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Windows Phone commercial is confusing for a variety of reasons
Okay, so we understand Microsoft is trying hard to rebrand Windows Mobile as Windows Phone with the launch of WinMo 6.5, but this commercial -- labeled with AT&T logos in the US but also running unlabeled worldwide -- doesn't seem to do a good job of pointing out that Windows Phone is a platform and not a device. In fact, if we didn't know better, we'd think that the HTC Pure is, in fact, the "Windows Phone" -- even though the dude in the spot is holding a totally different generic device. See how that could be weird for people? It's almost confusing enough to distract from the jubilant anthropomorphic app icons in tights. Video after the break.
HTC Pure and Tilt 2 bring Windows Mobile 6.5 to AT&T
Long-rumored versions of HTC's ubiquitous Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2 have finally been made official for AT&T -- but perhaps more notably, they mark AT&T's very first forays into the WinMo 6.5 arena as Microsoft officially unleashes the latest version of its mobile platform on the world this week. The Pure (pictured left) is a particularly heavy rework of the Diamond2's industrial design, shedding the square metal-adorned shell for a glossy black plastic one while carrying over the 3.2-inch WVGA display and 5 megapixel autofocus camera. Meanwhile, the Tilt 2 resurrects the Tilt name -- dormant since AT&T's version of the TyTN II made way for the Fuze last year -- bringing a 3.6-inch WVGA display, full QWERTY keyboard with tilt-up display (hence the name), full duplex speakerphone, and a 3.2 megapixel cam. The Pure will be the first on shelves, available already (ahead of Microsoft's official release on Tuesday, interestingly) for $149.99 on contract after a $50 rebate; the Tilt2 comes "in the following weeks" for $299.99 after $50 rebate.
AT&T Pure now on sale -- with Windows Mobile 6.5
Well hey, look at that -- AT&T's riff on the HTC Touch Diamond2, the Pure, has quietly gone on sale, meaning Windows Mobile 6.5 just hit the world a couple days early. The glory won't last long, though: the nicer Imagio is hitting Verizon on the 6th, and the Leo's looming. Still -- WinMo 6.5 is here. Let's get crazy.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
HTC Pure starting to show up in AT&T stores, not for sale just yet
We'll withhold judgment until we have a far more intimate encounter with the device, but at a glance, the HTC Pure -- AT&T's branded, customized version of the Touch Diamond2 -- might carry the least-exciting industrial design of any variant launched thus far. Considering the business-oriented clientele, that might not be a big deal for the phone's bottom line -- but when you take a look at the slightly better-equipped Imagio that's about to launch over on Verizon, we would've liked to have seen something with a little more spunk here. At any rate, it seems Pure units are starting to flow into AT&T retail locations, which inevitably leads to some time in front of the bright lights and camera; AT&T was mentioned as one of Microsoft's global launch partners for Windows Mobile 6.5 on October 6, so if we connect the dots, we're guessing this is the phone that's gonna make it all happen. So where's that Touch Pro2, then, eh? [Via wmpoweruser.com]
Is this AT&T's HTC Pure, clad in shimmering magenta?
Last month, a leaked and decidedly non-confirmed listing of random phones mentioned something called the HTC Pure. We've not heard anything since, but now HTCpedia has what it believes to be two photos of the thing, each one enshrouded in an unattractive case; one silicon, one garish plastic. What's inside those enclosures is of course largely unknown, but it certainly doesn't appear to have a slide-out keyboard, does appear to have four buttons on the face, and that's said to be a 5 megapixel camera on the back. The site goes so far to say that this is destined for AT&T and will be the Touch Diamond2 (nee Warhawk), but if that's the case HTC has obviously made some tweaks to the design the last time we saw it. We're not quite ready to say these are anything other than blurry pictures of some random HTC handset, but once we have something -- anything -- a little more conclusive we'll be sure to pass it along.Update: As a few commenters have pointed out, this is the MDA Compact V, currently available in the UK under T-Mobile, which could explain the magenta case. Is this what AT&T is referring to as the Pure? We wouldn't be surprised.
AT&T news: Lancaster dead, Warhawk and Fortress coming in October?
We've received some pretty believable information this evening indicating that the HTC Lancaster -- a phone that would've likely been AT&T's first to run Android -- has been shelved. We don't know why, but considering that the rumored specs had it signed up for a weaksauce QVGA display, our hearts aren't really broken by the news as long as they make haste getting a more suitable model to market (and we're not talking about the Fiesta). In happier news, we're hearing that "two new Windows Mobile 6.5 models" will be gracing AT&T shelves in October, and considering everything we know about the carrier and its plans, we've got to believe these are the Warhawk and Fortress (better known as the Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2) from HTC. That'd lag T-Mobile's Pro2 launch by a country mile -- but then again, T-Mobile's running circles around everyone in the Android department, so why not WinMo, too?
