By all accounts, HTC's shooting to create the be-all, end-all king of the Windows Mobile dominion with its mighty
Leo /
HD2 / Touch HD2 / whatever it's called -- and a comprehensive list of specs published over on xda-developers would certainly back up that statement. Notable items on the list include the previously known 1GHz MSM8250 (that's a
Snapdragon, by the bye), full HSPA with up to 7.2Mbps on the downlink, a stunning 4.3-inch WVGA capacitive display (allegedly with multitouch support so that it can be upgraded to Windows Mobile 7 down the line), an integrated FM radio, 5 megapixel autofocus cam with dual LED flash, Bluetooth 2.1, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Sadly, it seems the phone's just set up for 900 and 2100MHz 3G, continuing the original
Touch HD's bunk tradition of leaving North America out in the cold. Separately, rumors are swirling that T-Mobile UK could be
joining O2 in offering the beast, and
CoolSmartPhone has landed some sort of a promo shot of an HD2 branded as the "Touch HD2" in full T-Mobile livery, so we'd say that's a pretty strong indicator. Too bad this is all falling on deaf ears over at T-Mobile USA, eh?
[Via
pocketnow.com and
wmpoweruser.com]
Read - Specs, additional pictures
posted October 5th 2009 4:55AM
You forgot about the screen being covered by glass! That´s a big plus for me. And b3l3refonte from Xda-Devs says the dual-LED-flash works fine with video-recording ;)
What's up with the "Touch Pro.Three" branding on the battery cover?
I will definitely buy this baby when it lands on continental Europe, but incredibly it seems that it will be beaten to the market by SE Satio which is due for release (here in Denmark)next week ,and apparently has already been released in some asian markets.
I want to hope that HTC's delay is due to the fact they don't need (like desperate SE) to rush a product to market because of the success of the Hero, and TP2.
Still I'm not sure how much longer I'm willing to wait.
Funny how the image anonymizer ignored the barcode as if that's not a readable information to identify the phone...
I don't understand HTC. They recognized they made a mistake not releasing the Touch HD with U.S. bands, and now it looks like they're just repeating their mistake with the Leo. Is HTC really that beholden to (or scared of) American carriers?
It's not so much that they're afraid of American carriers. I don't think ATT wants this to threaten their iPhone.
Additionally, this phone is too expensive for the US. American consumers don't buy phones unless there's some $100 or $200 or $300 MIR and some contract deal so they can get their stupid phones for $200 or less and get tied into a carrier. No one here ever buys phones standalone from ebay or Plemix or whatever unless they're enthusiasts themselves.
Bottom line is that the market for expensive phones in the US is limited, and unfortunately the enthusiasts like me have to suffer for incompetent consumers.
HTC isn't scared - they rightly just don't care about the US market.
For further explanation, see here: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/27/acer-a1-android-phone-listed-for-pre-order-with-768mhz-processor/comments/21933112/
@lain: I like and understand your explanation in the linked article. I'm wondering, though, how much it would cost HTC to simply slap US 3G bands onto the same Leo that's being prepared for release, pass it through the FCC, then make it available for purchase online (perhaps on their own website to keep down costs), and wait and see what happens?
Maybe I just don't understand the costs involved, but this seems like a very cost effective way for HTC to see if its thoughts about the US market are actually accurate, and an opportunity to make some serious money if they are wrong. Either way, with a phone like the Leo, they should at least be able to cover the costs of this experimental venture.