So, in an effort to possibly make this blog useful, I’m going to review some devices I’ve had and why I do not have them any more or why I have decided to hold on to them. The first in this series will be the HTC Touch Pro, on Sprint’s EVDO network.

This device, even before you turn it on, is pretty. HTC went a long way to make it very aesthetically pleasing, and feels solid. Comparing it to my iPhone 3G, it was about 1.5 iPhones thick (its a valid unit of measurement!), and about as heavy. Turning it on, you’re presented with the usual Windows Mobile startup screens and initial setup. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had to see that screen.

Once you’re done and on the main screen of the phone, you’re presented with HTC’s TouchFLO UI, which sits on top of Windows Mobile and uses hardware graphic accelerators within the phone to make a flashy UI to hide Windows Mobile’s relative ugliness. Personally, I turned it off. Sprint went through the trouble of rebranding TouchFLO to be a Sprint TouchFLO and really ruined it for me. What I still look for in a phone is a decent data connection with instant messaging (AIM/Gtalk/MSN/Jabber, etc) and Exchange sync, good signal, and a battery life that I’m not searching frantically for a power outlet as soon as I unplug it.

Data Connection/Signal:

I work in the Denver area, specifically, Broomfield, CO. Its quite developed, and on other phones I’ve had no problems maintaining an excellent signal back to the towers. With the Touch Pro, this was no exception. Solid coverage for EVDO around work, with some dropout over the farmlands I basically drive through to get home, and then it picks back up just fine. No problems there. I was able to stream Digitally Imported at a high bitrate WMA with almost no dropout while walking around the office.

Instant Messaging:

Sprint/HTC’s bundled IM clients were rather lacking, and Agile Messenger still is a substandard application. However, Beejive, who makes, IMO, the best mobile IM client ever for the Blackberry and iPhone, had a beta of their app for Windows Mobile. This was where the Pro’s full keyboard both shone and dulled. I do understand its not a blackberry keyboard, but a single-membrane keyboard that has no tactile positioning is a bit hard to type on. I probably could have gotten used to it, but I wasn’t going to keep the phone for that long. I’m not going to go into Beejive in detail as that is not directly related to the phone.

Exchange Sync:

Its a Windows Mobile phone. My company has push sync properly set up. It works. Nuff said.

Battery Life:

Here’s where I get mega anal retentive, but I’m going to explain myself. If I’m going to pay $400 for a phone, I want it to do a crapload of stuff for that money. The HTC Touch Pro has A2DP, which allows for stereo Bluetooth audio to stream to a headset that will recieve it. My intent on buying this phone was to use either a Wifi connection or EVDO to stream music on the run. I love Digitally Imported and they’re single handedly making beatport.com get a good $50-60 in music to be bought monthly. My commute is approximately 40 minutes each way, so I will get tired of the music on my iPod if I’m not careful. That said, I did a test. I hooked up my Jabra headset, clipped the Touch Pro to my belt, and walked around the office for a good 30 minutes listening to some trance. The battery came out to about a quarter charge left. I was not satisfied.

Now before any of you scream that this is some amazing feat and I’m expecting way too much out of the device, this is my gripe: CDMA/EVDO 3G technology is much more battery/energy intensive than a GSM/UMTS 3G connection. If I were on the Touch Pro on AT&T (its the Fuze there) I would have roughly double the battery life left.  Granted, I’m not going to always be streaming music, but if I’m stranded somewhere without outside connectivity and want to keep myself from boredom, I will want that much battery available to me. So, back it went.

Overall, if you’re not me, and not that demanding of a battery in a phone, I think you’ll be very pleased with the HTC Touch Pro.