HTC Touch Pro smartphone

Windows Mobile phones lag behind Nokia and Research in Motion’s BlackBerry in terms of market share, but Microsoft’s platform is catching up fast.

Gartner calculates that sales of Windows-based smartphones were 20 per cent higher in the second quarter of 2008 than a year ago. One reason is the efforts of handset makers to combine more attractive, easier to use designs with the business functions of Windows Mobile.

Handset maker HTC’s latest business phone – the Touch Pro – shows just what can be done when those elements come together. The Touch Pro combines TouchFlo 3D, the touch interface first shown on the Touch Diamond handset with a slide-out physical keyboard.

TouchFlo is not quite as intuitive as the iPhone’s touch interface, but it works well enough for managing the phone’s basic functions, such as making calls, light web browsing or looking up calendar entries or contacts. Features such as the cute weather page and clock, carried over from the Touch Diamond, make the touch interface fun to use.

The phone has plenty of business features, too, such as support for high speed, HSDPA web browsing, GPS, Wi-Fi, out of the box support for Exchange e-mail synchronisation and the improved security features of Windows Mobile 6.1.

On the downside, the Touch Pro doesn’t feel all that responsive. Touch commands could be quicker. It also takes a few seconds before the phone registers that the keyboard is extended and it allows you to type.

The fact that HTC includes a stylus with the phone serves as a reminder that the Windows menu system is alive and well under the TouchFlo skin: all but the most casual users will use the stylus quite a lot.

The screen is high resolution, but relatively small (2.8 inches), so navigating those menus can be challenging. The Touch Pro is much more pocket friendly than many earlier Windows Mobile phones, but after a few hours use, a larger device might actually feel more comfortable.

Sometimes a larger, lower-resolution screen is easier to use, for example in poor light. Nor is battery life on the Touch Pro – two days at best – good enough to persuade this writer to give up his BlackBerry.

The HTC Touch Pro is one of the best Windows Mobile smartphones yet. But in trying to upgrade a consumer handset to business class, HTC has produced a good smartphone rather than a true wireless PDA for the road warrior. Heavy e-mail users who do not need to run Windows Mobile applications could also look at Nokia’s E71 or the new, 3G, BlackBerry Bold.

By: Stephen Pritchar, via: FT.com

Google Android (G1) - Everything you need to know

Apple has been waiting too long for a contender to its title as world’s smartest smartphone, and now it has one in the shape of the , formerly known as the .

T-Mobile and Google officially launched the G1 this week in New York, and despite clearly sticking with the touchscreen interface, it’s every bit as revolutionary as the iPhone was this time a year ago. It’s not just exciting for the fact it marks the search giant’s entry into the mobile arena. No, read of for a full break down of all the most exciting features you’ll witness when the G1 launches in the UK in November, and the impact it’ll have on the future of mobiles…

First Google phone
The G1 is made by HTC, but all the headlines are down to the fact it’s the first phone to run Google’s brand new operating system, Android. Google has a reputation for rock solid code and usability, so expect this to run fast, and smoothly.

Not only that, but because Google owns so many useful splinter services, such as a little video site called Youtube, its perfectly integrated them for use on the G1. There’s GMail on the go, which even includes Google Talk to chat to your buddies in real time.

Open source operating system
Android is open source, which means the code is free and available for anyone to adapt. The upshot: developers across the world can harness the G1’s power, bountiful screen space (3.2 inches) and GPS to make every type of program imaginable, from fitness trackers to Twitter clients. Think the iPhone’s App Store, but free and with many more options.

The software development kit is already out, giving programmers a whole two months to fine tune applications before release, so expect a feast of freebies come launch.

The perfect mobile broadband
Super fast surfing is a given, with 3G, Wi-Fi and blisteringly fast HSDPA all accounted for, but the G1’s web browsing really makes it stand out. The phone’s magnifying glass function zooms in instantly, making regular web pages easily digestible on a mobile screen.

Combine that with what promise to be some exceptionally great value packages on T-Mobile, and you’re faced with a contender for best smartphone out there

Innovative keypad
It may be bulkier than the iPhone, but that’s only because it’s stealthily concealing a svelte slide-out full qwerty keyboard. Touchscreen interfaces make for intuitive web browsing, but can be nightmarish to write messages on for anyone with large hands or chubby fingers. The G1 gives you the best of both worlds, as well as a trackball for scrolling if you’re used to a BlackBerry.

Next-gen GPS

The G1’s GPS will guide you wherever you need to go - it’s satnav for your feet. That in itself isn’t new, and nor is integration with Google Maps on the G1’s lush 3.2-inch screen, even if it is nifty. But for those who can’t read a map from a no entry sign, the G1 takes orientation to another level, with Google Street View and a compass showing you exactly where you are. If you’re still lost with this thing, you probably need to go to the opticians.

via: Info Gadget