Windows Mobile Louisville

I received my Touch Pro2 on the Friday before Labor Day weekend, which was perfect timing.  It allowed me the entire weekend to get acquainted with the device, install apps and prepare this “first impressions” review.

On Friday, I just played around with the new device in it’s native state - I didn’t install or change anything.  I wanted to check out the changes to TouchFLO3D and other enhancements before I began installing things.

I ordered a car mount, a case and a spare battery in advance of getting the TP2.  The mount and case arrived earlier in the week - I’m still waiting on the battery.  The HAiCOM car mount is just like the one I have for my original Touch Pro (all that’s different is the clip) and it works great. Cost me $12.95, which is a really decent price.  I got the case from Expansys for a whopping $4.49, and while it’s not the fanciest case, at least I have one - Sprint didn’t include a case in the box (more on that later).  The device fits snugly in the case, and it has a magnetic closure (more on that later too).

Read on after the break! (more…)

The Sprint Touch Pro2 is due to be released right after Labor Day, so to whet everyone’s appetite, Sprint has posted tutorials, videos and the device user guide on their site.

Word on the street has it that both Verizon and Sprint’s upcoming Touch Pro 2 — aka “Rhodium” — are getting closer to launch. Evidently the ROM has been finalized and is ready to ship:

• RUU_Rhodium_W_VERIZON_WWE_1.16.605.1_RS_1.71WV_NV_VZW_1.38_0505_PRL58002_Ship_PPST
• RUU_Rhodium_W_Sprint_WWE_1.21.651.3_RS_1.96WF_NV_S PCS_1.42_0430_PRL60652_Ship.exe

With the ROMs locked down, it seems more about dotting their i’s and crossing their t’s now, specifically time-to-market, FCC, packaging, production, etc. One thing looks certain: Verizon and Sprint are both racing to get this out at the same time.

Here are the radio frequencies available for this CDMA/GSM world phone on both carriers:

• GSM; GPRS; EDGE; CDMA;UMTS-HSUPA 2Mbps; CDMA2000-1xRTT; CDMA2000-1xEVDO; CDMA2000-1xEVDOrA RL-1.8M,FL-3.1M

Looking pretty sweet.  Verizon, along with its HTC “WhiteStone” device, is poised to make one heck of a WM splash in the next few months.

Source: WM Experts

Last week, my wife and I went on a trip to the Finger Lakes region of upstate NY for a nephew’s graduation.  While I know that it’s far from being a metropolitan area, my Sprint connectivity was so bad, my Touch Pro was reduced to being nothing more than a PDA like I had in 2001. I will add that my wife, my parents and one of my sisters are all Sprint users as well (with varying phones) and they too, had no signal or a very weak one…

I found myself cursing the lack of connectivity countless times while on the trip.  It became painfully obvious how much I depended on a data connection to perform much of what I do. 

I could not:

• send or receive emails
• send or receive texts (Text messages arrived hours later, when I experienced a moment of connectivity)
• Tweet my vacation moments or upload TwitPics
• check Facebook
• access Evernote
• send a JOTT
• Goosync my calendar
• Live Mesh my synched folders
• search for something on Google or Bing
• update my RSS feeds
• update my weather forecasts
• and, of course, make a frickin’ PHONE CALL!

Granted, it depended on where I was in the Finger Lakes region.  At times, I had a decent connection, but more times than not, I was in search mode, eating away at my battery like crazy.  PRL updates did nothing for me.  And to add insult to injury, my brother, who has an XV6800 on Verizon, had absolutely no issues, and was even watching the US Open via Slingbox on his device, sitting right beside me!  Obviously Verizon has a bigger stake in the Finger Lakes region than Sprint…

It really made me realize how vulnerable a data connection and cloud computing can be.  It’s great when there’s a connection, but when there’s not, you are screwed.  And what would that have been like for a web OS device such as the Palm Pre or Android?  I’ll bet that Sprint won’t sell many Pre’s in that area!

That experience was painful, and the gears are turning in my head to figure out how I could better survive a “no signal” situation in the future.  I will still employ all of the cloud computing services I use (Mesh, Evernote, etc), but I would advise to anyone who uses data heavily: have a contingency!

