Last week, Microsoft has begun to ship Windows Phone 7 hardware to developer partners  and it is loaded with the latest Technical Preview of the new Windows Phone 7 Operating System. Some of you did get a chance to play with the device, like I did at the first Windows Phone Get Together but there was no way we could spend some time alone with the device. There was only one (LG Prototype) Windows Phone 7 device there and it was heavily guarded by Maarten Sonneveld, Business Group Lead Mobile himself.

But all this is going to chance now and in the upcoming weeks. It seems that the first devices have been shipped to the developers and Matt Miller from ZDnet has one and shared his experiences with this new Windows Phone in an 8 page extensive review filled with 90 pictures, screenshots and videos.

Below you can see the unboxing video of this new Samsung device and be sure to head over to ZDnet and read the rest of Matt’s article and enjoy the video’s and image gallery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE9xcIGRAj0

We would like to know your thoughts on this first Windows Phone 7. Let us know what you think about it !

Vince from TracyandMatt has reviewed the Acer P300:

For Acer, making itself a known brand in the mobile industry will be difficult task, as with any brand that’s new to the market. Acer already have a small portfolio of both Windows Mobile and Android smartphones available, but none have really been able to capture the media spotlight and secure carrier promotions and subsidies as well as phones from manufacturers more established in the mobile market.

However, their lack of brand image in the phone space doesn’t mean they can’t produce decent phones, so when I received the Acer neoTouch P300 for review, I was eager to see whether their new Windows Mobile powered smartphone can challenge its rivals from the likes of HTC and Samsung.

Read on to find out more…

Recently the first Foursquare client, named WinMoSquare showed up in Microsoft’s Marketplace. For those of you, who don’t know what Foursquare is, here is a brief description of the Foursquare principle:

People use Foursquare to “check-in”, which is a way of telling your whereabouts. When you check-in someplace, Foursquare tells your friends where they can find you and recommend places to go & things to do nearby. People check-in at all kind of places – cafes, bars, restaurants, parks, homes, offices.

Think of Foursquare as an “urban mix tape.” Foursquare helps you make lists of your favorite things to do and let you share them with friends. Foursquare will keep track of the things you’ve done, help you create To-Do lists and even suggest new experiences to seek out.

Every Foursquare check-in earns you points. Find a new place in your neighborhood? +5 points. Making multiple stops in a night? +2 points. Dragging friends along with you? +1.

If you’ve been to a place more than anyone else, you’ll become “the mayor”… until someone else comes along and steals your title.

WinMoSquare is created by Touchality and after running some beta versions, it can now be found in the Marketplace for free. After “purchasing” it (yes, it’s free!) you can download and install the WinMoSquare client. If you don’t have .Net Compact Framework on your device, it will be downloaded automatically.

After installing the WinMoSquare client, you need to sign in with your Foursquare account you have created at the Foursquare website.

On the Main screen you can view your profile and check your badges, see where your friends are, check in locations, add venues if you are in a new place, adjust some settings and log out from WinMoSquare.

When you want to check-in at a location, the client automatically searches for nearby venues and shows you which venues are closeby. If the location you want to check-in is not on the list, you can create it yourself. Add as many data as possible. When you create a venue, you can always edit the venue-data at the Foursquare website.
You can even tweet your new venue or current location to Twitter or update your Facebook status with it.

In Settings you choose a new theme, enable or disable sound, check your GPS settings and view version information.

Foursquare is a fun way to show your friends where you are and share tips and recommendations with everybody. Compared to other clients (Android and iPhone) WinMoSquare does not use celltower data to pinpoint your location. Instead, it uses GPS, so when indoors it can be a bit hard to get your location. I hope somewhere it the next version it will have celltower-location, so it is able to find your (estimated) location also indoors !

