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HTC Hermes launch roundup!
A spectrum of HTC's highly-anticipated Hermes variants are finally coming around in the retail pipeline, and what better way to celebrate than with a launch roundup? Regardless of your continent, odds are one or more of these flavors are available in your parts -- and if not, your friendly local import shop shouldn't have a difficult time hooking you up. As you come across other launches, do your fellow readers (and us) a favor and post 'em in the comments. Thank ye kindly![Thanks, Leigh]Read - Orange SPV M3100Read - T-Mobile Germany, UK MDA Vario IIRead - Vodafone VPA Compact III / v1605Read - HTC TyTNRead - HTC ZRead - Dopod 838ProRead - Dopod CHT9000
Skype rolls out 2.1 beta for Pocket PC
Folks patiently waiting for UMA (and some that aren't, for that matter) have just been thrown a bone to hold them over. Skype for Pocket PC 2.1 has officially hit the streets in beta form, and the feature list looks to be fairly upgrade-worthy: you get SkypeIn and voicemail support, multi-user chat, a more finger-friendly dial pad, and one-click Skype access from the Today screen. 'Course, beta is beta -- so proceed at your own risk, but the bugfix list alone makes this a worthy download for Pocket PC Phone Edition users with data aplenty.[Via CrunchGear]
Specs, rendering of HTC Artemis?
Previously, we'd mentioned three crucial details about HTC's rumored Artemis: it'd lack 3G, the d-pad would be replaced or augmented by a trackball, and GPS would be on-board. Newfound specs appear to confirm what we'd known thus far, and now we have a possible rendering of the device to fuel the fire. All the new deets seem believable enough; we'll apparently get 128MB of ROM and 64MB of RAM, quad-band GSM / EDGE, 802.11b / g, a 2-megapixel shooter, MicroSD expansion, and an FM radio when she drops sometime this quarter. A little more exciting than the Oxygen, if we do say so ourselves.[Via phoneArena]
ASUS P525 wins FCC approval: US release possible?
We know durn well that an FCC nod means absolutely nothing for a handset's chances of stateside release, but doesn't this seem like a no-brainer for ASUS? The quad-band P525 fills a niche that no other manufacturer has in the States, offering the versatility advantage of Pocket PC Phone Edition with the usability advantage of a traditional keypad. Granted, the device lacks EDGE or any form of 3G, but built-in WiFi makes the situation (arguably) bearable. Ah well, wishful thinking; we're sure we'll this thing'll ultimately be destined for import shops at prices that leave only ASUS fanboys' mouths salivating.
E-TEN M600+ gets the review treatment
phoneArena's been recently blessed with the opportunity to put E-TEN's upgraded M600, the M600+, through its paces -- and they appear to have been left with a pretty lukewarm impression of the company's latest Pocket PC Phone Edition effort. While it's hard to argue with 256MB of internal flash and a 2-megapixel autofocus shooter (by Pocket PC standards, anyway), sound quality was apparently awful via both earphone and speakerphone, a lack of soft keys made one-handed operation tricky, and its GPRS data speeds are so 2002. The device's 400MHz Samsung core, while not necessarily anemic, wasn't breaking any speed records either; add that to the 2.5mm jack and there's not much to love here. Sorry, E-TEN -- we know the M600+ is quad-band, but we're going to have to pass. Better luck with your G500, mkay?
Beefed-up Treo 700w for Sprint on September 3?
It's been no secret that Sprint customers could expect their very own Treo 700w once Verizon's exclusivity clause ran its course, but until now, we haven't had a date on when it'd all go down. Well, things are finally starting to come into focus, and if the rumor mill's aim is true it looks like it'll drop on August 27 for business customers and September 3 for us lay folk. But here's the real scoop: folks are whispering that the device Sprint will bring to market is a souped-up 700w re-dubbed the "700wx," rocking twice the RAM (amid other tweaks). So far this is all unconfirmed, but given the 700w's paltry 32MB of the stuff, it seems like a reasonable change -- and it shouldn't take long to get this all confirmed with the rumored release date looming near.
