This telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication - Western Union memo, 1876
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HTC Touch Pro2
Product: HTC Touch Pro2
Website: www.htc.com/htctouchpro2
System Specs: Touchscreen, slide out QWERTY keyboard, Quad band, 3.2 megapixels camera, Wi-Fi , Bluetooth, Li-ion battery, microSD
Price: Depending on contract
JUST WHEN we might be tempted to forget there are alternatives to Android-based phones, along comes one to remind us that Windows Mobile is still trying to play catch-up.
One such is the HTC Touch Pro2 from the Taiwanese outfit that has of late been synonymous with Android.
This is powered by HTC's favourite processor, the Qualcomm MSM7200A, now making its seventh appearance in HTC's mobile phone portfolio.
HTC has really got its act together in terms of quad-band this time, whereas the Diamond handset ran the same chipset but was only tri-band at first.
HTC has improved markedly on the user interface from the original HTC Touch Pro. Back then, the UI was a CAB file installed on top of Windows Mobile.
Since HTC stood on their own two feet, some three years ago and began selling mobiles under their own name there has always been a UI called TouchFLO running on top the OS. Only now the new improved TouchFLO 3D comes across as a fully fledged OS and not just a backdrop to Windows Mobile 6.1.
If you wandered off the beaten track with the FLOs in the past, you were right back to the Windows Mobile OS. It's always been felt that the HTC GUI could have had a bigger part to play in the phone's software. Much to our delight, the HTC GUI is now coming into its own.
Every screen of the Touch Pro2, from the home screen to the settings menu is all TouchFLO 3D. You'd be hard pushed to find a gap where Windows 6.1 actually pokes through.
There are some downsides to not having the full presence and clarity of Windows Mobile behind everything. One of the troublesome irks we discovered was the "recent documents open" list is now missing. This was very useful when accessing documents instantly, instead of hunting around the OS trying to find exactly where they've been stored.
The device has a full slide-out Qwerty keyboard, which is actually a marvel to type with. We've been looking for a replacement to that other great keyboard-based handset, the Nokia Communicator. For fast, responsive typing the Pro2 really shows up well with its spaced out keys and good comfortable return on the keyboard. Nokia missed an iteration of Communicators and this device could very well steal ground from the market leader.
The Pro2 can be used with the keyboard or without. The display is a 3.6-inch 480x800 WVGA touch screen, an increase from a VGA 2.8-inch display in the previous generation of Touch Pro. This is very responsible and accurate in handling touch requests, unlike previous HTC handsets which were often a tad off key.
Windows Mobile 6.1 is still struggling to catch up with Android and the Iphone, none more so than with multitouch which is still a thing of dreams for Microsoft. Instead of this "pinch to zoom in and zoom out" functionality being on offer, there's a Zoom bar at the base of the screen. Sliding a finger up and down this area scales the screens size, which isn't exactly multitouch but will do for now.
Opera is the main browser, which suits the phone and works well over both HSDPA and Wi-Fi. HTC has a new feature for browsing, which first made its way into the recently released HTC Touch Diamond2. They call it Push Internet; in effect it's off-line browsing. It's a feature where webpages can be bookmarked and the Pro2 fully caches the page for instant access. This can also be set up to refresh automatically said page at a certain time. It could be great for reading sites with zero wait time, especially en route to work first thing in the morning.
We managed to get 8 hours and 45 minutes usage out of the phones, which is close to the manufactures claims. µ
In Short
The original HTC Touch Pro looked like the Touch Diamond, only thicker because of the keyboard. HTC has realised this handset series can stand up on its own merits and have distanced it from the Diamond and Diamond2. Within this handset sequel HTC has created a good all round business and consumer phone, especially for those who desire a physical keyboard rather than a virtual one.
The Good
Keyboard, sizable touch screen, decent UI.
The Bad
Some aspects of Windows 6.1 still need to be there, no LED flash, no FM radio, no 3.5mm audio jack.
The Ugly
Windows 6.1.
