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Looks like Verizon will join Sprint and AT&T in offering HTC's latest and greatest, the Touch Pro. Engadget Mobile snagged the internal document detailing a November 24th launch and December 1st store-availability. The price will be steep at $350 after all the mail-in rebates and a 2 year contract.

Phonenews has the launch date and price set the same. They're pegging the RAM (though they list it as ROM) at 192MB, which is the only difference we can see, spec-wise, from the Sprint model. It seems a little odd to us that HTC would make two different CDMA versions of the Touch Pro, but that's the latest info out there right now. The processor is not “crippled,” as we told you before, hopefully this 192mb spec will turn out to be false as well.

Remeber that T8290 that leaked out last month? We don't blame ya if you don't -- it's a device that is slated only for the Russian Market. Still and all, it's a very interesting device as it's the first real Windows Mobile Smartphone we're aware of that packs WiMAX. HTC has announced it will be available on November 26th and, well, you should be jealous.

The MAX 4G sports GSM and EDGE, sure, but it also does WiMAX and VOIP on the Scartel (aka Yota) network. It also sports a massive 480x800 screen, video on demand, WiFi, an accelerometer, 2 cameras, FM Radio, and a 1500mAh battery to power the whole thing. The entire package fits into 113.5mm X 63.1mm X 13.9mm, which makes it a very tall and thick beast, (we've thown a sizeeasy comparison after the break), but nevertheless a powerful one.

Get your full specs and press release after the break. Hey Sprint: we'd love to see this on XOHM. Just saying.

Specs

• Processor: Qualcomm® ESM7206A™ 528 MHz
• Platform: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
• Memory: ROM: 256MB / RAM: 288MB / Flash: 8 GB
• Dimensions: 113.5mm X 63.1mm X 13.9mm
• Weight: 151 grams (with battery)
• Display: 3.8-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with 480 x 800 WVGA resolution
• Network: Tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:900/1800/1900 MHz Yota Mobile WiMAX 2,5-2.7 GHz
• Device Control: TouchFLO™ 3D
• GPS: Inbuilt GPS
• Connections: VoIP, Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth® 2.0 with EDR, HTC ExtUSB™
• Main camera: High-resolution with autofocus
• Second: VGA-camera
• Additional: Motion G-sensor (automatically rotating picture), Proximity sensor (saving energy while talking due to the switching the display off), FM-radio
• Audio: Ring tone formats:AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, QCP, MP3, WMA, WAV, 40 polyphonic and standard MIDI format 0 and 1 (SMF)/SP MIDI
• Battery: Li-Pol, 1500 mAh
• Talk time: GSM: up to 420 minutes, VoIP: up to 230 minutes
• Standby time: GSM: up to 350 hours, VoIP: up to 50 hours
• AC Adapter: Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60 Hz, DC output: 5V and 1A

Press Release

SCARTEL AND HTC LAUNCH WORLD’S FIRST INTEGRATED GSM/WIMAX HANDSET

Designed and Optimized for the Russian market, HTC MAX 4Gä Will Be Available in Russia on November 26th

Moscow, Russia – November 12, 2008 – Scartel (brand Yota), Russian provider of Mobile WiMAX, and HTC Corporation, a global leader in mobile phone innovation and design, today announced the HTC MAX 4G, the world’s first integrated GSM/WiMAX handset. Supported by a broad range of services based on Yota’s Mobile WiMAX network,   the HTC MAX 4G delivers a rich multimedia and high quality telephony experience in a sleek and powerful touch screen handset. 

“Yota was established to provide a unique set of mobile communication services to millions of people in Russia and today we have launched the first device and services to realise its full potential,” said Denis Sverdlov, General Director of Yota’s parent company, Scartel LLC (brand Yota). “We really believe that these innovative services, high-speed Internet and stylish HTC MAX 4G will completely change the communications industry, just as the introduction of cellular communications did many years ago.”  

HTC MAX 4G: A New World of Entertainment

The Yota Mobile WiMAX network offers high-speed wireless Internet access that opens a new realm of entertainment and communication possibilities. The basic Yota Home package will provide subscribers with instant access to online games, maps, messaging and file exchange applications while on the move. In addition, the high-capacity Mobile WiMAX network with traffic prioritisation algorithms, allows online films, video and TV programmes to be viewed on the large WVGA screen.

Thanks to mobile WiMAX, high-quality multimedia entertainment is no longer limited.. With Yota Video, a full video on demand (VOD) service, users can watch their favourite movies and videos from their personal Yota catalogue anytime, anywhere.

