HTC Raphael hailed as Touch Pro

HTC have finally unveiled their commercial incarnation of the HTC Raphael platform - we welcome the HTC Touch Pro. Based on the appealing Touch Diamond design, the HTC Touch Pro throws in a full QWERTY keyboard to the equation and really impresses with its specs sheet.

Based on Windows Mobile 6.1, the HTC Touch Pro delivers 7.2 Mbps HSDPA, 512MB internal storage, 288MB RAM, a microSD slot, a 2.8-inch VGA screen, 3.2-megapixel autofocus camera, GPS receiver, and a 1350 mAh battery that is tounted to provide up to 8 hours of talk time (as opposed to the 900 mAh battery in the Touch Diamond).

The HTC Touch Pro is a worthy successor of the HTC TyTN II. HTC should have started producing VGA-resolution devices a long time ago. The HTC Touch Pro is shorter, narrower and most importantly lighter than the HTC TyTN II - the latter PocketPC could hardly be called pocketable (pun intended!).

The HTC Touch Pro features a newly designed 5-row QWERTY keyboard (as opposed to 4 rows in the HTC TyTN II) - and it's with a QWERTY keyboard that Windows Mobile Pro really shines. So choosing between the HTC Touch Diamond and HTC Touch Pro will be a touch choice for fans of the extra smart Windows devices.

Among the other highlights of the Touch Pro is the latest TouchFLO 3D user interface that allows intuitive finger-based operation. The new Opera 9.5 is also part of the pre-installed package which offers unsurpassed web browsing experience on the Windows Mobile platform. A HTC-developed YouTube client will also allow users to watch online videos.

The HTC Touch Pro will be available in Europe, Asia and the Middle East in late summer. The North American and Latin American versions of Touch Pro will be available later in 2008.

source gsmarena

VX6900 Rolls Into Verizon Wireless Stores on April 30th

As of April 30th the HTC Touch—dubbed the XV6900 by Verizon Wireless—will be available on store shelves. We originally heard that the white touch-screen smart phone would be available when we were at CTIA in Las Vegas, but we wanted to refresh you on the specs:

Windows Mobile 6 Professional with custom HTC UI
EV-DO data connection
Bluetooth v2.0 with stereo support
microSD slot for up to 8GB of additional storage
256MB ROM/128MB RAM
2.8” TFT-LCD touch-screen with LED Backlight, 240 x 320 resolution
3.98 x 2.34 x 0.56 inches
Talk time/Standby: 210/250

As you can see, the phone is nearly identical to Sprint’s HTC Touch, but this time around it has a white paint job. You can grab it for $349 after a $50 mail-in rebate. Verizon Wireless says that an additional $100 will be applied toward the XV6900 if you qualify for a voice and data plan.

Not only is the Touch late to the party, it doesn’t rock Windows Mobile 6.1, and unlike the identically priced Sprint version, this device doesn’t support video streaming or over-the-air music downloads. Personally, I’m more keen on the unlocked HTC Touch Dual, which should be coming soon.

source www.laptopmag.com