Mighty Gadget Blog: The latest technology news & reviews in the UK

Now here we have another phone from HTC which doesn’t seem to be breaking too many barriers by appearing to be an updated version of one of its current line of mobiles. Like The Nokia N97 got its Mini, this is the HD2 but mini.Originally this phone was going to be named the “Photon” it’s one of the only phones HTC managed to keep under wraps before the congress. If you remember the HD2 was a very solid good all-round phone, maybe a little big but HTC again appears to have delivered that in a smaller form.

Running Windows Mobile 6.5.3(hasn’t 7 just been announced at the congress? :s) in conjunction with HTC’s Sense UI the HD mini has a 3.2” HVGA capacitive touchscreen more than capable of multitouch functions. It also has a a 5MP camera on the back but unfortunately it lacks a flash so no snaps in the dark i am afraid, well lit areas only.

Other exciting features lie in the software of the HD mini. Firstly it can share its 3G internet goodness to other Wi-Fi enabled wireless devices, acting as its own little Wi-Fi hotspot, WOW! This feature is exclusive to Windows Mobile, HTC phones. Another funky little addition is something that HTC calls “Manner Mode”. When you pick up your phone your ear-shattering ringtone quietens down. Its little touches like this that make HTC such a great competitor in todays mobile market. Like the Desire we’re looking at a Q2 release.

Quite possibly the best thing i’ve heard this year and if it’s true i may actually wet myself. The Zune is Microsoft’s answer to the iPod. Despite the Americans getting every version we here in the UK seem to keep missing out on the PMP. Now it’s rumoured(quite strongly) that Microsoft will be bringing out a phone equivalent and hopefully this will be revealed at Mobile World Congress in a fortnight.

NVIDIA have supposedly confirmed that they will be attending the the Congress with Microsoft (reports come from MuyComputer). Now NVIDIA make the TEGRA chip which powers the latest Zune HD. Also it is believed that Windows Mobile 7 will be launched at the congress too so it certainly looks promising.

Taking into account what the Zune HD does you’ll be looking at a very good phone, depending on Windows Mobile 7 software being good, but should pack a lot of features better than what any current iPhone could achieve. The UI of the Zune HD is easy to use and will look great on the low power, sharp OLED capacitive touchscreen (Multitouch oooo yeah!). Powered by the TEGRA chip HD content and multitasking will be done effortlessly and can be shipped to your TV via its HDMI out. If it’s planning on going into the gaming world like the iPhone, Zune is already a part of Xbox Live and that would mean a very large market of gaming enthusiasts with access to content and massive multiplayer functions.

Will keep you all updated if and when i learn more.

Toshiba’s TG01 phone, the first one to house the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor was launched today on Orange a week after it was accidently announced on its website last week and then withdrawn. It will be exclusive to Orange for the first 3 months and then be available on other networks.

You can pick the phone up for free on a 24 month contract at £39.15 a month. For this you’ll get 1200 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited internet and Orange Maps. It might seem a bit pricey but you’re probably looking at a similar contract for an N97.

After announcing the watch phone earlier this week Orange CEO Tom Alexander said "at least three new market-leading devices will be unveiled by the end of the year" Could this be the first of those three.

TG01 Specs :

• 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon
• 4.1-inch WVGA screen
• HSDPA internet
• Wi-Fi
• GPS
• DivX support
• Windows Mobile 6.1

There has been quite a few rumours flying around about the Zune recently, including a new HD Zune. This time it is believed that MS maybe released Zune software on mobile phones. According to Adweek Microsoft is auditioning three major ad agencies for the launch of a new mobile service called "Pink".

It is believed that the Zune software will like be the media and software service used on Windows Mobile Devices.

We have already had a few details about the range of phones HTC will be releasing this year including the Diamond 2 and the Touch Pro 2.

Now we have a few more details about all the other phones they are planning to release:

Whitestone:

• 3.6″ WVGA display
• GSM and EVDO
• Qualcomm 7600 at 528MHz
• 256MB RAM / 512MB ROM
• 5 megapixel camera
• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
• ETA: September on Verizon

Firestone:

• 3.6″ WVGA display
• GSM/HSPA
• Qualcomm 8250 at 600MHz
• 256MB RAM / 512MB ROM
• 8 megapixel camera
• Windows Mobile 6.5
• ETA: September

Thor (aka Athena 2):

• 4.8″ WVGA display
• Qualcomm 8250 at 1GHz
• 256MB RAM/ 512MB ROM
• 5 megapixel camera
• Windows Mobile 6.5
• ETA: September

Twin:

• VGA display
• Qualcomm 7501A at 528MHz and TI Locosto processors
• GSM/CDMA
• 256MB RAM / 512MB ROM
• 3.2 megapixel camera

Maple (aka Excalibur 3G)

• 2.4″ QVGA display
• Qualcomm 7228 at 528MHz
• 156MB RAM / 256MB ROM
• 2 megapixel camera
• Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard
• ETA: May

The 2 specifications that stand out the most are the Thor and Firestone models. Thor sounds like a beast however it is worth noting this is the successor to the Athena and therefore is more of a UMPC. However the Firestone does sound mighty impressive with WM 6.5, Qualcomm 8250 at 600MHz and an 8 megapixel camera.

Well Microsoft have finally announced Windows Mobile 6.5 at the Mobile World Conference. They also announced several other services including:

MyPhone - MyPhone is a free online service that lets Windows Mobile 6.5 users sync their data to the cloud. The data it will synch includes SMS, media files, contacts etc. However it will not work with MS Exchange and will not be a full backup of the phone. The communication between the device and the cloud goes both ways: users can add files from a web interface to their phone.

Windows Marketplace - Windows Marketplace is an app store where users can find and download applications directly from the phone. Previously, it was possible to find apps and download them as .cab files, but the process was painful, especially when the search was done on the handset itself.

Windows Mobile 6.5 with have a variety of enhancements including new lock screen that provides dynamic notification to the honeycomb start menu, a finger-friendly Today screen and a new version of Internet Explorer Mobile that offers Adobe Flash lite support.

There is no specific date of release but the Touch Pro 2 and Touch Diamond 2 will use WM 6.5

HTC has just gone and announced updates to their ever-popular handsets, the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro. The Touch Diamond2, as you might have guessed, is the new Touch Diamond. It adds a larger display (3.2" WVGA with touch sensitive zoom bar), a new and improved TouchFLO 3D and 5 megapixel camera. All in an updated and refined exterior casing.

The Touch Pro2 is the real attention grabber. The Touch Pro2 is a mash-up of the TyTN II, the Touch HD, and the Touch Pro. It will include a tilting screen, 3.6″ WVGA screen, brand new TouchFLO 3D which apparently uses HTC’s Straight Talk which combines all communication into a fluid UI.

Both Handsets are due to appear around Q2 in Europe.

Images of the HTC Touch Pro2

Image of the HTC Touch Diamond

Press release after the jump

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ZDNet's Mary-Jo Foley has been hearing from her sources that manufacturers will have access to Windows Mobile 6.5 code from April with the first devices arriving around September. She also reported that the beta Windows Mobile 7 code will be available November of this year with the first handsets following on in April of 2010.