]]> http://www.mobilityminded.com/6807/winmosquare-foursquare-client-for-windows-mobile-review/feed 3 http://www.mobilityminded.com/6726/windows-phone-7-series-detailed-video-and-backstage-entrance http://www.mobilityminded.com/6726/windows-phone-7-series-detailed-video-and-backstage-entrance#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:41:39 +0000 Johan van Mierlo http://www.mobilityminded.com/?p=6726

Since the release of the Windows Phone 7 Seriesquite some videos have surfaced online. Mark Briggeman and I were fortunate enough to have had our hands on this new Windows Phone platform during the Microsoft MVP Summit.  A video today was posted by Chris Pirillo that actually gives one of the best overviews of part what we have seen and experienced during the summit. This explains our excitement for this new platform as well. More and more information will be released soon.

If you are a developers please check out the new Windows Phone Developer Blog.

Please take the time to watch this video to get a good sense what Windows Phone 7 Series is about. You can also join the Windows Phone 7 Series Backstage to stay up to date with the latest news. In the backstage site you get exclusive access to:

• Join the conversation
• Go behind the scenes
• Win great prizes
• And get the latest scoop

Today Windows Phone 7 Series was announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
Laura Foy from Channel9 interviewed Joe Belfiore, Corporate Vice President of Windows Phone Program Management who was able to give us a full overview of all the new exciting features of Windows Phone 7 Series.

The topics that were covered are:

• The new user experience
• Integration with social networks like Facebook
• Internet Explorer
• Photos, videos, and music
• E-mail and texting
• GPS and maps
• Search integration
• Hardware standards

Head over to the 22 minutes demo below:

The worst scenario which you can think of: You lost your Windows Phone and cannot find it anymore. It doesn’t answer if you call it and nobody reported your phone as being found. Of course it contains all your phone numbers, your calendar and your private files. What to do ?

Hopefully you have connected your Windows Phone to the Microsoft MyPhone service. MyPhone enables you to sync everything on your device to a secured location, so that in case of a lost phone you can easily recover all your data to your new phone.

But there is more ! If you use the Premium MyPhone service, you can even locate your phone at it’s last reported location. You can see the position of your phone on the map and if you are close enough, you can even locate it by sending an alert to the phone which causes the phone to ring for a minute, even when it was on silent or vibrate.

Do you have a great story about losing your Windows Phone and locating it with the MyPhone service and you can prove it ? Then you will have an opportunity to win a brand new Windows Phone from Verizon or AT&T.

Check out all the details and rules at the  Lost Without MyPhone site.

HTC Corporation unveiled a global advertising campaign that is based on HTC’s new “Quietly Brilliant” brand positioning.  As HTC’s first global advertising campaign, the YOU campaign is being rolled out across 20 countries in the coming weeks and features the tagline, “You don’t need to get a phone. You need a phone that gets you.”  This represents HTC’s commitment to focus on people, their needs and how they work and live to ensure that HTC devices suit them.

‘Quietly Brilliant’ is doing great things in a humble way, with the belief that the best things in life can only be experienced, not explained,” said John Wang, chief marketing officer, HTC Corporation. “The YOU campaign is the perfect embodiment of ‘Quietly Brilliant’ and is core to HTC as a company, innovator and partner.

The YOU campaign is focused on driving broad, global visibility and understanding of HTC’s unique brand promise – that it’s all about YOU, the consumer, and in fact not the device. HTC worked with Los Angeles-based advertising agency, Deutsch LA Inc. to create the YOU campaign that will employ an integrated-media approach to reach consumers via television, print, outdoor and online.  HTC’s design expertise will be echoed throughout the campaign, with commercial spots highlighting the unique functionality of HTC smartphones.

We’ve come to have a very emotional relationship with our phones. Many of our key experiences in any given day come through this one device and yet most of the advertising in the category is still about utility,” says Eric Hirshberg, co-CEO and chief creative officer, Deutsch LA.
“HTC’s whole design philosophy is very personal. They make phones where your experience is completely unique, so we think there is a connection between how people feel about their phones and how HTC makes them.

