HTC Touch Pro2: Straight talking

At the Mobile World Congress, HTC launched the Touch Pro2, which has all sorts of speakerphone features for people who like that sort of thing

Richard Trenholm

Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.

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Richard Trenholm

Feb. 16, 2009 5:12 a.m. PT

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XTC once sang that they had "1, 2, 3, 4, 5 senses working overtime". The new HTC Touch Pro2 mobile phone, just announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, has almost as many different ways of contacting people, with its Straight Talk feature.

According to HTC, this feature integrates email, voice and speakerphone functions for seamless conference calls.

HTC also trumpeted the Touch Pro2's asymmetric speakers and advanced noise suppression with full duplex acoustics, which transform the phone into a conference room speakerphone system when it's flipped over. We hope that this involves some kind of actual Michael Bay-style transformation effect.

The Touch Pro2 sports a high-resolution, 91mm (3.6-inch) widescreen VGA display with a touch-sensitive zoom bar. Like the Touch Diamond2 -- also announced at MWC -- it features the TouchFLO 3D interface, which has improved integration with Windows Mobile 6.1 to give easier access to useful functions. Both phones also include a simplified list of all your emails, calls and texts in one place, sorted by contact.

While XTC are busy making plans for Nigel, HTC are making plans for the Touch Pro2 to arrive in early summer.