HTC unveils Touch2 with Windows Mobile 6.5

One of the first handsets to include Microsoft's new software

The Touch2 has HTC's TouchFlo interface as well as Windows Mobile 6.5

HTC has announced its first handset with Windows Mobile 6.5, the latest release of Microsoft's smartphone platform. The Touch2 includes HTC's TouchFlo user interface as well as the enhancements that come with the new software.

Following Microsoft's announcement yesterday that Windows Mobile 6.5 handsets are coming on 6 October, HTC confirmed that the Touch2 will initially be available to customers on this date, with broad availability in a variety of European and Asian markets to follow.

Full technical specifications have yet to be disclosed for the Touch2, which expands HTC's portfolio of touch-based phones, so it is not yet known whether the handset has Wi-Fi as well as HSPA wireless support. But the inclusion of the Google Maps for Mobile application suggests that it has built-in GPS capability.

HTC said that the Touch2 showcases the powerful messaging, browsing and productivity capabilities delivered by Windows Mobile 6.5, such as the ability to synchronise with Microsoft Exchange servers, redesigned Internet Explorer Mobile, plus the new Windows Marketplace for Mobile and Microsoft's My Phone service.

Two of HTC's existing handsets, the Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2, can also be upgraded to Windows Mobile 6.5, although HTC has yet to say when this will be offered to customers.

In other news, Samsung announced the availability of its first smartphone running Google's Android platform, the G alaxy i7500. The handset is now available on the O2 network in the UK from O2 stores, o2.co.uk and O2's Customer Service teams.