HTC, the largest manufacturer of mobile phones using Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform, announced on Monday four new models in its popular Touch line -- the Touch Dual, the Shift, the S730, and the P6500.
This is "an impressive lineup" of new models, said Sean Ryan, an analyst with industry research firm IDC. He added that HTC is one of the four top mobile device innovators, along with Apple, Nokia, and Research In Motion, and pointed out that although HTC is the maker of the most Windows Mobile phones, the company is just starting to get its own brand well known.
Original Sold Over 800,000
The original HTC Touch, launched on July 22, has reportedly sold over 800,000 units. A new Touch, the Touch Dual, will be sold this month by France Telecom's Orange in the UK, France, Romania, Poland, and Switzerland. It features a slide-out keypad and gesture-recognition technology.
The gesture-recognition feature, called TouchFlo, is also present in the original Touch model. It allows users to zoom and rotate images with only one hand and to use "enhanced finger scrolling" to browse Web pages, contact lists, and similar documents. The Touch Dual will have fast cellular connectivity, through HSDPA, which HTC and others describe as 3.5G.
Some observers are comparing the new Touch phones to Apple's iPhone, which is launching next month in Europe. The Touch Dual has a faster cellular data connection, compared to the iPhone's EDGE, and it has a physical keypad in addition to a gesture-recognition interface.
IDC's Ryan noted that those who want the unique iPhone want that device in particular and "won't comparison shop." However, he said, if someone wants a touch interface, faster cellular data connectivity, or a different carrier than the one iPhone is offering in a given country, the Touch Dual could be a viable choice.
P6500, Shift, and S730
Among the other three, new Touch models, the P6500 is most being positioned as a business device. HTC said in a statement that it is "ideal" for vertical sectors, such as logistics companies, hospitals, and police forces.
The P6500 has a fingerprint scanner, which can be used for security by the device's owner, or, one assumes, for police work. It also has a barcode scanner, which potentially could be relevant to a wide range of industries, as well as GPS, HSDPA connectivity, two external SD cards slots, and a business card reader. If it is lost or stolen, a "remote wipe capability" lets the user wipe its data from afar.
The Shift, meanwhile, is a mobile computer that is notable as one of the first, small mobile devices to offer Microsoft Vista, and it is also the first device to offer HTC's SnapVue technology. SnapVue allows a user to view e-mails, calendar, SMS messages, and contacts without fully booting up.
The fourth new model, the S730 handset, also offers high-speed HSDPA, as well as a sliding Qwerty keyboard and Windows Mobile 6.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment