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NEW: HTC S740 the smartphone brother of the HTC Touch Pro ? [UPDATED]

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Early this morning HTC announced their newest Windows Mobile standard device. The naming, HTC S740, seems to tell it’s the further development of the HTC S730.  Design wise, there are also huge visible influences of the HTC Touch Diamond.

But let’s have a closer look. The most striking difference is the numeric keypad on the front of the device. If the device is slide-ed open, a 4-row full QWERTY keyboard shows its face. With this approach the text input is very versatile and flexible depending on your own personal usage scenario. The formfactor is probably closest to a candybar design (like to good old Nokia 6310i). But let’s have a look at the specifications:

Specifications:

  • Processor: Qualcomm® MSM7225™, 528MHz
  • Platform:  Windows Mobile® 6.1 Standard
  • Memory:  ROM: 256MB / RAM: 256MB SDRAM
  • Dimensions:  116.3 mm (L) X 43.4 mm (W) X 16.3 mm (T)
  • Weight:  140g with battery
  • Display:  2.4 inch TFT-LCD with backlight LEDs and QVGA resolution
  • Network:  HSDPA/WCDMA: 900/2100 MHz for Europe (Up to 384 kbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps download speeds),  GSM/GPRS/EDGE: Quad-band 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz. (The device will operate on frequencies available from the cellular network.)
  • GPS:  Standalone GPS / AGPS
  • Connectivity:     Bluetooth® 2.0  /  Wi-Fi®:  IEEE 802.11 b/g  / HTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
  • Camera:  3.2 megapixel color camera with fixed focus
  • Audio:  Built-in microphone and speaker,  Ring tone supported formats: AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, QCP, MP3, WMA, and WAV.
  • Battery:  Rechargeable Lithium-ion polymer battery,  Capacity: 1000 mAh
  • AC Adapter:  AC input: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60 Hz  , DC output: 5V and 1A

Although the specification list sums up some impressive technologies, I do have some first thoughts about this device and it’s probable positioning.

  • Design wise there are strong influences of the HTC Touch Diamond, however the supreme VGA screen isn’t included on this device.
  • Furthermore HTC has chosen again for a slider mechanism. If HTC would have chosen for a clamshell design and put a larger screen inside, this device would have been a killer for the Asus M930, the Nokia E90 and the Toshiba G910 devices.
  • Another option could be leaving out the QWERTY keyboard and make the device much thinner. Having a really nice and thin mobile device (if messaging is not in top of your usage scenario’s).
  • The device has a similar form factor to the popular business phones Nokia E50 and E51, while there is a full QWERTY keyboard embedded.

Overall it seems to be a promising device, which I’m really excited about.

UPDATE:

There are some really nice early reviews, with lots of high resolution photo’s available through the newly added links !!

Reference list:

  1. HTC: HTC S740 product page
  2. THEUNWIRED:  HTC unveils the HTC S740 Windows Mobile Standard Smartphone
  3. SMARTPHONETHOUGHTS: HTC S740: HTC Hasn’t Given Up on Windows Mobile Standard After All!
  4. 4WINMOBILE: New HTC S740 Smartphone coming soon
  5. HTC Press Release HTC S740
  6. CE4YOU:  HTC S740 Review *NEW*
  7. NEWMOBILE: IFA 2008: Real life pictures of the HTC S740 *NEW*
  8. ENGADGET: HTC wars: Touch Pro, Touch Diamond and S740 go head to head *NEW*

ANNOUNCEMENT: Treo Pro Windows Mobile Smartphone & Review

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Palm officially announced the Palm Treo Pro device, although some training pictures leaked onto the web last week. Will this newest Palm device be an ongoing development of the Palm Treo 750 and the US Palm Treo 800w, or is it something completely new.

I’ve owned the Palm Treo 750 for quite some time, and Palm developed the device from a end-user usability perspective. Since the Palm Treo Pro is just the second Windows Mobile device, I hope Palm continued the line of putting some really nice features (deeply anchored into the Windows Mobile OS) into the device. Let’s first start with the specification list and some picture of the device:

Specifications:

  • Platform:  Microsoft® Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional Edition
  • Processor:  Qualcomm® MSM7201 400MHz
  • Display:  320×320 transflective colour TFT flush touchscreen
  • Radio:  HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS/GSM radio;  Tri-band UMTS – 850MHz, 1900MHz, 2100MHz; Quad-band GSM – 850MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 1900MHz
  • Wi-Fi:  802.11b/g with WPA, WPA2, and 801.1x authentication
  • GPS:  Built-in GPS (standalone and assisted)
  • Bluetooth® Wireless Technology:  Version: 2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate
  • Memory:  256MB (100MB user available), 128MB RAM
  • Camera:  2.0 megapixels with up to 8x digital zoom and video capture
  • Battery:  Removable, rechargeable 1500mAh lithium-ion; Up to 5.0 hours talk time and up to 250 hours standby
  • Expansion: microSDHC cards (up to 32GB supported)1
  • Connector:  MicroUSB™ 2.0 for synchronisation and charging
  • Audio:  3.5mm stereo headset jack
  • Dimensions:  60mm (W) x 114mm (L) x 13.5mm (D) 133 grams [ref01]

The specifications really show that the Palm Treo Pro is a high-end device, up to today’s standards. I’ve highlighted some cool features. Pocketinfo already managed to publish a review, and I will put forward some conclusions combined with my own thoughts:

  • On the front of the device there are no hardware keys / buttons to control the softkeys. This can only be done with touching the screen, although this device is put forward as a business manager. Personally I miss this functionality !! Matthew Miller also asked Palm about this in his Q&A session. [ref06]
  • The GPRS / UMTS / HSDPA hand-over works remarkably well, and out-performs other devices like the HP iPAQ 914c, the HTC Touch Pro as well as Option Globetrotter and Bandrich datacards.
  • I like the fact that Palm has put a decent 1500 mAh battery, and I hope the Treo Pro can exceed the 1 business-day on one charge.
  • The device is really well balanced and can be easily controlled with one hand.
  • The dedicated threaded SMS application, which has been introduced on the Palm Treo 750, is switched for the standard Windows Mobile 6.1 threaded SMS application. However the great keylock application is still present on the device (one of the best implementations of the keylock I’ve seen). And furthermore the call button is mapped to the phone history (not the 10 last-dailed-contact with all the numbers like on the Treo 750)
  • The hardware keyboard is typically Treo, but compared to the Treo 750 the material is different and the whole keyboard seems to be smaller.

Overall it seems a pretty decent workhorse, and I invite you to read the articles on the weblog of Jason Langridge (you tube video) and Matthew Miller’s Q&A session with Palm. Both articles reveal some background information about certain design aspects. The Palm Treo Pro will hit the stores medio September (at least here in the Netherlands).

UPDATE:

Some new links with some nice video’s and eye-candy are added to the reference list !!

Reference list:

  1. PALM:  Palm Treo Pro Official Product  Page
  2. PALM:  Palm Treo Pro Press Release
  3. POCKETINFO:  Palm Treo Pro review *IN DUTCH*
  4. THE::UNWIRED: Palm announces the Palm Treo Pro Windows Mobile Smartphone
  5. JASON LANGRIDGE: Palm Announce the Treo Pro Smartphone
  6. ZDNET: Q&A with Palm on the Palm Treo Pro reveals a few cool features
  7. MOBILITYTODAY: Palm Treo Pro Unboxing @ Mobility Today *NEW*
  8. ENGADGET MOBILE: Palm Treo Pro unboxing and hands-on *NEW*