Symbol's invincible MC70 Pocket PC phone
She may not be pretty or pocketable (and "invincible" might be going a bit far), but unlike your typical consumer-grade Windows Mobile device, Symbol's beefy MC70 is probably going to handle the occasional drop, dunk, toss, or burn. The quad-band GSM / EDGE handheld comes equipped with your choice of Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Premium or Phone Edition, 802.11a / b / g plus "comprehensive VoIP support," Class II Bluetooth 1.2, and -- being that this is a Symbol device and all -- the obligatory barcode scanner, all sitting atop a crazy fast 624MHz PXA270. Of course, we're suspecting everything-proof smartphoning doesn't come cheap, but for the accident prone among us, it does have a certain strange appeal.[Thanks, Cristian P.]
Weekend Windows Mobile rumor roundup
For anyone concerned that all's been quiet on the HTC front (which is a pretty tough sell, considering the Excalibur news), we've got yer scoop right here. Pocket PC Thoughts is reporting that the oft-rumored but never-materialized 4GB HTC Muse / Melody may have been euthanized. Without a clear parallel in HTC's lineup, we'd like to believe that the beast has merely been pulled back for re-engineering, but we simply don't know at this point. Now turning our attention to less somber news, Smartphone Thoughts sez that an HSDPA-ready variant of Samsung's i320 might be in the works for Cingular for Q4 2006 or early 2007. Of course, we've also heard that we can expect a UMTS / HSDPA Q around that time frame, and it seems improbable that they'd pick up two head-to-head business-oriented devices like that in the same launch window. If true, though, well... the more, the merrier.Read - HTC Muse killed?Read - Samsung i320 for Cingular?
Kinpo intros Saturn SP90 Pocket PC
Their SP70 wasn't necessarily the ugliest Pocket PC phone we'd seen, but we'd seen nicer, and the spec sheet certainly wasn't anything to write home about. Enter the SP90, their latest creation. We don't know much in the way of features or specs on this one, but it's a looker -- so much so, in fact, that we might forgive it for lacking, say, A2DP or a 3+ megapixel camera. Not to say it lacks either of those, we just don't have enough information. In fact, about all we can say is that it's a GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900 device on Windows Mobile 5, making an American release relatively unlikely (a la everything else Kinpo has done), so why don't you just not worry about it and move on.[Via MSMobileNews]
ORSiO Pocket PC phone in the pipeline
If you're wondering just who or what ORSiO might be, you're not alone -- but let's not get caught up in the details. Some rather fuzzy shots of spec sheets have been leaked, and it looks like we can expect fairly typical non-3G Pocket PC Phone Edition fare: quad-band GSM plus EDGE, 2.7-inch QVGA display, 2-megapixel shooter, 192MB of internal flash plus miniSD expansion, and a beefy 524MHz XScale to keep it all humming along atop Windows Mobile 5. MSMobileNews is reporting AKU3 will be in the box, but we beg to differ -- the feature list pretty clearly indicates AKU2. (Way to get us all excited, guys.) And a little tip to our anonymous sources: 5 megapixels would do wonders for those covertly-acquired shots.
BenQ P50 gets a (belated) review
Suffering from one of the most excruciatingly long, drawn-out releases in smartphone history, BenQ's, uh, Treo 600-killing P50 had already fallen behind the pack by the time it made it to the masses. That being said, it's still a unique Windows Mobile device -- albeit 2003 Second Edition -- and worthy of an in-depth review, especially considering its quadband GSM capability. MobileTechReview's done the honors for us here, noting that the P50 is bundled with an array of high-quality accessories, including a screen protector (hallelujah). Build quality was found to be impressive, as was size, though anyone migrating from a Treo will find little difference there. The P50's 416MHz XScale satisfies the speed demon in us in ways most other Pocket PC phones have not, but the 128MB combined ROM and RAM is a disappointment -- a complaint the P51 happily addresses. In the end, MobileTechReview finds the P50's flaws too great to justify the cost of admission. With nothing but GPRS for data, we agree, especially with a successor waiting in the wings.
