HTC Touch Pro Comes to Some U.S. Retailers

Although no wireless carrier in the United States is officially offering the HTC Touch Pro, it's possible for U.S. consumers to get this device now, thanks to grey-market retailers.

These companies buy devices in one country and send them to another without the manufacturer's permission. This process typically pushes the selling prices for their products well over the list prices, but it gives people access to products they otherwise wouldn't be able to get.

The latest example of this is the Touch Pro, which is now available from Popular Electronics for $950.

eXpansys is charging $970, but isn't stocking the device. Customers have to put in a special order.

SelectGSM has one of the lowest prices, $800, but doesn't appear to have the device in stock yet.

A number of other grey-market retailers are accepting pre-orders for the Touch Pro, including PureMobile, Cellhut, and others.

Not the U.S. Version

Anyone interested in purchasing this smartphone should be aware that the version that's being offered by grey marketeers doesn't include the 3G frequencies used in the U.S.

This smartphone is unlocked and can still be used for phone calls thanks to quad-band GSM support, and even make data connections with the 2.5G standard EDGE, but AT&T's HSDPA service is not supported.

More About the HTC Touch Pro

The HTC Touch Pro is very similar to the recently-released HTC Touch Diamond, but adds a sliding keyboard.

It runs Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional with the HTC's finger-friendly TouchFLO 3D user interface on top.

This smartphone sports a 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, GPS, a microSD/SDHC card slot, and a 1350 mAh battery.

Related Articles:

• HTC Touch Pro for GSM Carriers Gets FCC Approval
• HTC Touch Diamond Review