e72
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BenQ-Siemens' E72 part of Windows Mobile 6 fray
Despite being down on its luck as of late, BenQ-Siemens somehow still found the time and money to come to Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6 party with the new E72 candybar last week. With data topping out at measly EDGE speeds and an emphasis on VoIP via its WiFi connectivity, the E72 smacks of the also-announced iPAQ 510 Voice Messenger from HP -- and like the 510, it'll also be running the Standard version of the platform atop 64MB of RAM and 128MB of ROM. Where the E72 wins, though, is with its QVGA display (versus 220 x 176 on the 510) and a slightly snappier 260MHz TI OMAP core. Don't hold your breath for an American release though (we weren't anyway) on account of a tri-band radio.[Via CoolSmartphone]
Amoi launches four Windows Mobile Smartphones for China
Normally, low-end Windows Mobile Smartphones destined for China aren't anything to get terribly excited about, but Amoi's new quartet of handsets share a distinction that'll hopefully set a trend for the industry. The E72, E75, E76, and E78 Smartphones rock all manner of form factors (QWERTY included) but share largely common guts, and here's where it gets interesting: there's a TI OMAPV1030 "Vox" in there running the show at 200MHz. The Vox core is typically associated with high-function dumbphones; Amoi's use of it to power a smartphone could (and hopefully will) push the market toward ever-cheaper convergence devices that can run effectively on ultra low-cost processors. Despite skimping on the internals, the spec sheet holds its own with EDGE data, 128MB of internal storage, Bluetooth, and a 2 megapixel cam (1.3 megapixel in the E72). The first of the bunch to hit store shelves will be the E72, which will be available for under $250 -- when you consider that's an unsubsidized price, that's quite impressive indeed. Look for all four to be available in China by early '07.[Via the::unwired]
