TouchPro2
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Telstra rolling out seven Next G phones this month
Australian carrier Telstra's taking the "go big or go home" approach with its latest announcement, dropping no fewer than seven phones this month compatible with its Next G HSPA network -- table scraps for a Japanese carrier, granted, but a bounty by any other standard. Among the phones in the new lineup are the Xenon, Viewty Smart, and the Windows Mobile-powered GM730f from LG (the first version of the GM730 to launch anywhere, interestingly), the Touch Pro2 from HTC, and Sony Ericsson's W508 and W995. All will be available before the month of July draws to a close for prices ranging from AUD $30 (about $24) on contract for the W508 up to a mind-numbing AUD $1,499 (about $1,190) contract-free for the Touch Pro2.
T-Mobile's Touch Pro2 looks destined for August launch
We'd been holding out hope that T-Mobile's version of the HTC Touch Pro2 would materialize for customers in the month of July, but that's looking less and less likely now that we have some awfully real-looking documentation that claims otherwise. TmoNews has nabbed some sort of slide suggesting that HTC's latest AWS-equipped superphone won't hit retail until August 12 (with upgrades not kicking in until 10AM PT the same day, amusingly), so it seems like we've got over a month to wait yet. Meanwhile, the myTouch 3G will launch -- not to say it's a competitor, really, but it'll certainly be attracting some attention that this phone could be getting otherwise. Being fashionably late to the party isn't fun for anyone, is it?
T-Mobile's HTC Touch Pro2 and Dash 3G get spec'd
While we twiddle our thumbs and wait for the Dash 3G and the Touch Pro2 to make their fanfare-laden debuts on good ol' Number Four (that's our pet name for T-Mobile USA, of course), literature is starting to show up that should make the wait marginally more bearable by giving us a few pretty pictures to look at and words to read. There's nothing Earth-shattering in here, but we see that the Dash 3G has 256MB of ROM and an impressive rated 8.3 days of standby time -- we'll believe that when we get that kind of performance ourselves -- while the Touch Pro2 moves up to 512MB, keeps the 8.3 days of standby, and touts its unusual full-duplex speakerphone that dominates the rear of the device. If you do a lot of conference calling, you must be beside yourself right about now, eh?
HTC Touch Pro2 now available to everyone on Vodafone UK
It'd originally been available to a random, totally select group of elite individuals, but availability of the HTC Touch Pro2 on Vodafone UK has now opened up to pretty much anyone who wants it. As is virtually always the case with European carriers, you can get this monster for as little as absolutely nothing depending on the contract and plan that you choose, so dive in and sign your life away for a couple years, won't you?[Via CoolSmartPhone]
Vodafone UK apparently shipping Touch Pro2s to business customers
"Regular" customers still have a bit of a wait yet, but it seems that Vodafone has gone ahead and pulled the trigger on shipments of HTC's Touch Pro2 to business customers -- assuming a post on the carrier's forums is legit. The phone's not due to be released until July 12 for any old chap who wants to fork over the dough for one, though it's not unusual at all for a carrier to offer hot new handsets to its prized B2B channel a little bit early. Windows Mobile 6.1 is still a bummer at this point, but you've got to give an enormous amount of love to the hardware -- and the promise of an official upgrade to 6.5 in the not-too-distant future.[Via CoolSmartPhone]
T-Mobile roadmap shows Dell netbooks, BlackBerry Gemini, and more
Leaked carrier roadmap documents of unknown age and origin aren't necessarily the most accurate things in the world, but they are one very awesome, important thing: leaked. Pictured above is a fragment of one such spreadsheet that we've had the good fortune of receiving for T-Mobile USA -- obviously it's a little bit on the small slide, but no sweat, we'll walk you through what it's saying. Again, we wouldn't take these dates as the gospel truth, but we'd venture to say they're a good rough guide for what to expect out of these guys for the next few months. Move along for the full list![Thanks, anonymous tipster]
AT&T's HTC Touch Pro2 hits the FCC
It looks like that slightly-tweaked version of the HTC Touch Pro2 codenamed "Fortress" and destined for AT&T is winding its way closer to store shelves -- a listing for a Rhodium 300 just popped up in the FCC database, complete with test results on all the necessary bands. So that's Rhodium 100 for T-Mobile, 400/500 for Sprint and Verizon (or vice-versa) and 300 for AT&T -- any questions?
