New HTC Touch Cruise with HTC Footprints and Advanced Navigation System Announced

Posted on 22 January 2009, at 12:59 pm, by Judie Lipsett

HTC has just released a brand new Touch Cruise, which is the first device to use a new technology that they call HTC Footprints, “a new feature that allows people to capture special moments and places in a whole new way.” This device’s feature set will most likely be very interesting to those who have basically replaced their GPS, camera, and other portable devices with their PDA phone. Although if the 3.2 megapixel camera on this device is the same as some of the other HTC cameras we’ve seen, I can’t honestly imagine that many people replacing their cameras with it…

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With HTC Footprints™, mobile images are taken to the next level by allowing people to tag their pictures with a variety of additional information. There are a number of scenarios that you could imagine for this:

· Family historians can capture audio clips with each image, effectively capturing in the moment thoughts and feelings.

· Leisure travelers can take advantage of the included GPS chipset and tag each image with its exact coordinates, as well as rename that image with the location it was taken. When a person goes back through old images, they find their life’s moments chronicled in detail in the palm of their hand.

· Those taking long road trips can use the included car cradle and one touch navigation for turn by turn directions. Once placed in its cradle, the device’s navigation user interface automatically turns on and provides turn by turn directions on the 2.8” QVGA touchscreen. Once removed from its cradle, the device returns to its regular home screen, effectively eliminating the need for two separate devices. Additionally, the HTC Touch Cruise includes full turn-by-turn navigation capability without needing to pay for a navigation service subscription.

The HTC Touch Cruise is coming to all major global markets. Here in the US, it will be an unlocked device with 850/1900 HSDPA bands, available in spring 2009 for approximately $500-$600.

ALL NEW HTC TOUCH CRUISE WITH HTC FOOTPRINTS™ HELPS CAPTURE AND RELIVE LIFE’S JOURNEYS

Compact and Sophisticated Design Delivers an Advanced Location-Based Experience That Changes How People View Their Locations and Memories

Taipei, Taiwan – January 22, 2009 – HTC Corporation, a global leader in mobile phone innovation and design, today announced its latest personal navigation handset with inbuilt GPS. The new HTC Touch Cruise™, an update to 2008’s popular HTC GPS device of the same name, boasts a new, more compact design and a host of new capabilities to offer a richer and more intuitive experience in one powerful package.

Introducing HTC Footprints
The new HTC Touch Cruise is the first mobile phone to offer HTC Footprints, an application experience that enables people to permanently chronicle their special moments by capturing a digital postcard on their phone. Once captured, Footprints provides the ability to take notes and an audio clip of that favourite restaurant or special place while identifying its specific geographical location. In addition to identifying each postcard with its specific GPS co-ordinates, Footprints also auto-names each postcard with its general location or area.

Flipping back through their photos, HTC Touch Cruise users will be able to retrace their steps to that exact location in just a few touches. Unlike other devices with geo-tagging functionality, HTC Footprints works effectively outdoors and indoors, offering a more accurate record of location for future reference and navigation.

“Just as we have seen GPS technology transform how people navigate to new places, we are now seeing location-based applications like HTC Footprints changing how we interact and carry our memories,” said Peter Chou, President and CEO, HTC Corporation.

HTC Touch Cruise Car Cradle
The HTC Touch Cruise is also an advanced in-car navigation system. When placed into its accompanying car cradle, the HTC Touch Cruise automatically transforms its user interface into an easy-to-use, one-touch interface that provides seamless turn-by-turn directions.

Boasting a compact and sleek design with a 2.8 inch QVGA display, the HTC Touch Cruise is a further demonstration of HTC’s continued commitment to innovation, providing consumers with a variety of devices designed to meet their individual needs.

Using HTC’s TouchFLO technology, the HTC Touch Cruise provides fingertip access to phone, contacts, email, messaging, calendar and GPS applications, making it a strong all-around device.

The new HTC Touch Cruise will be available to customers across all major global markets in spring 2009.

Key HTC Touch Cruise Specifications
Size: 102 x 53.5 x 14.5mm
Weight: 103 grams
Connectivity: WCDMA/HSPA: 900/2100MHz. HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
Operating system: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
Display: 2.8-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with QVGA resolution
Control panel: HTC TouchFLO™, 4-Way navigation wheel with Enter and HTC Footprints™ buttons
Camera: 3.2 MP, with fixed focus
Internal memory: 512 MB flash ROM, 256 MB RAM
Expansion Slot: microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
Bluetooth: 2.0 with EDR
Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
GPS: GPS/A-GPS
Interface: HTC ExtUSBä (mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
Battery: 1100 mAh
Talk time: GSM: up to 400 minutes
Standby time: GSM: up to two weeks
Chipset: Qualcomm® MSM7225™, 528 MHz

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.