HTC worked with London-based creative consultancy, FigTree to create the “Quietly Brilliant” brand positioning.   The “Quietly Brilliant” positioning was inspired by HTC’s culture of putting customers first, born from a heritage of creating breakthrough products and continued innovation. As part of HTC’s culture, the “Quietly Brilliant” positioning will be rolled out in all forms of communication and brand touch points across the company.

Some of life’s most brilliant ideas started with a simple doodle on the back of a napkin,” said Simon Myers, CEO of Figtree. “HTC’s new look uses this visual language of doodles to explain all the quietly brilliant features and benefits of HTC devices in a simple and human way.

How’s your relationship with your phone ? Does it upset you when it is not working the way you want it ? Or what happens when you lose your phone ? I’d like to hear from you in the comments.

In the Microsoft Social Windows Mobile Forums, an interesting discussion took place a few days ago:

In this thread a user of the first Samsung Omnia (SGH-i900) asked if it was possible to change the language of his phone. Normally it is not possible to change the language of your Windows Mobile device due to license restrictions from Microsoft.
However, Samsung seems to have found a way to overcome this and is offering Language Packs for several languages. This way you can change the language of your Operation System (in this case Windows Mobile 6.1) to a completely different language. The only problem is that Samsung seems to offer only localized language packs for one or two countries and only in the country you live in. Although I don’t have an Omnia i900 here, I could logon to the dutch Samsung site. After I selected the Omnia i900, I was given a selection of downloads, including the dutch language pack.

This download consists of 1 MLI file of about 120 Megabytes in size. When you downloaded the file, you have to copy it to the phone. After this you have to go to Settings | Change language. There you have to select the file you have just downloaded. Just make sure your battery is charged and wait for about 10 minutes. Your Omnia will be flashed with the new language. This involves one or two hardresets, so you will lose all your data ! Make sure you backup first !

After rebooting, you will be given three language options: English, Dutch and French. This file is for Benelux only because you can use it in The Netherlands, the dutch spoken part of Belgium and the french spoken part of Belgium.

My question is: Are you a user of an Omnia and did you change your language ? If so, where did you download the Language Pack ? I am just curious, because if it is offered in The Netherlands, the other Language Packs must also be available online.

Another interesting thing is that the new Omnia 2 alreadyhas all the Language Packs in ROM. You can change your language to: French, Italian, German, Russian, Norwegian, Dutch, Czech, Greek, Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish, Danish, Polish and Swedish.
Just like the Omnia I it takes a hardreset and two reboots and after that your device is in your desired language.

SPB Software just announced today that it will have their popular softwares pre-installed on the Pharos Pack Traveler 137.  Bundeling these popular softwares will give the Pharos cunsomer a “Wow” factor and add a lot of new features and functionality to the phone.

The SPB Softwares that are going to be included in the bundle are:

• SPB Mobile Shell
• SPB Keyboard
• SPB TV

The user experience on mobile devices is becoming so more important and manufacturers are using this to make the difference.

HTC already are having their popular Touch Flo 3D user interface and the upcoming HTC Sense user interface as a shell on their devices.  Both for the Windows Mobile and the Andriod platform phones.

We just published that LG won the iF communication design award with their 3D S-Class user interface.

Samsungs TouchWiZ user interface is looking the same across the board with the the Omnia, Eternity and other devices, all on different platforms.

Looking at all of this, the (non geeky) consumer will in the end choose for a company with the best user interface and won’t even know what the under laying platform is and what it can do. The User Interface will hide the Symbian, Windows Phone and Android platforms. The Windows Phones in the future will be recognizable due to a Windows button on the phone. This is of course a great move by Microsoft to brand the phone so consumers will make an added “educated” guess. (either the buy the phone because the like their Windows brand or because the don’t).

Based on what createria would you choose your device ?

• Brand name?
• Platform?
• User Interface?
• Widgets?
• Features?
• Specifications?
• Added Partner Logo’s
• Carrier?

