HTC Touch Pro coming to Vodafone

Today we discovered that Vodafone are going to carry the HTC Touch Pro and, a little earlier than we expected, are due to launch the device some time this month!

For those of you that don't know about the Touch Pro (where have you been hiding?) this is the new device from HTC that's very similar to the HTC Touch Diamond in terms of size and specification but the Touch Pro looses the 4GB of internal storage in favour of a MicroSD card slot and also sports a sliding QWERTY keyboard which has given the Pro the unofficial nickname 'TyTN III'.

I suspect that the Touch Pro will have a great deal of appeal to business customers and wonder if the imminent launch of the Touch Pro is why Orange are not offering the Touch Diamond to corporate customers?



You can see more of the HTC Touch Pro on the Vodafone Business Shop site.

Android Still on Course to Debut this Year

Getting a new mobile operating system on the market isn't a simple task, as Google and its partners are learning. Still, despite problems HTC says the first device based on Android will definitely debut during the fourth quarter of this year.


According to previous reports, the initial Android model -- made by HTC and released by T-Mobile USA -- was originally scheduled for release in the third quarter of this year. Now, however, a statement from HTC's CFO Hui-ming Cheng confirms that this introduction has been moved back to the fourth quarter.

Dreaming about Android Smartphones

Google, the company heading up development on Android, has been quite willing to talk openly about it. It will be based on the open-source operating system Linux and strongly encourage third-party development. It will offer robust multitasking, and many of it's bundled applications will tie in to Google's services, like Gmail.

On the other hand, companies have kept a very tight lid on information about the hardware that will be running Android. T-Mobile's first device will be the HTC Dream, which has been described by those who have seen it as being similar in size and shape to the HTC Tilt, a tablet shaped device with a sliding keyboard.

The delay in releasing the Dream isn't because of problems with the hardware, but the Android team is still putting the finishing touches on it.

Samsung InnoV8 Will Push Multimedia Smartphones to a Higher Level

Samsung's next smartphone, the Symbian S60 powered InnoV8 (i8510), will take direct aim at Nokia's N95/N96 models by having the most features that can be packed in a device and still be made pocketable.

First, the Specs

The Samsung InnoV8 will start with Symbian's S60 operating system. It will have the latest release, Feature Pack 2 (version 3.2) which streamlines some user interface elements, addressed wireless access point management, and improved battery efficiency among other changes.



In addition, the InnoV8 will pack 16 GB of internal flash memory, identical to the recently announced Nokia N96. However, unlike the N96, the InnoV8 will also come with a microSD memory card slot, taking its potential internal storage to levels previous found only on dedicated MP3 players.

Also topping any current smartphone device to date, this model will feature an 8 megapixel digital camera. Offering face/blink/smile-detection, image stabilization, and the ability to geotag photos using the internal GPS, the InnoV8 will match other current top offerings by Nokia and other manufacturers.

In shape it will be a slider, with a 2.8-inch QVGA sliding aside to reveal a numberpad.

Rounding out the feature set, the InnoV8 will have Wi-Fi (802.11g), Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, a built-in FM tuner, 3.5mm headphone jack, and stereo speakers. It will even have an accelerometer and optical mouse.

Availability

The Samsung i8510 InnoV8 is slated to be available in Europe and Asia in September of this year. Though a quad-band GSM device (850/900/1800/1900MHz), lack of North American 3G compatibility might keep it as just a novelty import, similar to the way the N95 was originally.

It does feature compatibility with European 3G networks (900/2100MHz) in addition to the aforementioned Wi-Fi for high speed wireless access.

Apple Releases iPhone 2.0.1 Software Update

A new version of the system software for Apple's smartphone is now available through iTunes.

As its version number suggests, iPhone 2.0.1 is not a major update. All that Apple says is that it contains "Bug fixes". However, the iPhone 2.0 software has plenty of bugs that need fixing, so this should be a welcome update for many.

To install this update, connect the iPhone to a computer running iTunes.

New version of Skype for WM 6.1 released.

If you are a Skype user with a Windows Mobile device running WM 6.1 you'll have probably noticed that Skype doesn't work properly (or at all) on the latest WM version.

Fortunately the guys from Skype have come up with a fix and have just made the updated version of Skype available on their website. There's no mention of any other changes in this release just that it claims to be for WM 6.1



Head over to the Skype website to download now.