HTC

The day when the Nokia X series and the N97 Mini were officially revealed, news about the official announcement of the HTC Mega comes from the other corner of the world.

The important thing about the Mega is that it might just be the first phone that will come with Windows Mobile 6.5 installed. We had first heard of the Mega when it was seen with the better endowed and high end Leo last month.

Along with the new OS, other features of the Mega include: TouchFlo 3D, Microsoft Exchange, Google Maps. It comes with a redesigned Internet Explorer and has Flash support and YouTube access. It will also come with Windows Marketplace for Mobile and Microsoft My Phone.

The Mega, unlike the Leo, would be a mid range handset and will be priced at around the $300 mark. The phone will be available starting Oct. 6.

Source:[techtree.com]

HTC have been busy recently, releasing an array of top end phones, on both the Android and Windows Mobile platform. One of the more recent releases is the HTC Touch Pro 2, a feature packed smart mobile device, running on the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Operating System. It would be fair to say that the HTC Touch Pro 2 is not a small phone, by any means. In fact, judging in terms of mobile phones in general, it is positively huge. Weighing in at a hefty 178g, and measuring a pocket busting 116mm x 59mm x 17mm, the Touch Pro 2 certainly makes its presence felt. But it does that not just in size, but also in the features the device carries. Truly, the HTC Touch Pro 2 is a heavyweight, in all senses of the word.

One of the benefits of the handset’s size is that it can accommodate a well proportioned QWERTY keyboard. In use this keyboard is comfortable, and can easily be used for typing out a short word document or editing an Excel spreadsheet; the keys are well spaced, and give good feedback. When you slide open the device, the screen automatically rotates into landscape view, thanks to the built in accelerometer. A nice touch is the ‘slide and tilt’ effect of the phone; simply slide the QWERTY keyboard out and then raise the screen, which sits at a comfortable viewing angle and enables you to rest the device on a suitable flat surface to make typing that much easier. In practice this may not be as swish as the opening mechanism on the Nokia N97, but nonetheless it is practical and convenient.

Another benefit of the rather cumbersome size is the inclusion of a good sized screen. The HTC Touch Pro 2 offers a large 3.6 inch TFT resistive touchscreen, supporting up to 65,000 colours with a pixel resolution of 480 x 800. Being a resistive touchscreen you can select items on the phone either with a stylus or with your finger, and there is also support for handwriting recognition. Although the screen ‘only’ supports up to 65,000 colours, images are well presented and video playback too is clear and crisp. It is likely the only time there will be issues with this screen is when using the handset outdoors in direct sunlight.

Feature wise, the HTC Touch Pro 2 has a high specification, and for all those who dread the dreariness of the Windows Mobile menu system, with its lists and lists of menu items, fear not. HTC have done a marvellous job of integrating the latest version of their Touch-Flo user interface onto the device, meaning menu navigation, design and interaction is a real pleasure. The Touch-Flo UI is simple to use, and after only a brief period of time, even a smartphone novice would have little problem navigating the menu system. HTC really are to be applauded for their efforts here, finally making a dreary operating system fun and easy to use. Even the ‘Start’ button, which on many Windows Mobile phones just drops down a little menu list has been given a nice facelift, with the Touch Pro offering a nicely laid out menu navigated via smart looking icons.

Being a business focussed device, the HTC Touch Pro 2 has some nice little usability features that are worth noting; firstly, the handset smartly switches between loudspeaker and personal call, simply by putting the phone onto the desk, face down, during a call to activate the loudspeaker, then picking the phone up and putting it against your ear to cancel loudspeaker and move to personal mode. It is also easy to keep in touch with your contacts; communication history can be listed for individual contacts, so you can see the exchange of texts, calla and emails with that particular person. If that person is also a friend on Facebook you can see their status updates in the communication history too. Messages are presented in thread fashion, similar to the way conversations are recorded on instant messaging, making it easier to follow the flow of the conversation.

On the Homescreen of the device, at the bottom, is a row of tabs, which are short cuts to the various often used features on the handset, so this would include things like messaging, web browsing, email, etc. You can get to each option by flicking through the screens, or by running your finger along the zoom bar. The order of tabs can be changed, so your preferred options are accessed quicker. The zoom bar is also useful for zooming in on pictures on the phone. Once a picture has been selected, simply slide your finger along the zoom bar as you zoom in on the image. All very smooth, just like the rest of the menu system in fact.

As expected, all the major connectivity options are included on the HTC Touch Pro II; we find HSDPA at up to speeds of 7.2Mbps, complimented by HSUPA at 2Mbps. WiFi 802.11 b/g is also there, plus Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support. Quadband GSM gives you worldwide GSM support, and if you are in a country where 3G is not available, you can connect via GPRS, HSCSD or EDGE.

Multimedia aspects are covered with the inclusion of a 3.2 Megapixel camera, with autofocus, although unfortunately there is no camera flash. The camera is enabled to record video at VGA resolution, and thanks to the TV Out feature, videos and pictures can be displayed from the phone directly to a TV, although the overall quality of images captured on this device are average, at best. There is also a media player built in, which will play popular music and video files, including WMA, MP3, AAC, 3gp and WMV, but disappointingly HTC have not included a 3.5mm audio jack. The device does have a built in GPS receiver, and Google Maps support is included.

There is a lot to like about the HTC Pro 2. Yes, it is a big phone, and that does need to be taken into consideration. But if you are looking for a handset that has Windows operability, coupled with a fun, easy to use UI, with a full specification of features, you could do a lot worse than the Touch Pro 2.
Source:[rightmobilephone.co.uk]

At a press event in London on Wednesday, HTC unveiled its latest Google Android device, the HTC Hero, featuring a new user interface called HTC Sense.

The HTC Hero will be available in Europe starting in July and in Asia later this summer, while a “distinct” North American version will ship later in 2009. However, pricing was not announced at this time.

Like the T-Mobile G1 and Google Ion/HTC Magic, the HTC Hero has the signature curve at the bottom, but it’s a bit more svelte at 4.4 inches tall by 2.2 inches wide and 0.5 inch thick. In addition, it features a 3.2-inch HVGA touch screen with an antifingerprint screen coating.

However, the real beauty of the smartphone lies beneath the surface. The new Sense UI allows users to customize the device to their needs and give them more access to the information they want at a glance through widgets, customized profiles, and consolidated views of all communication with a contact, whether it be e-mail, text or multimedia message, Facebook status updates, or photos. In addition, HTC said that all of its future devices will use Sense UI.

Other highlights of the HTC Hero include GPS, a digital compass, gravity sensor, a 5-megapixel camera, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a microSD expansion slot. A dedicated search button on the phone provides a more contextual search, looking through not only your contact list and e-mail but also Twitter and other areas of the device.

Finally, similar to the Asia-specific HTC Magic, the Hero is not a “Google experience” phone, so HTC has been able to add Microsoft Exchange support to the handset, which will be huge for corporate customers.

CNET’s David Carnoy was at HTC’s New York event and got video of the HTC Hero in action, which you can check out to the above. CNET UK’s Flora Graham was at the London press conference and posted a hands-on photo gallery with first impressions. For more information of the Hero’s specs, check out HTC’s Web site and let us know what you think of the device below. Source:[cnet.com]