Toshiba, HP, HTC Unveil WM6 Phones
With the release of Windows Mobile 6 at 3GSM, several companies have unveiled new phones based on the platform. Among them are a high end PDA phone from Toshiba, and smartphone devices from HP and HTC.
Toshiba's new G900 is aimed at the premium market segment for smartphones, and will feature tri-band HSDPA support. In addition to high-speed data, the G900 boasts an impressive list of features.
A three-inch WVGA display is complemented by a front-facing camera for videoconferencing, 64MB of internal memory, 802.11b/g and Bluetooth support, USB, video calls, and USB support, and rear biometric scanner.
In addition to the high-end G900, Toshiba also announced the E01, which is slightly less feature-packed that its sibling, but still comes with HSDPA support and a slide out keypad. Toshiba has not announced pricing for either model.
HP launched its iPAQ 500 series Voice Messenger device, which would allow for VoIP calling as well as "push" e-mail support. Like the G900, the phone will include integrated Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support, but it would only support EDGE data rates.
The iPAQ is expected to become available in the spring from authorized deals, however pricing has not been announced.
Finally, HTC's Windows Mobile 6 entrant is the highly-anticipated "Vox," which is a smartphone with an integrated slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Functionality includes EDGE data support, a two-megapixel camera, 2.4-inch display, microSD support, Wi-Fi, and 128MB of flash and 64MB of ROM memory.
Pricing and availability of the Vox was not disclosed; however, HTC typically licenses its hardware to carriers for rebranding.