New Windows Mobile devices
Posted by Luca Morandi on June 8, 2008
So the anticipated HTC Raphael turns out to be the Touch Pro. This is a logic name, as I can’t imagine it being the successor of the TyTn 2. Why? Well, to begin it lacks the tilting mechanism that makes the TyTn 2 so great. I really hope that this feature will stay in future devices. It also has a lot less buttons than the TyTn 2, which reveals the position of the device. By that I mean more buttons vs. clean look, functionality vs. design, professional vs. consumer, etc. The remaining 4 buttons (minus navigation key) are touch-sensitive, the whole front looks like the Diamond. Quite impressive is the separate number row on the keyboard, which might improve typing. I think the Touch Pro bridges the gap between the powerful business-type devices and the consumer devices, which lack some features but have a better design.
I won’t discuss the specifications, as they are good (at least on paper) but widely available on the web. One last thing about the Touch Pro; its keyboard slides out to the left, whereas the TyTn 2 slides to the right. I did some research about the keyboard slide directions, below are the HTC devices with a side slide-out keyboard.
- HTC Wizard: slides left.
- HTC Herald: slides right.
- HTC TyTn: slides left.
- HTC Titan (Sprint Mogul): slides right.
- HTC TyTn 2: slides right.
- HTC Touch Pro: slides left.
If you look at which side the keyboards slide out to, you will see that it is completely random. Do they do a coin flip to decide the side or something? I would prefer such a device to slide out to the right, maybe because I’m right-handed. But the Touch Pro is back at the left sliding again. HTC, please keep it consistent in order not to confuse us, okay? Thank you.
Four new E-TEN Glofiisch devices
These days, if you want to spell a device’s name right- you have to spell it wrong. I don’t know why the manufacturers even bother, it’s probably a market thing. Anyway, it causes me headaches and I constantly think I made some kind of mistake… Apparently E-TEN launched some new “HTC-inspired” smartphones; they are all different but all very much a HTC Touch lookalike (except for one which is so ugly that it can’t hide its identity). Not every E-TEN device is ugly, but to be honest most of them are. To match their mostly stolen inspired design, a finger friendly 3D cube has been inplemented in WM 6.1. Where did I heard that before? Never mind. To finish the job, they either put Spb Shell in the rom or stole the ideas of that software as well. I’m sure not everyone will agree with me as HTC as “borrowed” the idea for the Touch from Apple, but to make a clone of a clone is a bit ridiculous. The specs are not special, aside from a dual-SIM feature. But I have to give them credit for one thing though: the VGA screens. These babies are to be found on most E-TENs, which is definitely a plus. I consider mentioning the digital mobile TV as well, but I’m still not very fond of that concept. At least not in it’s current form. A lot of these digital mobile TV devices carry the antenna which makes them look like a radio, and it will probably take some time before this mobile TV technology is adopted by the carriers. And don’t dare to think about prices, some kind of flat fee idea sounds reasonable but then again new services are almost always expensive. But where are the keyboards? It seems as if the next generation of E-TEN custumers simply don’t need them. Good for them, but it makes them less appealing to me. I hope I haven’t been too harsh on these phones, it’s just my opinion. One last thing: like HTC should get some consistency on the keyboard front, E-TEN should do the same when it comes to branding. These codes just don’t make any sense.
Check it out from left to right: The good (two Touch clones), the bad (a Touch/radio clone) and the ugly (enough said).