Dopod prepping GPS phone
Not sure if this would be Artemis, Trinity, or another device entirely, but Dopod has announced that they intend to drop a GPS-enabled phone in the late Q3 / early Q4 time frame -- and needless to say, it's rather probable that the device will be coming from bestest buddy (and owner) HTC. No other deets seem to be available right now, but our money happens to be on Trinity, being the most well-revealed and seemingly close to market GPS-enabled phone we're aware of in HTC's stable. That being said, Dopod is a fairly exotic brand outside of Asia -- depending on your location, you might be better off looking for the Trinity under one of its other guises by the time it drops anyway.[Via the::unwired]
HTC builds Hermes-like "Z" for NTT DoCoMo
When you're trying to console yourself after perusing NTT DoCoMo's extraordinary lineup of hotness, it looks like the "at least we're getting the Hermes" argument no longer holds much water. HTC and NTT DoCoMo have teamed up to put together the "HTC Z," a Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC with rather obvious Hermes roots. The FOMA-compliant handset shares all of the Hermes' critical stats -- right down to the secondary cam for video calling -- and sports a Japanese cut of Windows Mobile to make things easy on the home crowd. Okay, so maybe you're thinking "at least we get our Hermes first." Not even: the Z allegedly drops in late July, so unless you're one of the lucky few, it looks like NTT's got you beat every which way. Typical.
Up close and personal with the Qtek 9600 (Hermes)
French site PPCReviews has managed to score a Qtek-branded copy of the hotly anticipated HTC Hermes, and thanks to some decent Google translation, we've managed to take away quite a bit from the thorough review. Many folks are expecting the Hermes to be a superstar compared to its already good older brother, the Wizard, but PPCReviews is a bit bummed out about the switch from miniSD to microSD expansion, the lackluster battery performance, rather portly 175 grams, and lack of true VGA display. Of course, we all know the good stuff the Hermes brings to the table by now, and the review ends on a happy note, confirming that the 3G and fresh 400MHz Samsung core work wonders for the device. Pardon the interruption, everyone; you can go back to incessantly refreshing Expansys' TyTN product page every few minutes in the hope of an early shipment.[Via kaitech.hk, thanks Ajit]
Recon-X military-grade PDA is "everything-proof"
Intended primarily for captains of heavy industry, Tripod Data Systems' Recon X-Series pocket PCs are the toughest we've ever come across. Both new models, the 200MHz 200x and the 400MHz 400x, are tested to stand up to even the toughest conditions, including drops, heavy vibration, extreme temperatures, dust and water that would turn many slicker devices into a shiny pile of junk. Other features include an integrated microphone, WiFi, Bluetooth, 256MB of flash memory and two compact flash slots for worksite necessities like barcode scanners and GPS. Most units run the Windows Mobile OS, but a Linux version is available through SDG Systems. You'll have to contact your local reseller for actual pricing, but we think it's a fair assumption that this little brother to your Toughbook doesn't come cheap.[Via LinuxDevices]
HTC TyTN (Hermes) gets a possible ship date
We may not be able to pronounce the name of HTC's self-branded variant of the Hermes -- TyTN -- but we will be able to rock one toward the end of this month, if Expansys' UK site is to be trusted. Expansys is showing an alleged July 17 availability date for the device, and while our European friends are already well-acquainted with its imminent availability in several flavors of carrier, this could be the only shot Americans have at 1900MHz UMTS smartphone goodness until it officially drops on Cingular in the fall (knock on wood). The Hermes is physically a dead ringer for the Wizard it replaces, but mercifully upgrades the woefully underclocked OMAP to a 400MHz Samsung piece, adds a second camera for video calling, and bumps the primary to 2 megapixels. The price north of $1,000 USD might seem stratospheric to most of us, but we suspect we can find a few Wizard-toting folks willing to shed it to get themselves out of EDGE purgatory.[Thanks, Daniel S.]
