Product Name: HTC Touch Pro2
Price: £504.85
Supplied by: Clove
Reviewer: Shaun McGill

The HTC TyTN II was a brilliant smartphone and for me it still rates as the best Windows Mobile smartphone I have used to date. It was ahead of the competition in terms of specification and that tilting screen and keyboard setup was surprisingly more than just a novelty. It was a workhorse which managed to bring something different to Windows Mobile and we have waited a long time for a successor. The Touch Pro2 is not really a successor to the TyTN II, but it is the first to sport the tilting screen and it brings a string of features which will surely satisfy the most specification obsessed smartphone user.

As I look down the list of specifications it is hard to find anything amiss in this package. From the WVGA screen to the 7.2Mbps HSDPA and the TV Out everything seems in order. Only the 3.2MP camera seems a bit stingy in a device which costs just over £500, but in the real world do the better specified camera phones always take better pictures?

In The Box

HTC Touch Pro2, Battery, USB Cable, UK Mains Charger, Additional Stylus, Stereo Headset, Case, Screen Protector, Documentation, Getting started CD.

There is nothing new from HTC in the box contents this time. All of the bits you will need to get you started are present and a very smart case is also included. It is a pouch design which is not the most practical, but will certainly offer more than enough protection and look quite smart at the same time. On a personal note I rarely case a smartphone because of the impracticality and this is doubly true of a device with a keyboard which works the way this one does. The inclusion of a screen protector is good to see, and this time it is one worth having. It covers the entire frontage and feels quite thick- I haven’t tested it because this is a review model, but it feels similar to protectors from the likes of Expert Shield, Brando and PDair.

Design

This is not a small smartphone by any means and it does bring some of the TyTN II heft with it. At 175 grams it is not too heavy, but you will definitely notice it in your pocket and the design appears to lean towards function rather than form. Don’t get me wrong- this is far from an ugly device because much care appears to have been taken with the entire build and no matter which angle you look at it from, you will be more than pleased with the result.

The back is particularly sweet to look at and the contrasting silver housing makes for a phone that will not look silly when attached to your ear. Of course the screen dominates the front and the silver surround adds a touch of class to the look, but this is of course prone to fingerprints which we come to expect from so many devices these days. Buttons around the edge are sparse with only the on/off button on the top and the volume keys on the left hand side. At the bottom is the miniUSB jack for charging, synchronisation and the headset. This is not always the best policy because it means that an adaptor is required to use your own headphones, but it does make for excellent compatibility with many accessories and the likelihood of a desktop cradle is increased due to its positioning.

The slide-out mechanism is very similar to the HTC TyTN 2 and all you need to do is pull it out and then up to tilt. The tilt mechanism is quite stiff which put me on edge at first as I was concerned about breaking it, but I am certain it will loosen up over time. In the tilted position the number row at the top is slightly hampered, but not so when it is just open. The other oddity is that it feels more balanced in the hand when not tilted- there are many advantages to this tilt mechanism so the choice of whether to tilt or not will be down to each individual. A quick play with the keyboard suggests that it is ‘very’ good. Strangely, it provides little feedback or travel and shouldn’t really work well, but it most certainly does and I was typing away in under a minute with no errors.

All in all the Touch Pro2 is a special device to look at and to use in the first few minutes. The quality shines through and there is a genuine feeling of value, even at just over £500.

The first 5 minutes

The first few minutes flew by in an instant. I inserted my SIM card and was then offered the opportunity to have the Touch Pro set up my access for me. I chose my carrier and after a restart my internet connection was up and running straight away. HTC do this with its new devices, but it is always a pleasure to have the fiddly bits done for you on first use.

Within those precious first 5 minutes my Exchange and POP3 email accounts were set up and synchronised, Wi-Fi was set up and Susan Boyle was playing in superb quality in the built in You Tube application. Well, everyone else has watched her so I may as well join in…

Other observations in the first few minutes are that the speakerphone is excellent- I tested it on a couple of calls and it is comparable to the Bold for quality. The external speaker is also quite loud and suitable for showing people videos and music outdoors. System speed is impressive and everything snaps along at a decent pace. There is not too much free RAM available from the start which is no doubt accountable to TouchFLO, but I suspect that memory may not be too much of an issue in the long run.

Join me tomorrow for a closer look at the individual features of the Touch Pro2. I can safely say that my first impressions are more than positive, and that this phone could put my faith back into Windows Mobile which has been seriously lacking of late.

Highlights

Qualcomm 528 MHz Processor
Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
Stylish design, with exceptional build quality.
Weighs just 175g with battery
Business and Personal User in mind
Conference call facility with Straight Talk Technology
3.6-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with 480 X 800 WVGA resolution
Adjustable tilt screen
Slide-out 5-row QWERTY keyboard
3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus
MicroSD memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
FM Radio and G-Sensor

Available from Clove for £504.85