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To the lucky Singapore and Southeast Asia markets, HTC has released the Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2 smartphones.
The phones are said to be improvements on the HTC Touch Diamond smartphone released in the United States on April 10 and the HTC Touch Pro, released in October 2008.
Both the Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2 feature HTC’s TouchFLO 3D interface, which has been more deeply integrated into Windows Mobile 6.1 for greater consistency throughout Windows Mobile applications and menus, HTC states.
TouchFLO 3D brings information important to the user-such as quick access to contacts, messaging, e-mail and weather-to the top level of the user interface.
Both phones also provide a new people-centric approach to communication: From the contact card or the on-screen call during a phone conversation, all the correspondence with an individual-voicemails, texts, etc.-can be viewed all together, enabling business users, in particular, to engage most effectively.
HTC’s Push Internet technology is also included on both smartphones. Users can preselect their favorite Websites and, because they’re preloaded, they’ll render more quickly. Opera Mobile is being reported as the default browser.
“The HTC Touch Pro2 and HTC Touch Diamond2 introduce a mobile communication experience that simplifies how we communicate with people in our lives, whether through voice, text or e-mail,” said HTC CEO Peter Chou in the company announcement.
Optimized for One-Hand Use
The Touch Diamond2 is said to have evolved the “compact design and iconic style” of the original model, making for a fit better in a hand and optimizing it for one-hand use.
The widescreen VGA display has grown to 3.2 inches (from 2.76 on the U.S. Touch Diamond), and the camera has been boosted from 3.2 megapixels to 5 megapixels and includes auto-focus, expandable memory, and gravity and ambient light sensors.
Additionally, the battery life has been expanded by 20 percent, which HTC expects the enterprise-minded crowd will appreciate.
The Touch Pro2 somewhat resembles the Touch Diamond 2, featuring a 3.6-inch widescreen VGA display. But give it a push and out slips a QWERTY keyboard made more ideal for larger fingers.
The Touch Pro2 also features improved battery life, expandable memory, a touch-sensitive zoom bar, and gravity, proximity and ambient light sensors.
Unique to the Touch Pro2, however, is HTC’s Straight Talk technology, which enables the Pro2-with carrier cooperation-to transition from an e-mail to a single- or multi-party conference call, as well as having the ability to offer itself as a conference room-like speakerphone system.
Straight Talk technology, according to HTC, includes a mechanical and acoustic design that allows it to offer a speakerphone experience similar to those in boardrooms; asymmetric speakers and noise suppression technology with full-duplex acoustics deliver a “high-fidelity voice and sound experience.”
The Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2 will be available from mid-May through the end of June for a retail price equivalent to $725 and $885, respectively. They’re slated for arrival in North America later this year.