My new smartphone: HTC Touch Pro2 (Verizon)

If you don't follow my Medical Smartphones blog, you may not know that I've been testing various smartphones and I've finally settled on a new one. It's not perfect, but it's a significant improvement over my old one (which was an old Verizon Wireless XV6800 (aka HTC Titan, Sprint Mogul, etc.) and it was old and clunky, but it worked fairly well. The keyboard ended up dying and I needed to get a new phone.

I now have the HTC Touch Pro2 and it's a solid Windows Mobile smartphone. I'll be writing about my experience with this phone over the next several days, so make sure you follow MedicalSmartphones.com to read my impressions. http://www.medicalsmartphones.com

HTC Touch Diamond Now on Verizon Wireless

The HTC Touch Pro has been available through Verizon Wireless for a while now. Well, they're moving backwards and they're now offering the HTC Touch Diamond (the slim version without the slideout keyboard). It still has TouchFLO™ 3D, so it's touch-friendly and it looks like a great phone for medical students, residents, and physicians who want something small, thin, and light. It's a shame that Verizon Wireless doesn't offer the Apple iPhone, but I suppose this allows other companies like HTC and RIM to market phones like the Touch Diamond and the BlackBerry Storm.

Opera Mobile 9.7

I'm waiting to try Opera Mobile 9.7 on my HTC Titan XV6800 (Sprint Mogul). I've been using Opera Mobile 9.5 and it's been working quite well so far. However, it's slow compared to Opera Mini, and Opera Mobile 9.7 is supposed to have Opera Turbo. So, when is Opera Mobile 9.7 going to be available?

HTC ROM Update for the HTC Touch Pro

HTC has released a ROM update for the HTC Touch Pro. However, download and install with caution since it may wipe out critical settings that are provided by your carrier (such as by Verizon, Sprint, or AT&T). The Touch Pro is a nice device but you should take a look at the Touch Pro2 since it's much nicer (and if you're able to wait). Who knows when the Touch Pro2 will come out, but I think it will be worth the wait.

The HTC Touch Pro2

Wow, the HTC Touch Pro2 really looks like a nice device. It will have a 3.6" touch screen (which is almost an inch longer than my current HTC Titan or XV6800 that has a 2.8" screen). Plus, it will feature the tilting keyboard that slides out. Personally, I think this is a great feature because you can set your device on a table and still see what's on the display.

With much more internal RAM and a fast processor, it should run Windows Mobile 6.5 without any problems. Maybe it will even get the upgrade for Windows Mobile 7 when it becomes available (or maybe that's just wishful thinking). Well, I'm happy with my XV6800 for now, so I don't plan to make any changes.

Actually, if (or when) I upgrade to a new smartphone, I probably won't go with a slider anymore. I'll probably get a candybar style device or maybe a thin touch screen device that doesn't have a hardware keyboard. I like to use my phone with one hand and I find that the slider just isn't good for that.

Still Waiting for Verizon to Unlock the aGPS on HTC and Samsung

People are still waiting for Verizon Wireless to unlock the aGPS on the HTC Touch Pro, the Samsung Omnia, and the Samsung Saga. Even though the XV6900 (or HTC Vogue) also has an internal aGPS chip, Verizon won't be unlocking that. So, if you want to use the GPS on that device, you'll need to do some adventurous ROM flashing. I'm still lucky to have the XV6800 (or HTC Titan, Sprint Mogul, PPC 6800) that has an internal aGPS that works really well once you load a custom ROM and apply a few tweaks (or apply a few tweaks to the MR1 or MR2 ROM released by Verizon).

It's so handy to have a phone that has an internal aGPS. The safety implications of having a GPS device are also huge. In fact, I'm surprised that Verizon hasn't faced any significant lawsuits from people who may have sustained injury that could have been avoided if the aGPS on their device had not been locked or disabled by Verizon.

Well, fortunately Verizon won't be crippling future smartphones that have a built-in aGPS. However, there are many current customers who are waiting for that software upgrade!

Screen Protectors for Mobile Gadgets

There was a time when I used screen protectors on all my devices. My Apple Newton Messagepad 2100 had a screen protector. Then, any other device that had a touch screen got a screen protector. This includes my Palm Pilot, the Casio Cassiopeia E-125, HP/Compaq iPaq, the Treo 700wx, and more recently my HTC XV6800.

