Microsoft's app store for all 6.x WinMo phones arrives on October 6, along with a bunch of Windows Mobile 6.5, more than likely including the Touch2.

Other key Touch2 specs: integrated GPS (and Google Maps for Mobile), 3G and Wi-Fi. [Electric Pig and TechRadar]

The haul appears to be somewhat modest, but there are definitely a few gems—namely a stupid-fast new Opera Mobile beta and a systemwide orientation sensor. Most of these apps have been downscaled and work with current VGA Touch hardware (and some with any VGA WinMo phone), but expect a little bugginess—especially from the keyboards, which might be best avoided for now. Here's the full list:

HTC Calculator 1.0.1822.4128
HTC Album 2.5.1820.4127 w/ Social Networking
Opera v9.5 build 15613
Diamond2 Sensor with apps regedit
Diamond 2 QuickGPS 1.0.1911.1733
Diamond 2 Keyboard With Arrows
Diamond 2 Keyboard Without Arrows
Diamond 2 Keyboard With Arrows in Landscape Only
Diamond 2 Email Wizard
Diamond 2 Volume Control 2.1.1911.2331

[EverythingDiamond via WMPoweruser]

These handsets have always represented something of a standard to which WinMo phones are measured, and the tastefully restyled new versions, boldly called the Diamond2 and Pro2, play on their predecessors' strengths.

The Diamond2 gets a screen upgrade, from 2.8in to 3.2in, with an accompanying resolution boost from VGA (480x640) to WVGA (480x800). The lauded TouchFlo 3D alternative interface now reaches a bit deeper into Windows Mobile 6.1, making a few more functions touch-friendly, but stopping short of a total overhaul. The most interesting new interface feature is the "Single Contact View", which consolidates your complete history of communication (texts, calls, emails) for a given contact into a single screen. A SD card expansion slot replaces the old model's fixed internal memory, which results in greater flexibility but severely diminished memory size on delivery (gone is the 4GB internal memory, replaced with the wimpy 512MB ROM) and a new 5-megapixel autofocus camera.

The Pro2 is treated to most of the same upgrades. Its screen stretches to a full 3.6 inches, which is just .2 inches smaller than the monstrous TouchHD. It gets a louder speakerphone system and less-pixely camera than the Diamond2, but retains the larger battery and slide-out QWERTY keyboard that originally distinguished its dad from the Diamond.

Battery life is apparently boosted by 50% on the Diamond2 and "improved" on the Pro2, a change which is more than welcome, as this is one of the areas where the original Diamond/Pro fell down. Other, less immediately interesting new features include "HTC Push Internet", which is essentially pre-loads parts of your favorite webpages, and the inauspiciously-named "Straight Talk", which allows for easy transitions between text or email communications and regular or group phone calls, letting you immediately initiate a conference call with, say, the recipients of an email thread.

A few things don't sit will here—mainly the lack of internal memory and lost touchwheel—but anyone who has used the TouchHD knows that the enhanced resolution is a welcome change. And not to repeat an all-too-obvious grievance, but HTC fans have long said that the Diamond and Pro should have been the company's Android handsets from the get-go, so it's hard to avoid being slightly disappointed by Windows Mobile 6.1, again.

HTC hasn't announced pricing yet, but should hit European and Asian markets by early Q2, with early H2 availability worldwide. Full press release below. [HTC]

BARCELONA - Feb 16, 2009 - HTC Corporation, a global designer of mobile phones, today unveiled two new flagship devices, the HTC Touch Diamond2ä and HTC Touch Pro2ä. Integrating innovative simplicity with unique style and an intuitive interface, the devices balance function, form and cutting-edge technology to personalize the communication and mobile Internet experience.

"The HTC Touch Pro2 and HTC Touch Diamond2 introduce a mobile communication experience that simplifies how we communicate with people in our lives whether through voice, text or email," said Peter Chou, president and CEO, HTC Corp. "HTC is delivering the latest, cutting-edge sophistication in a broad portfolio of mobile phones that improve how people live, work and communicate."

HTC TOUCHFLO 3D INTEGRATED WITH WINDOWS MOBILE
The HTC Touch Diamond2 and HTC Touch Pro2 utilize HTC's latest TouchFLO 3D interface. TouchFLO 3D has been more deeply integrated into a customized version of Windows Mobile 6.1 to deliver more consistency throughout Windows Mobile applications and menus. Focused on making navigation easier and more intuitive, TouchFLO 3D brings important information to the top-level user interface, including quick access to people, messaging, email, photos, music and weather. As part of this improved Windows Mobile integration the touch focus areas have been enlarged to be more finger-touch friendly.

BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER
With the HTC Touch Diamond2 and HTC Touch Pro2, HTC is introducing a new people-centric communication approach, providing a single contact view that displays the individual conversation history of contacts regardless of whether voice, text or email were used. This can be viewed from the contact card or the in-call screen during a phone conversation, ensuring the latest communication contact-by-contact is always at hand.

SIMPLIFYING HOW PEOPLE ACCESS THEIR INFORMATION
Continuing its commitment to making the mobile Internet easier and more enjoyable, the HTC Touch Diamond2 and HTC Touch Pro2 introduce HTC's Push Internet technology. HTC Push Internet alleviates slow downloading and rendering of Web pages on a mobile phone. Users can preselect their favorite Websites to get immediate access to them when needed.

HTC TOUCH DIAMOND2
The HTC Touch Diamond2 is the next step in the evolution of the successful HTC Touch Diamond. Crafted to fit perfectly into the hand, the Touch Diamond2 evolves the compact design and iconic style of the original HTC Touch Diamond. It incorporates a larger 3.2-inch high-resolution wide-screen VGA display for a greater viewing area in a design just 13.7mm thick. The phone also includes a new touch sensitive zoom bar for even faster zooming of Web pages, emails, text messages, photos or documents.

Leveraging HTC's TouchFLO 3D experience combined with a people-centric communication approach and HTC's new Push Internet technology The Touch Diamond2 offers an advanced touch experience that is optimized for one-hand use.

With fifty-percent better battery life, a five mega-pixel auto focus camera, expandable memory, gravity sensor and an ambient light sensor, the Touch Diamond2 brings the most sophisticated capabilities to a broad consumer audience looking for the professional benefits of a smartphone without sacrificing size, looks or functionality.

HTC TOUCH PRO2
Designed for business professionals, the HTC Touch Pro2 is architected with distinct style and strength while delivering the most powerful productivity experience available on a mobile phone. Leveraging HTC's TouchFLO 3D, people-centric communication and Push Internet technology, the Touch Pro2 features a high-resolution 3.6-inch widescreen VGA display for an expanded viewing area and large finger-friendly QWERTY keyboard. With improved battery life, expandable memory, a touch-sensitive zoom bar as well as gravity, proximity and ambient light sensors, the Touch Pro2 is optimized for touch as well as heavy email use.

INTRODUCING HTC STRAIGHT TALKÄ FOR HTC TOUCH PRO2
The new HTC Touch Pro2 leverages voice in a new way to create one of the most sophisticated communication experiences found on a mobile phone. HTC's new Straight Talk technology delivers an integrated email, voice and speakerphone experience. Users can transition seamlessly from email to single or multi-party conference calls and turn any location into a conference room.

In addition to the new simplified calling experience, Straight Talk includes an innovative mechanical and acoustic design that features a sophisticated speakerphone experience similar to those found in corporate boardrooms. Straight Talk delivers a high-fidelity voice and sound experience enhanced by asymmetric speakers and advanced noise suppression with full duplex acoustics. When the Touch Pro2 is flipped over it automatically turns into a conference room speakerphone system.

Availability
The HTC Touch Diamond2 will be available to customers across major European and Asian markets in early Q2 2009 with broader global availability coming later in the year. The Touch Pro2 will be available across major global markets beginning in early summer.

About HTC
Founded in 1997, HTC Corporation (HTC) is a global leader in mobile phone innovation and design. Since its establishment, HTC has developed strong R&D capabilities, pioneered many new designs and product innovations and launched state-of-the-art mobile phones for mobile operators and distributors in Europe, the US, Asia and around the world. HTC is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile device market. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.

Now, it bears mentioning that HTC is pretty diligent about updating their phones, releasing driver and software updates to improve performance when necessary. Problem is, these updates don't usually trickle down through the cellular providers, leaving most users stuck with the first (and only) generation of the phone's branded—and sometimes crippled— software. Thanks to XDA, most users can switch to an up-to-date OS, with a variety of extra tweaks added at the discretion of the community.

What do you stand to gain from upgrading your ROM?

• Better battery life
• Faster performance, especially in TouchFLO 3D
• Stronger reception
• Quicker, less laggy GPS locking and tracking
• Bundles of useful software, included updated, faster Opera browser
• Reenabling carrier-chopped features such as tethering, HDSPA

Popular phones best suited for upgrade:

• Touch
• Touch Dual
• Touch Diamond
• Touch Pro
• Other variants

The prospect of upgrading your phone's entire OS might sound intimidating, but the XDA community has provided GUI tools for each step. The procedure is not risk-free, but the success rate polls highly among people who follow the directions closely. I flashed T-Mobile's branded Diamond, the MDA Compact IV, without incident.

Ready to give this a shot? XDA's detailed guides are available here:

• Touch/Touch Dual
• Touch Diamond/Touch Pro
• 
  Others can be found in the device subforums here.

