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HTC's Touch Cruise caught on video
Hot on the heels of the official announcement of HTC's Touch Cruise -- the company's new, touch-sensitive, GPS equipped wonder-device -- come these "in the wild" pictures and video from CoolSmartPhone. As you can see, the Touch Cruise is sporting the now-familiar HTC TouchFLO interface, though apparently the handset-maker has updated the picture and video album UI. The site also hosts some shots of the GPS navigation in action, and examples of the updated onscreen keyboard. Check the video after the break, then point your browser towards the read link and see all the shots.
O2 announces O2 Xda orbit 2, aka HTC Polaris and HTC Touch Cruise
The O2 Xda orbit 2 enters officialdom and adds yet another name to an already confused HTC device. The TouchFLO-enabled replacement for the 2006-ish Xda orbit brings a pile of new niceties to the line and a pretty slick new look to boot. Featuring 128 MB / 256 MB of RAM and ROM, a 400 MHz Qualcomm CPU, GPS, quad-band GSM, HSDPA (we've heard tri-band and also only 2100), and a 3 megapixel camera with typical Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity thrown in for good measure. Availability is slated for early December from a rock bottom €99 (roughly $140) on contract. If you're in the know and can provide frequency clarity for us, please do.[Via the::unwired]
HTC Polaris gets specs leaked, renamed the Touch Cruise
The next step in the HTC Touch line -- the GPS-equipped Polaris -- has been re-christened the Touch Cruise, and has gone and gotten its juicy specs all leaked out to the internet. In addition to having improved TouchFlo capabilities, like rotation and zoom, the new model will sport a quad-band GSM radio (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900), tri-band UMTS (850 / 1900 / 2100), HSDPA and HSUPA data connectivity, a 400MHz MSM7200 Qualcomm CPU, 128MB of RAM and 256MB of ROM, a 2.8-inch, 320 x 240 QVGA display, 3-megapixel camera (plus secondary, 0.3-megapixel camera), WiFi, Bluetooth, and a microSD slot. Apparently, the design of the device hasn't been finalized, though it will likely feature four buttons and a navigation wheel (similar to the pics up above). Mouth watering? Eyes tearing up? We understand. The Cruise is expected by the end of November, so go easy on your credit cards till then.Update: Thanks to CoolSmartPhone and Smart Mobile Gadgets, we've gotten a proper view of the Touch Cruise, and it's sweet!
HTC Polaris in the wild
We haven't seen much of the HTC Artemis 'round here -- a crying shame, really, considering its slick body (Palm V-esque, dare we say?), integrated GPS, and totally nifty trackball / ring combo for navigation. Maybe if we're all really good, though, the HTC Fairy will be better to us the second time around when the Polaris gets put out to retail. Billed as the Artemis' heir apparent, the new device is finally starting to get pictured in the wild, bearing most of the physical traits that made the original so unique (although that might not be a trackball there, kinda hard to tell). UMTS / HSDPA is the big new feature here, though we've heard we should also expect a faster processor under the hood along with Windows Mobile 6 (of course) out of the gate. Oh, and check out the TouchFLO action, too! Any love for the US this time around, HTC (and no, T-Mobile Germany doesn't count)?[Via the::unwired]
HTC to unveil Windows Mobile lineup at upcoming press event?
While Apple chose London to inform the world of the iPhone's international agenda, HTC is reportedly looking to make a few announcements of its own on that side of the pond. According to TheUnwired, HTC will hold two press events on the first two days in October, the first of which will be in the UK and the second in Germany. Best guesses suggest that we'll be learning a bit more about the firm's forthcoming Windows Mobile-based lineup, and we can only hope that the Kii, Omni and / or Polaris are part of the show -- but considering the location and all, we wouldn't bet the farm on hearing too much about the likely US-bound Juno. Hold tight kids, the events get going in under a week.
HTC "Polaris" live pic?
It's about time that HTC's Artemis gets kicked to the curb and its replacement may well be the hot little set pictured above. Dubbed the Polaris -- we've heard rumblings and rumors since way back -- it stands out with Windows Mobile 6 Pro, a 3.5 inch VGA screen -- VGA, those three letters are music to our ears -- 256 / 128 MB ROM and RAM, GPS, 3 megapixel camera with autofocus, and quad-band GSM / GPRS / EDGE. HSDPA also figures here -- but will only be beaming to this set in the 2100MHz range -- with the rumored specs rounding out with a mention of a "digital compass" and FM radio. Release date seems pegged at October this year, let's hope that the deluge is set to start, we need some QWERTY sets with similar specs, like, yesterday.[Via MoDaCo]
Humans fend off AI challenge in "milestone" poker match
It apparently wasn't easy, but a pair of top human poker players managed to narrowly beat a brash young artificial intelligence program yesterday in a poker match scientists had touted as a "milestone" comparable to Garry Kasparov's 1997 bout with the IBM's chess-playing Deep Blue. According to the AFP, the four-round match stretched on until 11pm, with poker players Phil Laak and Ali Eslami ultimately edging out the program, dubbed Polaris, by 570 points. Eslami seems to have been particularly impressed by his competitor, saying that he found playing against Polaris more exhausting than any previous game in his career, adding that "it's already so good it will be tough to beat in future." No word on a rematch just yet, but don't be surprised if you run into Polaris the next time you play a little online poker -- it's gotta recoup its losses somehow.[Photo courtesy of AP]
HTC preps a few more models (hint: CDMA Touch!)
HTC's model naming convention has always been just a little tricky to commit to memory, and with this latest batch, it certainly ain't getting any easier. A couple of these we've heard about before -- namely the Nike, Kaiser, and Shangri-La -- but the rest are brand new to us and very exciting. First up, the S640 "Iris" is a CDMA rendition of the Excalibur and Cavalier, tossing in EV-DO rev. A and WiFi atop Windows Mobile 6 Standard. The "Vogue" is essentially a Touch (TouchFLO UI and all) with the same EV-DO rev. A guts as the Iris -- good news for Verizon and Sprint customers, we'd imagine. GSM users have reason to celebrate here too, though, in the form of the "Volans" and "Polaris." These two are upgrades to the Vox and Artemis, respectively, adding in much-needed 3G radios and faster processors. Finally, the P6550 "Sedna" appears to be some sort of industrial device with support for a credit card reader -- though with a 3 megapixel cam and 3G data, we wouldn't mind having one ourselves. Release dates are up in the air on most of these, but our money is on late '07.[Via The Boy Genius Report]Update: Crikey, the Shangri-La's slide reveals that the device -- HTC's entry into the UMPC fray -- runs both Vista and Windows Mobile 6. Sound vaguely familiar? [Thanks, Kevin]
