Following Telus Mobility's earlier HTC Touch launch in Canada, Sprint and HTC today announced the upcoming availability of Touch by HTC (aka HTC Vogue), a full touch screen wireless phone integrating Windows Mobile 6 Professional with advanced entertainment features in the US. Operating on the Sprint Mobile Broadband EVDO network, the stylish Touch by HTC brings together E-Mail and other essential business applications with Sprint's exclusive multimedia content including over-the-air music downloads, live TV and more. Unfortunately it lacks WiFi which the European version of the HTC Touch supports.

With a nearly 3" display, Touch by HTC features integrated TouchFLO technology, developed by HTC, leveraging smooth navigation through menus with a finger swipe. In addition, the innovative TouchFLO cube brings a 3D cube interface allowing quick access to entertainment, communication tools and a "Dial-by-picture" photo caller ID screen.

Touch by HTC leverages the broad functionality of Windows Mobile 6 with Outlook Mobile for smooth E-Mail integration, Office Mobile, Windows Live and the ability to run thousands of third-party applications. It also allows users to surf the web with Internet Explorer, send and receive E-Mails, chat on Messenger and send files to their own web space through Windows Live. The home screen provides one-touch access to E-Mail, text messages, calendar appointments and contacts, as well as current weather conditions and forecasts for hundreds of cities around the world.

Versatile and compact, Touch by HTC provides quick and easy access to Sprint-exclusive content, including:

• Sprint Music Store(SM), powered by Groove Mobile, which allows users to browse and wirelessly download full-length songs directly to their phone from a selection of more than 1.8 million songs
• Sprint Exclusive Entertainment (SEE), the industry's only made-for-mobile sports and entertainment video programming network
• Sprint TV with more than 50 channels of live and on-demand video and audio
• More than a dozen streaming radio stations , including Sprint Radio and SIRIUS
• On-Demand with up-to-date information on sports, weather, news, money and more customized by zip code

Touch by HTC offers microSD card slot that supports up to 4 GB - a 512 MB card is included with the device. Additional features include a 2 megapixel camera/camcorder with up to 5 x zoom, advanced stereo Bluetooth and Voice-activated dialing.

The Touch by HTC will be priced at US$ 249.99 with a two-year subscriber agreement and a US$ 100 mail-in rebate. Standard data rates apply for music and other content downloads.

Touch by HTC will be available on November 4 in all Sprint channels including www.Sprint.com and 1-800-SPRINT1. Customers can register to be among the first to purchase Touch by HTC at www.sprint.com/touch.

Cheers ~ Arne