Verizon: Touch Diamond, Touch Pro now $99 with contract
Looks like Verizon's up to something (and we're not talking about Sholes). A quick trip over to VZW's site has confirmed that $99 -- and a two-year contract -- will land you just about any smartphone that they offer (one notable exception being the Samsung Saga), including HTC's Touch Pro and Touch Diamond. Could this mean that the new Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2 are soon to rear their pretty little heads? We'd be down with that.
Windows Mobile 6.5, HTC Touch Diamond2, and Flash collide on video
Remember that pretty Windows Mobile 6.5-ish skin for AT&T's Warhawk (a.k.a. HTC Touch Diamond2) we saw last week? Looks like it (or another very similar skin) is ready to make another appearance. The Inquirer managed to get a walkthrough of what's being called the final build of WinMo 6.5, and while there isn't a lot of new functionality shown -- large portions of the video are devoted to My Phone syncing and QR codes -- we do get to seem a few Zune inspired ideas and a brief glimpse of how it handles flash. It's still on track for release by Christmas, and if you want your glimpse now, check out the video after the break.
HTC's Warhawk and Fortress are AT&T's Touch Diamond2 and Pro2
We know that Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile are all getting versions of the Touch Pro2, but what about little ol' AT&T? Turns out that device is codenamed "Fortress," and it'll accompany a Touch Diamond2 version known as "Warhawk" to market this summer. The Fortress is actually listed as targeted for May 25, which seems a bit unrealistic -- but we think the document we're looking at is a little stale, so we're sure the inevitable delay has crept into the schedule by now. It's expected to launch with WinMo 6.1 AKU6 (presumably upgradeable to 6.5 down the road) with full HSPA on three bands, AGPS, a 3.2 megapixel AF cam, 3.6-inch WVGA display, and Video Share support. Curiously, the bottom of the slide mentions that a "WM 7.X refresh" is in the works with a September 2009 launch date, which underscores the fact that this slide is likely a little old -- there's no way anything running Windows Mobile 7 is hitting this year if 6.5 will just be coming to market in volume toward the holiday season. Meanwhile, the Warhawk -- AT&T's Touch Diamond2 -- gets a 3.2-inch WVGA display, dual-band HSDPA, AGPS, and Video Share, but unlike the Fortress, it's scheduled to launch with Windows Mobile 6.5 installed out of the gate. It's targeted for August 24, so we'll see how closely they can stick to that.
O2 Germany gets HTC Touch Diamond2 as the uncreatively-named Xda Diamond2
We can dig that the Xda brand carries some weight and some solid history on O2, but usually, the carrier puts at least a little effort into coming up with creative, unique names for its units -- even if they're just mild rebrands of globally-launched HTCs. This time, though, they're not even bothering with the formalities, simply tweaking the Touch Diamond2's name to "Xda Diamond2" for its German launch this week. Pleasantly, the device is SIM-unlocked and features a tasteful carrier tattoo on the lower back; you should be able to find it for €420 (about $568) contract-free, so we'll cut it some slack -- it is HSUPA-capable, after all.
Matte battery cover is an interesting plan B for your Touch Diamond2
This wouldn't be the first time we've seen HTC battery covers come in multiple flavors, and considering the polarizing look of some of the company's more recent devices, it makes good, plain sense that they'd want to mix things up by offering alternate designs. It seems you can score this matte version of the Touch Diamond2's cover for $35 if you look hard enough, giving the business-minded phone just a slightly more subdued look that your... uh, matte personality demands. Around these parts, we'll take the damn thing with a bright green cover if we have to -- but for areas of the globe where they're easier to come by at the moment, it's a nice option to have.[Via Slashphone]
Unlocked HTC Touch Pro2 to retail for $880, Touch Diamond2 for $725
HTC's been pretty coy with pricing on the Touch Pro2 and Touch Diamond2, but now that units are starting to trickle out overseas, the numbers situation is getting slightly clearer. HTC's just announced that an unlocked Pro2 will set Singaporeans back S$1,328 ($887), while a Diamond2 will hit 'em up for S$1,088 ($726) -- a little more than in Taiwan, but probably close to what we'll see off-contract in the States. A little rich for our blood, though -- let's hope T-Mobile cleans the goo off soon.[Via Unwired View]
HTC Touch Diamond2 gets unboxed, shown off on video
We haven't heard much about the appearance of the HTC Touch Diamond2 on US shores apart from a few AT&T-related whispers, but the squared-off handset is starting to pop up overseas, and the requisite unboxings and video tours have started flooding in. Sadly, these early units are still running Windows Mobile 6.1, so beauty's only skin deep -- or at least as deep as TouchFlo2 3D. Hardware video after the break, but there's plenty more at the read links. Read - Windows Phone Mix Read - Tracy and Matt
HTC Touch Diamond2 trickles into retail
Carriers on the world still have weeks (or months) to get their butts in gear, but unlocked, unbranded HTC Touch Diamond2s are now starting to find their way onto retailers' virtual shelves around the world. At the time of this writing, UK-based Devicewire reports that it has 10 in stock -- probably not enough to satisfy worldwide demand, we'd wager, but it's a start -- and Expansys should be close behind, saying that it expects a release today. Devicewire's sticker price is going to set you back £449.99 (about $672) after VAT, so who's in? [Via MoDaCo] Read - Devicewire Read - Expansys
HTC Touch Diamond2 hitting Taiwan this month
According to MobileTechReview the HTC Touch Diamond2 is due out this month in Taiwan. Local price is NT$21,900 (US$648.93) and it'll come with a 8GB memory card inside the box. Still no US release date, but with the UK version reportedly launching next week, we wouldn't be surprise if April was the lucky month for a stateside debut, as well.
