It is now clear by the following screenshot that Windows Mobile 7 won’t be the immediate successor of Windows Mobile 6.5. On a MSDN page, there is a mention of Windows Mobile 6.5.3 when widgets are being discussed about Windows Mobile.

[MSDN page]

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The words and the image say it all- T-Mobile USA is going to feature HTC HD2. The 4.3 inch capacitive display device is speculated to be arriving at T-Mobile if the specs and the picture shown in the screenshot below are to be believed.

Its unclear right now that which other US carriers will be supporting HD2. Let’s wait from the final word.

Via Slashgear

Wisbar is one of the few utilities that I consider as must have for a windows mobile device. Even with the addition of HTC task manager in the HTC’s models, Windows Mobile still does not let you switch tasks the way you do on a desktop PC. On a desktop PC, we see running icons, which when tapped take us to ‘that’ application. Wisbar Advance works the similar way.

screenshot of Wisbar advance (older version)

[Get the BETA!]

Note: Windows Mobile 6.5 is not supported in  the current BETA.

Note 2: You need to register there in order to download

ARTICLE: Why I love Wisbar advance?

It has become quite an interesting ride for the Sprint users- tit-bits about the smartphone keep on wandering the news box. The Sep 3 release date was recently certified by a screenshot. But now here is another that claims the unveil date to be Sep 8. Apart from an increased wait, other con is the price, i.e., $599.99;that appears quite on the higher side when compared to the Verizon version.

Another restraint is that Sep 8 is the day for Direct Shipment rather than Sep 3, so the folks at Sprint  will be available only on the unveil date. Though these features don’t appear ravenous for a customer, a final word is yet to come. Check out more at Sprintusers.com. For the PDF, click here.

With the economic recession still plaguing the world economy, the normal consumer wants to get more features at the lowest price possible. This is where the HTC TOUCH VIVA truly shines. This pebble shaped Windows Mobile device packs a lot of features at a diminutive price. Do we recommend it? Read the review to find out!

Design

The Touch Viva has a pebble shaped design similar to now old HTC TOUCH, which was launched last year.

On the left side, you will find the up and down volume buttons to control the volume.

On the right side, you will find nothing. Remember that the HTC’s approach while designing this device was to keep the design as minimal as possible.

On the bottom, you will find the HTC’s ext-USB port which is used for charging, syncing and for earphones.

On the top, you will find the power button.

On the front of the device, you will find the speaker grill. As you move to the bottom, a 4-way DPAD can be found along with answer and end keys. The Touch Viva fits very nicely in hand thanks to its curvy design.

Screen

The VIVA has a non-flushed display with QVGA (240 x 320) resolution. This was quite unexpected as the VIVA was supposed to be a replacement of the original Touch, which had flushed display. The flushed display played a great role in improving the touch experience in the original HTC TOUCH. We are not saying that the recessed display has usage issues, but the flushed display would have improved the user experience.

The display is quite sensitive and registers taps and gestures easily. The sensitive display makes using the TouchFlo 2D an absolute pleasure.

Performance

Even though the VIVA comes with only 200MHz OMAP processor, it surprisingly does not lag in performance department. Infact, it is the fastest OMAP device I’ve ever used! The TouchFlo2D is blazingly fast on the TOUCH VIVA thanks to several HTC advancements.

The main reason is the increased RAM which is now 128MB as compared to the abyssal 64MB RAM which was found in its predecessor, HTC TOUCH. The users of HTC TOUCH got just 15-16MB free RAM after bootup, which ultimately bogged down the overall performance of the device. In TOUCH VIVA, you get nearly 65MB free RAM which lets you run many applications in the background without slowing down the device much.

Memory and Storage

As said above, it comes with 128MB of RAM. It has 256MB ROM out of which 115MB storage memory is available to the user.

The device also comes with a microSD slot which is hidden behind the back panel. Since it is SDHC compatible, it can accept storage cards upto 32GB.

Connectivity

The VIVA is a quad band GSM phone which comes with WiFi and BT.

Phone

The speaker (located at the back) of the TOUCH VIVA is quite loud. You will face no problems in hearing the ringtone in noisy crowd. The earpiece gives clear sound to the speaker. The phone picks up strong signals.

Camera

The VIVA comes with a 2MP camera. It does not come with auto-focus capability. Even then, it can take decent pictures in good lightning conditions. It does not come with flash. It can also record video at QVGA resolution @ 15FPS. Here are a couple of pictures that I took with the camera:

Stylus

The stylus is non-telescopic. The silo is located on the top right of the device.

Some Comparison shots with the TOUCH DIAMOND

Size comparisons give you an idea of overall feel of the device:

Battery Life

The VIVA comes with 1100mAh battery. Since it comes with an extremely power-frugal OMAP processor, it should be able to give you 2-3 days of battery life with normal usage. Even heavy usage should give you a full day battery life.

Comparison with TOUCH 3G:

• The 3G costs more than the TOUCH VIVA
• The difference in speed is not much between the two devices despite the fact that the VIVA uses OMAP processor
• TOUCH 3G uses flushed display, whereas the TOUCH VIVA uses recessed display.
• TOUCH 3G has 3G while TOUCH VIVA does not come with 3G built in.

So what is missing?

3G. Yes, but we are not complaining much about it as Touch VIVA is meant to be a budget device. Flushed screens are becoming a norm these days on the HTC phones. It makes us wonder why the HTC did not go for the flushed display. Did they do it to differentiate it from bigger model, HTC TOUCH 3G? Perhaps, yes.

For screenshots of TOUCHFLO2D and to learn more about it, read the software part of the HTC TOUCH 3G review.

—

Pros:

• Good battery life
• Fits nicely in hand
• TouchFLO2D is surprisingly fast on VIVA
• Good performance
• Minimal design
• Lots of free RAM
• SDHC support
• Good value for money

Cons:

• No 3.5mm earphone jack
• non-flushed screen
• Reset button behind back panel

HTC TOUCH VIVA official webpage