TouchPro2
Latest
Sidekick 2009, HTC Snap and Touch Pro2 dated for T-Mobile?
The gang at TmoNews have it from a "trusted source" what's purported to be a list of tentative release dates for nearly a dozen T-Mobile phones. At the top on that list is the Sidekick 2009 (a.k.a. "Blade") for May 13th, followed by heavy hitters HTC Snap and HTC Rhodium (Touch Pro2) for July 1st / 22nd, respectively. Rounding out the list is a pre-paid Nokia 1661 for April 29th, a mysterious Sony Ericsson CS8 for June 24th, six Samsung T-series phones all debuting between May 6th and August 19th, and a big, fat "TBD" for the HTC Magic (Sapphire). Don't think these dates as gospel, but with less than six weeks until Blade's rumored to hit retail, we'll know soon enough if this list has any credence
Goo-covered Touch Pro2 supposedly running T-Mobile USA ROM
If we had to guess, this is the ROM destined for the Rhodium / Wing II that'll hopefully be hitting T-Mobile later this year, but for now, you're getting it served to you on a drywall putty-encrusted Touch Pro2 for some reason. Or maybe it's peanut butter, cake frosting, or Aspercreme -- we really couldn't tell you -- but we can tell you that no amount of Windows Mobile-induced desire is going to get us to touch this thing without latex gloves. Good news is you can grab the ROM for yourself and install it on something with a little less organic material smeared all over it, or do as the rest of the consumerati do and simply wait for an official release -- however long that might take. Your call.
HTC Touch Pro2 vs. Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1... fight!
It may not have been a fair fight to put the mighty X1 up against the original Touch Pro -- the X1's got the better display and oodles of sex appeal -- but HTC's already back for round two with an all-new device. Is it an even match this time around? The final call will probably have to wait a couple months for production Touch Pro2s to start circulating, but in the meantime, we now have a few side-by-side shots to ponder. "Too much awesome hardware" is a great problem to have, isn't it?[Via WMPoweruser.com]
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]
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]
Telstra exec's stolen WinMo 6.5-equipped HTC phone remotely wiped?
Remember that Windows Mobile 6.5-equipped HTC phone that was stolen from the Telstra exec at MWC? Well it looks like you can forget about any hands-on videos popping up -- to quote the immortal words of Will Smith from Men in Black, the device has apparently been flashy thing'd, from afar. According to an anonymous Microsoft staffer speaking to APC, the company remotely wiped all traces of the operating system and user data from the mobile as soon as it was reported pickpocketed, so unless the thief was smart enough to immediately place it in a faraday cage, this phone's probably a bit too frazzled for the limelight right now.
HTC says Touch Pro2 will be "broadly available," North America included
In October of last year, HTC informed us that the Touch HD would sadly not be coming to the States via its Twitter feed. Shortly after Mobile World Congress, that same feed has delivered much, much better news in regard to the Touch Pro2. Directly from HTC: "And to answer the big question on everyone's minds, the Touch Pro2 will be broadly available in all major markets, including North America." A followup tweet affirmed that a launch date and country wasn't yet set in stone, but that the phone would begin shipping out in "late Q2." Oh, where art thou, May through July time frame? [Via Brighthand]Read - HTC tweet IRead - HTC tweet II
HTC Diamond2 TouchFLO 3D screenshots appear for your enjoyment
Windows Mobile 6.5 got the lion's share of attention this week at MWC, but HTC's TouchFLO 3D shell for 6.1 got some interesting interface tweaks for the new Touch Pro2 and Touch Diamond2, and we'd say they're actually more interesting than 6.5 honeycomb launcher and new unlock screen -- especially the newly revised keyboards with haptic feedback. Plenty more screenshots at the read link, and don't forget to check out our hands-on videos of the Pro2 and Diamond2 if you haven't already.[Thanks, msav]
Thievery at MWC! Telstra exec's HTC with WinMo 6.5 stolen
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/odd_stuff/Thievery_at_MWC_Telstra_exec_s_HTC_with_WinMo_6_5_stolen'; It's not clear if Telstra chief Sol Trujillo was sporting an HTC Touch Pro2 or a Touch Diamond2 at MWC this week, but one thing's for sure: he's doesn't have it anymore. A pickpocket apparently lifted the handset off another Teslsta exec who was checking it out today -- and making matters worse, it was running an early build of Windows Mobile 6.5. Oops. Of course, we doubt Microsoft is too concerned -- 6.5 ROMs are leaking all over the place anyway -- but it looks like Sol's picking up Ballmer's tab at the bar tonight.[Thanks, Boy Genius]
First hands-on with the HTC Touch Pro2 (with video!)
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).%Gallery-44850%
HTC Touch Pro2 is awesome in ways the Touch Pro never could be
So, how do you make HTC's Touch Pro -- already near the top of the WInMo heap -- an even beefier device? For starters, you can throw out that nasty VGA screen of yesteryear and up it with a 3.6-inch 800 x 480 replacement. Next, add a dedicated touch-sensitive zoom slider that works overtime to take maximum advantage of said screen, then throw in a few key carryovers: 512MB of ROM, 288MB of RAM, microSD expansion, and a 3.2 megapixel cam. Meet the Touch Pro2, the official follow-up to HTC's popular series of QWERTY sliders that introduces so-called "Straight Talk" technology for "seamlessly" transitioning conversations between email, single-line calls, and party calls. It'll also automatically switch to the crazy high-performance, full-duplex speakerphone simply by flipping the phone over, so it's clear that this bad boy was meant for business. It'll launch early in the second quarter in parts of Asia and Europe with other "major global markets" following in early Summer.