Bartender's Report
9/10
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T-Mobile USA just announced yesterday that they will be making the HTC Touch Pro 2 availalbe from August 12th onwards. This handset is more than ready to take over where the HTC Touch Pro left off, and the US release comes quite late long after the handset was made available to folks living across the Atlantic as well as in Asia.
http://www.pupuweb.com/blog/t-mobile-usa-announced-htc-touch-pro-2-available/
I was thinking that with the hi res screen and the keyboard it would be a very nice android phone... :P
I bought the pro2, and am suffering from some buyer's remorse.. The zoom bar doesn't actually work (might be a defective unit? It sometimes works if I apply a shitload of pressure), and the screen is selectively responsive. When you're scrolling the applications in the start menu, it will select some app at a whim, whereas it takes quite some persistence to select a hyperlink in opera, for example. The appstore is something apple got right; I've got to hunt down apps on the web (or xda-developers) and 80% of the time they won't work for some lame reason, or they require additional .dlls(!). Don't get me wrong, the phone does what it promises to do - except it all takes so much effort! You end up feeling that, yes, all those features are really nice, but it's obviously a prototype for next year's iPhone...
It's not that nobody wants OSX, it's just that to "legally" use OSX you must pay for Apple's overpriced hardware.
Apple is a hardware company first, and a software company second. So even if they make decent software and OSes, you're stuck buying the "complete package" to use it.
I agree, Apple knows how to sell a phone and they do so because the majority want something simple and no complications. I don't debate that Apple aren't onto a winner and good on them.. I just don't like how their smug propaganda touts that their OS is the BEST in every way or how they aren’t susceptible to viruses and such. Microsoft don't say their gear is the best its up to the user to choose.. Unfortunately a lot of people listen to Apple commercials and they are actually deluded into thinking that their phone is the best... I have had arguments where users swear black and blue that it’s the best thing ever and all they have seen are a few ads... I tell you its like a sickness...
Funny how Windows is the lowest common denominator OS with a commanding lead in marketshare, but the iPhone is brilliance in the same situation.
If OSX is so great, how come no one except MacHeads want it?
Complain about the iPhone all you want and debate about how it's classified, whether or not it's a "real" smartphone, etc.
I don't think Apple cares.
They're busy making a product that's so desirable to consumers that despite being tied to one carrier and only offering one form factor they've already sold ~20M units and have more market share than Windows Mobile even though WM had a 5+ year head start. If WM is so great, why doesn't anybody (besides you guys) want it?
@imad exactly!
Iphone is just a phone... The lack of multitasking means it is a pathetic excuse for a smart phone. If a phone is running window mobile or even Android it can actually be classified as a smart phone. Do you think business people, IT pros, power users want to be restricted by some pathetic single task orientated operating system? If you take a look at the majority of Apple's user base you will realise that average people like average phones / computers which a small minority of exceptions. Options and functionality are classified as "complicated stuffs" for normal people... PS if you want an awesome phone check out the samsung b7610... it slays the touch pro 2!
Actually the iPhone is an iPod touch with a phone lashed onto it!
This is not a problem, I flashed my touch hd to wm6.5, I'll do the same to this baby. Touch flo is now ok, but I still kind of like the power of wm stuff, touch flo is more like "dumb-and-pretty" layer for people with stylus disability. I actually removed touch flow altogether from phone and using "plain" wm6.5. THat the beauty of WM phones, tweak it to your delight...
I wander why people are obsessed with Iphone OS or android, knowing that BOTH of them do not even have the features of windows mobile
Windows mobile is a real full OS, multitasking, threading, programmable using Visual Studio and capable of running enterprise applictions, plus can run games.....
however, Iphone OS, is just a multitouch toy, for teenagers, impressed with graphics... it didnt even have a copy/paste function till version 3!!!!
REgarding android, same as all apple applications, it has a VERY UGLY design....
strange how people hate windows mobile even though they NEVER used that or know what it is.
Finally, IPHONE is a phone, while windows mobile is an OS..... just maybe this helps to start with!!!
android is horrid, why would windows phone try to catch up with that??
i prefer my htc over my iphone, only thing that is better on the iphone is the web browsing, but other then that i prefer my htc touch pro, cant wait for the touch pro 2.
There is an FM radio on the touch pro2, it just seems that the radio app was 'forgotten' about in some regions by HTC.
The brainiacs at xda-developers made a .cab file to install the radio app.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=521356