HTC Touch Pro

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Review

HTC may not have named it as such, but its new Touch Pro smartphone is really nothing more than a Touch Diamond with a keyboard. Well, we say “nothing more” – the addition of a slide-out Qwerty keyboard similar to that on the TyTN II is no small thing, particularly if you plan to do a lot of typing in Windows Mobile (and don't like the look of the BlackBerry Bold).

The Touch Pro is bigger and heavier than the Touch Diamond as a result, but not by much – it’s 55g heavier and 7mm thicker, though it feels far chunkier than this in the hand. Extra bulk aside, the Touch Pro has essentially the same design as the Touch Diamond and the two are pretty much indistinguishable looking at their front panels alone.

The Touch Pro has done away with the Touch Diamond’s gloss finish for its battery cover though, and instead has a far more tasteful matte black plastic with slightly rubberised finish. The battery cover still has the same multi-faceted design no doubt intended to evoke the appearance of a cut diamond and this creates a problem. With the keyboard slid open, the uneven battery cover means that the Touch Pro won’t lie flat on a level surface and instead tilts back to rock on one edge of the case. This makes it awkward to type with the Touch Pro sat on a desk, so you’ll have to hold it in both hands for two-thumbed typing instead.

HTC has paid some attention to the mechanism that the two halves of the case are attached to and the keyboard slides open with a pleasing, well-sprung snap. It’s also difficult to foul the mechanism by pushing just one side of the open keyboard to close it (unlike on the HTC TyTN and TyTN II) – a small point, but a useful one that makes one-handed use of the Touch Pro a mite easier.

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