Broadcasting 14 free channels at launch and 23 channels by the end of 2008, Yota TV introduces a powerful mobile television experience. The vibrant, 3.8 inch 800x480 screen of the HTC MAX 4G can display up to nine TV channels simultaneously, allowing quick and easy channel surfing and programme selection. Thanks to the device’s TV-out capability, users can also watch content on the big screen, putting the HTC MAX 4G at the very heart of the mobile entertainment experience.

For music-lovers, Yota Music offers an extensive online music catalogue of more than 50,000 titles, including a wide range of music from both international and independent music labels. Users can choose to either play the tracks direct from the online catalogue, or download them to the HTC MAX 4G’s 8GB of onboard flash memory.

In addition, a separate catalogue of electronic books is available, so users can download, read and enjoy a broad range of books while on the move.  “The introduction of the HTC MAX 4G represents the culmination of a close partnership between HTC and Yota to develop the world’s first integrated mobile GSM/WIMAX handset,” said Peter Chou, CEO and President, HTC Corporation.  “Russia is a key strategic market for HTC and Yota’s Mobile WiMAX network sets a new global benchmark for next-generation mobile services.”  

HTC MAX 4G: Flexible Communication

The HTC MAX 4G supports GSM calls using a SIM card from any Russian network operator and when both callers are Yota subscribers, the call will automatically be routed as a VoIP call over the Yota Mobile WiMAX network. The Yota Phone service also supports more business applications, allowing users to switch between English and Russian contact records while providing functionality such as call holding, conference calling and video calling using the VGA camera on the front of the device.  

HTC MAX 4G: Unparalleled Performance With Intuitive Usability

The HTC MAX 4G was created to take full advantage of Yota’s high-speed Mobile WiMAX network without compromising style or ease of use.  The device is sleek and elegant and includes a vibrant, large 3.8 inch, 800x480 WVGA touch screen display. The HTC MAX 4G also integrates a 3.5mm headphone jack to create the best possible experience for enjoying movies, music and photos on the go. Running Windows Mobile 6.1, the HTC MAX 4G incorporates HTC’s proprietary Touch FLO 3D user interface, allowing swift and intuitive navigation to key applications such as dialling calls, listening to music, taking picture and more.  

Introduction of Yota Yap-yap

HTC MAX 4G users can now record their lives through a lens thanks to Yota’s Yap-yap service. This allows contacts to be synchronised and edited through the Web and video clips and photos can also be uploaded to www.yota.ru. Images taken with the integrated 5MP camera can also be geo-tagged using coordinates from the integrated GPS.

Engadget Mobile has word that the phone that's been 'pending' for the US perhaps longer than any other we've been watching finally has an official release date and price. The Xperia X1a (that's the Xperia X1 with the US 3G Bands) will see US release on Friday, November 28th, for a whopping $799. That's an unlocked price, as you may have surmised, which means that as with the Treo Pro, there's no word yet on a subsidized price from AT&T. For now, it appears you'll be heading to sonystyle.com or an “authorized Sony retailer” to pick one up.

It seems like it's been an eternity since we gave the Xperia X1 an hands-on review back in April. In retrospect, it might have behooved Sony to keep the bugger under wraps a little longer. Actually, it would have probably behooved them to beat the Fuze (Full Review) to market or at least let us know a clearer release date before the Fuze came out.

Still, we now know it's coming on Black Friday and we know it's going to cost and arm and a leg. Will you be picking one up?

You HTC Tilt owners should have received text messages recently stating,

If you have a Treo Pro you may be interested in this quicky patch from Palm:

If you are in an active call using bluetooth car kit or bluetooth headset and you receive a second incoming call and you let it ring or you ignore the incoming call, the call will be diverted to Voicemail. The first call remains active but you can no longer hear the caller (the caller can still hear you). The audio has been lost. If you answer the call and swap between calls or reject the call, the issue is not seen.

We have seen this bug reported in our forums for awhile and it's nice to see quick fix out there.

One word of caution: technically this is for the Vodafone/Euro version only, though we suppose it may work on the unlocked variety if you really, really need it. If not, we bet that'll be out lickity split.

More info here and a direct .cab download can be found here

Thanks marianne/roydok

If you're a Verizon customer and are tired of waiting for a possible appearance of the Treo 800w, Samsung's i770 might just fit the bill. But getting it could be a little tricky.

The Boy Genius Report spied a post over at Howard Forums showing that the i770 — aka the Saga — will hit online and telesales this Friday, Nov. 14. Engadget Mobile follows up with an in-store date of Dec. 1. However, the in-store sales will be through "direct fulfillment" only at first, which basically means you order it there and get it later.

Price for the world phone — yep, it comes with a sim card, too — will be $199 with the usual rebate/contract deals.