Microsoft just released a new Bing application for Windows Mobile. It is replacing the already familiar Microsoft Live Search application for Windows Mobile.

The application is available for download directly from your device. Just point your mobile browser to http://m.bing.com/download or you can download the windows mobile installation file (.cab) here directly.

Currently the new Bing application is only avaialble for Windows Mobile 2003, 2003 SE  5 and 6.  The Bing application offers support for United States, United Kingdom, France and Italy. However I have it installed on my 6.1 device as well.

Blackberry users still can download the Live Search application here.

So far this is simply a re-branding of the Live Search app to match the web based Bing . New functionality is expected later this year.

Click for larger image

The long awaited successor of the HTC Touch Pro has finally been released to the public. Only  two days ago I received an email from Clove Technology informing me they had the HTC Touch Pro2 on stock,  almost one month before it would be released in the Netherlands and the rest of Europe ! I ordered it straight away and had it delivered to me in one day thanks to FedEx Priority. I grabbed it from the FedEx delivery guy’s hands (sorry about that!) and started unwrapping. It is always a lot of fun unpacking a brand new device which you have only seen on pictures. What will it look like, how will it feel? Is it big, is it heavy? I am going to answer all these questions in this review. So, let’s get started!

First impression

First impressions are crucial they say, which is more than true in this case. The Pro2 is a bit bigger than the old Pro and also a bit heavier. Whereas I found the Pro sometimes a bit too small, the Pro2 lives up to my expectations. I think size and weight of the device are just right. I also like the grey/silver color and the chrome outline of the screen gives the device a very stylish and distinctive look. It reminds me a bit of the HTC Universal, which had the most excellent keyboard. The keyboard on the Pro2 is good, but not as good as the keyboard on the Universal. However there are more similarities with other HTC devices. Again, it has a tilt screen option, just like the TyTn II. I loved that feature and was very disappointed it had not been incorporated in the Touch Pro. But now it is back again ! The Pro2 also features the extra numeric row on the keyboard, just like the old Pro, something I can’t do without. It enables you to type without having to use the FN key for every number you type.

But there is more. The Pro2 also features a hardware zoombar to use in applications and use for instance while taking a picture. You can use the zoombar to zoom in: very nice ! One of the other hot new features is Straight Talk.

Straight Talk integrates messaging, voice, and conference calling, allowing you to seamlessly transition from a message to a single call or multi-party conference call. With dual microphone and speaker that enhance voice quality and reduce noise, Straight Talk turns your device into a conference room speakerphone system.

This all comes together on a large 3,6 inch WVGA screen with a resolution of 480×800 pixels which also features a Proximity sensor. The old Pro featured a light sensor which would switch off the screen when making a call. Often times the device would have to be switched on again in order to get the display back. The sensor on the Pro2 is now similar to the one used on the iPhone. If you hold it to your ear the display switches off: if you move it, it is back on. Very nice feature I must say. The last sensor this device features is the G-sensor, which automatically turns to landscape mode when you turn it over.

First impressions are very positive. Now let’s take a look at the specs.

Specifications

• Operating System: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
• Processor: Qualcomm® MSM7201a™, 528 MHz
• Memory: ROM: 512 MB RAM: 288 MB microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
• Dimensions: (LxWxT) 116 X 59.2 X 17.25 mm (4.57 X 2.33 X 0.68 inches)
• Weight: 187.5 grams (6.61 ounces) with battery
• Display: 3.6-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with WVGA resolution Adjustable tilt screen
• Network: HSDPA/WCDMA: Europe/Asia: 900/2100 MHz Up to 2 Mbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps down-link speeds Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• Device Control: TouchFLO™ 3D; Zoom bar
• Keyboard: Slide-out 5-row QWERTY keyboard
• GPS: Internal GPS antenna
• Connectivity: Bluetooth® 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for wireless stereo headsets Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g HTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB 2.0, audio jack, and TV Out* in one)
• Camera: Main camera: 3.2 megapixel color camera with auto focus Second camera: VGA CMOS color camera
• Battery: Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery Capacity: 1500 mAh
• Talk time: Up to 270 minutes for WCDMA; Up to 419 minutes for GSM
• Standby time: Up to 454 hours for WCDMA; Up to 348 hours for GSM Video call time: up to 150 minutes (Subject to network and phone usage)
• Special Features: Proximity Sensor, G-Sensor, auto speakerphone on when facing down the device

These specifications are quite impressive I must say. Almost forgot: What’s in the box ?

