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.
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Considering the Sprint HTC Touch Pro2? We'd find something else to do today besides head down to your local Sprint store, given that the latest leaks from the carrier tip an imminent price cut for the Windows Mobile smartphone. As of October 1st, the Pro2 will apparently be $199.99 with a new two-year agreement and following a mail-in rebate.
Verizon has become the third US carrier to offer the HTC Touch Pro2, with the slide-out QWERTY Windows Mobile smartphone priced at $199.99 following a mail-in $100 rebate. That means it neatly undercuts the Sprint and T-Mobile versions, though still offers the same jam-packed spec sheet.
Listings for several new devices have appeared in Verizon’s inventory database and been leaked courtesy of a phoneArena tipster. While the handsets include the BlackBerry Storm 2, HTC Touch Pro2 (XV6875) and Samsung Omnia II, all of which we’ve known for some time will be arriving on the network, also mentioned are the Palm P101 and Palm P121.
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.
It’s not exactly new information – since we heard that T-Mobile USA would be charging $349.99 for the HTC Touch Pro2 yesterday, after internal pricing documents leaked – but a product page online certainly does hammer home that the carrier expects a healthy tithe for its latest Windows Mobile smartphone. The QWERTY touchscreen slider demands a two-year contract, together with an unlimited web package.
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.
T-Mobile USA have announced that they will be offering the HTC Touch Pro2 from August 12th, HTC’s impressive Windows Mobile smartphone complete with a 3.6-inch touchscreen, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, WiFi b/g and AWS 3G. We reviewed the Euro-spec version of the Touch Pro2 earlier this month, finding it a sturdy and capable business smartphone with an excellent “Straight Talk” speakerphone system.
While we deemed the HTC Touch Pro2’s hardware keyboard perhaps the best to be had on a Windows Mobile smartphone right now, we saved the usual ire for the handset’s lack of a 3.5mm headphones socket. That’s all changed, however, for the Canadian Telus version; going by MobileSyrup’s video, HTC have shuffled over the ExtUSB port and squeezed in a 3.5mm jack.
Video after the cut
For all the analysis of iPhones, Android devices and webOS’ suitability for the enterprise market, there’s one company already a mainstay and with the smartphone legacy to prove it. HTC have carved a niche for themselves with sturdy, dependable handsets, often running Windows Mobile, and their Touch Pro2 is the latest of the bunch. It’s a serious smartphone with a considerable spec-list and considerable bulk to boot; in a world of waifish business/consumer crossovers, is the Pro2 a chunky anachronism? SlashGear set to finding out.
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