Posted on 04 June 2008, at 1:00 am, by Judie Lipsett
HTC calls it the Touch Pro, it has made the internet rumor rounds as a device called the “Raphael”, and I call it possible perfection. What will you call it? Yours?
Just wait until you see the specifications of this dream phone…
Incorporating the style and functionality of the recently launched HTC Touch Diamond, the HTC Touch Pro features a handful of enriched business-focused enhancements creating a device enabled for a powerful mobile experience. Designed with a slide-out five row QWERTY keyboard, the phone makes communicating on the go quick and easy.
Utilizing HTC’s innovative TouchFLO 3D capabilities, the HTC Touch Pro includes a new touch-sensitive control for device interaction. In addition, the device also boasts broadband-like speeds with HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA wireless connectivity, a 1350 mAh battery with up to 8 hours of talk time, 512 MB flash, 288 MB RAM with micro SD memory card expansion, GPS capabilities, 2.8-inch VGA touch screen and 3.2MP camera equipped with video calling.
The HTC Touch Pro will be available to customers across all major European, Asian and the Middle East markets in late summer. The North American and Latin American versions of device will be available later in 2008.
Here is the full press release…
HTC Touch Pro Bridges Mobile Work With Mobile Play
Advanced 3D Touch User Interface, Desktop-like browsing, 5-row sliding QWERTY Keyboard and Window Mobile 6.1 create hybrid business phoneTaipei, Taiwan — June 4, 2008 — HTC Corp., a global leader in mobile phone innovation and design, today unveiled its advanced next generation business phone, the HTC Touch Pro™. Bringing a beautiful new angle to mobile business productivity, the HTC Touch Pro utilizes similar styling and functionality of the highly anticipated Touch Diamond™ and introduces a variety of business-focused enhancements that make getting work done on the go quick and easy.
“The HTC Touch Pro and Touch Diamond have created a new generation of HTC touch devices that make the promise of the one-hand, one-touch mobile Internet a reality,” said Peter Chou, president and CEO, HTC Corp. “HTC Touch Pro is for those customers that demand the ease of use and enjoyment of TouchFLO™ 3D and want the styling of the Touch Diamond but also need the powerful mobile business experience that HTC delivers.”
A New Dimension To Touch – One hand, one touch
HTC has taken a great leap forward in touch screen innovation with its 3D touch interface called TouchFLO 3D. TouchFLO 3D provides a stunningly intuitive way to zip through common tasks like messaging, calendar appointments or making calls with just one touch. Delve a little deeper to find that your music, photos, contacts and surfing the web are also responsive to the touch. In addition, the Touch Pro includes a new innovative touch-sensitive control for device interaction.Making The Mobile Internet Useful and Fun
With the introduction of Touch Diamond and Touch Pro, HTC delivers an entirely new mobile Internet experience that utilizes broadband-like speeds with HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA wireless connectivity. Committed to improving Web browsing, HTC provides a new customized mobile Web browser that enables easy viewing and effortless navigation of Websites in the way they are designed to be viewed on a PC. As part of this browsing experience users can zoom and pan Websites with one-hand and automatically view optimized content that has been specially created to fit the display. Turning the device sideways automatically rotates the web page view from a portrait to landscape view.
In addition to Web browsing, the Touch Pro includes an HTC-developed, YouTube application for watching a variety of user generated video content as well as including Google Maps for mobile for mapping and traffic data.
Unmatched Style With Complete Productivity
Like the Touch Diamond, Touch Pro is crafted with precision to fit comfortably in a user’s hand and brings together elegant touch screen response with the direct precision of HTC’s trademark sliding keyboard design. Introducing a new five-row QWERTY keyboard layout that makes typing-intensive tasks like composing email or working on Microsoft Office® documents quick and easy. Built-in TV-out functionality means users can deliver the perfect PowerPoint® presentation from the Touch Pro.
Bursting with Innovation
The Touch Pro delivers an unrivaled combination of features and functionality. The 2.8 inch display provides near-print quality viewing that enables beautiful Web browsing and viewing of photographs. The built-in camera includes an optical auto-focus lens that ensures the photos you take will be clear and consistent. Advanced wireless and auto sensor screen pivoting are just a few of the features that make the Touch Pro experience a stand out.Availability
The HTC Touch Pro™ will be available to customers across all major European, Asian and the Middle East markets in late summer. The North American and Latin American versions of Touch Pro will be available later in 2008.
Key HTC Touch Pro Specifications
Size: 102 x 51 x 18.05mm
Weight: 165 g
Connectivity: WCDMA / HSPA: 900/2100MHz. HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA
Operating system: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
Display: 2.8-inch VGA touch screen
Camera: 3.2MP, with video calling
Internal memory: 512 MB flash, 288 MB RAM
Expansion Slot: microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
Keyboard: Slide-out 5 row QWERTY keyboard
Bluetooth: 2.0 with EDR
Wireless: WiFi 802.11b/g
GPS: GPS/AGPS
Interface: HTC ExtUSBä (mini-USB and audio jack in one; USB 2.0 High-Speed)
Battery: 1350 mAh
Talk time: GSM: up to 8 hours
Standby time: GSM: up to two-weeks
Chipset: QualcommÒ MSM 7201Aä 528MHzHTC Introduces New Accessories
Also today, HTC announced multiple accessories will available for the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro including a similarly designed desktop cradle and travel charger accessory pack as well as an extended battery and slim collapsible case for the Touch Diamond.
