HTC Announce new Touch 2

[Bassey]

The Register are reporting that HTC have announced their first official Windows Phone (that's a windows mobile 6.5 device) - the HTC Touch 2. It's a slick looking little beasty with home, windows and back buttons on the front, in additional to the usual call and hangup buttons.

They haven't released any real details (yes they have - see below) but it's possible to make out a zoom-bar along the bottom - much like the Touch Diamond 2. The release date is (surprise!) 6th October but no pricing has been announced.

<Updated>

Well, our good friends at Clove have come through with pretty extensive specs for the Touch 2;

Features of HTC Touch2

* Slim, compact and lightweight
* Weighs just 110g, with battery.
* Windows Mobile 6.5 for an improved user experience
* 3G/HSDPA high speed connectivity
* Quad Band network connectivity
* 3.2 megapixel camera
* WiFi
* Bluetooth
* On board GPS receiver
* 2.8" touch screen
* 3.5mm audio jack
* MicroSDHC Memory Card Slot

Technical Specification of HTC Touch2

Operating System -
Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional

Processor -
Qualcomm MSM7225, 528 MHz

Memory -
RAM - 256 MB
ROM - 512 MB

Display -
2.8-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with QVGA resolution

Operating Frequency -
Network HSDPA/WCDMA:
Europe/Asia: 900/2100 MHz
Up to 384 kbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps down-link speeds

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:
Europe/Asia: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

(Band frequency and data speed are operator dependent.)

Connectivity -
Bluetooth 2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for wireless stereo headsets
Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 b/g
3.5 mm audio jack
HTC ExtUSB (11-pin mini-USB 2.0)

GPS -
Internal GPS antenna

Expansion -
microSD memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)

Other-
Audio supported formats AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB, QCP, MP3, WMA, WAV, MIDI, M4A
Video supported formats WMV, ASF, MP4, 3GP, 3G2, M4V, AVI

Camera -
3.2 megapixel colour camera with fixed focus

Device Control -
Zoom bar

Talk Time -
Up to 370 minutes for WCDMA
Up to 440 minutes for GSM
(The above are subject to network and phone usage.)

Standby Time -
Up to 500 hours for WCDMA
Up to 370 hours for GSM
(The above are subject to network and phone usage.)

Battery -
Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery 1100 mAh

Dimensions -
104 X 55 X 12.9 mm (LxWxT) (4.1 X 2.16 X 0.51 inches)

Weight -
110 grams (4 ounces) with battery

Warranty -
2 Years

You can order it from Clove HERE or from Devicewire HERE

[boz]

Very nice device, it is an HTC Iolite on steroids!

I am sure wavey will like this one too.

[Bassey]

Not sure where the "on steroids" comes from. Other than the OS and the headphone socket they seem identical. Same CPU, same screen, same camera, same memory, same battery, same weight. Mind you, I was playing with the Iolite the other night for the first time in months. I'd forgotten how lightening quick that phone is! If this is as quick as the Iolite it'll be a great first "Windows Phone"/

[boz]

The steroids is WM6.5!

My Iolite runs the same UI as the Touch 2, so it's really the same as the Touch 2 now except for the buttons, and you are right it is a snappy little fella speed wise.

[milla03]

Any danger of this being released on the UK networks?

[boz]

Well if it isn't I will be absolutely gobsmacked!

[milla03]

None of the UK operators seem to be offering WinMo devices of late, concentrating on Android handsets from what I see. If Orange offer the T2, I'd seriously consider it (given that they've now pulled the TP2 and the HD)....

[fowljr]

Looks good, but still no cigar, oops, I mean keyboard!

[milla03]

If the on-screen keyboard is decent, I'd happily ditch my TyTNii for it as that's the only real failing on my current handset at the moment, particularly if texting when walking. Tried other software keyboards and found them lacking (things like punctuation not being on the main screen, certain English characters missing). Plus, I like the use of colour on the TouchFlo interface, looks "warmer" (for want of a better expression) than the standard Manila offering. Still, each to his own....

[fowljr]

I've tried quite a few on-screen keyboards and I find I just cannot get on with them at all for serious text entry... So, it'll be keyboarded devices all the way for me from here in!!