Pocket-PC
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Qool Labs intros pair of Pocket PC phones
Singapore's CommunicAsia expo, which ended last week, is still leaving us with little bundles of mobile joy here and there. Today we present for you Qool Labs' QDA Icon and QDA Lite, Windows Mobile 5.0 follow-ons to last year's QDA Oh!. The Icon is the more interesting of the two, rocking four honest megapixels on a CCD sensor, A2DP support, and a RAZR-like etched keypad. The Lite offers a more run-of-the-mill 2 megapixel CMOS camera and mainstream design but includes WiFi, which the Icon does not. Expect both tri-band Pocket PCs to make their way into Asian consumers' hands later this year.[Via Slashphone (Icon / Lite)]Read - Qool Labs QDA IconRead - Qool Labs QDA Lite
HP iPaq hw6915 ready to ship on July 4?
HP's everything-to-everyone hw6xxx series of Pocket PC phones have taken their fair share of criticism for some flaky software, sluggish performance, and bizarre 240 x 240 display resolution, but as we previously reported, the hw69xx looks to be a worthy upgrade. Besides the obvious bonuses like a faster processor and integrated WiFi, the keyboard is allegedly more usable thanks to a revised key shape and, well, it's just good to see that HP finally showed up for the Windows Mobile 5 AKU2 party. Folks that have been waiting for these bad boys to drop might want to reach for their wallets: MobilePlanet is now showing July 4 availability for the hw6915, coming in just shy of $890. Despite the decidedly patriotic release date, the first round of units will likely be European, but the quad-band GSM / EDGE has our American readers covered either way.[Thanks, Daniel]
Asus A639 Pocket PC
Our peeps over at Engadget Chinese caught a sidelong glance at the thing over at the Windows Mobile booth at Computex, but we're pretty stoked now that we've fully caught wind of the new Asus A639 powerhouse Pocket PC. Suppposedly we can expect this sucker to come decked with all the trimmings, including an Intel XScale 416MHz CPU, 1GB flash memory, 64MBRAM, SiRFstarIII GPS, 802.11b/g, and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. Not too shabby for a handheld, though cellular voice and data might be a nice afterthought. We'll let you know if and when we see this sucker pop up on the FCC.[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]
Opera releases updated browser for Pocket PC
For anyone not content to kick it pre-beta style with Mozilla's Minimo, Opera has just released an updated version of its browser for Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs, with a version for Smartphones promised soon. Now clocking in at version 8.60, the browser runs on both Windows Mobile 5 and 2003 SE, and sports Opera's newest core code, as well as tabbed browsing and landscape/portrait browsing modes. Minimo still has a big leg up on Opera in one key area though: price. While Opera offers a free 30-day trial, you'll have to fork over $24 if you want to continue using it. (Wait, didn't Opera go free on the desktop? Whatever.) That may fly while Minimo's still getting its act together, but Opera will have to watch their back once it catches up to its desktop counterpart.[Thanks, Hesh]
ASUS releases P525 Pocket PC phone
If HTC has anything to say about it, most of the major Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Phone Edition contenders these days are sporting QWERTY keyboards and a bit of bulk. ASUS is taking a different tact with their new P525 smartphone, and if you can stand the lack of text input, it might make a decent bid for your smartphone buck. The quad-band GSM phone has a 2.8-inch QVGA screen, 2 megapixel camera, 416MHz Intel XScale processor, 802.11b WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, miniSD, 128MB flash ROM and 64MB of SDRAM. Even better news is that all of this fits into a 5.6-ounce, 0.75-inch thick form factor. The P525 also sports push email, along with Skype, though without UMTS you'll probably want to be doing most of that on a WiFi connection. No word on price or where exactly this is dropping for now, but we'll keep an eye out.[Via Geekzone]
E-TEN G500 reviewed
PhoneArena just posted an intensive review of the ETEN G500 / Torq N100 for your dirty little gadget spelunking ways. This Windows Mobile 5.0 PPC Phone Edition handheld, you'll remember, sports a 400MHz Samsung processor, 2.9-inch QVGA display, 64MB RAM / 128MB ROM, a 1.3 megapixel shooter, Bluetooth, miniSD slot, quad-band GSM, and SiRFstar III GPS. So yeah, it's "bulky" as pointed out in the review, but then again this is one of the more "sophisticated" pocket PCs you'll find making it the ideal choice for both the highest-of-tech junkies and corporate users alike. Definitely not for the fashion conscious or average user due to its "great complexity" thus requiring a bit of know-how with them thar 'puters. But if opening 15 apps on a PocketPC without any noticeable performance degradation is your (like the reviewers) idea of a good time, then this is the work-horse for you. A few more snaps after the break.
E-Ten's G500 GPS PocketPC phone drops by the FCC
No word as to a date or even the possibility of a US release for E-Ten's G500, but at least the FCC thinks everything is looking good with the unit, so we've got that going for us. Announced in Europe this January, the quad-band GSM phone features Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC, GPS, Bluetooth, and a QVGA display. Its lack of WiFi makes us think the unit would be a good fit for those WiFi haters over at Cingular, but your guess is as good as ours.
Lenovo's i921 WinMo smartphone
Akihabara News has some, um, news about a new Windows Mobile-powered handset from Lenovo that is, while not the first smartphone from the PC manufacturer that we've seen, certainly the most attractive. The i921 is said to rock WM5 (no confirmation on that, apparently, but we seriously doubt that they'd go the WinMo 2003 route), a two megapixel camera, Bluetooth, QVGA touchscreen, and MiniSD slot, and work on some unknown number of GSM frequencies. Not many other deets are known, such as pricing or availability, but if we don't see WiFi or UMTS in the specs, we keep on shopping, no matter how hot the phone looks.[Via MobileMag]
Palm's Treo 700w gets its AKU2 on
Yup, here's the moment you've been waiting for since you snagged that Palm Treo 700w -- Palm's announced their Windows Mobile Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) upgrade (aka AKU2), allowing, among other things, support for push email (and hopefully a rolled out fix for that DST bug). You all know the drill, so prepare to backup all that data -- and we mean all of it, AKU2 will wipe that phone clean as a slate -- and head over to Verizon's or Palm's support site later this month so you can get your AKU2 on, too.
