HTC fans here in the US, especially those on AT&T have long been waiting for the newer version or successor to the popular AT&T Tilt aka HTC TyTn II. Several days ago, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, HTC announced the release of the HTC Touch Pro2.

HTC Touch Pro 2

Designed for business professionals, the HTC Touch Pro2 is architected with distinct style and strength while delivering the most powerful productivity experience available on a mobile phone. 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. With improved battery life, expandable memory, a touch-sensitive zoom bar as well as gravity, proximity and ambient light sensors, the Touch Pro2 is optimized for touch as well as heavy email use.

Specifications:

• Processor: Qualcomm® MSM7200A™, 528 MHz
• Operating System: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
• Memory: ROM: 512 MB, RAM: 288 MB
• Dimensions: 116 X 59.2 X 17.25 mm (4.57 X 2.33 X 0.68 inches)
• Weight: 175 grams (6.17 ounces) with battery
• Display: 3.6-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen, 480 X 800 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
• Network: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: Europe/Asia: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, (Band frequency, HSUPA availability, and data speed are operator dependent.)
• 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)
• Main camera: 3.2 megapixel color camera with auto focus
• Second camera: VGA CMOS color camera
• Audio formats: AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, QCP, MP3, WMA, WAV, MIDI, M4A
• Video formats: WMV, ASF, MP4, 3GP, 3G2, M4V, AVI
• 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
• Expansion Slot: microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
• AC Adapter: Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60 Hz
• DC output: 5V and 1A
• Special Features: FM Radio, G-Sensor

Additional Photos:

The HTC Touch Pro2 is not only an improved version of its predecessor, the HTC Touch Pro but a combination of the TyTN II, Touch Pro and the HTC Touch HD with features like tilting screen, 3.6″ touch screen display and TouchFlo 3D.

With HTC’s Straight Talk technology providing crystal-clear sound quality/voice reception and built-in loudspeaker and dedicated noise-cancelling microphone, the HTC Touch Pro2 can make superior quality conference calls. Another cool feature in the HTC Touch Pro2 is the one that activates speakerphone when the phone is flipped upside down.

The slide-out 5-row QWERTY keyboard looks really nice, the keys are not cramped and are well spaced out, numbers and special characters get their own dedicated keypads which makes it easier to use for sending emails or text messages. The HTC Touch Pro2′s keyboard has a close resemblance to Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X1‘s keyboard, which coincidentally was designed and manufactured by HTC for Sony Ericsson.

The HTC Touch Pro2 will be available in global markets, Europe and Asia by early summer. No word on when it will be available here in the US/North America or which carrier gets it, but hopefully they’ll release it here later this year and hopefully AT&T gets it.

[image source: HTC.com]

We all know how President Barack Obama is addicted to his BlackBerry which is now dubbed as BarackBerry. When he became the 44th President of the United States, one of the things he’s required to do is turn over his BlackBerry to the White House Staff. This is because of concerns with email security and the Presidential Records Act, which makes all his emails, text messages and other forms of correspondence officially recorded and made available in the public domain.

Being the most powerful man in the county, he has somehow persuaded the White House Staff to let him keep his BlackBerry. And since he is now the President of the United States of America, his new mobile device has to be secure. It hasn’t been confirmed yet but initial reports point to the Sectera Edge, a BlackBerry type mobile device created by General Dynamics.

Sectera Edge

Features:

• Secure and non-secure wireless phone, e-mail and web browsing
• Withstands rigors of both tactical and everyday environments
• Global roaming over GSM, CDMA or Wi-Fi* wireless networks
• Software upgradeable to VoIP
• Exchange secure e-mail with government personnel, including S/MIME BlackBerry® users
• IPv6 software upgradeable
• Easy-to-Use
• Familiar Microsoft® Windows® Platform
• Wireless desktop synchronization
• Separation of Classified and Unclassified applications
• One-touch switching between classified and unclassified PDA functions
• Advanced Security Features
• Secure wireless access to the SIPRNET and NIPRNET
• DoD PKI enabled Common Access Card (CAC) support
• Supports DoD 8100.2 requirements
• Type 1 encrypted storage of classified data
• Can be used inside closed areas with “SCIF-Friendly” feature

The Sectera Edge is certified by the NSA or National Security Agency and considered as a Secure Mobile Environment Portable Electronic Device (SME PED). Its main feature is secure interoperability and the Sectera Edge uses the SCIP or Secure Communications Interoperability Protocol that allows secure phone calls to other SCIP compatible devices. The Sectera Edge also uses the High Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptor Interoperability Specification or HAIPE® IS for secure network connectivity.

The Sectera Edge mobile device retails for $3,500.

[via timtechs news]

For folks like me who were expecting/hoping for the HTC Touch HD to be released in the US, this device might be a consolation. A few days ago, HTC revealed their latest release, the all new HTC Touch Cruise (09) which is a remake of one of their popular handsets two years ago, a GPS mobile device called the HTC Touch Cruise.

HTC Touch Cruise Specifications:

• Size: 102 x 53.5 x 14.5mm
• Weight: 103 grams
• Connectivity: WCDMA/HSPA: 900/2100MHz. HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
• Operating system: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
• Display: 2.8-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with QVGA resolution
• Control panel: HTC TouchFLO™, 4-Way navigation wheel with Enter and HTC Footprints™ buttons
• Camera: 3.2 MP, with fixed focus
• Internal memory: 512 MB flash ROM, 256 MB RAM
• Expansion Slot: microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
• Bluetooth: 2.0 with EDR
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
• GPS: GPS/A-GPS
• Interface: HTC ExtUSB (mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
• Battery: 1100 mAh
• Talk time: GSM: up to 400 minutes
• Standby time: GSM: up to two weeks
• Chipset: Qualcomm® MSM7225™, 528 MHz

Additional Photos:

For those of you who haven’t seen the predecessor or the first HTC Touch Cruise, here’s a photo:

The HTC Touch Cruise will be the first mobile phone to make use of the HTC Footprints button. What this application does is it lets users created and send digital postcards that contain images, sound and notes. Like its predecessor, the new Touch Cruise is also an in-car navigation system. All you need to do is place it on the car cradle (included in the package) and the HTC Touch Cruise becomes a touch screen GPS navigation device that provides turn-by-turn directions.

Like the HTC Touch HD, the Touch Cruise (09) features a full touchscreen user interface and doesn’t have a QWERTY keyboard. This might be a turn off for some users especially those who use their mobile devices for sending emails. Other than that, the HTC Touch Cruise (09) looks to be a promising mobile device and is definitely a prettier and better version than its predecessor.

The HTC Touch Cruise is scheduled to be released worldwide this spring. Good news for HTC fans here in the US, an unlocked GSM version will be available with a retail price of around $500-600.

[via BGR]