According to a PPCGeeks forum user, Big Red is aiming to update its Touch Pro 2 (again) with a build of Sense 2.5. However and perhaps not surprising, there are no Documents, Footprints, Programs or E-Reader tabs on board.

The ROM itself is not yet available (officially or unofficially) and is only Windows Mobile 6.5. Release is expected "soon" which bodes well for Verizon's customers.

Now we know where this is going and what you are going to ask: What about Sprint?

Sprint has still not yet released their WM6.5 update, which is really starting to push the boundaries as far as timeliness. We reported here a few weeks ago that HTC had made a CDMA ROM with Sense 2.5 on board for a Chinese carrier, so this Verizon news is not that shocking. What this also might mean is the reason why Sprint is taking so long, is to get Sense 2.5 (and one can hope. WM6.5.3) cooked in, which would be a nice touch. 

Either way, it's nice to see companies like Verizon going that extra step for what is one of the most popular Windows phones to date.

[MobileOSNews via WMPoweruser]

This is some pretty big news: it appears that HTC is getting in on the e-Book business. Watch out Apple iPad?

The latest version of Manila/Sense 2.5 (2012) features a tab dedicated to reading e-Books that can be purchased by Boarders or, evidently, though Adobe. No word on Amazon.com at this time.

HTC Reader 1.0 is the name of the program that will render the e-Books and overall it looks pretty great. It follows the usual UI/UX that HTC has laid out with their other tabs, which includes a directory for browsing, book art, and of course reading the book. There does seem to be some scrolling action needed, in addition.

The other big news is that this latest ROM comes from a Chinese Rhodium Shipped ROM.  To translate and as we mentioned in the last podcast, this is coming from a Touch Pro 2 ROM that is ready to market. That HTC, they never rest.

Does this mean the reason for the Sprint WM6.5 ROM update is taking so long is so they can get their hands on this version? We have no idea and zero indication that is the case, but that notion has at least entered the realm of plausible. Keep your fingers crossed.

In the mean time, you can expect some custom ROM action to start including this latest build as it spreads through out the community.

[Big thanks to tek818 for the screenshots & info!]

A big question many of us have been wondering is this: if Windows Mobile 7 is this huge overhaul of the OS (and it is), what will become of HTC's Sense UI?

One the one hand, we have strong reason to believe that WM7's UI will be very compelling--possibly Zune HD like, with a Silverlight base for transparencies and advanced GUI features.

On the other, you have HTC and its now corporate-branded UI: Sense. Sense appears on Windows Mobile and now Android devices and has come to represent their identity in the marketplace.

But how will these two work together in WM7?  Is HTC really going to push forward? Evidently yes.

XDA member CookieMonster found this bit of code in the latest Sense 2.5 (1922):

if HomeMachineStatus.WM7Device.Value then 
  IsWindowsMobile7Device = true 
  PredefineItem = 1 
  HomeItemCollection = HomeManager:GetHomeCollection(1) 
else 
  IsWindowsMobile7Device = false 
  PredefineItem = 0 
  HomeItemCollection = HomeManager:GetHomeCollection() 
end

Considering we have a pretty good idea that the HD2 is getting WM7 and Sense 2.5 (1922) is designed for the T-Mobile HD2, well you can see how HTC is already playing with and planning to cover up WM7.

Of course we know MSFT has no issue with this and in fact encourages such practice, plus it's not like you can't turn off Sense to return to the WM UI.  Still, it's an interesting tidbit for the future.

[MobileTechWorld via WMPoweruser]

We know two things about HTC

1. They know how popular Sense 2.5 has become
2. They move pretty fast

We know this because a new build of Sense 2.5 (1922; last leak was 1921) officially supports landscape now.  Of course the excitement has lead to it being cooked into some GSM ROMs and it looks to be making its way to CDMA Touch Pro 2's in the next 24-48hrs.

So what does this mean?  Is HTC doing this for an eventual HD2 with a slider keyboard?  Or are they just doing the obvious: updating their UI for various future devices, including ones with slide-out QWERTYs?  We'll go with the latter for now as this seems like an obvious progression of the TouchFLO/Sense paradigm.

[via HTCPedia]