With Windows Mobile 6.5 set to make its official debut tomorrow, Tuesday October 6th, AT&T have outed a couple of new smartphones based on the Microsoft OS. They’re not unfamiliar devices, however; the AT&T HTC Pure is the carrier’s re-shelled HTC Touch Diamond2, while the AT&T HTC Tilt 2 is their HTC Touch Pro2. As well as the updated OS, each handset has 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth.
A leaked Sprint spec sheet has delivered the details of a number of so-far unreleased Windows Mobile devices, including the AT&T HTC Touch Pro2, the LG Monaco, HTC Warhawk and Samsung Omnia 2. While the existence of the four devices was already known, the Sprint document does go into more detail about specifics than earlier information; for instance, that the LG Monaco is now expected to land with Windows Mobile 6.x (likely 6.5) rather than the previously tipped Windows Mobile 7.
Microsoft have been giving impromptu demonstrations of Windows Mobile 6.5, showing what’s said to be “the final build” of the upcoming smartphone OS to The Inquirer. Installed on an HTC Touch Diamond2, the platform includes the latest redesign of the UI, including 24-bit menu icons, together with Flash support and the Windows Marketplace for Mobile.
Video demo after the cut
It’s been another week dominated by cellphones here at SlashGear, with our exclusive review of the HTC Touch Diamond2 plus plenty of news from the rival Android smartphone camp. The HTC Magic launched on Vodafone Spain, but we were more interested in the Samsung I7500, a super-skinny slice of 5-megapixel Android loveliness. Check out the live demo video here.
It’s set to be a tough year for smartphones, and there’s plenty of change afoot as companies battle amid tightening customer purse-strings. The new iPhone is set to arrive over the summer; Palm’s Pre is imminent, and Microsoft have the latest incarnation of Windows Mobile waiting in the wings. Into that fray, HTC launch the Touch Diamond2, likely one of the last smartphones to use WM6.1 and an update to what was considered, when it launched a year ago, one of the game-changing handsets of Microsoft’s platform. Can the HTC Touch Diamond2 maintain that legacy, and will TouchFLO 3D improvements sufficiently mask the aging OS? SlashGear set to finding out.
It’s been a week of mobile device reviews, along with the Bluetooth accessories that go with them, here at SlashGear, with Samsung’s Tocco Ultra S8300 and Instinct S30 showing up for playtime. We also gave our opinion on the big news in Bluetooth headsets, in the shape of the Plantronics Voyager Pro and the Aliph Jawbone PRIME. Finally, HTC’s Touch Diamond2 flaunted itself in a video unboxing, while the Mophie Juice Pack Air for the iPhone 3G got its review.
When HTC launched the Touch Diamond2 at Mobile World Congress back in February, they made no bones about the fact that it incorporated the best of the original Touch Diamond and what lessons they’d learned from the Touch HD. A bigger, 3.2-inch WVGA display than the previous Diamond, plus the latest iteration of TouchFLO 3D, and the HTC Touch Diamond2 will perhaps be the poster-child for Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphones until 6.5 launches. Our Touch Diamond2 arrived today, and before we get to grips with this slick new smartphone we shot an unboxing video.
HTC Touch Diamond2 unboxing video after the cut
Well, it looks like Taiwan will be getting the Touch Diamond2 from HTC by the end of this month. The new handset will be available in Europe and the U.S. in the months to follow, but for now Taiwan is the only market and boy am I jealous!
The Touch Diamond2 features a 3.2-inch touchscreen with a 480 x 800 resolution. Other features include a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and touch-sensitive zoom and an 8GB memory card.
TouchFLO received some updates as well including Push Internet. Data is covered by 3G on a 7.2Mbps HSDPA or Wi-Fi. Following the Taiwanese release this month, the HTC Touch Diamond2 will be released in Europe in the spring and in the U.S. in the summer. Pricing is expected to be NT$21,900, which is the equivalent of $647 USD.
In the second of our HTC Touch hands-on pieces, we’re looking at the HTC Touch Pro2. SlashGear met up with HTC’s Dave Catt and Eric Lin at Mobile World Congress today, to find out exactly what makes this QWERTY flagship so impressive. After the cut, the fruits of our interview, a huge hands-on gallery and, as soon as it’s processed, live video of the HTC Touch Pro2.
Update: Video now added – and in HD!
At a Mobile World Congress where headline-devices have been relatively sparse, HTC have done themselves proud with not only their second Android device, the HTC Magic, but two new Windows Mobile handsets that already look to be best of breed. SlashGear sat down with HTC’s Dave Catt and Eric Lin to discuss both the Touch Diamond2 and the Touch Pro2; in the first of two articles, we have hands-on feedback and a huge image gallery of the HTC Touch Diamond2, plus a video.
Update: Video now added – in HD!
JP