In the box

In the box you’ll find the Touch Pro2 and a battery of 1500 mAh. A spare stylus is also included in case you lose the original one. There’s also a power adapter. Each power adapter is specific to the country you ordered it from. Mine therefore came with a (pretty useless) UK power adapter. Have to see if you can buy this EU part somewhere online. Also in the box is an (imitation) leather carrying pouch to protect your precious device. Another item is the USB headset. You can use it to listen to music as well as answering your incoming calls with a push on a button. A USB cable comes standard with every device these days and the usual amount of CD’s with manuals, quick start guides and Activesync installation files is also there. Finally there’s a warranty guide which hopefully you’ll never need and a screen protector.

Now let’s have a look at the device itself:

Design

Please note that I am using some of the press pictures made by HTC. I took some pictures myself but they were nowhere near as good as these and I was in a hurry to write this review. The picture below gives me a lot to talk about.

The front of the Touch Pro2 shows four buttons. Below on the left you’ll find the Answer button, which obviously answers your incoming call. Next  there is a Windows button, which allows you to access your programs the same familiar way as on your desktop. The Pro2 is the third HTC device with a Windows button (just like the TyTn II and Diamond 2). Next to the Windows button, you’ll see an arrow pointing left. This button sends you back to the home button on TouchFlow. When inside a submenu, it functions like the backspace key: it returns you to the previous menu. The fourth key on the right ends your incoming call and double functions as a Home key.

The left side merely shows two buttons: volume up and volume down. One thing I really miss here is the jog dial. I enjoyed it very much on the TyTn II and wish it would have been incorporated on the Touch Pro2 as well.
On top there is one button: On/Off. Pretty straight forward I would say. To switch off, press and hold for approximately 3 seconds. The right side does not show any buttons at all: it houses the stylus and on top there is a microphone entrance.

At the bottom you’ll find the USB connector which also serves as an earphone Jack and a TV-Out (cable not included). HTC calls this the ExtUSB (TM) port. The second microphone for Straight Talk is here as well.

At the back of the device there is a camera lens and a mute button for Straight Talk. More about Straight Talk in the next chapter.

Straight Talk

Straight Talk is one of HTC’s brand new features.

Straight Talk integrates messaging, voice, and conference calling, allowing you to seamlessly transition from a message to a single call or multi-party conference call. With dual microphone and speaker that enhance voice quality and reduce noise, Straight Talk turns your device into a conference room speakerphone system.

For this feature HTC has completely redesigned the back of the Touch Pro2. The back now has a  double speaker and a microphones allowing all participants to be heard crystal clear. It uses the microphone on the side as well as the one at the bottom.
The concept is very easy: Straight Talk allows you to add several people together in one conference call.
First you select the participants. This is easily done by opening the phone screen and pressing the button next to Talk, which will enable the Conference option.

Now select all participants and press Conference when you’re done.

The conference screen will now be opened and each of the participants can be dialed. Now slide open the hardware keyboard, displaying the Conference Room screen. This is an intuitive interface which will make it much easier to set up conference calls. Simply tap photos or buttons on the screen to dial participants, joining them to your conference call and more.

Tap the first participant’s picture and right after he/she has answered, tap the second picture. The first participant will be put on hold. As soon as the second participant has answered, press Join to connect the calls and dial the next participant if needed.

Now all participants are connected and your conference call is in progress. When you’re done press End Call to stop the conference call.

