Titan II announced!

[HeyCori]

Looks like the major difference is LTE and a 16MP pixel camera. Am not impressed. I don't have regular 4G and definitely won't have LTE for quite some time. I also don't need a 16MP camera since 8MP is more than enough. Still, I'm glad there's yet another Windows Phone on the mix to satisfy the LTE crowd. Hopefully the guts are basically the same and any updates the Titan II receive will trickle down to its kid brother.

CES: The HTC Titan II, one of the first LTE Windows Phones, comes to AT&T

It?s big. It?s fast. It?s got a killer camera. The first big Windows Phone announcement to emerge from the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today was positively drool-worthy: The HTC Titan II, a new 4G LTE-equipped phone, is coming to AT&T.

The Titan II, expected to hit stores in the coming months, definitely lives up to its name. It sports the biggest touchscreen of any Windows Phone (4.7-inch WVGA). It also?and this one frankly blows me away?comes with a whopping 16-megapixel rear camera. For perspective, that?s double what you find on most smartphones, and it makes the Titan II one of the most potent pocket-size cameras, period.

This beast is also blazing fast: Packing a 1.5 gigahertz Snapdragon processor, it?s the first Windows Phone from HTC to take advantage of AT&T?s speedy 4G LTE network.

But back to those cameras for second. Yes, cameras. The Titan II has a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video chat. Its big rear camera, meanwhile, features a fast wide-angle lens (f2.6, 28mm), autofocus, and dual LED flash. Shutterbugs will appreciate extras like red eye reduction, image stabilization, a panorama mode for landscapes, and a burst shot mode for sports or kids. Want to make movies? The rear camera records 720p HD video.

It?s going to be an exciting day for Windows Phone and Microsoft, with more surprises to come?including a hands-on video later in the day from my colleague Ben Rudolph that you definitely won?t want to miss.

So make sure to check back here or our Facebook page throughout the day for more Windows Phone news from CES. To see what other cool stuff Microsoft is unwrapping at the world?s biggest gadget fest, or to watch CEO Steve Ballmer?s keynote live at 6:30 pm Pacific time today, head over to the official Microsoft Facebook page or the Microsoft News Center.

 

[jdevenberg]

So, anybody upset that their 2 month old Titan is now being replaced? My wife isn't really thrilled. Especially since the camera was a big selling point for her and the Titan II has a better one.

 

[edboogie78]

I'm thinking that this device will be well advertised. I was wondering why there was a lack of publicity for the HTC titan 1. It makes sense after all. The 16mp camera with its 2.6 lens
Is the major draw for me. Exciting phone. (my keyboard didn't disappear while typing this. Must be a good day for windows.)

Sent from my PI39100 using Board Express

 

[Reflexx]

16 megapixels? OMFG

I'm not upset that there will be a new better Titan. I'm still happy with my current one. (USB port issues aside)

The current camera is still awesome. Though that 16 megapixel camera sounds positively insane.

 

[Reflexx]

Though Titan II looks almost the same as the Titan.

 

[HeyCori]

Though Titan II looks almost the same as the Titan.

There are side pics in the CES forum. The bottom is curved a bit.

 

[aubreyq]

I suppose they might as well create a Titan II forum here, LOL!

 

[jalb]

So, anybody upset that their 2 month old Titan is now being replaced? My wife isn't really thrilled. Especially since the camera was a big selling point for her and the Titan II has a better one.

I'm not upset, per se, as that seems to be the way the gadget world goes sometimes, but I do a teensy bit wish I had waited for CES to upgrade my line. At the time, I knew the risk with upgrading less than two months from a major (if not THE major) gadget expo, so I knew what I was taking the chance of.

It happened to my wife with her Motorola Atrix too, lol. Atrix 2 came out less than half a year later.