HTC Touch Pro2 unboxed with tempered excitement
It's time for HTC's Touch Pro2 to join the ranks of every other modern phone in getting its own unboxing video. An enthusiastic PocketNow has the honors, and even goes so far as to utilize the infamous "smell test" to confirm it is in fact a genuine leather case included. Sized up to the original Touch Pro, it's got a more spread out keyboard, larger screen and thinner form factor -- all welcome additions, if you ask us. We can't imagine it being a deal breaker, but just so you know, the slide-out tilt doesn't go as extreme as its predecessor in that form factor, HTC's Titan. Living vicariously through video can be accomplished after the break -- it's not yet available stateside, but if you can't wait, there's always import.
HTC Touch Pro2 hits virtual shelves, unlocked and ready for action
Luckily we've got solid word of HTC's Touch Pro2 headed for all of the majors Stateside, or this would come as a bit more of a blow for the hopelessly selfish Windows Mobile users among us: HTC's QWERTY slider flagship is now available online and unlocked, though its Euro-centric nature means there's no 3G for folks who'd like to use it in the wilds of the United States of America. Still, there's plenty of greatness here outside the HSPA data, and the $800-ish pricetag doesn't seem too unreasonable for what you get. And hey, maybe you live in Europe -- we're not ones to judge.
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.
HTC Touch Pro2 brandishes Verizon logo, poses for camera with Cedar
Not that it wasn't without warning, but we've now got some pretty definitive picture proof that HTC 's Touch Pro2 is set to bask in Verizon's CDMA goodness -- we guess your Sprint friends won't be having all the fun, after all. Also caught on camera here is the HTC Cedar, a CDMA version of the HTC Maple / Snap. It's got a slightly different button layout just under the screen than the Sprint version we recently saw, which itself is different from its initial unveiling. According to 474RPR, who leaked these pics, this one's bound for Alltel's network, which while we don't see any proof from the image, we could totally buy that. Of course, none of these pics give a release date of any sort, so hang tight while we all anxiously wait in unison. [Via wmpoweruser]
HTC Touch Pro2 shipping on June 12?
The Touch Diamond2's been circulating for a little while now, but its more QWERTY-savvy sibling -- the Touch Pro2 -- has yet to hit the market in any official capacity. That looks to be changing pretty shortly, though, with eXpansys UK estimating that its stock will be ready to roll on the 12th of next month. Of course, this is the UK version of the device with a localized charger and all that jazz, but it's safe to assume that if it's available there, it should be available in a variety of other locales within a reasonably short period of time. Naïve of us to think such an outlandish thing, isn't it? [Via wmpoweruser.com]
HTC passes CDMA / GSM hybrid Touch Pro2 through the FCC
Remember that Touch Pro2 we saw in Sprint livery yesterday? A leaked roadmap indicated that this would be a global roaming device packing both CDMA and GSM radios -- and Telus' inventory system certainly corroborates the existence of such a device. Further proof now comes to us in the form of an FCC filing for yet another variant of the Rhodium (HTC's codename for the Touch Pro2), and while only CDMA is being tested here, there's also some assurance from HTC that the FCC needn't worry about the locked-down GSM radio lying dormant in there. In other words, it'll only be used outside US borders -- places the FCC doesn't give two flips about. Even better, there are actually two versions being referred to here -- the RHOD400 and RHOD500 -- which could very well represent separate bodies for Sprint and Verizon. As if you needed another reason to upgrade from the original Touch Pro, Sprint folks... well, here you go.
