The HTC Touch Pro ranks among the elite of touch screen smartphones. The device is essentially the same as the HTC Fuze offered by AT&T. The difference is that the Fuze operates on the GSM network whereas the Touch Pro works on the CDMA networks of Verizon Wireless and Sprint. Though the line between business and personal use has blurred on smartphones and this device packs all the important features for both, there is a decided bent toward the serious side with the HTC Touch Pro.

Standout Features

• EV-DO Rev A Broadband Data Speed
• Slide-Out Full QWERTY Keyboard
• 2.8-inch Resistive Touch Screen
• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS

Features

A Tale of Two Carriers
The HTC Touch Diamond is offered on both U.S. carriers that use the CDMA/EV-DO type network, i.e. Sprint and Verizon Wireless. This device, which is compatible with high speed EV-DO Rev A networks offered by both carriers, can afford the fastest web browsing and file transfer currently available. There is, however, a major difference between the phones offered by the competing providers. The Sprint version boasts 288MB of RAM memory while the Verizon Wireless version has just 192MB. That’s a critical difference on a device with as many features as the Touch Pro. It translates to comparatively sluggish performance on the VZW device. To make matters worse, the phone costs $50 more from Verizon Wireless than from Sprint.

Slide-Out Keyboard and Touch Screen
The Touch Pro’s place as a message centric device is secured by the presence of an excellent, slide-out, full QWERTY keyboard. There is also a touch sensitive navigation wheel which allows for zooming in and out in some applications. The brilliant 480 x 640 resolution, 2.8-inch screen offers ease of navigation and can be controlled by the touch of a finger or with the included stylus.

Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
Like other HTC smartphones, the Touch Pro is based on the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system. The user interface is made friendlier by the addition of HTC TouchFlo 3G. The inclusion of MS Office Mobile allows for editing of Word and Excel documents. Microsoft Exchange is supported allowing for wireless synchronization with Outlook. Personal POP3 and IMAP email protocols are also fully supported.

Camera, Video Recorder, and Music
While keeping in mind that the Touch Pro has a business orientation, there’s still a good multimedia package. It’s essentially the same as that offered on the HTC Touch Diamond with a 3.2 megapixel, 4x zoom, digital camera with video recorder capabilities. Unfortunately, the mediocre camera performance is also shared by the two phones. Windows Media Player 10 Mobile handles the audio and video playback supporting most popular file formats. One major advantage over the Touch Diamond is the memory expansion slot which can handle up to a 16GB MicroSD/SDHC card. There is not a standard 3.5mm headphone jack but Bluetooth wireless stereo is supported.

Battery Life
Talk time is rated at 225 minutes while about 350 hours of standby time can be expected.

Design
The HTC Touch Pro’s esthetic impact is lead by its gorgeous screen. The generally minimalist design is interrupted slightly by the depth required by the addition of the slide out keyboard. Still for such a feature-rich device it’s trim and elegant.

Summary

If you’re looking for the best of smartphone features, the HTC Touch Pro is among the devices you should consider. Its capabilities and versatility rank it near the top though the multimedia suite falls a short of the phones receiving the overall best ratings.
 

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