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WITH a brand known for its high-end corporate smartphones, Taiwanese device man ufacturer HTC is setting to introduce cheaper mobile phones for the entry-level consumer market in the Philippines. While the company did not announce which specific models will be available in t he country, HTC Philippines Country Manager Mark Sergio said prices of the newe r models will hover somewhere around P15,000. In comparison, many HTC phones have price tags starting at P30,000 pesos all th e way up to P50,000. The units would also have some watered down features. But Sergio said the consu mer phones will still include functionality that are familiar to their high-end brethren, which include touch screen capabilities. Some of the consumer-level units will also have QWERTY keyboards, as well as 3G capabilities. Sergio also said that an HTC phone using Google's Android mobile phone operatin g system will be available in the Philippines. Currently, the cheapest HTC model in the Philippines is the Touch Viva, which c osts P21,990 pesos. It is also one of its highest selling models in its latest Touch series. "This showed us that there's a market for cheap, touch screen phones. The new p hones will be aimed at different user types but the important part is that the phones will deliver great user experience," Sergio said. Sergio stressed that despite the economic crisis the company has seen good sale s in the past few months. He attributed these to corporate customers looking t o provide multi-function devices to executives. The company plans to introduce the phone during the second half of the year. Se rgio promised that the new consumer phones will be "priced competitively" with other smartphones. To whet the appetite of users, Sergio showed the new HTC Touch Cruise targeted at the constant traveler.It uses Windows Mobile 6.0 just like all of the other Touch models, except for the new "Footprints" application, which allows users t o take photos and update these on the installed Google Maps software. The Touch Cruise connects to the Internet via 3G and Wifi. It also comes with a global positinging system (GPS) feature. It is priced at P32,900.

HTC is becoming quite a must-have b rand among those who can afford. Most of the manufacturer's smartphones are pri cey (between PhP25,000 to PhP50,000) and are least seen in most stores, since t heir units don't have that mass market appeal unlike other brands. The price ta g must be justified simply because their devices have been tweaked with a varie ty of components that are normally not found in other mobile phones in the same category. Likewise, they're heavily built with hard metal or plastic parts, wh ich add to their appeal as high-end models. HTC's current flagship lineup are the Touch series, which is becoming popular a mong consumers who have extra income to burn. Incidentally, the Taiwanese compa ny has also a rare model that seems awkward for its type. The HTC S740 is the l atest model in the company's S series phones. As with all models in this series , the S740 has both an alphanumeric and a QWERTY keypad that slides out from un derneath the unit. Incidentally, this design has been used by the Nokia Communi cator series for years. Tech specs The HTC S740 does not function any different from other smartphones in the same category. It uses the latest Windo ws Mobile 6.0 operating system running on a Qualcomm MSM7225 528 megahertz proc essor, which are already available in some phones. However, the S740 can boast of higher memory at 256 megabytes, quad-band cellular connectivity including HS DPA 3G, Wifi connectivity, and Bluetooth with wireless stereo headset capabilit ies. It is also GPS and A-GPS ready so international users can be assured of finding the right direction -- assuming the area where they are has an updated map. It 's also still dependent on the cellular network. The HTC S740 uses a 1000 mAh high-capacity battery pack, which gives it an oper ating period of at least 35 hours on regular use. Of course, battery life decre ases if used heavily. Because it uses Windows Mobile 6.0, the S740 also includes an Office Mobile app lications like mobile Excel, PowerPoint and Word. Form and function The S740's dual keypad design seems to be somewhat less functional for most people. For one, why would anyone make a selection on how to input text or numbers on the phone? The simple answer is that only basic phone functions become available when using the alphanumeric k eypad, such as SMS or calling. Meanwhile, users who need to write longer entries and messages can slide out th e QWERTY keyboard. All functions of the phone can be accessed either through QW ERTY or alphanumeric. The four-way navigation button in the middle of the unit works just like any di rection button in most smartphones. What makes it different is the halo-like LE D that lights up when the phone receives messages or when the alarm function is active. One thing that makes the S740 stand out is its look especially when the QWERTY keyboard is hidden. The phone's face is encased in hard clear glass while the b uttons of the alphanumeric pad and four-way navigation button are encased in cl ear plastic. Despite the difference, the face looks sleek and shiny. The functi on buttons are also well placed. The QWERTY keyboard's design is modest but nevertheless functional. The keys ar e made of plastic molds, with LEDs underneath that light up when the buttons ar e pressed. The only drawback is the size of the "space" button, which is the si ze of two letter buttons put side-by-side. Camera and multimedia The phone's multimedia fun ctions are just right. It can play multimedia files such as .WMV and .MP4 for v ideo. For audio, it can play a variety of formats, namely .MP3, WAV, .WMA, AAC, .AMR, and .WAV. The screen is also large enough to view photos and video clips saved on the phone's memory (the microSD card slot can accommodate up to 4 gig abytes of memory while the unit itself has an internal memory of 256 Mb). However, there are some issues with the S740, particularly its built-in camera. While it can shoot up to 3.2 megapixels, it has a refresh problem. This means that it is hard to take photos of moving subjects. This same refresh problem is also evident when taking videos. As a result, videos look like they were shot in 15 frames per second speed. Good thing that the smartphone's LCD screen can view high-resolution photos, si nce the colors are sharper and brighter than most units in the same class. Conclusion The HTC S740 has all of the essential functions of a smartphone. The u nit's well-built body and bold looking design is a good fit for classy users wh o want a rugged smartphone. Despite issues with the built-in camera, this model 's appeal is perhaps the wireless connectivity it offers for travelers.

