Finger's crossed, but we're hoping the keyboard equipped HTC Touch Pro, due to arrive later this month, has none of the lag issues of the Touch Diamond.
Smartphone vendors might be wowing us with features like 5 Megapixel camera, 30 frames per second video playback, and GPS - but in some cases the hardware is struggling to keep up. The problem's not confined to one vendor - we've seen laggy menus on Nokia, HTC and other brands.
One phone in particular that's copped some flak is the HTC Touch Diamond, which is why we're hoping things improve with the new HTC Touch Pro.
Finger's crossed, but HTC has increased RAM from 192MB on the Touch Diamond to 288MB. We'll let you know what the speed is like as soon as we get a review unit to test.
Touchscreen + keyboard gives you best of both worlds
The Touch Pro is also interesting because it adds a QWERTY keyboard to the Touch package - something some may prefer over HTC's slick TouchFlo interface. This also makes the Touch Pro different to our current smartphone pick - the Nokia E71, which is keyboard-only.
Video equipped
Interestingly, business phones like the Touch Pro are now starting to also be pushed at non-business users - the tagline for the Touch Pro is "work meets play". Like the N96, this phone has TV-out, 3.5mm headphone port, and microSD slot for loading videos you've downloaded on your PC.
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| The best of both worlds: HTC's Touch Pro has touchscreen and qwerty input |
Pricey, but not the Bentley of phones
At $1,099 outright, the Pro is on the pricey side, but actually cheaper than the N96, which costs $1,349 outright. The Nokia E71 still has the edge here, at around $700 outright.
The Touch Pro will be available on Three initially, with other carriers to follow.
Weightier than the E71, iPhone 3G
The Touch Pro is on the heavy side weighing in at 165 - heavier than both the N96 and iPhone 3G. Storage wise the N96 wins out, with a solid 16GB onboard.
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| Specs include 2.8in screen, TV-out, and microSD |
Time to give Windows Mobile another look?
Like many people, we've criticised Windows Mobile devices in the past for having difficult to use interfaces. We have high hopes that devices like the Touch Pro can change our minds, and it will be interesting to see whether HTC's business-like touch/keyboard combination compares to the keyboard-only slimline design of the Nokia E71, or the multimedia frills of the do-it-all N96.
Stay tuned for PC Authority's First Look.