 

[klocker2]

ok now prove to me that call qulity is good and we may have a deal.

rumors speculate release not until summer

 

[jdevenberg]

I'm not upset, per se, as that seems to be the way the gadget world goes sometimes, but I do a teensy bit wish I had waited for CES to upgrade my line. At the time, I knew the risk with upgrading less than two months from a major (if not THE major) gadget expo, so I knew what I was taking the chance of.

It happened to my wife with her Motorola Atrix too, lol. Atrix 2 came out less than half a year later.

That is the norm in the Android world, this is the first time its happend to a Windows Phone. I too got a Titan but I returned it on Saturday (which was my final day to do so) cause all the leaks about the 900 got me excited. Wife elected to keep her titan and now is slightly sad.

 

[BucDan]

AWW MAN... my one month return policy just passed too on the 4th. I understand 6 months, but 2??!! Oh well, I'll stick with the titan and hope HTC fixes it... Or offers a trade in for free/ recall!!!

Unless that happens, I'll wait until 2014 for an upgrade.

Looks like the titan will be forgotten now... Thus be dead as devs will move on to the titan 2

 

[HeyCori]

Also keep in mind that Windows Phone doesn't support LTE yet and won't support it until the next update. The Titan II and Nokia 900 are several months away. That means just as the hype from second gen handsets dies down - BOOM new devices!

 

[jalb]

Also keep in mind that Windows Phone doesn't support LTE yet and won't support it until the next update. The Titan II and Nokia 900 are several months away. That means just as the hype from second gen handsets dies down - BOOM new devices!

Exactly. The whole thing goes so fast nowdays, the two year committment doesnt match the life cycle of devices at all. I find myself anticipating my next NEXT phone these days, instead of just my next phone.

 

[myanimator]

I also look at it that a lot of us in the US got our Titans for free (via MS stores) or $0.01 (via AT&T) that in one year we'll be available to upgrade to a new phone (which will cost some $) and by then more of the LTE issues will be sorted out.

So I'm 20% upset that my Titan is now outdated but now at least I have another device to track before I can upgrade

 

[shaunydub]

Bit gutted that it's less than 6 months after Titan launched, even more gutted we prob won't get it in UK as we dont have 4g LTE

 

[Blacklac]

The only thing that I'm jealous of is the camera, and I'd have to see examples first. MP aren't everything, but I have to assume its a bit better. I suppose the bigger battery is nice, although this current battery is plenty. I could care less about ATT LTE right now, I don't even have HSPA+ with enhanced backhaul yet! Oh, that light grey is hideous!

 

[klocker2]

HTC Titan II hands-on video and camera sample

 

[HeyCori]

HTC Titan II hands-on video and camera sample

Images look good but not radically superior from the regular Titan. I seriously don't feel like the Titan II makes the Titan I outdated. It's basically the same phone with LTE and a camera with roughly the same image quality but my megapixels. The only thing that would make the Titan I outdated would be if HTC only made firmware updates for the Titan II. Although early Titan owners who wanted a LTE phone did get kind of screwed but not by a lot because the rest of the phone is the same.

 

[Rocket_Girl]

AWW MAN... my one month return policy just passed too on the 4th. I understand 6 months, but 2??!! Oh well, I'll stick with the titan and hope HTC fixes it... Or offers a trade in for free/ recall!!!

Unless that happens, I'll wait until 2014 for an upgrade.

Looks like the titan will be forgotten now... Thus be dead as devs will move on to the titan 2

Unless I am really missing something, WP devs develop for the platform rather than for specific devices. Let me qualify that by clarifying that I have zero knowledge of the homebrew world. OEM's or carriers could eventually phase out a device eventually, but devs can't really pick and choose...can they?? And if I am way wrong about this, please tell me!!

 

[jalb]

Honestly too, and this may be sour grapes but lets face it - this is a hardware show. They could announce the Big Smokin' Jeebus of all Windows Phones, with SIX CORES AND 25 MEGAFLOPIES AND UNICORN STEM CELL BATTERY POWER but it will still run Mango, and my current Titan runs Mango just fine.