If ROMs and bootloaders and radios all sound too scary (and I wouldn't blame you), XDA also has a hefty collection of simpler tweaks and mods for your HTC phones, including themes, games and apps that you might not find elsewhere.

Expect to hear a lot more about these guys in the coming months—they'll probably be the first ones to port Android to older HTC handsets. As of the 4th, they've got a severely gimped version of Android 0.8 (the G1 launched with 1.0) running on the Diamond, so an "Install Android on Your HTC Phone" Dealzmodo Hack is inevitable, if still pretty far off. [XDA Developers and ModMyDiamond]

Dealzmodo Hacks are intended to help you sustain your crippling gadget addiction through tighter times. If you come across any on your own that are particularly useful, send it to our tips line (Subject: Dealzmodo Hack). Check back every Thursday for free DIY tricks to breathe new life into hardware that you already own.

You can see from the screens that the connection speed is over 13Mbps, and the front camera indicates (predictable) 3G capabilities to complement just about every other type of connection a phone could have. With the relative newness of America's WiMax infrastructure it's unlikely that we'll see this phone here, but it would be an awfully good way to atone for depriving us of our Touch HD. [Nedge2k via Modaco via Slashphone]

Sad news, US. we looked into it- by the time we could bring Touch HD to the States, it would be old news. We do have other cool stuff coming.

The G1 is admittedly more exciting, but this thing is set to be one of the best Windows Mobile phones available. Import options will be available sans 3G support, which nobody will want anyway. [Twitter via WMExperts]

Other specs include 528MHz processor, 256MB RAM, 512MB, HSDPA, GPS and just 12mm of thickness. It's supposed to be "in stores for Santa." [Modaco Thanks everyone!]

[What A Smart Idea]

At a basic level, they all perform the same function—sensing a disturbance in the force when your finger or stylus or whatever pointy object you've got touches the screen, and then extrapolating that into knowing where you're touching it and relaying that to the software. The differences lie in how each screen detects a touch.

Resistive touchscreens are the ones you've probably put your greasy fingers on more than any other kind, mostly because they're the cheapest and oldest. They're in most touchscreen cellphones, many tablets and the Nintendo DS, to name a very few.

How it works: On the bottom you've got a layer of glass, and on top of that, you've got two more: a conductive and a resistive layer. They've got a sliver of space between them. And on top of that you've got one more layer, which is the one you touch. So, when you push down on the screen, the conductive and resistive layer touch each other, which changes the electrical current running through 'em, and the device can tell from that where your finger or stylus is touching.

Good and bad: While resistive is a good deal cheaper to manufacture at the moment, one downside is that it's hard to do multitouch, because of the constraints and shortcomings of a pressure-based system. Another problem is that the multiple layers of touch technology on top of the LCD block an awful lot of light—think of how much dimmer the DS's bottom screen is than the top one.

Capacitive touchscreens are a bit fancier. They used to be really expensive, but the costs are coming down, so you're seeing them in more stuff, like this touchscreen phone from Apple you might have read about, or Dell's Latitude XT tablet.

How it works: At its most basic level, you've got a layer on top of the actual display panel that has an electrical charge running through it. Since you've got your own electrical mojo going on, when you touch the screen (presumably with your finger), it registers an electrical change. By measuring how much you're mucking up the electrical field and where the biggest disturbances are, the device can determine where you're touching it.

Good and bad: It's far easier to do multitouch with capacitive, and fewer added layers mean more light comes through for a brighter display. Still, because it's all about electrical fields interacting and conductivity and stuff, a hand with a mitten on it will have a hard time making stuff happen, and if you wanna use a stylus, you'll need a special one.

Infrared touch sensing, currently most famously used by Microsoft's Surface table, takes a slightly different approach. Because it works well with larger products, you might end up seeing this one quite a bit, especially from Microsoft.

How it works: Basically, the image on the surface is projected from underneath it, along with infrared light. Also underneath are infrared cameras that can see when the light is reflected by objects (like your fingers or cellphones or whatever), and those images are processed and translated as you move and gesture with pictures and virtual objects.

Good and bad: The good thing about this is that it uses existing technologies that come very cheap; the bad news is that the apparatus itself can be bulky, hence the need for Surface to be hidden inside a table, or at least a large globe. Also, it's sensitive to light, so flash photography or strong sunlight can throw off its game.

More, more, more!! There are some \way more advanced touchscreen technologies that aren't yet in wide use. The surface wave acoustic system uses tranducers and reflectors that detect if the ultrasonic waves being sent between them are disturbed (absorbed, actually), meaning something is touching it. Upside is that no metal crap in the panel means 100 percent brightness and awesome clarity. But apparently dust and crud can affect it, so not good for anywhere dirty.