Taiwanese mobile phone company HTC is expanding its market portfolio in the Phi lippines with the launch of three new mobile phones. The new phones are the HTC Touch Viva, the Touch 3G and the Touch HD -- all of which are powered by the Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system. Instead of targeting business users, HTC is focusing on mid-market mobile phone users and so-called âpower users.â In light of the launch, Mark Dewey Sergio, HTC Philippines Country Manager, sai d the company is planning to expand operations in the Philippines. He said there would be more offerings from the company as they build their bran d in the Philippines. Sergio said they are anticipating the surge in demand for 3G service s. Thus HTC will continue introducing third-generation (3G) and 3.5G handsets. Smart Communications, Sun Cellular and Globe Telecom are currently offering 3G mobile services. The recent launch was the first time HTC introduced three phones simultaneously . It previously launched the Touch Diamond and Pro series and the S700 series. The HTC Touch Viva is currently its cheapest at P21,990. The Touch Viva is the second smallest unit that has a 2.0-megapixel camera at the back that runs on a n EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) cellular network. Nevertheless, it uses has wireless fidelity (WiFi) capabilities allowing it to connect to the Internet. The Touch 3G looks similar to the Touch Viva but is slightly smaller and is 3G- capable has WiFi connectivity. It also has a built-in 3.2-megapixel camera and costs P32,900. The Touch HD is the top-of-the-line unit. As the name implies, it can play vide os at higher resolutions than most phones in its class. It also has one of the biggest screens among all of HTC's phones, past and present. The Touch HD is also 3G-ready and also has an integrated global positioning sys tem antenna. It is priced at P55,900. The three new HTC phones are using the latest TouchFlo interface allowing easie r access for applications, which would normally require an analog keypad or a s tylus. All the phones will become available in December.

By Alexander Villafania INQUIRER.net MAKATI City, Philippines -- Just three months after releasing the HTC Touch Dia mond in the Philippines, mobile handset manufacturer HTC launched its Touch Pro , the companyâs most powerful business mobile phone yet. The Touch Pro is the fourth generation of the HTC Touch series and is very simi lar to the Touch Diamond with the addition of a sliding QWERTY keyboard and a g lobal positioning system (GPS). The Touch Pro also has a much improved Touch FLO 3D, the touch screen interface that is unique to the HTC Touch series. The Touch Pro shares several similarities to the Touch Diamond, such as a 2.8-i nch screen, 3.2 megapixel camera, and Qualcomm 528 megahertz processor. Just like the Touch Diamond, the Touch Pro also has quadband cellula r network capability, EDGE, UMTS, and HSDPA. It also runs Microsoft Windows Mob ile 6.1. Touch Pro, however, has bigger RAM (288 MB compared to just 192 MB for the Touc h Diamond, including a microSDHC memory card slot), longer battery life, an int egrated GPS antenna and a wireless fidelity antenna. Even with the inclusion of a sliding QWERTY keyboard, the Touch Pro is only sli ghtly heavier than the Touch Diamond at only 165 grams. At P50,800 the HTC Touch Pro is also more expensive than the Touch Diamond, whi ch only cost P42,000 when it was launched in the Philippines in June. It is pri marily targeted at business users since it also includes several business appli cations such as Internet Explorer Mobile, Opera Browser, and Microsoft Office M obile. Despite the higher price, HTC Southeast Asia Managing Director Kevin Hou is co nfident that the new HTC Touch Pro will sell in the Philippines, especially as more business users choose handsets with touch screen interfaces. Hou said that the entry of touch screen mobile phones have enabled the developm ent of more efficient user interfaces and more interactive applications. Hou is optimistic that the business for mid-level to high-end business phones w ill continue to grow as phones become more like computers.

THE HTC Touch Diamond is the latest touch-screen device from the Taiwanese hand set maker, competing against Apple's iPhone. The device features 64MB on-board graphics memory and 640 by 480 VGA resolution. No official launch date yet in t he Philippines but INQUIRER.net technology reporter Lawrence Casiraya got his h ands on the Touch Diamond.

By Lawrence Casiraya INQUIRER.net TAIWAN'S HTC i ntroduced another touch-screen device called TyTN II, which runs on the Windows Mobile 6.0 operating system. The TyTN II follows the previous HTC Touch, the first touch-screen device launc hed locally by distributor SiS Technologies in July. The TyTN II descends from the previous Dopod line of smart phones. Dopod was ac quired by HTC in May. Unlike the Touch, the TyTN II is 3G-ready and can also connect to faster HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) networks, capable of data speeds of up to 3 Mbps. The TyTN II can also connect to the Web via Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) and comes with a built-in GPS application called MapKing and an optional business card scanner. Like the previous Dopod smart phones, it has a QWERTY keyboard although the TyT N II's screen can be tilted designed for easier browsing and video calls. It a lso features a three-megapixel camera. The TyTN II retails for P45, 500 and will be available mid-October. According to SiS Technologies< /a>, the newest HTC device has already been type-approved and service providers Globe and Smart are expected to carry the TyTN II.