O2 Atom Exec gets the full rundown
CNET has gone ahead and upgraded its preview of the O2 Atom Exec to a full review, and it appears they've come away with a very positive impression of the refreshed non-HTC -- yes, non-HTC -- Pocket PC. To refresh your melon, the Atom Exec is O2's Asia-only update of the Atom, adding an extra 64MB of ROM (for a total of 192MB), boosting the device's PXA272 core from 416 to 520MHz, and toning down the glossy finish to a more matte one. CNET concludes that the Exec is a great device thanks largely to its roomy ROM and snappy performance, but that it probably isn't worthy of an upgrade for owners of the original Atom. European Atom owners: feelin' any jealousy here?[Thanks, Ash]
BlueBird's BM-300 Pocket PC does DMB too
It takes a pretty special phone-less PDA to pique our interest these days, and even though Korean manufacturer BlueBird's new Pidion BM-300 doesn't really push the envelope in areas like processor speed or screen resolution, the fact that they threw a DMB tuner into the mix puts this model in some pretty distinguished company. Besides the PM80 from LG, in fact, we're hard-pressed to think of another palmtop that sports a built-in digital TV receiver -- which is probably because there's little demand for this feature anywhere outside of Korea for now. Specs-wise, the WiFi- and Bluetooth-equipped BM-300 definitely comes out on top, as its 512MHz Bulverde CPU, 64MB/128MB RAM/ROM configuration and Windows Mobile 5.0 OS are all superior to what the LG model offers, though the two do share the same unfortunate 320 x 240 resolution. South Korean TV fanatics can expect these to hit stores sometime in October -- from the look of things, they need some time to polish up that design a little -- for a price that's yet to be announced.[Via Digital-Lifestyles]
Sharp's W-ZERO3[es] / WS007SH: WinMo 5 Pocket PC hotness, redefined
While we loved the specs on Sharp's W-ZERO3 / WS003SH, let's just say that its plastic, chub of a case was seriously short on swank. Now check the W-ZERO3 [es] / WS007SH hotness which our brethren at Engadget Japan got the jump on this AM. Developed under that same partnership with Sharp, Willcom, and Microsoft, the new WS007SH variant keeps the Pocket PC flavor of Windows Mobile 5.0 and 416MHz Intel PXA 270 proc but brings a second, standard phone keypad to the mini, sliding QWERTY. They even managed to squeeze that same VGA resolution into a smaller, 2.8-inch screen while keeping the best of the rest: 128MB flash (60MB allocated to the user) and 64MB of SDRAM, miniSD expansion, USB, and 1.3 megapixel cam. All this and she still manages to slim-down from 70 x 130 x 26-millimeters and 220-grams to 56 x 135 x 21-millimeters and 175-grams. Ok, no WiFi or Bluetooth yet folks, but these, like a Japanese OneSeg expansion pack for digital TV on the go are currently under development and will certainly increase the bulk. Available only in Japan starting July 27th for ¥29,800/¥36,800 (or about $260/$321) with/without a one-year contract. Many more pics, including the OneSeg TV expansion after the break. [Via Engadget Japan]
Deets on Samsung i770 Pocket PC phone come together
So much for the six months of confidentiality asked of the FCC on this one. Phone Scoop is reporting some new info on Samsung's upcoming i770 Pocket PC flip phone, noting that the device sports an M600-esque rocker keypad for alpha input, MicroSD slot, dual color displays, 2 megapixel camera, and external keys for music control when the flip is closed. The remainder of the information was previous spilled by our boys at the FCC -- Bluetooth, tri-band GSM and EDGE are in the box, but UMTS appears to be left out. We previously speculated that this might be a swivel phone, but on closer inspection, it looks like a straight-up flip to us. Without GSM 850, this isn't the most US-friendly piece on the market, but with Pocket PC flips being as rare as they are, we know a few of you are ready to roll anyhow.
