We didn't expect it, but another device has appeared on the MWg Web site--the UBiQUiO 503g. This PDA-phone has a form factor made popular by BlackBerry and Palm Treo devices, employing a QWERTY keypad below the LCD. UBiQUiO is a relatively new brand owned by UK retailer Expansys--the company that also has a stake in MWg.
When contacted, MWg told us that this device is targeted at the US and Europe markets and is already available for purchase from the Expansys UK site. It's now consolidated under the MWg brand but may not make its way to Asia.
That's quite a pity as its specifications look pretty decent with HSDPA, Wi-Fi and 96MB of built-in RAM. On the bright side, at least we don't have to contend with its weird brand name that can't decide if all the letters should be in caps, if it never comes to our region.
The Toshiba Portege series of mobile phones started out with two devices in Europe. It would be fitting then for the next two to be announced there, too, this time in Italy. The Japanese company has unveiled the G710 and G910, two Windows Mobile 6-based products which succeed the G500 and G900.
The G710 uses the WM6 Smartphone OS, which means it has no touchscreen. It comes with a keyboard that looks very similar to the one found on the Samsung SGH-i600. GPS is built-in but the specs don't say if it has 3G or HSDPA. Read more »
A company with the unwieldy name of Making Virtual Solid has developed a new way for drivers to follow GPS directions, a virtual line projected onto a car's
windshield. The technology, called Virtual Cable, uses existing heads-up-display
components and standard GPS navigation systems, but would have to be
factory-installed.
From videos on the company's site, the system looks very
usable, and a big improvement over current route guidance systems. The beauty of
Virtual Cable is that it shows route guidance over real streets, as opposed to
navigation screens, which show arrows on a map that the driver then has to
mentally translate to the view out the windshield.
Making Virtual Solid hasn't
announced any deals with automakers or OEMs at this date, so it will be at least
a few years before we see Virtual Cable projected onto the screen of any
production cars.
We've recently been alerted to a new Web site named HTCClassAction.org through a user and our Taiwan-based blogger Jonathan Gardner. According to the creator of the site, the TyTN II and other HTC devices which use the new Qualcomm processors are not performing up to scratch, with some older devices running faster than them during some specific operations. Read more »
First announced last year in Europe, the Touch Cruise is HTC's third model (fourth, if you consider the upgraded HTC Touch to be a new product. We don’t.) in its Touch series of PDA-phones. There's quite a bit of anticipation for this one because it comes with the full suite of connectivity options including GPS for navigation. This is the one area we were critical of in the previous models; lack of essential features--HSDPA in the Touch, and Wi-Fi in the Touch Dual.
As with the other Touch handhelds, the Cruise comes with HTC's TouchFLO interface. This means it has bigger icons for finger tapping and a modified interface which makes performing certain tasks more convenient. Check out our latest video of this device on CNET Asia TV. We'll be putting up a full review soon, so look out for that, too.
The HTC Touch Cruise will available across Asia Pacific from early February. It will cost S$1,198 and come with navigation software and one free map for your country.