No new Android phone for HTC

HTC did not unveil a new Android-based phone at its press conference at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but instead released two new Windows Mobile-based phones, the Touch Diamond 2 and the Touch Pro 2.

Both phones will run on a customized version of Windows Mobile 6.1. Customers will eventually be able to upgrade to WinMo 6.5. Both phones, which are HSPA/WCDMA phones, have quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE on the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz bands. The Touch Diamond 2 will be released at the beginning of the second quarter and the Touch Pro 2 will be released at the end of the second quarter. There was no immediate announcement of pricing or any carrier partnerships.   

The Touch Diamond 2 has a 3.2-inch WVGA TouchFLO 3D display and 5-megapixel camera. The phone also sports a new feature that HTC is promoting called Push Internet, which essentially pushes pre-selected news and websites to a phone's Internet browser. The phone also has threaded communication technology for SMS text, email and instant messaging, similar to the Palm Pre.

The Touch Pro 2 has a 3.6-inch WVGA TouchFLO 3D display, a tilt-capable screen and a full keyboard. The phone also supports a new feature from HTC called Straight Talk, which allows users to set up a multi-party conference call by accessing contact information in the user's email inbox. The phone, which also sports dual microphones and speakers and doubles as a conference bridge when flipped over, complete with a mute button.

The absence of any Android announcement was surprising, and coming in the wake of Samsung's decision to not launch an Android-based phone at Mobile World Congress.  

HTC CEO Peter Chou said that the company would have announcements related to Android in the coming days, and said HTC would be releasing future Android-based products. However, he said the company was instead focused on HTC's long-running relationship with Microsoft. He also said that HTC would be releasing devices running on Qualcomm's Snapdragon chipset in the future. 

For more:
- see this release [1]
- see these specs [2] and pictures of the Touch Diamond 2
- see these pictures [3] of the Touch Pro 2, Touch Diamond 2, and the press conference

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