HTC Touch Pro3 (aka HTC Tera) offering WinMo 6.5 in Q3 2010?

Generous pinch-of-salt time now, but according to one xda-developers tipster HTC are readying their new version of the Touch Pro2, the unsurprisingly named HTC Touch Pro3 (aka the HTC Tera from the leaked roadmap) for launch in Q3 2010.  Apparently informed by a contact at HTC's European distributor, member LocDogg says initial stock of the Windows Mobile 6.5 handset is expected to come in over the Summer, though the Pro3 itself will be going on sale just shy of Windows Phone 7's debut.

A Q3 2010 launch is late, considering according to the roadmap the "Tera" was expected to arrive in April 2010.  Even then, it's touch and go whether users would even be interested in the WM6.5 device, what with the newer OS due by the end of the year.  Microsoft have already confirmed that the HTC HD2 – like all other WM6.5 handsets – won't be eligible for a Windows Phone 7 upgrade as they don't have the correct buttons (among other reasons), so it seems likely that HTC Touch Pro3 buyers would be similarly limited to the soon-outdated platform.

The Tera is believed to have a 3.0-inch WQVGA resistive touchscreen, dualband HSPA, WiFi b/g, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and GPS/aGPS.  It's based on Qualcomm's 600MHz MSM7227 chipset with 512MB of ROM and 256MB of RAM, and measures 115 x 53 x 15.5 mm – more compact than the Pro2 it presumably replaces, though with a smaller display as a compromise.

[via MobileHub]