HTC Touch Pro2 review (Verizon Wireless) – One of the best QWERTY keyboards
For:
One of the best QWERTY keyboard; EV-DO Rev. A Network support; GPS, Bluetooth, quad-band world roaming, and Wi-Fi; upgradeable to Windows Mobile 6.5
Against:
Bulky design; less features and services by Verizon; poor picture quality; tinny call quality at callers end
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
The HTC Touch Pro 2 is based on CDMA2000 1X / GSM / WCDMA (UMTS) and supports the band of (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900 / CDMA2000 1X 1900/800. It is powered with 528MHz processor and 198MB RAM. The operating system is Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. The Touch Pro2 has micro-SD expansion slot that accepts 16GB cards for external storage. The smartphone also supports M3 Hearing Aid Compatibility.
3.6-inch resistive touch-screen has 480×800 pixels (WVGA) resolution that supports 262,000 colors. The 3.2-megapixel camera features flash, auto-focus and video recording. The supported audio formats are AAC+, AAC, MIDI, WMA, WAV, AMR, and MP3.
The additional features are HSDPA, EV-DO Rev. A network, EDGE, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3G support, Bluetooth, and GPRS. The supported wireless interfaces are Bluetooth 2.1 EDR and IEEE 802.11b/g.
1500mAH lithium ion battery has a life of 318 minutes talk time and 324 hours of standby time. The HTC Touch Pro2 ships with accessories including user manual, software discs, extra stylus, international adapters, SIM card, USB cable, and the power adapter.
Razzle Dazzle:
The HTC Touch Pro2 for Verizon Wireless has similar tapered edges like its Sprint version. It is 4.6 inches tall, 2.3 inches wide, and 0.7 inch deep, and weighs 6.2 ounces. Its charcoal gray color gives an attractive and classic look.
Inside Dope:
The HTC Touch Pro2 is available in the U.S. through T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless. The Verizon version of the Windows Mobile smartphone is not different at all from other models. The carrier is providing the Touch Pro2 for $199 with two-year contract, which is $150 less than its competitors. However, you have to sign up for data and voice plan additionally with the Verizon. It is noteworthy that the Verizon is providing less features and services than Sprint’s model. As expected, most of the features and the design of Verizon model are quite similar to that of other versions. The HTC Touch Pro2 for Verizon Wireless offers EV-DO Rev. A support, GPS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. For a change – the Verizon has worked with HTC to add some different features like Sleep button on the top, world map pattern at back speaker, and more shortcuts on the QWERTY keyboard. What’s more – the Verizon has announced to provide the Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrade to its consumers. However, the both Verizon models: RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630 and the HTC Ozone will give a tough competition to the Touch Pro2.
Design
The navigation array is located beneath the display and consists of Talk button, Start menu, back button, and End/Power key. The 3.5mm headphone jack is located on the top; while the volume rocker is on the left side. The camera lens and dual speakers with a mute button are on the back. The speakers have a world map pattern that looks very attractive. The SIM card and micro-SD card slots are located behind the battery cover. You will find the Sleep button on the top that takes the HTC Touch Pro2 to sleep mode.
Display
3.6-inch resistive touch-screen of the HTC Touch Pro2 has 480×800 pixels (WVGA) resolution that supports 262,000 colors. The smartphone features inbuilt accelerometer to rotate the display on tilting the phone. However, it works in certain applications including email, photos, and browser. Although the touch-screen is not capacitive yet remains quick responsive overall. Like other versions, the HTC has added its TouchFlo 3D user interface to the Verizon model of the Touch Pro2. You can pull down Task Manager on the upper right side to view running programs, close them and switch to the other app.
QWERTY Keyboard
You can slide out the HTC Touch Pro2 to access the full QWERTY keyboard. It has spacious and large buttons for better typing experience. As already mentioned, the Verizon Wireless has also worked for adding more dedicated shortcuts on it. We want to appreciate the HTC and Verizon to provide the best physical QWERTY keyboard we have used till now on a cell phone.
