Recent Articles

Speaking of the Touch Pro 2, it looks like T-Mobile employees will be undergoing training on the HTC device (along with the Dash 3G -- aka the Snap) in the coming weeks.

Somebody slipped the above schedule under the Boy Genius Report's door, stating that things get going June 16 in the East Region and doesn't end until July 2 in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. That could well mean no July 1 launch for the Dash 3G, but the rumored July 22 launch for the Touch Pro 2 could still be possible.

We've seen renders of the HTC Touch Pro 2 (aka Rhodium aka Fortress) destined for AT&T, and now comes word that it's passed FCC testing.

It's got all the goodies we've come to know of the Touch pro 2, including the 3.6-inch touchscreen at 480x800, Windows Mobile 6.1, aGPS, WiFi b/g, a 3.2MP camera, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR. The standard AT&T 3G bands (850MHz and 1900MHz) are, of course, present.

Now all we need are some leaked shots, release date and pricing. A slew of FCC information won't be unsealed until the end of September, so we might not see the Touch Pro 2 on AT&T until October at the earliest. But that's rampant speculation on our part, and stranger things have happened.

FCC via CellPhone Signal

In another sure sign that we're marching steadily toward the launch of Windows Mobile 6.5, Microsoft has released the Software Developer Tool Kit, also known as an SDK. From Microsoft's overview:

The Windows Mobile 6.5 Developer Tool Kit adds documentation, sample code, header and library files, emulator images and tools to Visual Studio that let you build applications for Windows Mobile 6.5. ... The Windows Mobile 6 SDK must also be installed in order to use any of the Windows Mobile 6.5 Gesture API or samples.

From what we understand, coding for Windows Mobile 6.5 isn't vastly different than coding for 6.1, so there shouldn't be anything too earth-shattering here. But it does include APIs for gestures -- think flicking and scrolling -- which is new in Windows Mobile 6.5.

The SDK is available in a half-dozen languages, and there are separate builds for touchscreen and non-touchscreen devices. You can download them here.

Update: The WMDev team learns us on Twitter that this is just the 6.5 developer tool kit and you still have to have the full 6.0 SDK.

For you U.S. Cellular peeps out there, some more Windows Mobile love is coming hot on the heels of the Palm Touch Pro. Up this time is the Samsung Code, which is a name we hadn't yet heard.

The Code is described as "a Windows Mobile 6.1 multi-media Smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth, 2.0 megapixel camera, ActiveSnc and removable memory slot."

In other words, it's a smartphone. Other than that? We'll just have to wait and see. Look for it June 18.

Via BGR

Hey, we're all about Windows Mobile here, and we're big fans of Palm. And we'd be remiss not to share with you the ultimate Palm Pre review written by our own Editor in Chief, Dieter Bohn, for our sister site, PreCentral.net.

If you read just one Pre review, make it this one. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You run from the room screaming for capactive screens on Windows Mobile. (again)

And so to our PreCentral brethren we say: Bravo, ladies and gentlemen. Bravo.

Last week we told you about HTC releasing a ROM update for the AT&T Fuze and before the ink on the website could dry, the update was mysteriously replaced with a server error.  Rumors for the link going dead ranged from there was a problem with the S/N entry field to the update contained too much Windows Mobile 6.5 to simple driver errors.

We checked in on the URL just a minute ago and the update is live again.  The download instructions are all laid out by HTC and the features of the update haven't changed from our first report.  You're still required to enter a valid serial number and HTC is using the same link for the 146mb update file.

Just in case you've misplaced it, you can get the Fuze ROM update here.

Update: Yeah, it's down again. Sorry, folks. We were able to snag the update earlier today.

Updated Update: Two minutes ago, the site was back up.  It may be a result of heavy traffic, HTC having technical problems or a sinister webmaster teasing us.  If you get the "Oh No! 404" error, try back later and the update should be available. 

As mentioned, we were able to get the update before the site disappeared and have installed the updated ROM.  So far, not much different than the Test ROM that leaked earlier this year.

Lo, how we dream of they day when a manufacturer will name a phone and a carrier will just use it. But that day is not today.

And so we bring you, courtesy of the Boy Genius Report, the Verizon Ozone — aka the HTC Snap/Willow/Maple. No release date or pricing, and it's safe to say it won't beat Sprint's variant out the door. But it does have WiFi, is a world phone (CDMA and GSM radios), and sports IE6, visual voicemail and VZ Navigator (which points to the dreaded locked-down GPS.)