This is a picture of the HTC Touch.B, a name which HTC aficionados will equate with the Windows Mobile powered Touch Diamond and Touch Pro2 amongst others.  However, the rumour was that the Touch.B would be an Android mobile phone aimed at the lower-end of the market, where it would join the Tattoo.

Just as everything seemed cut and dried, we noticed the front panel of the phone appeared to have only a home button flanked by the call start and end keys, which is several keys short of what’s required by the Android OS, in particular the all-important back key.  Back to square one.

However, this morning the news is that the Touch.B will likely be running a Qualcomm developed, open source operating system named Brew MP.  This fits in with a rumour spread earlier in the month, that HTC had pushed back a planned Brew MP powered device until 2010, which was destined for Verizon or Sprint in the USA.  At present, little else is known about the Touch.B – the B standing for ‘Brew’ perhaps – but we would expect to know more come February’s Mobile World Congress.

The Brew OS has already been seen in the UK on the Skype phone, but has a larger following in the USA, and is notable for having Adobe Flash integration.

Source: mobifrance, brewmobileplatform