We may have missed the HTC HD2 mobile phone when it appeared at T-Mobile but judging by the ‘Sold Out’ sign hanging on the unit at their website not many others did! This touchscreen unit with a speedy 1 GHz processor sure is popular with 21,000 units shipping in just 24 hours. Just in case there’s anyone left who hasn’t got one and is interested here’s the low-down on the HTC HD2 from T-Mobile
* 1Ghz Processor
* Touch Screen with On-Screen Keyboard
* 16GB Memory Card Included
* Direct access to Windows Marketplace
* 5 Megapixel Camera
* GPS built-in
* Messaging [Text, IM & Picture]
* Media Player
* Send and receive messages from personal and work e-mail.
* Real Web Browsing with Wi-Fi
* Stereo Bluetooth® Connectivity
* Video capture/playback
* 2.6 x 4.8 x 0.4 in
* 5.5 oz
* Talk time up to 6 hours
* Standby time up to 20 days
Rather ironically the HD2 will not be able to upgrade to Windows Phone 7, so a lot of people have rushed out and bought a soon-to-be out of date cellphone. Of course the HTC HD2 is here right now and the must-haves may not be be able to wait until ‘later’ this year for Phone 7.
Intriguingly we couldn’t find mention of a price tag on the T-Mobile website for the HTC HD2 but according to a post on PhoneReviews $200 will get you a unit plus a two year plan. We’re not convinced the HTC HD2 is great value at this price but obviously a large number of you are convinced otherwise!
On the look out for a bargain? Who isn’t these days. Well today we spotted Walmart offering up the HTC Droid Eris candybar cellphone for only $30. At this price the unit still comes with a two year Verizon plan but on the upside the HTC Droid Eris sports the following bells and whistles
* 3.2″ 320 x 480 HVGA resolution 262K Color Touchscreen with Trackball
* Fully rubberized matte black skin
* Google’s Android 1.5 operating system
* 5 Megapixel Camera with Autofocus
* Bluetooth v2.0
* Full HTML Browser with Wi-Fi
* 4.45 x 2.19 x 0.51 in
* 4.2 oz
* Virtual QWERTY keyboard / Touchscreen
* Plays nicely with MIDI / M4A / QCP / AMR / AAC / AAC+ / eAAC+ / WAV / WMA / MP3/ EVRC-B audio formats
* 3.5mm Headset plug
* Plays nicely with MPEG4 / H.263 / H.264 / WMV video formats
* Up to 16 GB Micro SD memory
* Talk Time - up to 214 mins
* Standby Time - up to 373 hrs
* Micro-USB connectivity
We also managed to dig up this hands on video from phonedog, which was made when the Droid Eris was originally released at the beginning of the month for $100.
They generally give the HTC Droid Eris the thumbs up and we agree as it certainly sports a great list of functions and at $30 it has to be a bargain. Well done to Verizon for dropping the price.
A new addition to the AT&T smartphone range this week, is the HTC Pure, a 3.2 inch touchscreen device powered by Windows Mobile 6.5. The HTC Pure is currently available for a snip at $149.99 after rebates and comes with the usual two year contract. The unit sports the following bits and pieces
* 3.2 inch 480 x 800 res display
* Touchscreen keyboard
* microSD expandable memory (up to 32 GB)
* 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS
* UMTS/HSDPA (850/900/1900/21000 MHz) 3G
* EDGE data network connectivity
* Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity
* HTML browser
* Access to personal email including AOL®, Yahoo!(TM), Windows Live(TM)
* 5.0 Mp camera with 4x zoom
* Mp3 player with built-in FM radio
The HTC Pure is one of AT&T’s first cellphones to feature Microsoft’s latest mobile OS WinMo 6.5 so it’ll be interesting to see the reaction to the new OS as these units get pushed out. Certainly the Pure’s specs look impressive with the $150 price tag so AT&T will be hoping WinMo 6.5 won’t drag this new offering down.
Browsing around the Verizon website as we do from time to time, we came across the HTC Touch Pro SmartPhone which caught our eye. The Touch Pro is available for US$350 woth a two year contract and sports a QWERTY slider key pad, Windows Mobile 6.1 and of course HTC’s TouchFlo navigation. Here are some more details about the Touch Pro
* Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
* Microsoft Office Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, PowerPoint Mobile
* Opera Mobile
* Windows Media Player 10
* 512MB Flash/192MB RAM memory
* 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi connectivity
* Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity
* 2.8 inch 480×640 res VGA display
* Touch–sensitive LCD display
* Portrait and landscape orientation
* Slide Out QWERTY Keyboard
* 3.2 Mp camera
* microSD slot
* Text, Picture and Video messaging
* Wireless Sync capable
* HTC Touch FLO 3D Navigation
* 4.17″ (H) x 2.04″ (W) x 0.71″ (D)
* 4.94 ounces
* Up 250 minutes of usage time
* Up to 350 hours on standby
We also found this video from HTC themselves which gives you an idea of how the TouchFlo interface works. It looks quite impressive to us, but check out the video for yourself.
Not a bad looking unit to be honest, we’re all for QWERTY sliders, and the TouchFlo interface looks good too. If you’re after further details pop over to the Verizon site and check out the HTC Touch Pro.
Living in the US? Wanna HTC Touch Dual smartphone? Then pop down to your local Best Buy pronto like as they have just started selling an unlocked version of the Touch Dual for US$550. For those of you who have lived under a rock for a while, here’s the low-down on the Touch Dual
* utilises TouchFlo technology to allow finger-touch scrolling, panning and image zooming
* slider 20 key keypad
* HSDPA, 3G and GPRS/EDGE/GSM connectivity
* Qualcomm MSM7200 400MHz processor
* Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro OS
* Direct Push Outlook emails
* 2 MP camera for pics and vid, plus a second cam for video calls
* 107 x 55 x 15.8 mm
* 120g
* Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity
* microSD expansion slot
* up to 250 hours standby and 3 hours talk time - UMTS
* up to 180 hours standby and 5 hours talk time - GSM
At US$550 it may not be a bargain, but an unlocked smartphone at that price seems like a good deal to us. So if you’re keen rush out/browse to Best Buy and secure one of these suckers.
Verizon have just launched the XV6900 just in time for CTIA Wireless 2008 and will be available from their stores and website in April. The XV6900 is the HTC Touch rebranded for Verizon and whilst sporting a new white face contains the usual bells and whistles available on the Touch as follows
* Windows Mobile 6 Pro, Outlook Mobile, Internet Explorer Mobile
* AIM, MSN and Yahoo messenger services
* One touch access as per the HTC Touchflo
* Speakerphone
* Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity
* microSD slot for up to an extra 8 GB
* 2MP camera for stills and video
* 2.8 inch touch screen
This little sucker will set you back US$350 with a $50 rebate plus the usual two year plan. If you’re still keen check out the video review we dug up a while ago of the HTC Touch.
Over at BGR they’re eagerly anticipating the launch of the Verizon SMT5800 smartphone on the 7th of this month. The SMT5800, aka HTC Vox (S710), sports an external number pad with a slider QWERTY underneath. For those of us traditionalists, we’ll have to wait until the 21st to see it on real store shelves.
Here are a few bits and pieces about the unit
* Windows Mobile 6 Standard
* 128 MB ROM
* 64 MB RAM
* microSD slot
* Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity
* 101.5 x 50 x 18.6 mm
* 140 g
* 2.4 inch display
This little sucker will set you back US$315 with a two year plan whilst an unshackled version will remove US$470 from your wallet - however BGR were a little unsure if this was average Joe pricing or pricing for corporate Charlie.
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