Software dumps bring a taste of the Touch Diamond2 to the original
No quantity of illicit CABs will grant your Touch Diamond a 5 megapixel camera or touch-sensitive zoom bar, but at least you can get some of the Touch Diamond2's software goodies ahead of time. everythingdiamond.info is hoting a plethora of binaries ripped from a Touch Diamond2 ROM, including several versions of the new on-screen keyboard, the photo album app, calculator, volume control, and more, all just waiting for a lovely Touch Diamond to call home -- especially cool considering the sequel's screen resolution has changed. Odds are we're just weeks (if not days) away from a full cooked 6.5 ROM with all of the Touch Diamond2's features for the Diamond, but if you're really into living on the bleeding edge, your playground awaits. [Via WMPoweruser.com]
HTC Touch Diamond2 "Topaz" for Europe makes it past the FCC
Those clever fiends at the FCC have apparently been having all sorts of good times with HTC's upcoming Touch Diamond2 of late, recently putting through a "TOPA100" handset that sounds quite a bit like the leaked codename "Topaz" phone that turned into the Touch Diamond2 at MWC. Unfortunately, it seems the FCC just has the Europe version of the phone (slated for Q2 of this year) at the moment -- a US version for AT&T is supposedly in the works, as shown in the original leak, but we're still in the dark as to when that might arrive.
HTC's Touch Diamond2 gets a little more real with date and price on eXpansys UK
While we wouldn't bet the bank on this price and date from eXpansys, it does give us a warm fuzzy feeling to know it's at least en route. The oft mis-stepping -- you know, leaking and such -- retailer has tagged the HTC Touch Diamond2 at £399 (roughly $570) with a potential shelf date of the 17th April. While it will ship with Windows Mobile 6.1, there is a mention in the "liner notes" on the page stating that it will be upgradable to Windows Mobile 6.5. Now we'll simply have to wait and see how it really pans out and how its bigger -- and likely pricier -- sibling, the HTC Touch Pro2 gets treated.[Via WMPoweruser]
WinMo 6.5 running on a Touch Diamond2, sans TouchFLO
We're not too sure what the backstory is here, but somehow, AreaMobile has been treated to a Touch Diamond2 demo well ahead of release. That in itself isn't much of a story -- we spent plenty of time with the Touch Diamond2 at MWC ourselves, after all -- but what makes this demo just a little more special is the fact that the damned thing's running Windows Mobile 6.5. Every Diamond2 we'd seen so far had been running 6.1 with the promise of an eventual upgrade to 6.5 down the line, but it seems that AreaMobile's either scored its own unit through sketchy sources (and possibly flashed it on their own accord) or HTC's getting a little looser about showing off the goods. Either way, noticeably missing is any trace of TouchFLO, so we wouldn't describe this as a close-to-final, HTC-blessed cut of the firmware by any stretch.[Via WMPoweruser]
T-Mobile bringing MDA Compact V, Vario V to Europe in June
We're thinking that HTC's Touch Diamond2 and Pro2 will be available all over the place by the time 2009 draws to a close, but if you want to be one of the first kids on the block to get in on that action, T-Mobile's European outposts are a good place to start looking. The carrier announced at MWC last week that Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK will all bet getting a version of the Diamond2 -- the MDA Compact V -- "by" June, while the Pro2 variant -- the MDA Vario V -- will launch more definitively "in" June. As usual, T-Mobile has chosen to customize its models a bit versus the standard fare that HTC is offering; opinions on the new look will vary, but if they're the first to launch, we think we can overlook some design niggles.[Via the::unwired]