Oh, it’s good to be back in Louisville, with a strong signal and my precious data!  :)

Engadget, WM Experts, PocketNow and various other sites are reporting that Sprint is VERY close to releasing the Touch Pro 2.  Here is a shot of the device, complete with Sprint logo:

If rumors are correct, the Sprint Touch Pro 2 will be released in June, which, if true, would beat T-Mobile by a month, making them the first U.S. carrier to release this much-anticipated device!  Word has it this device will also be a World Version, meaning it will have a SIM slot available to use when abroad. 

The Palm Pre has been confirmed as being released in early June, so this would make a nice one-two punch for Sprint, particularly since version 3 of the iPhone is anticipated this summer.  Sprint needs all the tricks it can possibly pull out of the bag at this point, since they’ve been losing subscribers steadily.

As for Verizon, heck, they only just recently released the HTC Diamond (version 1) with no mention of the Touch Pro (version 1), so I would anticipate they will release the Touch Pro 2 in February 2011 or so!  :)  Sorry VZW users!

Someone over at the The Boy Genius Report has happened upon an End Of Life document for Sprint, and amongst others, the Touch Diamond is listed for EOL in July!   There is no replacement for the Diamond mentioned, but that doesn’t mean a replacement is not in the works.  Lord knows, there are plenty of HTC devices Sprint could choose from!

The Motorola Q9c is mentioned as well (EOL in mid-June), and no replacement is mentioned for that model either.  The other WM device mentioned is the Palm Treo 800W, which is slated for EOL in April (with the Treo Pro slated to replace it in February).

That certainly is a short life span for the Diamond! 

For those of you who were waiting for the Touch Pro to be released, the wait is over…

I am quite content with my Diamond, but I will admit that I want to check out a Pro and hold it in my hands to make a final determination as to whether I’d want to make the switch.  There are times when I miss the keyboard, but I seriously love the small size of the Diamond…!

After much conjecture and speculation on a release date, Sprint has finally made an official announcement (timed perfectly to take place at the Fall CTIA in San Francisco) for the release of the Sprint Diamond and the Sprint Touch Pro.

The press release states “early September” for the Diamond (likely the 14th) and Oct 19th for the Touch Pro.  People are already placing pre-orders for the Diamond, including some members of Windows Mobile Louisville, so if you’re eager to see one before they are available in stores, mark your calendar for our Sept 23rd meeting!

Images of a red Sprint “Diamond” (or whatever they’ll call it) are floating around.  No confirmation if these are genuine or not…

I guess we’ll find out in  few weeks, won’t we?!  Sept 2 is the rumored release date.

There’s good news for people in the United States who are eager to get their hands on the HTC Touch Pro: a version  this upcoming Windows Mobile smartphone has received FCC approval.

This device will have a great deal in common with the recently-released HTC Touch Diamond, but the Touch Pro will have more of a focus on business users.

The version that’s just been approved is for CDMA carriers, which is in-line with an earlier unconfirmed report that this device will be coming to Sprint. But there’s nothing in the FCC filing that specifies this carrier over the other CDMA-based carriers, like Verizon.

Today’s development doesn’t give any solid information on when the debut is going to happen. A wireless device can’t be released in the U.S. without FCC approval, but it can happen any time thereafter.  Sprint hasn’t said anything official about this model, but the earlier leak said this carrier will release the HTC Touch Pro in September.

A confidentiality request filed with the FCC paperwork asks that no internal details on this device be revealed to the public until October 19.  A version of this smartphone for GSM carriers is also expected to be available later this year.

An Overview of the HTC Touch Pro

• This Windows Mobile 6.1 device will have a 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen and TouchFLO 3D, HTC’s new alternate user interface that makes Windows Mobile devices easier to use with a fingertip.
• The GSM version will have support for HSPA, including HSDPA (7.2 Mbps) and HSUPA, while the CDMA one will support EV-DO. One or more of these will add Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on top of that.
• The Touch Pro will also include GPS, a microSD/SDHC card slot, and a 3.2 MP camera.

SOURCE: Brighthand