Windows Phone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

"AT&T* and HTC Corporation, a global designer of mobile phones, today announced the upcoming availability of the HTC TiltTM 2 and the HTC PURETM with Windows® Mobile 6.5. The HTC PURE delivers a touch screen experience in an alluring, compact form factor, and the HTC Tilt 2 features the convenience of a tilting touch screen combined with the practicality of a slide out full QWERTY keyboard."

Ah, AT&T is announcing two great Windows Phone offerings, the Pure (The HTC Touch Diamond 2) and the Tilt 2 (The HTC Touch Pro 2). Who knows what's pure about a Touch Diamond, or why we didn't see a crazy new name similar to "Fuze" (Perhaps the "Cerket Braker" or "Swich"), and I'm sure these two new offerings won't help AT&T's abysmal coverage issues (Hey, you'll love the 70% of calls you don't drop in NYC, right?)!

"For this review I had the HTC Touch Pro 2 for about 3 weeks thanks to HTC and I found it quite hard to let it go. It performed flawlessly during my testing and the new TouchFLO3D made using it virtually stylus-free. It is simply stunning both in performance and in functionality."

Clinton Fitch seems to have been a big fan of the Touch Pro 2, a device sitting on my own desk right now (It's the TP2's turn in the rotation between a Dash 3G and a MyTouch 3G). I must admit, it is one of the most stylish and polished devices I've used in quite awhile. Kudos HTC!

"Verizon Wireless and HTC Corporation introduce the HTC Touch Pro2TM, a global-capable smartphone designed for the busiest professionals and world travelers. The HTC Touch Pro2 features an extra-large 3.6-inch touch screen that tilts to an optimal viewing angle, an ergonomic slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and an advanced speakerphone with asymmetric speakers and advanced noise suppression to deliver customers a robust productivity experience. Created with the intuitive TouchFLO 3D user interface, data on the HTC Touch Pro2 can be easily accessed with just the touch of a finger."

Verizon has the Touch Pro 2 at $199 after $100 mail in rebate, so if you're on Big V and want to take advantage of an older yet ubiquitous network, you can order it in stores today.

"That's why droves of subscribers on virtually every carrier are on the edge of their seats awaiting the Touch Pro2's release. Whether you love, hate, or feel nothing but pure, unadulterated ambivalence toward Windows Mobile, it's hard to argue that the Pro2 isn't a gorgeous smartphone at a distance, and T-Mobile USA's gently-tweaked version is no exception."

Engadget has a nice write-up on the Touch Pro 2, including more pictures like the one above. Overall it isn't a bad looking device, and it's taking a lot of control for me not to buy one. However with 2 phones already purchased this summer, I think I should hold off for awhile!

"We already knew the CDMA HTC Touch Pro2 headed to Telus and Verizon had been upgraded with a 3.5mm headphone jack, so it's not a huge surprise that the Sprint version has one too"

I haven't used a 3.5mm jack in years, and so I haven't missed one for the last 3 years that HTC has shunned them. However here is more proof that they are on their way back. Now if we can just keep everything constant for 10 years - Mini-usb, 3.5mm jack, and microSD card, I'd be happy.

"And then, there's this. T-Mobile USA has somehow found it within its heart to charge a near-astronomical $349.99 (on a two-year agreement, no less) for HTC's latest WinMo-packin' powerhouse, the Touch Pro2. Look, we aren't saying the phone isn't worth its weight in gold, but a quick look around the marketplace shows just how out of place this obscenely large asking price really is"

Engadget got it right with their hand signals on the above image. Of course price rumors have been going around like mad on this device, and who knows - perhaps even T-Mobile has gotten in the game and the above is just a big joke. Probably not, but we can dream.

TmoNews has uncovered some release dates for a number of Windows Mobile phones on the US T-Mobile network. It looks like the HTC Snap will be available around July 1 and the Wing II, better known as the HTC Touch Pro 2, will be available around July 22. HTC has said that the Touch Pro 2 will have an upgrade made available to WinMo 6.5 later this year. I hope T-Mobile passes that upgrade along.

Areamobile.de have a great gallery of the new Touch Pro 2, with comparison shots against the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1. The Touch Pro 2 is a little larger because of the bigger screen, but I like the rounded edges and overall shape - it looks like something comfortable to hold, size notwithstanding. Check out the rest of the gallery for more!