Sprint's HTC Touch Gets Windows Mobile 6.1 Upgrade

Sprint has released an operating system upgrade for the HTC Touch, one of its Windows Mobile-based smartphones. This upgrade also brings faster wireless networking and GPS support.

Many users of this device have been eagerly awaiting their upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro since Sprint announced in April that it would release one.

Now the wait is over, and the upgrade has been posted on HTC's website.

HTC Touch-Specific Improvements

The Touch is getting significant enhancements beyond just a new operating system. This upgrade also adds EV-DO Rev. A support for faster downloads and uploads..

In addition, it finally allows this smartphone to make use of the GPS hardware that has always been built into it.

This upgrade also includes Opera Mobile and a full Qwerty on-screen keyboard.

What New in Windows Mobile 6.1?

As its version number suggests, Windows Mobile 6.1 isn't radically different from 6.0.

Aside from the device-specific enhancements discussed earlier, the major improvement Touch users will see will be in Internet Explorer, which gets a new rendering engine based on Internet Explorer 6 for the desktop, as well as a "Zoom Out" mode for full page preview.

The upgrade also includes Microsoft's threaded Text messaging app.

Downloading the Sprint HTC Touch Upgrade

The updated ROM for Sprint's version of the HTC Touch can be found on HTC's web site. It is a free download.

HTC Mogul Upgrade Coming Soon?

A Windows Mobile 6.1 Upgrade for the HTC Mogul was also briefly released over the weekend, but was removed. When it will reappear is not yet known.

Related Articles:

• Microsoft Announces Windows Mobile 6.1
• Windows Mobile 6.1 Review

Via Engadget