Clove Technology’s Blog

Staff Member: Chris Love – MD Clove Technology

The purpose of these reviews is to give you a real user guide and feedback on using the device. It is not a technical review as there are plenty of these already available from review sites, rather a general user review of the smartphone.

My journey through recent Smartphones has taken me from a HTC TYTN to an HTC Touch Pro, so the change to the HTC Touch Pro 2 was an obvious one.

When the Touch HD was launched, I was very tempted to move to this as I was so impressed with its screen size, but the lack of keyboard stopped me from making the change. The Touch Pro 2 therefore was a perfect solution as it gave me a screen very close to the size of the HD with a keyboard that I had come to rely on.

First impressions were very good; the overall size did not appear any larger than my Touch Pro and the larger screen was also of a far higher quality. The keyboard is without doubt the best I have used so far on a Win Mobile device. The 5 lines of keys are a real plus giving far easier access to numeric keys. The screen also follows the Touch HD with clean smooth lines without the clutter of many function keys which are neatly located at the base of the screen.

There is the addition of the Windows button on the front of the unit which will mean an upgrade to Win 6.5 will be possible later in the year. The front screen also has the reduce/enlarge slider touch bar, but I have found I rarely use this feature.

Most of the in-built applications are standard to Win Mobile, but it does incorporate the latest version of Touch Flo, which many people find very productive. Personally I have replaced this with SPB Shell 3, which I find to be far superior and flexible. I really like the ability in the lifestyle view to have a large number of my main shortcuts and applications on screen for access by simply a touch. The only gripe I have over this application appear to be a bug that will sometimes make the application hang when you switch between contact and SMS.

The Touch Pro 2 appears quite fast on most applications and some of the communication tools are powerful and very easy to use. I have added a few programs including SPB Backup, CoPilot Live 7 (which I will soon update to Live and SPB Wallet, all of which I would recommend. The camera and movie feature are of a high quality for this type of device and perfect for taking the occasional photo and movie clip. Usually if away I would have a dedicated camera, so I only seem to use the camera for contact photos and pictures of some hotels and restaurants that I link to the contact database.

I do have my email from 2 accounts automatically download as well as other RSS feeds and weather reports. I also make good use of the internet browser for general information and sports updates (I have a data contract on by mobile tariff). I have tried the live TV features from a couple of software companies but generally find the access speed to be too slow for them to work well, this is down to the speed of the O2 data, and not a restriction of the phone itself.

I also have set up the Pro 2 to link to my Google Mail account which I would strongly recommend and my agenda and contacts are constantly updated with my Google ones so I would always have an up to date copy even if I did not have access to my phone for any reason. This is only sensible to use if you have a data provision on your phone contract or very good WiFi access in most places you visit.

I do not carry my Pro 2 in a case as I find them awkward, but do use and would strongly recommend a screen protector to be used. I have the CR G300 docking cradle which I think is stylish and of high quality, I also have the audio adaptor so I can use standard headphones although I do not really use the Pro 2 very much for music as I prefer my Ipod Nano. I do however sometimes download TV clips and movies for watching when on a train or plane.

The Touch Pro 2 does have a conference feature to allow 3-4 way conference calls and whilst I do not often use this the ability to turn the phone over and use on speaker phone with a high quality microphone and speaker can be a real benefit when you want someone else to share the conversation or you need to write something down from the call for example. The are many other really useful features, too many to list here, but make the use of the Pro 2 a delight, for example when you take a call and put your ear to the screen the screen turns off, but unlike the TYTN it now turns itself back on as you move the phone away from your ear to finish the call or access another application.

There are a few minor niggles, the GPS acquisition can be slow in Google Maps even when Quick GPS has been used (of interest it seems faster in CoPilot V7). I would like the reset button to be accessed via the side of the device rather than having to take the back off to access and have a standard 3.5 mm headphone socket. Possibly the most annoying one for myself is the positioning of the on/off switch which I find I can inadvertently press and turn device off when I have keyboard open and am typing. Speaking to other users this does not seem to be such a problem for them, but still consider the switch should be moved.

My conclusion however is very positive. If you need a keyboard then the HTC Touch Pro 2 is one of the best choices currently available and the unit is reliable with no major software bugs and is quick to use in most applications.

You can read more on, or purchase the HTC Touch Pro2 HERE