HTC just went live with their
Touch Cruise. "Touch" as in that TouchFLO interface, "Cruise" as in GPS-enabled. The third addition to HTC's Touch lineup packs HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth, a 3 megapixel camera, microSD expansion, and a 2.8-inch touch-screen lying on top of a Windows Mobile 6 foundation. Oh, and it's loaded with TomTom Navigator 6 software to make the most of that GPS receiver. Yup, everything
mostly what we thought it would be. Available this month from European retailers or SIM-free direct from HTC.
Update: We're still digging but HTC was a bit unkind by not providing specific country launch information or supported radio bands. At the moment, this looks like Europe-only.
Update 2: Good news, specs are
now posted and it's quad-band GSM like we originally heard with HSDPA/UMTS riding 2100MHz for Europe and 850/1900MHz for the ol' US. Hoozah!
[Via
Pocket-lint]
Read -- Press Release [warning: PDF]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rhedgehog @ Nov 12th 2007 9:43AM
http://www.htc.com/product/03-product_htctouch_cruise.htm
Shows you all the specs about the bands....
HSDPA triband including 850 and 1900 and quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE.
Seems they gave theinformation plenty!
Constable Odo @ Nov 12th 2007 10:19AM
Whether it works well or not, it's definitely a rugged looking handset with lots of goodies.
William Murray @ Nov 12th 2007 10:43AM
I've had the HTC P3300 (Artemis), which the Touch Cruise (Polaris) replaces, since early this year and I think it's a great device! The lack of a physical keyboard is sometimes a nuisance, but otherwise there's not much this phone is lacking. I use it with TomTom Navigator 6 and it's great to have integrated GPS to get around unfamiliar areas. The upgrades brought by the Touch Cruise (better processor, more memory, SDHC compatibility, 3G) should only improve on an already amazing piece of hardware. And with the TouchFLO interface, the software should be better, too! I'm definitely considering an upgrade.
Robin @ Nov 12th 2007 11:31AM
William - two questions: which carrier do you use and how is call quality? The last HTC I had (awhile ago) had horrible call quality, compared to other Windows devices. This was on Cingular. I recently bought and returned the new Q, which had phenomenal call quality, but too many other problems. Am considering the BlackJack II when it appears, but am also curious about HTC (if AT&T picks it up).
Thanks.
William Murray @ Nov 12th 2007 11:44AM
I use AT&T (Cingular) and haven't had any problems. If you're curious about how HTC hardware performs on their network, you could always pick up a Tilt and give it a whirl. You have two weeks to return the phone (I think), but since it's an HTC product it would give you an idea of the call quality. Personally, I haven't had any problems with the P3300, which replaced a Moto MPx220 and imate SP3i that I'd been using previously (the Moto was cr@p, but the imate was fine).
tnkgrl @ Nov 12th 2007 4:18PM
I really like the design direction HTC is taking lately with this Touch Cruise and the Shadow (ie. away from the organic look of the Tytn II/Touch).
MBS @ Nov 12th 2007 7:23PM
But will it run Android? ;)
Jas @ Nov 15th 2007 5:19AM
Does anyone know if the included TomTom has North American maps? The following excerpt from the press release on the HTC website makes me believe it may only have the Western European ones:
"The Touch Cruise utilizes mapping and navigation solutions from TomTom. This navigation software comes complete with a taster city map or the option of full maps of Western Europe."