HTC Touch Pro 2 Review

HTC have been busy recently, releasing an array of top end phones, on both the Android and Windows Mobile platform. One of the more recent releases is the HTC Touch Pro 2, a feature packed smart mobile device, running on the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Operating System. It would be fair to say that the HTC Touch Pro 2 is not a small phone, by any means. In fact, judging in terms of mobile phones in general, it is positively huge. Weighing in at a hefty 178g, and measuring a pocket busting 116mm x 59mm x 17mm, the Touch Pro 2 certainly makes its presence felt. But it does that not just in size, but also in the features the device carries. Truly, the HTC Touch Pro 2 is a heavyweight, in all senses of the word.

One of the benefits of the handset’s size is that it can accommodate a well proportioned QWERTY keyboard. In use this keyboard is comfortable, and can easily be used for typing out a short word document or editing an Excel spreadsheet; the keys are well spaced, and give good feedback. When you slide open the device, the screen automatically rotates into landscape view, thanks to the built in accelerometer. A nice touch is the ‘slide and tilt’ effect of the phone; simply slide the QWERTY keyboard out and then raise the screen, which sits at a comfortable viewing angle and enables you to rest the device on a suitable flat surface to make typing that much easier. In practice this may not be as swish as the opening mechanism on the Nokia N97, but nonetheless it is practical and convenient.

Another benefit of the rather cumbersome size is the inclusion of a good sized screen. The Touch Pro 2 offers a large 3.6 inch TFT resistive touchscreen, supporting up to 65,000 colours with a pixel resolution of 480 x 800. Being a resistive touchscreen you can select items on the phone either with a stylus or with your finger, and there is also support for handwriting recognition. Although the screen ‘only’ supports up to 65,000 colours, images are well presented and video playback too is clear and crisp. It is likely the only time there will be issues with this screen is when using the handset outdoors in direct sunlight.

Feature wise, the Touch Pro 2 has a high specification, and for all those who dread the dreariness of the Windows Mobile menu system, with its lists and lists of menu items, fear not. HTC have done a marvellous job of integrating the latest version of their Touch-Flo user interface onto the device, meaning menu navigation, design and interaction is a real pleasure. The Touch-Flo UI is simple to use, and after only a brief period of time, even a smartphone novice would have little problem navigating the menu system. HTC really are to be applauded for their efforts here, finally making a dreary operating system fun and easy to use. Even the ‘Start’ button, which on many Windows Mobile phones just drops down a little menu list has been given a nice facelift, with the Touch Pro offering a nicely laid out menu navigated via smart looking icons.

Being a business focussed device, the Touch Pro 2 has some nice little usability features that are worth noting; firstly, the handset smartly switches between loudspeaker and personal call, simply by putting the phone onto the desk, face down, during a call to activate the loudspeaker, then picking the phone up and putting it against your ear to cancel loudspeaker and move to personal mode. It is also easy to keep in touch with your contacts; communication history can be listed for individual contacts, so you can see the exchange of texts, calla and emails with that particular person. If that person is also a friend on Facebook you can see their status updates in the communication history too. Messages are presented in thread fashion, similar to the way conversations are recorded on instant messaging, making it easier to follow the flow of the conversation.

On the Homescreen of the device, at the bottom, is a row of tabs, which are short cuts to the various often used features on the handset, so this would include things like messaging, web browsing, email, etc. You can get to each option by flicking through the screens, or by running your finger along the zoom bar. The order of tabs can be changed, so your preferred options are accessed quicker. The zoom bar is also useful for zooming in on pictures on the phone. Once a picture has been selected, simply slide your finger along the zoom bar as you zoom in on the image. All very smooth, just like the rest of the menu system in fact.

As expected, all the major connectivity options are included on the Touch Pro II; we find HSDPA at up to speeds of 7.2Mbps, complimented by HSUPA at 2Mbps. WiFi 802.11 b/g is also there, plus Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support. Quadband GSM gives you worldwide GSM support, and if you are in a country where 3G is not available, you can connect via GPRS, HSCSD or EDGE.

Multimedia aspects are covered with the inclusion of a 3.2 Megapixel camera, with autofocus, although unfortunately there is no camera flash. The camera is enabled to record video at VGA resolution, and thanks to the TV Out feature, videos and pictures can be displayed from the phone directly to a TV, although the overall quality of images captured on this device are average, at best. There is also a media player built in, which will play popular music and video files, including WMA, MP3, AAC, 3gp and WMV, but disappointingly HTC have not included a 3.5mm audio jack. The device does have a built in GPS receiver, and Google Maps support is included.

There is a lot to like about the HTC Pro 2. Yes, it is a big phone, and that does need to be taken into consideration. But if you are looking for a handset that has Windows operability, coupled with a fun, easy to use UI, with a full specification of features, you could do a lot worse than the Touch Pro 2.

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