TheWindowsPhone

The good folks over at Telus Mobility have just dropped a shiny new HTC Touch Pro2 on my front door, so I’ll be giving it a long-term evaluation from now through the summer. I must say… I like!

After the inglorious end of my Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 last week I was a little hesitant to try another slider, but this HTC is built like a brick house and feels like it might last me long enough to send it back to Telus in one piece.

Beyond the really solid build, the specs are nice and my initial impression is very favourable: I like the TouchFlo interface (first time I’ve used it extensively), the big, bright 3.6” touch screen is beautiful, the camera is nice, and most importantly for a slider phone: the keyboard is great! The keys are huge and spaced apart, with just the right tactile feel, and you can get at almost any character you would ever need without going into a symbols menu.

Anyway, a solid thanks to Telus for the new toy, and I’ll keep everyone posted on my thoughts!

Is Windows Mobile 6.5 is helping to drive sales of HTC Windows Phones? According to HTC CEO Peter Chou:

HTC is currently cooperating with a number of carriers in Europe, including T-Mobile, Orange and Vodafone, to promote the sales of HTC HD2 and demand from those carriers is outpacing supply, Chou indicated.

Digitimes and HTCPedia read this as evidence that WinMo 6.5 is helping to sell devices, but you’ve got to wonder: HTC makes excellent quality devices, has completely replaced the Windows Mobile interface with TouchFlo, TouchFlo 3D, and now Sense and just re-branded themselves and launched a new, expanded marketing campaign… so is this demand for their devices thanks to Windows Mobile 6.5 or in spite of it?

Anyone care to hazard a guess?

Peter Chou (CEO of HTC) and Steve Ballmer held a joint conference today in Taiwan to officially announce one of the most highly anticipated Windows Phones so far: the HTC HD2. Much has been leaked and learned already about the HD2’s powerful 1Ghz processor, it’s massive 4.3″ capacitive WVGA touchscreen, and that it will be the first HTC Windows Phone to sport Sense instead of TouchFlo, but this announcement makes it official:

The HTC HD2 shows what’s possible through our close partnership with HTC and it breaks new ground for Windows phones by delivering a beautiful multi-touch screen that people will love.

So says Mr. Ballmer. The full press release (after the jump) says the HTC HD2 is now shipping in Asia and will be shipping to North America in “early 2010″. Honestly, I can’t wait to get my hands on one of these!

Read the rest of this entry →

Spb Software House has just released an upgrade to their incredibly popular Windows Mobile UI replacement, Spb Mobile Shell. The new version, Spb Mobile Shell 3.5, features additional support for social networks like Facebook and Twitter, enhanced Internet searching with instant suggestions and many others enhancements.

Spb Mobile Shell v.3 users can upgrade for free here, or you can download or buy a copy of Spb Mobile Shell over here at Mobihand.

Perhaps just as interestingly, Spb has announced several OEM deals with big Chinese companies, specifically ZTE, Huawei and the biggest China-based OEM K-Touch. SPB also announced signing of a significant agreement with MediaTek, a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions.

Sebastian-Justus Schmidt, CEO of SPB Software says: “This version clearly shows where SPB Software is going. We are on the way to make it even more flexible for user personalization, as well as being a great partner for phone manufacturers and mobile operators. The fast changing market needs the right user interface with great flexibility in customization. And we are well prepared for the demand.”

This is a great strategy for Spb. Much like HTC is taking charge of it’s own Windows Mobile destiny with TouchFlo (and soon the new Windows Mobile version of Sense), Spb can stake out it’s territory by partnering with OEM manufacturers and others. Looking forward to seeing where this leads!

Read the full press release from Spb Software house here.

Finally, Rogers has released the HTC Touch Diamond for the sweet, sweet price of $199.99 on a 3 year contract. Of course, that’s with a mandatory ’sign up’ of a min. $45 data/voice plan, but we expected that.

Other pricing options include: 3 year contract (voice only) for $449.99, 3 year contract (data only) $499.99, 2 year contract for $549.99, 1 year contract for $549.99, and month to month for $599.99. The Rogers HTC Touch Diamond is actually cut like a diamond on the back as the original HTC Touch Diamond. Bell and Telus’ versions seem to be lacking the cool, textured back.

More on the Rogers HTC Touch Diamond’s specs

Alltel has jumped on the bandwagon and added the HTC Touch Pro to their smartphone line up. The popular device is going for $279.99 (on contract, of course) with a $100 rebate.

Not many differences with this version but a tweak to the TouchFLO 3D UI from the carrier.

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WMExperts have put the Palm Treo Pro up against the AT&T Fuze to see who comes out the champion and it looks like the AT&T Fuze won by the mere skin of its teeth, as the saying goes.

So, how do these two devices measure up to each other?

Here’s the breakdown of their specs:

More head to head comparisons between the AT&T Fuze and the Palm Treo Pro right here including an image gallery

The good folks over at XDA-Developers have created a hack that brings full TouchFLO 3D capabilities to the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1! TouchFLO 3D on the Xperia means a more finger-friendly UI, YouTube usability and a ton of other awesome enhancements.

If you’re an Xperia user, I suggest heading over to the XDA-Developers thread now and downloading this for yourself!

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This video from WMExperts showcasing the Sprint Touch Pro looks awesome, but is it really?

According to a forum thread over at XDA Developers, there are some major gripes about Sprint’s much hyped Touch Pro.

Biggest complaints?

• Not being able to change the text colour in TouchFLO 3D
• The keyboard backlight is permanently set to stay on for 7 seconds
• Problems with the stock IME not working
• Battery life – “2 hours on the phone, 10 minutes of surfing and a youtube video and I’m done…“
• D-pad is not as responsive as other HTC models
• Scroll function isn’t automatically enabled in many applications

So, readers – are any of you Sprint Touch Pro users having any issues? I’d love to hear about them. Let’s add to the list! (Or, hey, take away from it – I’d much rather hear that it’s worthwhile. I love the Touch Pro!)

phoneArena has just let me in on some late-breaking news given to them by an anonymous tipster about the HTC Touch Pro, Saga (CDMA version of the Epix), and Renown.

Looks like the Samsung Saga I770 (CDMA version of the Epix) can be ordered via the Internet and Telesales on Nov 14th for $199 with a 2-year contract (after $70 rebate). It features Dual-band CDMA, EVDO Rev A, Quad-band GSM, WiFi 802.11g/b, Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro, Office, Opera and IE Mobile, Bluetooth, 2.55″ 320×320 pixel display, 2MP camera, microSDHC support up to 16GB, and comes with a SIM card pre-installed. Included in the box are adapters for use with the wall charger in other countries. Hint hint. :)

Read on about the Samsung Renown and HTC Touch Pro launches via Verizon Wireless including leaked pictures and documentation