For the past few months, HTC has been making headlines more for their innovations with Google's Android OS than for their work on Windows Mobile, but the biggest Windows Phone maker in the game has recently released a flotilla of updates, mostly bringing their current Touch offerings up to date as Windows Mobile 6.5 phones. The manufacturer is working with two basic styles, the all-tablet form that derives from the company's current HTC Touch Diamond 2 phones. These include devices like the HTC Pure on AT&T, or even the HTC Imagio on Verizon Wireless. Among the slide-out QWERTY phones, HTC has already landed the HTC Touch Pro2 on a few different carriers, but for the launch of Windows Mobile 6.5, AT&T released the most up-to-date version of this device, calling it the HTC Tilt 2.
HTC Pure and HTC Imagio tablet smartphones
 The HTC Pure is almost an exact copy of the HTC Touch Diamond 2, with a very similar boxy style and a slight frame that keeps the phone feeling more compact than competing tablet phones, even the Apple iPhone 3GS. Though the HTC Pure ships running HTC's TouchFLO 3D interface on top of Windows Mobile, we also got our hands on this phone with the TouchFLO 3D interface turned off, so only the new Windows Mobile interface was visible. Either way, we found the HTC Pure to be responsive to our touch input. The high-resolution screen looks superb with either HTC's TouchFLO designs or the fashion designer themes Microsoft is bundling with the new WinMo OS.
 The HTC Imagio that we recently reviewed (to read our full review click here) is a bit larger than the HTC Pure, and loses the minimalist styling in favor of a decidedly more multimedia look, complete with a kickstand for tabletop TV viewing. The HTC Imagio is the first U.S. smartphone to use Verizon Wireless' V Cast TV service, powered by FLO TV. AT&T has a similar service, but their HTC Pure skips this feature, which probably explains why the HTC Imagio is the larger device of the two. In any case, we tried the Imagio with the standard Windows Mobile look, but HTC has added so much to their smartphones, especially in terms of calling features and their slick, useful main screen interface designs, that we felt compelled to stick with HTC's own kit.
HTC Tilt 2, and the ones that got away
 As a sort of update to their original AT&T Tilt phone, itself an HTC Windows Mobile smartphone, AT&T has released their own version of the HTC Touch Pro2 and they're calling it the HTC Tilt 2. Of course, the original had nothing on this phone, which gets the clean and contrasty TouchFLO 3D menu in addition to all of the high-end business phone features of the original. If the Tilt 2 performs as well as the other versions of this phone that we've already reviewed, it will be a solid choice for business users, with its great calling features and best-in-class business speakerphone. In our hands-on look at the HTC Tilt 2 at the Fall CTIA 2009 show, it seemed an exact replica of the Touch Pro2, again venturing out even less than the other carriers did with their respective models.
The main difference will be the addition of Windows Mobile 6.5, and this will also bring some new features to the device. Though Tilt 2 users won't care as much about the new Today screen interface, the HTC Tilt 2 will also come with Microsoft's Windows Marketplace for Mobile software, which allows over-the-air downloads as competition for Apple's own App Store. In addition, the new Windows Mobile phones will also get Microsoft's MyPhone software, which offers some nifty backup and remote finder features for Windows Phones.
The only phone missing from our tour of HTC's devices was the mythical HTC HD2. Though it won't be available in the U.S. this year, we're hearing hints that HTC's flagship tablet device will come to the U.S. early next year. The new, extra-large Windows Phone entices with its 1GHz Snapdragon processor (almost a 100% clock boost over the current generation of 528MHz chips) and capacitive screen, a rarity that we'll see more of now that Windows Mobile 6.5 allows for capacitive technology.
All of HTC's current U.S. lineup is available for purchase from their respective carriers. If you just purchased an HTC device like the HTC Touch Pro2 and you're wondering about upgrading your system software, the company has announced plans to offer the new Windows Mobile OS as a firmware update in the future, but hasn't gotten specific with their plans.
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