HTC to launch WinMo phone with Android-oriented UI

HD2 official debut this week

HTC will formally launch its Windows Mobile - not Android, alas - HD2 smartphone in Taipei on Wednesday, the company said today.

Why WM not Android? HTC needs to "take care" of the Microsoft OS, HTC CEO Peter Chou said last week.

Maybe, but that hasn't stopped the company burying the WM 6.5 user interface - which hasn't changed all that much since the PocketPC days - with its own UI, Sense.

Sense debut on the Android-based HTC Hero.

HTC's HD2: the first WinMo phone with a UI developed for Android

The follow-up to the Touch HD, the HD2 sports a 4.3in, 480 x 800 display, the HD2 has a 1GHz Qualcomm processor and runs Windows Mobile 6.5 – previewed here. It also includes a 5Mp camera, 7.2Mb/s HSDPA 3G support and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi.

It's expected to arrive over here just over a week's time. ®