14 DAY TRIAL // Vodafone will soon offer a new high-end Pocket PC to its subscribers across the UK, and we're talking about HTC Touch Pro, the handset announced by the Taiwan-based manufacturer at about the same time with the Touch Diamond.
The Touch Pro has recently appeared on Vodafone UK's Business Shop website, with the mention that it's scheduled for an August launch. Therefore, in the next few weeks, UK users who have been waiting for the Pocket PC to arrive in their country will be finally able to buy it.
HTC's Touch Pro doesn't differ much from the Touch Diamond when viewed from the front. However, the Pro is thicker, as it packs a vertically-sliding QWERTY keyboard, which is not included in the Diamond. The new Touch handset also comes with TV out, another feature that the Diamond doesn't bring.
The full list of specs HTC Touch Pro has to offer unveils the following: tri-band GSM connectivity, dual-band HSDPA connectivity (for data transfer speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps), a 2.8 inch TFT touchscreen display with 640 x 480 pixels, accelerometer, a TouchFLO 3D UI, GPS, Wi-Fi, full HTML browser, Music and Video players, stereo FM radio with RDS, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, expandable memory, a 3.15 Megapixel camera and, of course, Windows Mobile 6.1.
HTC Touch Pro measures 102 x 51 x 17.9 millimeters (when not slid) and weighs 165 grams. The handset comes with a 1340 mAh battery that can provide, according to Vodafone, up to 4.8 hours of talk-time or up to 367 hours of stand-by time.
Vodafone UK already offers Touch Pro's little brother, the slimmer Touch Diamond, for free (with a hefty data plan and a contract agreement) or for prices of up to 187.23 GBP (236 Euros or $365). There is now word yet about the price(s) of Touch Pro, but the QWERTY Pocket PC will most probably be more expensive than the Diamond, since it offers extra features and a better battery.
