We loved the original HTC Touch Pro. Or wanted to, anyway. Though HTC wowed us with distinct styling, a snappy keyboard, and a downright luscious screen, we could never quite get past how clunky the slow the TouchFlo 3D interface felt pasted over Windows Mobile 6.1. At the end of the day, we just couldn’t recommend it. But with a company as prolific as HTC, you seldom have to wait long for a better version. With the second go around on the Touch Pro2, HTC has attentively resolved many of the most annoying issues with the first phone, delivering one of the most livable Windows Mobile 6.1 handsets to date.

HTC Touch Pro2Features and Design

The original HTC Touch Pro derived much of its appeal from its unique styling, and while the company has kept built quality high for the Pro2, much of the edginess we saw in the first version has melted away. The rigid, crystaline lines that gave the jet-black Pro such a unique look have given way to a softened, matte-brown back, and the almost-sharp corners now wrap around in smooth curves. It’s a matter of taste no doubt, but in our opinion, carrying one of these phones no longer counts as a much of a fashion statement, and it could be confused with just about any other generic touchscreen phone.

That is, of course, before you turn it on. The HTC Touch Pro2 sports an enormous 3.6-inch LCD screen, which is not only bigger than the original’s, it’s bigger than the iPhone’s, and has more resolution, too. A full 800 by 480 pixels packed into its confines gives it dot pitch unmatched by nearly any other device out there. Unfortunately, HTC has shunned the responsive capacitive touch technology used on the G1 and its other Android-based phones, instead opting for a cludgier feeling resistive model.

The screen sits flush in a dark, mirror-like front bezel that runs from edge to edge. The only buttons found below the screens are the typical send and end call buttons, home, and back. Though they’re easy to press, the tiny size of the icons makes it difficult to see which is which before memorizing them. Like most phones, you’ll find a power button up top, a volume rocker on the left, and a mini USB jack below. Unfortunately, HTC continues to take the Samsung route in using a USB-based adapter in place of a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, which makes a miserable start for a music player. It’s also missing a dedicated camera button, though the easy-to-access microSD slot on the left makes up for it a bit (some companies hide them inconveniently below the battery). HTC has also added a touch-sensitive strip below the screen exclusively for controlling zoom, and an anachronistic stylus tucked away in the bottom right corner for Windows Mobile die hards still reminiscieing about the days of the Pocket PC.

HTC Touch Pro2A full QWERTY keyboard remains a hallmark of the business-targeted Touch Pro2. Sliding away the screen reveals a particularly spacious four-row keyboard with hard keys raised above a dished-out area. We found it easy to tap out Web addresses, text messages and even lengthy e-mails with it, and especially liked the way the screen tilts up roughly 45 degrees, making it much easier to view as you type at waist level.

The price for all the extra amenities: size and weight. The Touch Pro2 measures a pretty standard 4.57 inches tall and 2.33 inches wide, but feels quite chunky at 0.66 inches thick. An almost unheard of weight of 178.5 grams doesn’t help matters, but it does lend it a solid feeling tha