If you're lucky enough to own an HTC Touch Cruise then you'll be happy to know that Proporta have released one of their famous Alu-leather cases and a screen protector for your beloved WinMo device!

Press Release:

The HTC Touch Cruise 2009/HTC Iolite is intelligent enough to help you navigate from point A to point B, but that is just the beginning. With HTC Footprints being introduced, you have a mobile phone that lets you grasp all the precious details of the instances that make up your life. Wow, what a machine.

Proporta would hate to see such a phenomenal smartphone suffer the rigors of everyday life, and would like to present to all HTC advocates the protection that they offer for this stunning device.

The Alu-Leather Case (HTC Touch Cruise 2009/HTC Iolite) is lovingly handmade to provide a perfect, custom fit with maximum protection for your HTC Touch Cruise 2009/HTC Iolite. Lined with aircraft grade aluminium, the cover offers the ultimate in tough screen protection to save your device from crushing and impact shocks.

Additionally for your precious device screen, you shouldn’t be without Proporta’s Advanced Screen Protector (HTC Touch Cruise 2009/HTC Iolite). They’ve managed to increase the thickness without impairing screen brightness or clarity. Clever eh?

P.S. The Proporta Gadget Bag is portable protection for everything that you need to maintain and use all your devices on the go – multiple, detachable storage compartments with added padding.

Visit Proporta here. 

Fancy a taste of the latest that HTC has to offer in the Windows Mobile world? Then get yourself over to devicewire.co.uk who have their webpage ready to take pre-orders for the new HTC Touch Diamond 2 (their first batch has already sold out!).

Quote:

When you first see and start exploring the HTC Touch Diamond2, you’ll be struck by its brilliant looks and amazed by the intuitive controls.

In today’s world, a conversation can take many forms, from voice to text … but there’s always a person on the other end. The HTC Touch Diamond2 arranges your conversations by people, not just by how you speak with them.
When looking at your contacts, you now can see a history of your conversation in whatever form it took place. It doesn’t matter if you get asked about a recent email while you are talking on the phone, or if you’re in a café reminiscing about a friend’s recent text – all your interactions are neatly laid out for viewing and follow-up in a tree of communication with that person.

One indisputable fact about smartphones … a big screen on a small phone is good. That’s why we’ve stretched the display on the Touch Diamond2 to its very limits, while still keeping the same compact size. Enjoy videos, websites, photos and any other images on the ultra sharp wide screen display. The high resolution screen will reveal every minute detail in the most vivid way.

Box Contents

• HTC Touch Diamond2
• Battery 3.7VDC 1100mAh
• USB Sync/Charge Cable
• Stylus
• UK AC Adapter
• Screen Protector
• Quick Start Guide
• Getting Started CD
• User Maunal CD

With the world in a recession right now its perhaps not surprising to hear less than positive results from companies so the news that HTC's Q1 earnings are down comes as no surprise however the exten of the drop does with Q1 09 being 30% lower than Q1 08.

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HTC's unleashed a barrel of bad news on the world today with their first quarter earnings statement. The company's profits fell 30 percent during that period, with a net of NT$4.89 billion -- $148 million -- down from NT$6.94 billion (or $210 million) at the same time last year. HTC still managed to best analysts estimates (shows what they know) which forecast that the company's earnings would be in the area of NT$4.64 billion ($140 million). HTC said that the profits fell in part to missed product shipping deadlines, which have been pushed into April. And the recession continues...

[Source]

HTC hanve announced a new Smartphone named the HTC Snap. It features a QWERTY keyboard in the traditional Blackberry style which will appeal to many I'm sure. What's more it features a nifty little function that will prioritise emails from your "Inner Circle" of friends, nice huh?

Press Release:

LAS VEGAS – April 1, 2009 – HTC Corporation today debuted its newest QWERTY smartphone, the HTC Snap™. Designed with a set of features selected to deliver everything customers need without overwhelming them with things they don’t, the HTC Snap makes it easier than ever to stay in contact with life’s most important people. 

A recent study conducted by Harris Interactive® and commissioned by HTC* found that 44% of US adults are often overwhelmed by the amount of email they receive, and over half (55%) of US adults prioritize five or fewer people with whom they communicate via email. In response to these issues, HTC’s innovative Inner Circle feature allows HTC Snap users to press a dedicated Inner Circle key to bring emails from a preselected group of people to the top of their inbox, enabling important messages to be acted upon immediately.

“Recognizing that people are being overwhelmed by an avalanche of email, the HTC Snap introduces Inner Circle, an HTC innovation that makes it easy for people to prioritize messages from the most important people in their lives at the press of a button,” said John Wang, Chief Marketing Officer, HTC Corporation. “The HTC Snap represents the latest step in HTC’s mission to create a range of innovative smartphones, each with specific benefits designed to both surprise and delight our customers.”

With a slim, sleek profile designed to fit perfectly in the hand, the HTC Snap measures less than a half-inch thick (12 mm), yet it can deliver up to eight and a half hours of talk time with the standard 1500mAh battery. The full QWERTY keyboard is ergonomically designed with extra-large domed keys and responsive tactile feedback to make typing emails and text messages fast, accurate and comfortable. High-speed 3G HSPA connectivity makes it quick and easy to send pictures to friends, access favorite social networking sites, or download large files while on the go.

The HTC Snap is powerful enough for experienced business users looking for an affordable, straightforward choice for remotely synchronizing email, calendar and contacts with their Microsoft Exchange server. However, the flexible Microsoft Windows Mobile® 6.1 Standard platform allows the HTC Snap to also be simple enough for first-time smartphone users wanting to keep their family life organized.

The HTC Snap is expected to be available in select channels during the second quarter of 2009, rolling out in markets around the world throughout the second half of the year. Additionally, an unlocked version supporting HSDPA at 850/1900MHz for the US market will be made available under the name HTC S522 during the summer.

[Link]

Microsoft have made a few announcement regarding their marketplace and Windows Mobile 6.5. Put simply, expect Marketplace to be backed by some big hitters in the form of EA, Facebook, Namco and... well you get the idea. With regards Windows Mobile 6.5, they have teamed up with Design Museum London and the Council of Fashion Designers of America to offer up some fancy designs for homescreens etc. There'll also be a theme generator that allows users to show off their own skills with their own pictures etc.

Quote:

Over to the "support" front, over 25 companies will be announcing their full support for the Windows Marketplace at CTIA this week, including EA Mobile, Facebook (pictured), Gameloft, MySpace, Namco, Pandora, and Sling Media. To help improve the Marketplace's public image, Microsoft is tweaking some policies, too: developers will now be able to issue unlimited updates to their apps free of charge, and users will have up to 24 hours to "return" apps they don't like (very cool). Notably, Facebook's new app will be available in April, offering direct video uploads straight to your wall if you're into that sort of thing (you know who you are).

Lots to look forward to then eh?

[Source]