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HTC has released an upgrade to Windows Mobile 6 for the TyTN Pocket PC Phone, which the original design manufacturer introduced in June 2006 as one of the first smartphones under its own brand. The company is responsible for more Microsoft-based mobile handsets than any other—about 85 percent of them, in fact.

Windows Mobile 6 should deliver much-improved Mobile Office Applications, support for HTML-formatted e-mail messages, as well as better-performance and stability overall, among other enhancements, to the TyTN.

After upgrade, the Windows Mobile 5-run TyTN changes from being labeled a Pocket PC Phone to a Windows Mobile Professional device due to a (what some find perplexing) change in nomenclature on the part of Microsoft.

The Windows Mobile 6 upgrade is free to members of HTC e-Club. Click here to sign in or sign up to download the update.

The TyTN—based on HTC's Hermes design just like the AT&T 8525, which has yet to get its own Windows Mobile 6 upgrade—is a tri-band GSM/EDGE/UTMS/HSDPA smartphone with a slide-out QWERTY thumb-keyboard and a 2.8-inch touch-screen display.

Under Windows Mobile 5, TyTN does support push e-mail in an Exchange setting through Microsoft's Messaging and Security Feature Pack.

Additional features include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and mini-USB port connectivity. There's 64 MB of RAM, 128 MB of ROM, microSD slot for additional storage, jog wheel and a 2-megapixel camera.

It weighs 6.3 ounces (180 grams) and measures 4.4 x 2.3 x 0.9 inches (112.5 x 58 x 21.95 millimeters)