HTC TouchFLO 3D on the HTC Touch Pro2

“Leveraging HTC’s TouchFLO 3D, people-centric communication and Push Internet technology, the Touch Pro2 features a high-resolution 3.6-inch widescreen VGA display for an expanded viewing area and large finger-friendly QWERTY keyboard. “

The following section will describe the continuous development of TouchFLO 3D, and focus on the people-centric communications as stated in the press release. HTC TouchFLO 3D now consists of 11 tabs. A few of the new tabs have undergone some improvements, others were added. A few examples are:

People

The people-tab has undergone some drastic changes. In the TouchFLO 3D version on the first Touch Diamond and Touch Pro, a short-list with your main contacts could be added. If you wished to communicate with a particular person, you simply clicked their name which would open the contact card, etc.

With the people-centric communication HTC has made some clever improvements, linking contact data (mobile phone, work phone, home phone, sms, e-mail) directly under the picture of the particular contact. This development has a few advantages:

• It takes fewer clicks to access the contact card and select the data from there. Now it’s just a matter of hitting the right communication button and Bob’s your uncle.
• It gives you all communication options, linked to that specific person. You don’t have to open the dialer nor Pocket Outlook.

This approach makes communication really simple and is probably one of the biggest improvements in TouchFLO 3D.

Internet

The internet-tab has also changed quite drastically. It now gives you more functionality in one overview. On top there is a search box to insert your search-parameters. Clicking it will automatically open Google-search in the Opera Mobile web browser. The second and largest section is the open browser field, followed by a YouTube field. Clicking the latter will open a “custom” YouTube client / viewer.

Further down the bottom there are four fields saying “Add Push page”. The push-internet technology is meant to automatically download the content of your favorite websites in given intervals. This means there’s no need to open your web browser and re-type the URL. The website will refresh automatically, in a way similar to synchronizing your e-mail account over IMAP.

This feature is very helpful if you regularly check a website on the go. You could for instance program a website that shows traffic jams in your local region. Simply give in the URL, a name for the website, and the update frequency. Its contents will now be kept up to date automatically.

Calender

The calendar-tab gives you the overview of the current month whereas with the left soft-key you can switch to a daily overview. I personally think this is really helpful, for you often need to quickly access your calendar program to make an appointment. This is now possible straight from TouchFLO 3D without first having to enter the start menu. With the right softkey you can add a new appointment.

Summarizing:

TouchFLO 3D has matured and has evolved into something more than just an easy user interface. Especially if you note that HTC has also changed the layout of the notifications and menus to make them more finger-friendly. Main reason for this conclusion would be that TouchFLO 3D allows you to use the most important features, without having to use the start menu or even deeper layers in TouchFLO.

One of the best features of the HTC Touch Pro2 is the people-centric design for optimal communication. In my point of view it is a really clever integration and/or connection of the different databases for each type of communication. However the strongest feature is in the way people are linked to their contact details.
With this improvement you can speed up communication and minimize your search-time, which is extremely helpful for business people on the go. Note also the fact that in the e-mail of a contact there is a call-button in the header. This will enable you to directly call the person who e-mailed you.

Everybody loves TouchFlo 3D and now you are going to love it even more. The TouchFLO 3D interface now remains unchanged, regardless of your mode of operation. Whether it be landscape or portrait mode, all functionality remains available at the tip of your fingers.

Overall there is one single conclusion. HTC is continuously developing and improving TouchFLO. There truly is a world of difference between the first incarnation of TouchFLO 3D and the current version. The current version truly makes everyday life easy, resulting in very efficient use of this type of work tool. TouchFLO 3D has become more than just a user-interface. In now is a complete set of applications on top of Windows Mobile that help you to effectively manage the information on your device.

