Bargain-hunters in search of their next smartphone may have another reason to stop by their local Verizon store, with the Boy Genius Report suggesting that the US carrier is planning to cut prices of their entire existing smartphone range to $99. Billed as a reaction to the $99 iPhone 3G on AT&T, it’s also speculated that it’s preparation for at least two incoming devices.
Verizon Wireless have launched the HTC Touch Pro, but you get the feeling the carrier doesn’t particularly want to sell any. At $349.99 (following a $70 mail-in rebate) the Verizon Touch Pro is $50 more expensive than the AT&T HTC Fuze (at $299.99) and $70 more than the Touch Pro on Alltel (at $279.99).
AT&T just released the HTC Fuze, which is very similar to Sprint’s HTC Touch Pro, but has a few changes made for the AT&T version. The HTC Fuze is the newest AT&T phone to run Windows Mobile 6.1 with TouchFLO 3D and work with AT&T’s Push To Talk service. We are going to go through and point out all the differences between the two handsets.
Cellphones have dominated our week here at SlashGear, with a number of much-anticipated handsets finally showing up for some play. We’ve reviewed HTC’s Touch Pro and unboxed the RIM BlackBerry Bold, but perhaps the most exciting arrival was the HTC Touch HD. Check out the unboxing and hands-on video; hopefully they’ll tide you over until the full SlashGear review this coming week.
Sprint recently sent us the HTC Touch Pro, and we are absolutely loving it. We have had a few days to play with it and, so far, there are no major deal-breakers that we can see. HTC have taken the Touch Diamond and edged one step closer to perfection with the addition of a full 5-row QWERTY keyboard.
Sprint have announced availability of the HTC Touch Pro, the QWERTY keyboard-blessed version of the HTC Touch Diamond. With a 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen, EV-DO Rev.A, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 and a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus, the Touch Pro is intended for heavy messagers. The five-row keyboard – which we found to be great for typing at CTIA – adds a little thickness, but at 4.17 x 2.05 x 0.7 inches the Touch Pro is still a pocketable phone.
Is there a slide-out keyboard version of the HTC Touch HD in the works? That’s the latest rumor surrounding the upcoming super-smartphone from the company, whose habit of launching a “Pro” version of touchscreen handsets with a QWERTY slide-out section has led some to predict an HTC Touch HD Pro could be in development.
We met with HTC at CTIA Wireless this morning for a hands-on with their latest Windows Mobile smartphones. Sprint’s Touch Pro and Touch Diamond were on show, while the non-touchscreen S740 made an appearance as well. The Diamond is basically the same device that we reviewed back in June, and we’re still not fans of the rear-panel. The texture and the slightly-protruding center strip don’t add anything to either the aesthetics or how it feels in your hand, and the dark red color Sprint have chosen is equally uninspiring. Where it succeeds, however, is in the data potential: with Sprint’s EvDO Rev.A network browsing on the Diamond really came into its own.
Check out hands-on feedback on the Touch Pro and S740 after the cut
Sprint has finally announced availability and pricing details for its two latest HTC smartphones, the HTC Touch Diamond and the HTC Touch Pro. The two handsets are similar, the Touch Pro having a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and flash, while both have 2.8-inch VGA touchscreens, 3.2-megapixel cameras with autofocus, and WiFi.
While rumors have abounded that the HTC Touch Pro would in fact be making its way to AT&T, nothing was for sure. Even when an image leaked showing the Pro with AT&T insignia, it was still a bit questionable. But now, AT&T subscribers most likely won’t have to switch over to Sprint to get their hands on this touch smartphone.
A cached page on Google shows information detailing a device called the HTC Fuze on the AT&T website! All the expected specs are there including a GPS, tri-band HSDPA, WiFi and more. But at the moment, there’s no word on when the Fuze will be released. Until then, though, you can enjoy the specs we can expect to see on this Windows Mobile-running device after the cut.
JP