Sharp and others have released prototype touchscreens with optical sensing tech built directly into the display. They are sensitive enough to detect your finger rubs right down to the pixel. Besides making multitouch easy, it can also double as a scanner because of the whole optical deal. Right now it's for small screens like phones—it can scale to notebook size, but not any larger. Of course, they, like infrared, can be affected by undesired light fluxuations.

Mary Lou Jepsen—the engineering honcho behind OLPC's original XO Laptop and founder of the Pixel Qi LCD development firm—told us recently she is pushing for in-cell touchscreen tech, which would make touchscreens cost the same as regular LCDs and be the same thickness, since touch sensitivity would be part of the LCD's own matrix. The issue is that it'll only work with devices specifically coded to use it; it's not a plug-and-play touchscreen like you could order online for your home DIY fake iPhone. If you're wagering that this secret sauce will help achieve the impossibly low pricetag on OLPC's next baby, the XO-2, you win a cookie.

And that's just about everything you need to know about touchscreens to get by. Resistive and capacitive are the major two to know for now, though you might start hearing a lot more about the other ones soon enough.

Something you still wanna know? Send any questions about touching, feeling or screening to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line. Top image from David Nguyen, featured in this Giz Photoshop contest.

Even the "Tap here to launch TouchFLO 3D" intro screen that launches the TouchFLO interface is not very responsive. Here are the two biggest problems here with the interface that we can see. (Spoiler: it's pretty much the same problems as the original HTC Touch.)

One, the screen is the same hard screen that was introduced back when the first HTC Touch a year ago. It's harder than normal HTC screens like the AT&T Tilt (HTC TyTN II) because there's no raised ridge around it to protect the screen, and is a compromise made between using the stylus to touch the screen and using your finger. This makes it feel not ideal for your fingerpad (the way the iPhone works) and better for your fingernail (like the crazy Singaporean gal likes). Don't even try it with sweaty hands.

The other problem is that the processing power is not fast enough to keep up with natural gestures. Sweeping through the list of available applications on the bottom of the screen in the app strip often gets locked up halfway through, when some app decides it wants to slow everyone down and load up its icons. It's unclear whether it's because the Touch Diamond doesn't have the graphical capacity and processing power to keep up with the fancy 3D TouchFLO they rigged up, or if it's a problem with the touch sensor not registering inputs well enough when you use your finger. We think it's the latter, since it works fine with a stylus or a fingernail. Cycling through the same apps one by one using the hardware D-Pad is also excruciatingly slow as well, taking two seconds each to bring up the next menu item.

The good news is that the virtual BlackBerry-esque SureType split-key keyboard is much better than the built-in one Windows Mobile sticks you with, and can actually be used with your finger tip. The bad news is that it takes up 60% of the screen, so when you're sending an SMS, you've got only one line of text visible at a time. Ouch.

Other things we like are the improved dialer screen and call screen (it's very, very iPhone-like), the fancy weather app, the very bright screen, the size, the glowing circle inside the D-Pad, the magnet on the right side that grips the stylus, and the general prettiness of the UI. Look for a full review in the near future.

Update: The new UI fix is a lot faster.

The Raphael seems to be pretty interesting as well, and GSMArena says it's a successor to the HTC TyTN II (AT&T Tilt). It'll be sold as the Touch Pro, further illustrating how much junk HTC is shoving under the Touch brand, and still have a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

And last, the HTC Titanium, will be probably the HTC Touch Dual Pro and have a 12 or 20 key slide-out keypad. [GSM Arena and MS Mobiles]

New York City
Austin
NJ and Long Island
Las Vagas
Minneapolis
Miami
Dallas
Chicago
Houston
Philadelphia
Denver
Detroit
Orlando
Kansas city
Atlanta
Los Angeles
New England
Portland
Sacramento
San Diego
Seattle
Washington DC
San Francisco
Birmingham
Memphis
Tampa
Phoenix

The Verdict:

For a phone known in its past life as the "Touch," the touchscreen should be way more responsive. You've gotta actually put some weight behind your pokes, or maddened multi-tapping will be the order of the day (typing can be a serious calorie-burning exercise in frustration). Fingernails seem to work better than fleshy nubs, but it means swiping to get to the slick 'n' schmancy 3D Touch Cube navigation screen can occasionally turn into a massage for your phone.

The UI is basically the same as Sprint's sans Sprint logos, so if you liked your friend's, you'll feel at home. This is a Windows Mobile 6 phone, so all the usual pains (and glories) apply. Verizon's media toys, like V Cast mobile TV are still MIA on the WinMo front. The EV-DO Rev. A's blazing speeds are sweet, but unfortunately the browser doesn't match the awesomeness of the pipe—Gizmodo looks like an unreadable train wreck, for instance.

The size, shape and weight are great, but that doesn't exactly make up for the rest. Touch at your own risk. [Verizon Wireless]