Zoombar

The Zoombar at the bottom of the screen is a relative new feature. Although not functional yet within every single application, there are quite a few applications that already make use of it. The browser for example. On any given website, simply sliding  your finger from left to right zooms in the page. Repeating this gesture zooms in even more. To zoom out simply slide your finger in the opposite direction, from right to left. The zoombar can also be used in the camera application. In the camera application the zoombar will function as a digital zoom for the pictures you take.

In addition to that the Zoombar also is functional within Pocket Outlook or Word documents. In a similar manner sliding your finger from left to right increases the text size,  sliding from right to left to decreases the text size.

Haptic feedback, Proximity Sensor and G-Sensor

The Touch Pro2 also features haptic feedback. This means that the device gives you tactile feedback when you press the screen within TouchFlo 3D. With every screentap you will feel a little vibration that confirms that you have touched the screen. It is enabled by default and cannot be turned off. A very nice feature I must say.

The next thing I would like to mention is the Proximity Sensor. An extremely cool and useful feature of the Touch Pro 2. It senses whether the device is being held next to your ear. Once the device is raised up to your ear, the Proximity sensor immediately turns off the screen in order to save battery life. Moving the device away from your ear turns the screen turns on again. PDA screens by nature are one of the biggest battery drains, especially when a screen is as large and bright as this one.

The Touch Pro2 also has a G-Sensor built-in. We have seen this feature before in other devices such as the Touch Pro and Diamond / Diamond 2. The G-sensor automatically turns the screen to landscape when you turn the device over.

Overall conclusion and  wrap-up

With such a great and feature-rich device like the HTC Touch Pro2, it is hard to summarize an overall conclusion about the device. As I previously mentioned it combines great features of different HTC devices (HTC Universal, HTC TyTn II) into a nice form factor. The Pro2 actually even is a little bit smaller than HTC Touch HD. Overall the design is very modern and clean, with a nice business finish to it.

Hardware wise it truly is a tremendous powerhouse. The HTC Touc Pro2 is quite the responsive device. The tilt mechanism is great and the slide-out QWERTY keyboard makes it a great messenger. The large 3.6″ WVGA screen, the good camera and the 1500 mAh battery make it fun to use. Not to mention the great straight talk “design” and the built-in sensors (Proximity & G-Sensor).

Software wise only have one conlusion. This version of TouchFLO 3D is by far the best yet, and works identically both in portrait and landscape mode. The people-centric communication approach in  HTC TouchFLO 3D makes life so much easier. Add the graphical changes on the start menu, the notifications, and the menus on the softkey that have significantly improved. All of this shows that HTC is continuously working on improving the user-interface in front of the different facets of the Windows Mobile OS.

A good device is a combination of great hardware and stable, fast and easy to use software. With the introduction of the HTC Touch Pro2, HTC has brought a killer-device to the market. This device definitely will be loved by a large number of people, simply because the hardware and software are so well balanced and the fact that that a ton of features are packed with it.

Underneath you will find a few lists describing my likes and dislikes about the device. While they represent my personal opinion about the Touch Pro2, they could be used as a starting point for a discussion. On a side note, I need to emphasize the fact that I have only used the Touch Pro2 for a few days now. While this review does highlight the most important features and aspects, you might want to keep visiting mobilityminded.com for follow-up articles about this device.

Editorial note (Willem Ditters): Close observation of the back of the Touch Pro2 reveals a very nifty little detail. If you look closely you will note the edges of an immensely thin transparent layer that spreads over the entire battery cover.  The best area to see this is around the volume buttons. If you look really closely you will see these same edges around the stylus and microphone cutouts as well. Nice detail indeed. For me this means I can lower some of my caution when lying the device down on a desk somewhere.

What I like about the HTC Touch Pro2 ?

• Straight Talk
• Straight Talk (yes, that is two times)
• Great design with chrome finish
• Large 3,6″ WVGA screen
• Newest TouchFlo 3D version

What I like a little less about the HTC Touch Pro2 ?