Phonebook and PIM features
The HTC Touch Pro2 can store the contacts limited to available memory. Each contact can store multiple phone numbers, email addresses, home addresses, birthdays, work addresses, and more. The smartphone phone also offers Facebook integration to link Facebook profile with individual card. You can view status updates as well as recent email, call and message history in the contacts page.
Operating System and Applications
The HTC Touch Pro2 for Verizon Wireless works on Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system. The smartphone comes with applications: a voice recorder, a task list, a calendar, Adobe Reader LE, Microsoft Office Mobile Suite, Internet Explorer 6 Mobile, Windows Media Player Mobile, and so forth. It also has Microsoft Direct Push Technology for real-time mail delivery and auto-sync with Outlook emails, calendar, tasks and contacts through Exchange server. Verizon is also offering access to POP3/IMAP4/SMTP email accounts.
Verizon has also announced to provide the Windows Mobile 6.5 OS with its release. It will add revamped Internet Explorer 6 Mobile, MyPhone Backup service and Windows Marketplace Mobile.
Network
Being a dual-mode smartphone, the HTC Touch Pro2 for Verizon Wireless will support both GSM and CDMA networks for world-roaming feature. In the United States, it works on Verizon network and switch to the compatible GSM network outside. However, you cannot insert the T-Mobile or AT&T SIM card as phone is locked with Verizon. You will get data coverage for Internet and email in 175 countries, and voice coverage in 220 countries. The Pro2 supports HSDPA/UMTS 2100MHz for supporting 3G network overseas. We will advise you to check the rates for voice and data plans before buying the Touch Pro2 for Verizon.
Advanced Highlights
The advanced features of the HTC Touch Pro2 are Visual Voice Mail service, text and multimedia messages, GPS support, Wi-Fi, EV-DO Rev. A Network support, Opera Mobile browser, 3G support, quad-band world roaming, Bluetooth, proximity sensor, voice commands, smart dialing, and speed dial. You will also get the HTC Straight Talk Technology to improve the speakerphone sound for offering better calling experience. The onboard Bluetooth 2.1 supports phonebook access, dial-up networking, object file transfer, hands-free calling, stereo and mono headsets.
Verizon Services
Verizon Wireless has also included its services with the HTC Touch Pro2. This includes Family Locator and Verizon VZ Navigator (global & domestic) for GPS to get voice-guided and tracking directions. We are disappointed that the Verizon has not included the V Cast Music and V Cast Video in the Touch Pro2. This is very annoying and we will prefer the Verizon to include all of its services in a good smartphone.
Camera
The 3.2-megapixel camera of the HTC Touch Pro2 features flash and video recording. The still capture options include brightness, white-balance, and other. The overall picture and video quality is average. The indoor shots looked grainy and videos were not enough sharp.
Media Player
The Windows Media Player 10 Mobile supports audio formats of WMA, WAV, MP3, and AAC. It also supports WMV and MPEG4 video formats.
Call Quality
We made few calls through dual-mode HTC Touch Pro2 via Verizon Wireless for testing. The overall call quality was perfect. We received good and loud sound without any disruption and background noise. At their end, the callers received good sound with tiny volume occasionally. The speakerphone call quality was good, but the callers received more tiny voice at their end. However, we were impressed with loud volume and clarity. The Bluetooth headset calls were also good.
Performance Testing
The inbuilt accelerometer was quick to rotate the display on titling the phone. However, there was a bit delay while launching camera/camcorder application and viewing images. We loaded some Web sites in the Internet Explorer and Opera browsers. The GSMcellualrs.com and Techsoft.org loaded in 10 and 15 seconds respectively in Opera. The VZ Navigator found our changing locations in 2 minutes. Its route calculation speed was also fast with clear voice directions.
Battery Life
The HTC Touch Pro2 has a battery life of 5.3 hours talk time and 13.5 days of idle standby time. Its digital SAR rating is 1.41watt per kg in accordance with FCC radiation tests.
Verdict:
If you need a better messaging phone for Verizon Wireless with one of the best QWERTY keyboard, then buy – HTC Touch Pro2. However, you can also check its Sprint and T-Mobile versions.
