HTC Touch Pro (Raphael) hits the FCC

HTC sure has the FCC keeping busy with their different variants of their flagship smartphones – when they’re not reviewing designer handsets, that is.

While the rest of us wait for HTC to bring their US-spec HTC Touch Diamond with US-friendly 3G radios (850/1900Mhz) in tow, HTC has been busy pushing their HTC Touch Pro Raphael through the FCC’s approval process in GSM-form.

The HTC Touch Pro (codename: Raphael) basically adds a slide-out QWERTY keyboard to the HTC Touch Diamond’s sleek profile. But, don’t think for a minute that the additional keyboard hardware will make the HTC Touch Pro a bloated piece of kit. Hands-on reviews have indicated that the HTC Touch Pro is about as svelte a smartphone as you can expect, even with that sliding keyboard on-board. And, don’t forget about that gorgeous VGA touchscreen display!

Unfortunately, the HTC Touch Pro that we’re seeing here is the non-US variant. Just as we saw with the HTC Touch Diamond, HTC is pushing their European variant through the FCC prior to the US-variant. That means we won’t be seeing US-friendly 3G frequency support on the this particular HTC Touch Pro – so you won’t be surfing AT&T (NYSE: T)’s 3G network with this here HTC Raphael variant.

HTC released their quad-band ROM for the HTC Touch Diamond, enabling 850Mhz EDGE support, and it seems that they’ve given their HTC Touch Pro the same quad-band treatment. So, eager-beaver HTC Touch Pro hopefuls that just can’t wait for the US-spec Raphael can at least get jiggy with EDGE data speeds in the US.

FCC