenly got a job working for HTC when I watched these videos...
would you look at that. a keyboard. thank god, some of us hate trying to type on a screen thats to damn small with fingers that are to damn big
Wow - Fuze is dead.... I expect prices on eBAY, and AT&T for that matter, to plummet now
I dont think that ATT will be an early adopter of this because the Fuze is selling like hotcakes right now, and is the most popular variation of the TP in America at the moment.
If AT&T doesnt get this...I will destroy them!
TILTING SCREEN... YESSSSSSS.
Engadget u must mention that in the article or even title... I don't need to see it at the end of the second video to know the Touch Pro 2 is a tilting screen device...
AMAZING.
I think it safe to refer to this as the Touch HD Pro, it could get a little confusing (and shatter the ego's of us Touch Pro users .___. )
its too late... ill never look at my Fuze the same way again :[
This+WebOS+Verizon=My Money Now
except that Verison will take away the internal storage, a 3rd of the ram and make it dangerously square and keep the price the same as their better spec'd TP competitors...
this+webOS+Verizon = does not compute
Verizon = device crippling; therefore, this+webOS+Verizon = half the device it is on any other carrier
Hell, they pretty much ruined the Touch Pro on their network by slicing the amount of RAM in half. On a device such as the Touch Pro, any drastic reduction in ram of that nature will basically relegate any device to "perma-gimped" status.
I sould be getting my tax refund this week so they should release this on Sprint today. :)
I really like the software improvement that every new function are fit for me!
But I really hate the back of the body structure too...
First the color was in kind of... out-dated... so it would be good if there is an all-black version
Second is the 'Answer Button' below the camera.. WTF is that!??!?!?!
anyway, it had now been my second choice next to the Touch HD
how's the video playback capability?
I like the black color of the Touch pro. Oh wellz.
Honestly thinking about it now, this phone is just too gimmicky. it lacks the form and sheer usability of the original TP. a select few people might use that 'innovative' speakerphone but its safe to say that to 98% of us the old speakerphone was just fine. the display is bigger, but its what i expected to be on the first TP, and now there's even less buttons. there's nothing really 'wow' with this phone like there was with the original which I HAD TO HAVE once i first laid eyes on it right here on engadget.
PS, this is not a rant, its a light-hearted critique of a device that isnt even in its final form yet. dont take this too personally :P
I agree with what you are saying, though.
What I don't get is why they couldn't've re-routed the speaker button to another side of the phone, and kept the flash. Why did they take it away?
and (IN MY OWN OPINION) this device cant hold a candle to my fuze in terms of looks. i've always been a fan of the square, nice, professional look of my fuze.
I've used the TorchLight app for awhile now. one time i was walking at night and i dropped my keys, luckily my Fuze has a bright, usable light attached to the back, haha. I do find myself using the flash for a lot of things really. it would be a learning curve to not have it there for convenience sake.
PLUS, who needs a dedicated speakerphone button anyways, there's a perfectly good one on the HTC Dialer.
almost as useless as that PTT button, though i do see how there is a demographic of people out there who actually use PTT and would buy the Fuze... i just don't see the design in adding a dedicated button for speakerphone.
I'dont really see the pro's of the pro 2 against the touch HD? completly the same except the 3,6" and 3,8" screen, KB and 3.5mm jack? almost same proc. ? pro got qaulcom 7200 and the HD 7201? Can't find any info on the 7200 btw ?
And It Tilts Too!
If it does everything that my Tilt does and adds a G-sensor and the larger screen, then I found my next phone!
And don't forget about the camera and video driver problems
You can bet that if HTC is still using a Qualcomm chip in this device that the video performance is going to suck ASS like it does for all their other devices.
I fucking hate Qualcomm with a passion...
its a Qualcomm patent infringement thing, there's nothing they can do about it :\
a much easier way to do the speakerphone, which im sure most of us TP users who have used 'FaceDownMute' can agree with, would to be to simply place the device face down while in a call and having the G-sensor activate the speakerphone. woulddnt that be slightly more 'innovative'? I know that i would be impressed :P
oops ment that as a reply to my previous comment xP
You Go Girl!
This phone looks sweet like the guy sounds. :p
Just ribbing! :p
Yeah, I think I'll stick with my Xperia... thanks.
....you bastard....
i wonder any chance we get 6.5 on here for launch in us
HTC has gone what we in Britain like to call "Absolutely bonkers". I just baught my Touch Pro back in August, which is only like 5 months. Now look damn it!! They're realising this thing way tooo yearly.
Technology marches on, march with it, or form an island.
That's what I say whenever I think to myself 'Don't get that new computer/netbook/phone/fembot yet, because a new one is just around the corner'. If you don't take a stab at a new piece of technology in the hope that something new is coming in a year, you're going to be stuck with years-old tech.
HTC are doing what they do. A new device every 12 months in each of their main ranges.
I'm now in a massive dilemma over whether to get this or the TP1 as a replacement for my current TyTN II, as my contract ends in July just as this is supposed to be released- sure T-Mobile are going to delay it by a thousand years like they did the original, but I could always just get the most valuable upgrade I can and do a bit of ebaying...
...everything sounds/looks so great, except the size :( i quite like the size of the TP1 and i'm not sure i would be willing to sacrifice the extra lateral space that an iphone sized version would consume...
I have got to get this phone. Iphone you better hurry r u r gonna be dead.
hopefully this thing will have NAM 3G bands... according to HTC's website, it's only EU 3G (900/2100) at the moment.
Why did they get rid of the Photo Flash and the Joystick? It was bad enough when they removed the photo button that used to be on the original Touch, now they are yanking all kinds of useful hardware interface. I can't fault the improvements, but for godsakes, enough with the button removing! Why did the Android phone get all of the buttons and that cool trackball, and the WinMo looses all of them??
Does anyone know the music that's playing in the background of that Lounge? Is it Brian Eno? Sounds sorta like Mr. Eno, but not quite either.