At CTIA 2009 in Las Vegas, HTC didn't have much to show off, but what they did have on hand should make enthusiasts happy. First, HTC returned to the Windows Mobile smartphone (non-touchscreen) scene with a stylish QWERTY phone. Then, we got some hands-on time with Europe's QWERTY-less new Android phone. Finally, to prove that touchscreens are still the future of high-end Windows Mobile phones, HTC showed us their newest TouchFLO designs.
HTC Snap Windows Mobile smartphone
 The HTC Snap is an obvious successor to the popular T-Mobile Dash. Though T-Mobile isn't officially confirming this device, and the official specs for the Snap don't include T-Mobile's necessary 1700 MHz radio band for 3G data, we're good enough at reading wink-winks and nudge-nudges to expect this phone will shop up on the U.S. carrier in the months ahead, probably with a new name and some MyFaves action. An unlocked version supporting AT&T's HSDPA network will also be released this summer, to be marketed as the HTC S522. In our hands-on time with the HTC Snap, we enjoyed the design. It's a slim, sleek little phone, definitely a major step up in design from the goofy-looking T-Mobile Dash.
The major innovation that HTC brings to the WM6.1 Standard platform is their new Inner Circle feature. With Inner Circle, you choose a group of contacts, and whenever a new message arrives from one of those people, no matter where it shows up, it's collected into the Inner Circle menu. So, important e-mails from your boss or you mother don't get lost in the shuffle with dozens of Facebook alert updates. This idea is getting very popular, and besides the obvious similarity to T-Mobile's MyFaves, we've seen a few phones that are trying to aggregate and organize information coming in from specific contacts in a meaningful way. The Nokia 7205 on Verizon Wireless tried a similar feat with its Habitat environment. It's a nice idea, and of course it worked well on the test phone that we got to try, but we wonder if HTC has gone far enough? Why not bring together all sorts of info, besides just messages, like voicemail, appointments and more.
Another key feature for the HTC Snap is the super-sized battery. The Snap uses a 1500 mAh battery, which is nearly 66% larger than the battery from the original Dash. Of course, the new HTC Snap uses faster 3G networking, which will drain the battery faster, but even with 3G active, HTC claims the Snap will see 5 hours of talking time. Release: Summer 2009 (Unlocked).
HTC Magic Android phone
 The HTC Magic is another phone that T-Mobile isn't officially talking about, but we think this one will show up soon as the T-Mobile G2, or at least the second Google Android phone on the carrier. The Magic is a simple idea. It's the T-Mobile G1 without the keyboard. Take away the QWERTY and you get a thinner phone, obviously, with an onscreen keyboard, instead of the slide-out. We banged out a few messages on the HTC Magic and came away impressed with the software keys. Like the keyboard on the Apple iPhone 3G, the keyboard on the HTC Magic will recognize and autocorrect errors in typing. So, even if you come pretty close to saying what you mean, the Magic will take you the rest of the way. This is a necessary feature for all good onscreen keyboards, and it worked well in our hands on time with the HTC Magic.
The phone also uses the accelerometer to switch the display orientation from landscape to portrait mode. Other than those features, the HTC Magic is a bit more stylish than the original, clunky T-Mobile G1. It's built into a slick, glossy shell, with that familiar 'chin' that sets Android phones apart, but not as pronounced here. The buttons on the face are somewhat rearranged, but otherwise the Android system is completely unchanged. We were hoping to see some advances in Android at this show, but the HTC Magic, which will launch for Vodafone soon, was the only star in Android's sky. Release: May 2009.
HTC Touch Pro 2 and HTC Touch Diamond 2
Rounding out the set of phones that have yet to be announced for the U.S. market, but soon will be, are the HTC Touch Pro 2 and the HTC Touch Diamond 2. The HTC Touch Pro 2 is a curved update to the boxy HTC Touch Pro (to check out our reviews of HTC Touch Pro devices, click here). The new phone also has a tilting face, in the style of the AT&T Tilt, which is also an HTC device.
 When we tried out the new HTC Touch Pro 2, we were first struck by the new screen. The new Touch Pro 2 gets a 3.6-inch touchscreen running at WVGA resolution (480 by 800 pixels), a boost from the original 2.8-inch screen driving 640 by 480 pixels. TouchFLO 3D hasn't changed much. We were happy to see that TouchFLO is now active in landscape mode, as this wasn't the case on the U.S. carrier versions of the original Touch Pro. All of the new HTC TouchFLO devices also get a Zoom bar, which is a touch sensitive strip just below the screen that is reserved for zooming features. This is a good idea, since quite a few apps rely on zoom capabilities. Release: June 2009 (Unlocked).
 The HTC Touch Diamond 2 is a slightly smaller device, with a 3.2-inch touchscreen, compared to the screen on the Touch Pro 2 that is almost a half inch larger. Unlike the Touch Pro 2, the new Touch Diamond 2 doesn't get a style boost. In fact, unlike the original HTC Touch Diamond, with its faceted back and glossy look, the new HTC Touch Diamond 2 is downright plain, with a boxy shell and few outstanding design features, other than the new Zoom bar. Price: $600. Release: Mid-April 2009 (Unlocked).
While neither of these phone have a U.S. release date, almost every carrier sold the original Touch Pro in some form, so we think the Touch Pro 2 will get picked up later this year. In fact, as long as the theme for today is T-Mobile, we'd even say that the HTC Touch Pro 2 would make a nice replacement for the T-Mobile Wing, which is the oldest Windows Mobile slider currently on the market.
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