Todays & Tomorrows Technology

While we deemed the HTC Touch Pro2’s hardware keyboard perhaps the best to be had on a Windows Mobile smartphone right now, we saved the usual ire for the handset’s lack of a 3.5mm headphones socket. That’s all changed, however, for the Canadian Telus version; going by MobileSyrup’s video, HTC have shuffled over the ExtUSB port and squeezed in a 3.5mm jack.

Video after the cut

The CDMA version of the smartphone will therefore work with both HTC’s standard ExtUSB headset as well as any other 3.5mm hands-free headset or plain headphones. It’s seemingly part of HTC’s plan to put a 3.5mm audio socket on all of its upcoming devices, though we didn’t expect them to start with a phone already available in other markets.

Otherwise, aside from the CDMA radio, the smartphone is the same as the Touch Pro2 we reviewed earlier in the month. No word on specific release date in Canada as yet, nor when it might make it south to Verizon in the US.

It feels like we’ve been waiting a long time for the HTC Touch Pro2 to arrive, though really it was only announced back in February at Mobile World Congress. The flagship smartphone - which packs a 3.6-inch WVGA resistive touchscreen, 3G HSPA, WiFi b/g and a full QWERTY keyboard - is the second half of HTC’s two-part Touch refresh, along with the Diamond2, and you can see our video unboxing after the cut.

First impressions of the HTC Touch Pro2 are good; it’s a solid, weighty phone (the full specifications say 178.5g) and not exactly small at 116 x 59.2 x 16.65mm, but it feels well made and sturdy. The metal screen bezel is a nice design element, though we’re glad to see the rear panel is matte rather than the fingerprint-grabbing gloss of the Diamond2.

Software is the usual Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro - with a 6.5 upgrade catered for with the requisite buttons - together with HTC’s TouchFLO 3D UI. That’s had a neat upgrade to deal with the Pro2’s horizontal orientation when the keyboard is out, and of course includes the People-Centric tweaks we appreciated on the Diamond2. The keyboard itself is tactile and has an impressive amount of button-travel considering the size; we’ll be battering away at it some more before giving our final opinion. Until then, enjoy the unboxing video and short demo below!