I've started moving away from screen protectors on some of my other devices. For instance, my Samsung Q1 Ultra UMPC doesn't have a screen protector. I've been using this device for over a year and it doesn't have a single scratch on it. I also haven't used a screen protector on my Lenovo Thinkpad X200 Tablet. No scratches.

So. my XV6800 needs a new screen protector. There are several different types and I've been using the original one that came in the Verizon box.

Getting the aGPS to work on the XV6800 MR2

The release of MR1 and MR2 for the Verizon XV6800 has complicated things quite significantly. I had to install an older Verizon ROM, then update the bootloader, then install the new radio ROM, then install the new device ROM. Once you do that, then you need to run QPST and change a few settings to enable the aGPS.

Mobile World Congress 2009

The Mobile World Congress is in Barcelona this year. Too bad it's not just right down the street. Wouldn't you like to have an excuse to travel to Spain? It looks like several companies are either announcing High Definition (HD) versions of their touch phones (like the Samsung Omnia HD). Others are moving from VGA to WVGA (like the HTC Touch Diamond 2 and the HTC Touch Pro 2). Will we establish a screen resolution standard for the next generation of smartphones? My prediction is that everything will eventually move to a widescreen format.

I wonder how mobile phone technology will change over the next two years. Right now we see 3G taking off on phones, laptops and notebooks, netbooks, and UMPCs. We see people using their mobile phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot by streaming 3G data through the air. More laptops are coming equipped with a 3G card and built-in antenna. People are using their mobile phones to tether and get connected on their laptops.

Windows Mobile 6.5: Touch Input

According to the folks over at Brighthand, Windows Mobile 6.5 is official. However, it may be a while before you see it out there (unless you happen to know some people at Microsoft). Of course, developers have been working on leaked ROMs that are based on Windows Mobile 6.5.

Smartphones are transitioning to finger-only input. The phones that are "business" or "professional" still have a hardware keyboard with physical buttons. But the vast majority of other phones running Windows Mobile are relying on screen-based touch input.

We've seen this phenomenon burst with the iPhone. Now we have the BlackBerry Storm. On the side of Windows Mobile, we have Samsung with the Omnia and HTC with the Touch Diamond, Fuze, and Touch Pro (which is a slider with a keyboard). LG has the Incite.

So are you ready to transition to a phone that only has a touch screen? Can you live without a hardware keyboard? How will this impact your search for drugs when you're using Epocrates? What if you're typing an email or editing a contact?

Going Back to the Stock Verizon ROM for the XV6800

I need to install the stock Verizon ROM on my XV6800. I've been using a custom ROM that allows me to use the built-in GPS and it's been great. But, it's time for me to go through the steps of installing the original ROM. Can you guess why?

If Verizon hadn't disabled the built-in GPS, then I wouldn't have gone through all the trouble. Now, I have to go through all these complicated steps at the risk of turning my phone into a nice paperweight brick.

Thank goodness for the HTC Titan wiki. The first step is the BootLoader. I've already done that using a microSD card. Now, I need to go through and replace the phone ROM and the radio ROM. Verizon now has both an MR1 and an MR2 ROM update listed on their website so you can get Windows Mobile 6.1 and RevA speeds.

Thankfully, all the newer Verizon phones don't come crippled with disabled GPS chips.

Windows Mobile 6.5 on the XV6800

There are some beta versions of Windows Mobile 6.5 floating around for the HTC Titan (XV6800, Sprint Mogul). Looks like it will be more touch-friendly based on some of the pictures floating around.

HTC Touch Pro replacing the XV6800 (aka Mogul)

Looks like the HTC Touch Pro will be replacing the Verizon XV6800 (aka Sprint Mogul ). Are you planning on upgrading?


As for me, I think I'm done with sliders. They're great for some, but not for me. I really prefer the Treo-style phones so the new Samsung Epix or the new Treo Pro are the ones that really attract me. I want something that is slim (hence, not a slider), and one that I can use with a single hand for the keyboard. A slider requires both hands. I got used to typing with a single hand when I used my old Treo.

Treo Pro and the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 both made by HTC

The Treo Pro and the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 are both made by HTC. Did you know that? I'm glad that I have a phone made by HTC too - the XV6800. I've been very happy with the quality of the phones made by HTC.