RSSSprint confirms it's adding two HTC Touches to its 3G arsenal
By Scott M. Fulton, III | Published September 10, 2008, 12:23 PM
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| The HTC Touch Pro smartphone, coming next month in the US to Sprint. |
Just in time for the CTIA show, Sprint has officially confirmed that it is adding two of the most intriguing new Windows Mobile-based HTC Touch phones to its lineup of 3G touchscreen smartphones, which already includes the original HTC Touch and the best-selling Samsung Instinct.
The Touch Diamond, which premiered last May, will go on sale later this month in the US for $249.99 (after the $100 rebate). It has a 2.8-inch screen and 3.2 megapixel camera. For $50 more, the Touch Pro adds an expandable microSD storage slot and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard; it goes on sale October 19.
Easily the most intriguing feature of both these new models is what HTC calls the TouchFLO interface, which is the manufacturer's spin on a method of making touchscreen gestures more intuitive and functional. The TouchFLO environment is rendered in 3D, so stored pictures, e-mails, and messages can be flipped through as though they really did live behind this miniature pane of glass. Sliders are big, prominent arrows that are not only receptive to touch, but to the amount of force the user's finger is applying; so spinning through a Rolodex-like array of pictures can be accomplished with a shove or a flick of the finger.
Obviously this functionality was inspired by the Apple iPhone's approach to flipping through contacts lists, where speed and force are both fully registered. But HTC's approach is to make that force more visible through 3D, in a compelling way that makes the user feel their phones are more receptive to them.
The addition of both Touch models will raise Sprint's position in the 3G smartphone stakes. New customers making their evaluations will be thinking like this: AT&T has the fashion advantage with the iPhone 3G, although connectivity on that model has suffered in recent days. Verizon Wireless will tout the reliability of "the network" as its strong point, although it's not only offering Samsung's Glyde phone (perhaps not as suave as the Instinct, but comparable feature-wise) but also the innovative LG Dare. The Dare may not have the screen real estate as other models, but VZW touts its UI as a principal feature as well, noting its innovative use of drag-and-drop to, for instance, move an open item or document to a tile that represents a function.
Sprint's Instinct was already a much needed shot-in-the-arm for the carrier whose comeback strategy new CEO Dan Hesse has made very clear to customers. Now, the carrier may be hoping that when customers try out the TouchFLO operating methodology in its stores over the coming months, they may call into question just what's supposed to make the iPhone so outstanding, besides its marketing?
I've got a Touch Pro on T-Mobile(UK). It's a very nice phone, even after a couple of hours with the slide out keyboard I don't think I could go back to using T9. Although the on screen keyboard (of which there are 5 layouts!) is nice for short messages, nothing beats the speed of the physical keyboard.
Really nice phone, I couldn't recommend it more.
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|One nice thing about Sprint is that you aloud to upload any app, ringer, etc... to your phone. The other carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile force you to buy stuff authorized by them. At least, that's how it was for my friend. I've had Sprint for about 10 years now. They definintly hit a new low after they acquired Nextel.. Their customer service went down hill, etc. (Outsourcing didnt help either)..
I think all the carriers in the US need a swift kick in the ass.
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|I hope lots of touch screen phones hit the market and bring prices down a bit.
I pay full price since i don't like contracts.
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|Sprint needs to do something. They have lost so many subscribers to Verizon in the last 2 yrs.
I switched to Verizon and it wasn't a big difference 2 yrs ago, but now Verizon is even better and I don't think Sprint has kept up.
http://afewtips.com
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|I can't wait to get my hands on one of these phones! I've been with Sprint for slightly over a year now, and can't complain.
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|These phones are awesome, and makes me almost want to use horrible sprint. I wish T-mobile sold them instead since I like Tmobile so much better.
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|If they can continue to innovate with a multi-touch interface, offer increasingly converged features as well as including features necessary for enterprise use (push email technology, SSH, SSL/TLS, and Outlook sync capability), they could indeed provide others,with a run for the money while enlarging their user base as well.
Looks interesting...
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|Personally a phone that syncs with anything OTHER than Outlook would impress me. Every phone and it's dog syncs with Outlook... where's the ones that can sync with my choice of e-mail/calendar program? After working in desktop support for years (and still doing it) I HATE Outlook with a passion. :p
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|I agree, I don't use Outlook, or as Scott Nealy aptly referred to it "Look Out".
Not only is it a major security risk, its functionality and interface suck.
The problem is that Enterprises do. I'm not a Windows (much less Exchange!) fan either, but that doesn't matter either. If any player is going to make substantial inroads into the Enterprise, they have to deal with Outlook.
And currently RIM and Motorola own the marketspace and they provide said features.
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