HTC Intros Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2
Samsung already showcased its goods at Mobile World Congress 2009; now,
it's HTC's turn. The company that delivered the Touch Pro and Touch Diamond has introduced successors to both of the aforementioned phones,
and while neither of the new ones are drastic improvements, it's the
little things that count.
Both models seek to "balance function, form and cutting-edge technology to personalize the communication and mobile Internet experience," and in order to do just that, they have employed the same TouchFLO 3D interface (a Windows Mobile overlay) that was present on the prior models. The overlay brings important information to the top-level user interface, including quick access to people, messaging, email, photos, music and weather. New to this pair is a so-called "people-centric communication approach," which provides "a single contact view that displays the individual conversation history of contacts regardless of whether voice, text or email were used." Also new to these two are HTC's Push Internet technology, which supposedly "alleviates slow downloading and rendering of Web pages on a mobile phone."
Speaking specifically about the Touch Diamond2, the altogether curvier phone incorporates a larger 3.2-inch high-resolution wide-screen VGA display into a shell that's just 13.7 millimeters thick. It also offers up a new zoom bar, which enables instant zooming of Web pages, emails, text messages, photos, etc. with the simply brush of a finger. Road warriors will appreciate the 50 percent better battery life, and photographs will surely smile at the sight at a five megapixel AutoFocus camera. Finally, it boasts a gravity sensor, expandable memory and an ambient light sensor.
The Touch Pro2 gets an even larger 3.6-inch widescreen VGA display, a dedicated QWERTY keyboard, improved battery life, expandable memory, a touch-sensitive zoom bar as well as gravity, proximity and ambient light sensors. Furthermore, this smartphone features the company's new Straight Talk technology, which delivers an integrated email, voice and speakerphone experience by enabling users to "transition seamlessly from email to single or multi-party conference calls and turn any location into a conference room." In a nod to business users, this feature also includes "an innovative mechanical and acoustic design that features a sophisticated speakerphone experience similar to those found in corporate boardrooms." In fact, the Touch Pro2 automatically switches into a speakerphone system when it's flipped over during a call.
As for the information you're surely clamoring for (yes, we're referring to pricing and launch details), we're told that the Touch Diamond2 will be available to customers across major European and Asian markets in early Q2 2009 with broader global availability coming later in the year; the Touch Pro2 will be available across major global markets beginning in early summer. There's no mention of MSRPs just yet, but we'd start saving those pennies just in case these aren't as cheap as you're undoubtedly hoping.
Both models seek to "balance function, form and cutting-edge technology to personalize the communication and mobile Internet experience," and in order to do just that, they have employed the same TouchFLO 3D interface (a Windows Mobile overlay) that was present on the prior models. The overlay brings important information to the top-level user interface, including quick access to people, messaging, email, photos, music and weather. New to this pair is a so-called "people-centric communication approach," which provides "a single contact view that displays the individual conversation history of contacts regardless of whether voice, text or email were used." Also new to these two are HTC's Push Internet technology, which supposedly "alleviates slow downloading and rendering of Web pages on a mobile phone."
Speaking specifically about the Touch Diamond2, the altogether curvier phone incorporates a larger 3.2-inch high-resolution wide-screen VGA display into a shell that's just 13.7 millimeters thick. It also offers up a new zoom bar, which enables instant zooming of Web pages, emails, text messages, photos, etc. with the simply brush of a finger. Road warriors will appreciate the 50 percent better battery life, and photographs will surely smile at the sight at a five megapixel AutoFocus camera. Finally, it boasts a gravity sensor, expandable memory and an ambient light sensor.
The Touch Pro2 gets an even larger 3.6-inch widescreen VGA display, a dedicated QWERTY keyboard, improved battery life, expandable memory, a touch-sensitive zoom bar as well as gravity, proximity and ambient light sensors. Furthermore, this smartphone features the company's new Straight Talk technology, which delivers an integrated email, voice and speakerphone experience by enabling users to "transition seamlessly from email to single or multi-party conference calls and turn any location into a conference room." In a nod to business users, this feature also includes "an innovative mechanical and acoustic design that features a sophisticated speakerphone experience similar to those found in corporate boardrooms." In fact, the Touch Pro2 automatically switches into a speakerphone system when it's flipped over during a call.
As for the information you're surely clamoring for (yes, we're referring to pricing and launch details), we're told that the Touch Diamond2 will be available to customers across major European and Asian markets in early Q2 2009 with broader global availability coming later in the year; the Touch Pro2 will be available across major global markets beginning in early summer. There's no mention of MSRPs just yet, but we'd start saving those pennies just in case these aren't as cheap as you're undoubtedly hoping.