HTC Touch Pro2 for Sprint spotted in the wild, mid-June release?
We've known that a version of the HTC Rhodium / Touch Pro2 was inbound for Sprint at some point this summer (assuming no delays), but would mark the first time we've seen one in what appears to be finished production trim. A SprintUsers poster claims that the global roaming-capable device should be hitting retail mid-June with the portrait QWERTY Snap following in July -- and yes, we'd be more inclined to ignore the noise had said poster not also provided the glorious pictures. Looking good -- really good, actually -- but good luck tearing any eyes away from the Pre kiosks in the stores next month, HTC. [Thanks, David D.]
Wing wiped from T-Mobile's website
It doesn't take a rocket scientist (a phone scientist, maybe, but not a rocket scientist) to figure out that HTC's venerable Wing is on the way toward that Great Carrier in the Sky this year as T-Mobile prepares to make room for the Rhodium / Touch Pro2, and the rather sudden disappearance of the Wing from T-Mobile's site definitely lends credence to that. You can still pick up a Shadow or a Dash if you're hard up for WinMo -- though we wouldn't recommend the latter, seeing how the Dash 3G is right around the corner -- because as far as we can tell, we're still not expecting the Touch Pro2 until July. Stay tough, folks. [Via TmoToday]
T-Mobile rolling out visual voicemail this summer?
Newly-leaked projected training and launch dates on T-Mobile are revealing a treasure trove of goodies for the summer months, not the least of which seems to be a visual voicemail system -- a trend already validated by AT&T's and Verizon's past and future launches -- expected on July 16, though it's not clear what devices are lined up to get it. On the hardware front, we're getting some much-needed validation on dates we've already heard: we've got the Dash 3G (alias Snap, alias S522) in the mix for July 1, the 8 megapixel Sony Ericsson CS8 slider for June 24 (and its kid brother, the CS5, for July 8), and the HTC Rhodium / Touch Pro2 for July 22. We've also got a couple "hero" Samsungs listed in here, though we're fairly certain they're not Android devices -- Houdini, where are you?
HTC Touch Pro2, Snap coming to Telus -- with GSM in tow?
New inventory items in Telus' system are setting these old, weary interwebs ablaze, especially those parts of the interwebs where HTC devices are discussed with great love and passion. Specifically, the Snap and Touch Pro2 have made appearances -- not surprising, considering we know other CDMA carriers have these on the roadmap already -- but what's extra delicious here are the "World Edition" tags listed in the description field. That would imply that these are dual-band devices capable of supporting GSM abroad, which is music to any globetrotting suit's ears and a surefire way to sell a few more of these biz-oriented things. We've received similar inventory screen shots corroborating Boy Genius Report's which makes us even more certain they're on their way -- it's just a question of when and for how much. [Thanks, anonymous tipster]
HTC Touch Pro2 gets thoroughly handled overseas
While we still don't have an official release date for HTC's Touch Pro2 here in the states, the folks at Russian site Mobile-Review have managed to get some extensive hands-on time with the unit. Props go to the quality of the voice calls and especially the QWERTY keyboard, noted via the machine translation as one of the most user-friendly in modern mobile devices. The same is not said here, however, for the plastic casing and steep pricing. They also don't really touch on TouchFlo 3D 2.0.XX -- that's apparently coming later in another article -- but hit up the read link for a plethora of pictures and a video of the updated UI in action.[Via WMPoweruser]
T-Mobile-branded HTC Touch Pro2 appears in the wild
It's really no secret that the Touch Pro2 is destined to arrive in the States on T-Mobile, but this is the first time we've seen the T-Mo edition not, uh, drippings with goo. And yes, that's a US-spec keyboard and the "fewer dots" US T-Mobile logo, so this looks like the real thing -- hopefully that means a launch is imminent. Hit the read link for a bunch more shots.[Via Pocketnow]
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]