• Biggest disavantage: No 3.5mm headphone jack. It finally appeared on the Touch HD, why dropping it now?
• Limited number of hardware buttons; I use those to control the softbuttons so I miss these.
• It tilts a bit easier than the TyTn II. On a flat surface it is not as stable as the TyTn II either.
• Where is the D-Pad ?
• Although it is quite common now, I would love to see a camera hardware button.
• Laying the device face-down on a table for the purpose of a conference call increases the risk of screen damage. Therefore, a screen protector is an absolut must. Regrettably the screen protector that comes with the device only is of an average quality.
• Where is the FM radio? All pre-release versions had it, the HTC website listed it … Now that the device is out, the software has gone and the HTC website has been updated by taking out the FM radio from the specifications list.

Links

1. Pocketinfo:  HTC Touch Pro2 review (in dutch, published by Paul Willen of MobilityMinded)
2. Mobilitysite:  HTC Touch Pro2 Surprise Mini Unboxing video
3. Pocketnow:  Touch Pro2 Hardware tour
4. Pocketnow:  HTC Touch Pro2 Unboxing video
5. Lifepak:  HTC Touch Pro2 and Snap review

In this short preview we will show you the new Acer M900 Windows Phone.  The long awaited successor of the Eten Glofiish M810 will soon be available to all you gadgeteers out there.  The M700 was the first QWERTY slider Phone Edition from Eten. After that it has been followed by the M800 and the last high-end model M810. Since Acer has aquired Eten, it has developed a second full QWERTY keyboard slider Windows Mobile device. As you can see, even the keyboard perfectly matches the layout of MobilityMinded.com! The specs are also quite impressive:

It runs on Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional (Crossbow), has a Samsung S3C 6410 533 MHz Processor onboard and the memory is 128 MB SDRAM for user applications & storage and 256 MB FLASH ROM for the Operating System and embedded applications.

The display is a 3.8″ WVGA TFT LCD touch screen with 800 x 480 pixel resolution and 256k colors, which is quite a big screen as I might say ! The dimensions of the M900 are 119 (L) x 62 (W) x 17.1 (H) mm and it weighs 188 grams.

When you are on the road, you’ll have plenty of wireless options to be connected at all times:
HSDPA Category 8/ HSUPA Category 5 ( 2100/1900/850 Mhz)
GSM/EDGE: Quad-band, 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
GPRS/EGPRS: Class B, multi-slot class 11
WLAN: 802.11b/g Wi-Fi CERTIFIED® network connection
Bluetooth: Bluetooth® 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
It also sports a GPS with Embedded SiRF Star III chipset, so you won’t get lost !

The camera is a 5M pixels VGA Auto-Focus with flashlight CMOS camera,
up to 2560 x 1920 resolution and with Digital zoom (1x, 2x, 4x)
On the front we’ll find a VGA CMOS Camera for video calling, which has a 640×480 resolution.

The M900 also has a Finger-Print Recognition mechanism for security and navigation and a Light Sensor for sensing the brightness of environment to adjust panel luminance. A Gravity Sensor is also present for Auto-Sensing of device position for displaying in potrait or landscape mode

You might read on other websites that it has a TV-Out also, but the M900 has NO TV-Out. It’s power comes from a Lithium Polymer rechargeable battery with 1,530 mAh capacity.

Below you will find some screenshots which shows the new Acer Shell and some more improvements.

The new Acer Shell now consists of two pages where you have easy access to your tasks.

In Settings you can easilly manage your Communications Manager, Sound profiles, Backlight, your Today Softkeys and if you want to, you can even unload the Acer Shell to get the Windows Mobile Classic look.
The Communication Manager has clear buttons, where you can turn all your connections on or off.

This new M900 also features the new Internet Explorer 6 Mobile. This new version has been improved a lot and you will enjoy a better expierence when surfing on the net !

The ROM on this previewed M900 has not been finalized, but when this device is released to the general public, we will publish an in-depth review of this brand-new device.
If you have any questions about this new device, don’t hesitate to ask them.