HTC went handset release crazy today, launching the Pro2, the Diamond2 and the Snap Winmo handsets upon suspecting Australian tech journos. Here’s what you need to know:
First up: the carriers. Both the Snap and the Pro2 will launch on Telstra, while the Diamond2 will be on sale through Optus. As time goes by, they’ll branch out to different carriers.
All three handsets will be running Winmo 6.1 at launch, although if you spring the cash for the Diamond2 or the Pro2, you should be able to upgrade to 6.5 later this year. We say should because there’s still a chance that the local carriers will block (or delay) the upgrade. While that would be a sucky move, it’s been done before, so it wouldn’t be surprising.
Of the three, my pick would be the HTC Snap. It’s pretty much a cross between the Blackberry Curve and the Motorola Q, except with a better keyboard and a thinner form factor. The Inner Circle button down the bottom seems like a bit of a gimmick, but it seems like a bit of a useful gimmick, and that’s to be applauded.
The Pro2 and Diamond2 are both very nice phones with great build quality, but the Pro2 is heavy, which is partly because of the slide out qwerty keypad. The Diamond2 feels sturdy, but seems a little boxy for my tastes.
Exact pricing and availability is still TBC – we’re waiting on the carriers to announce it. Telstra’s got a launch event on next week for a bunch of new handsets, and I’d expect the Snap and Pro2 to be among them. Obviously we’ll keep you posted when we learn more.
HTC UNVEILS THREE HANDSETS – HTC SNAP, HTC TOUCH DIAMOND2 AND HTC TOUCH PRO2
Sydney, Australia – June 30 – HTC Corporation, a global leader in mobile phone innovation and design, today unveiled three new additions to the HTC family of handsets – HTC Snap, HTC Touch Diamond2 and HTC Touch Pro2.
“These three unique HTC devices focus around simplifying how we communicate, and will challenge and exceed your expectations around what a typical “business” phone is capable of achieving,” said Anthony Petts, Sales and Marketing Director ANZ, HTC Corporation. “These devices join HTC’s growing family of handsets, with 11 devices currently in the Australian market.
“HTC is focused on developing a broad portfolio of products that are innovative, stylish and customised to improve the user experience in every part of their lives.”
New Technology Highlights
§ TouchFLO 3D for HTC Diamond2 and HTC TouchPro2
The HTC Touch Diamond2 and HTC Touch Pro2 utilise the latest TouchFLO 3D interface. Focused on making navigation easier and more intuitive, TouchFLO 3D brings important information to the top-level user interface, including quick access to people, messaging, email, photos, music and weather. As part of this improved Windows Mobile integration, the touch focus areas have been enlarged to be more finger-touch friendly.§ People Centric Communication for HTC Diamond2 and HTC TouchPro2
People Centric communication provides a single contact view that displays the individual conversation history of contacts regardless of whether voice, text or email were used. This can be viewed from the contact card or during a phone conversation.§ Push Internet Technology for HTC Diamond2 and HTC TouchPro2
Continuing its commitment to making the mobile Internet easier and more enjoyable, HTC introduces Push Internet technology that enables favourite web pages to be pre-delivered to the phone, providing users with immediate access.§ Straight Talk™ for HTC TouchPro2
HTC’s Straight Talk™ makes communication more natural, intuitive and effective. It is a way to seamlessly transit from email to a single or multi-party calls as well as a flawless means to complete conference bridge calls. The innovation is completed by dual microphone and speakers that turn your mobile into a professional quality speakerphone by the simple action of placing your phone face down on the table.§ “Inner Circle” for HTC Snap
HTC’s innovative new feature called “Inner Circle”, allows HTC Snap users to press a dedicated Inner Circle key to bring emails from a preselected group of people to the top of their inbox, enabling important messages to be acted upon immediately.HTC TOUCH DIAMOND2
The HTC Touch Diamond2 is the next step in the evolution of the successful HTC Touch Diamond. The Touch Diamond2 evolves the compact design and iconic style of the original HTC Touch Diamond. It incorporates a larger 3.2-inch high-resolution wide-screen WVGA display for a greater viewing area in a design just 13.7mm thin. The phone also includes a new touch sensitive zoom bar for even faster zooming of Web pages, emails, text messages, photos or documents.Packed with an 1100mAh battery, five mega-pixel auto focus camera, expandable memory, and gravity sensor, and the amazing user interface capabilities, the Touch Diamond2 brings an unique capability to a broad consumer audience looking for the professional benefits of a smartphone without sacrificing size, looks or functionality.
HTC Touch Pro2
Designed for business professionals, the HTC Touch Pro2 has a sleek feel with a high-resolution 3.6-inch widescreen WVGA display for an expanded viewing area and large finger-friendly QWERTY keyboard. Including a 1500mAh battery, expandable memory, a touch-sensitive zoom bar as well as gravity and proximity sensors, the Touch Pro2 is optimised for touch as well as heavy email use.The HTC Touch Pro2 delivers a high-fidelity voice and sound experience enhanced by asymmetric speakers and advanced noise suppression with full duplex acoustics.
HTC Snap
With a slim, sleek profile designed to fit perfectly in the hand, the HTC Snap is less than a half-inch thin (12 mm), yet it can deliver up to eight and a half hours of talk time with the standard 1500mAh battery. The full QWERTY keyboard is ergonomically designed with extra-large domed keys to make typing emails and text messages fast, accurate and comfortable. High-speed 3G HSPA connectivity makes it quick and easy to send pictures to friends, access favorite social networking sites, or download large files while on the go.The HTC Snap is powerful enough for experienced business users looking for an affordable, straightforward choice for remotely synchronising email, calendar and contacts with their Microsoft Exchange server, yet simple and flexible enough for first-time smartphone users wanting to keep their family life organised.
Pricing & Availability
Initially the HTC Snap is available exclusively with Telstra, the HTC Touch Pro2 will be available through Telstra, and the HTC Diamond2 will be available through Optus. Additional information regarding pricing and plans will be released at a later date by carriers.