About HTC
Founded in 1997, HTC Corp. (HTC) designs, manufactures and markets innovative, feature rich smartphone and PDA Phone devices.Since its establishment, HTC has developed strong R&D capabilities, pioneered many new designs and product innovations and launched state-of-the-art PDA Phones and smartphones for mobile operators and distributors in Europe, the US, and Asia. These machines are available as HTC devices and as products individually customized for operator and device partners.
HTC is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile device market. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.
June 4th, 2008 at 1:06 am
This is the Diamond, on steroids.
June 4th, 2008 at 1:07 am
It’s smexxy.
June 4th, 2008 at 2:25 am
Very nice… more like the TyTN III if you ask me. Had I not switched to a Mac in the G4 days of 6/7 years ago, and had I not switched to iPhone, this would be my next device. Not only am I too used to the Mac/iPhone’s ease and stability, but it’s that WM doesn’t play nice with Mac OS X!! Btw Judie, a little off-topic here, but so are you using the Air, or the Pro now? Or is the Pro still somewhere in repair?
June 4th, 2008 at 3:24 am
Drool. Man, now the question becomes one of upgrading to a TYTN II in the near future or hoping my Wizard can hold on until this is released. Quite awesome specs and the look is just nice.
And I agree, this looks kind of like the TyTN III.
June 4th, 2008 at 3:38 am
Come on now… I’m sure the Wizard can hold out. I mean, it’s got double the RAM, double the resolution, double the ROM… a 32% increase in processor clock…. probably working graphics engine… what more could you want?
June 4th, 2008 at 4:48 am
I just hope it will be available here, bigger battery, keyboard and SDHC slot make this more desirable to me than Diamond.
Of course Xperia and iPhone2 are still interesting, but the key for me will be avalibility…
June 4th, 2008 at 7:41 am
… good gravy, all of this stuff lately make me sad that my company doesn’t allow camera phones … and that I just can’t justify buying one that I can’t have with me 1/2 of my waking hours!
June 4th, 2008 at 7:56 am
I have not been excited by a Windows Mobile device in a long while but the Touch Pro is interesting and so stylish!
June 4th, 2008 at 8:13 am
@mikeya - if this comes out through AT&T and they hold true to form, there will be a version without the camera.
@raymond - the biggest thing I would like is not to have to pay another $400+ for this phone under a two year contract. I know I can get a TyTN II under contract for $150 (special rate as an existing customer - new customers get them for $0 after rebate through some sources). I will say that this phone is probably worth it for me, though. Just have to wait until it’s out. However, I think I’ll be upgrading to something with 3G in the not too distant future, if just to allow me to connect to the Internet through my laptop in those rare times I need to. I can do it now, but it’s SLOW.
June 4th, 2008 at 8:45 am
The thing with this device is that, according to the full specs on the HTC website, it is currently only tri-band as is the Diamond. That means these devices are still no-go for a lot of folk in the U.S. at least until they release U.S. versions. I don’t get why ANY manufacturer would make a tri-band only GSM phone. Does it really save much money to drop the 850MHz band?
June 4th, 2008 at 8:48 am
The device certainly looks very cool, but I am highly disappointed that it is neither Quad-band GSM nor Tri-band UMTS/HSDPA. Definitely NOT a TyTN III.
Why is it that these features are so often not included, especially for what is marketed as a “pro” device?? Is it due to battery life, more bulk, what’s the reason?
June 4th, 2008 at 9:41 am
I think quad-band will come a few months later when these devices (the Diamond and the Pro) are officially released in the U.S., but I always wonder why they don’t just build them as quad-band from the start. Changing production mid-stream costs money too so I can’t believe they’ll save very much by starting with tri-band only.
June 4th, 2008 at 10:16 am
I don’t think there will be a quad band version, there will be US version though.
Why only three band? I think the reason is that most of the sales for HTC comes from European and Asian market and only tiny percentage of users actually need/want quad band devices.
June 4th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
I just got an answer from my contact Eric Lin, with HTC:
“The initial models of Touch Diamond and Touch Pro have been optimized for European / Asian bands because HTC is launching with partners in those countries first. These models do not feature 850/1900/2100 3G as on many of our previous flagship models as European partners have now begun operating 3G on a second band – 900 MHz, and it is difficult to optimize for 4 bands of 3G as well as multiple 2G bands. The considerably smaller size of the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro compared to our previous 3G devices makes this task even more difficult, especially as many of our smaller previous models did not feature GPS.
Additional models of both handsets optimized for other regions will launch in the second half of 2008.”
June 4th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
I guess the implication, then, is that there will likely no longer be such a thing as a “world phone”.
June 4th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
That’s kind of how it sounds to me… :-/ A phone may work in various places around the world, but there is no longer a worldwide standard…