Palm to offer WM6 on its Treos

Palm Singapore has confirmed it will be introducing Windows Mobile 6-enabled Treos later this year. While the handheld maker did not specify which models in its current lineup would be upgradeable to the new mobile operating system, Microsoft's recent announcement of 21 new handhelds seems to indicate that the Treo 750v will be one of them.

Palm is currently working with carrier partners to determine when and how the transition to Windows Mobile 6 will take place. Stay tuned for more details.

The Treo 750v is currently the first and only Palm handheld with Windows Mobile OS in Asia. It was launched in October 2006, more than half a year after the company released its first Windows-based PDA-phone (Treo 700w) in the US.

HP's iPaq 510 to debut in April

The company plans to bring its latest handheld running the new Windows Mobile 6 OS to Asia in April. Announced recently at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, the iPaq 510 Voice Messenger is one of the first smart phones to sport the updated Microsoft mobile operating system and possibly the first non-touchscreen handset we've seen from HP.

Price information was not available for the iPaq 510 at press time. However, based on the US retail given, it should cost around US$299. The iPaq will come equipped with a 2-inch display, quadband GSM support, 1.3-megapixel camera, microSD card slot, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Read our full review of the iPaq 510 Voice Messenger here.

Samsung unveils new Ultra Smart F700

With the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona happening in less than a week, Samsung is clearly looking to get an early start on things with the recent announcement of its Ultra Smart F700 mobile phone.

The F700 is the first Ultra phone to feature a full touchscreen display with slide-out keypad that's very much similar to QWERTY-enabled PDA-phones such as the Dopod 838 Pro and O2 Xda Zinc. It is also equipped with an integrated music and video player, High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), Bluetooth and VibeTonz technology. Its onboard 5-megapixel sensor makes it the highest-resolution camera-phone we've seen so far from the Samsung Ultra series.

Handsets in the Ultra series have traditionally been known for their superslim form factors. The F700 is no exception with its 16.4mm girth which makes it one of the slimmest touchscreen phones with slide-out QWERTY keypads.

We'll be keeping a close watch on the F700, which is expected to be showcased at 3GSM.

Windows Mobile 6 versus RIM and Nokia E-series

To better illustrate some of the enhanced features of its latest Windows Mobile OS, Microsoft has released several screenshots comparing the new platform to RIM's BlackBerry and Nokia's Symbian Series 60.

From the pictures, one of the most noticeable improvements on the Windows Mobile 6 OS is the full HTML email support, which now allows images to be viewed in the email. Users will also find that the company has enhanced its Mobile Office applications for viewing and editing documents, bringing the user experience closer to that of the desktop version.

Like its Windows Mobile 5.0 predecessor, the new mobile operating system will be available in three platforms: Windows Mobile Professional (for PDA-phones), Windows Mobile Standard (for smart phones) and Windows Mobile Classic (for non-cellular PDAs).

Handheld devices based on the new Windows Mobile 6 operating system are expected only in the middle of the year, though the bulk of them are slated for the second half of 2007. We are expecting some of the first products to be announced at 3GSM next week.

Read our news coverage of Windows Mobile 6 here.

Editors' note: As discrepancies in the comparison table have been highlighted, we have removed the link to the table until the data can be verified.

See the screenshots and comparison table:

Dopod D810 gets GPS and BlackBerry upgrade

The Taiwan handheld maker has just announced that its upcoming ROM update for its HSDPA-enabled D810 PDA-phone will add GPS (Global Positioning System) as well as BlackBerry Connect functionalities to the device.

According to Dopod's product manager, the D810 was already shipping with an onboard GPS receiver during its launch in November last year. However, due to software complications, the GPS application was not ready for commercial use then. Thus the company decided to go ahead with the product launch without announcing the GPS functionality.

The D810 joins the 838 Pro and C720W as the third cellular handheld to offer the popular push-email client, in addition to the Microsoft Direct Push solution. Current owners of the D810 can download the new firmware from February 10, while new users can expect March shipments of the handheld to come with the updated GPS ROM. The ROM update will, however, only activate the GPS receiver. Users will have to purchase the GPS software and map content separately in order to utilize the GPS features.

Crave is...

The name says it all. Crave is our blog about cool gadgets and other crushworthy stuff.

Drop us an email if you have tips or suggestions.

Crave for...

» Mobile Phones (2173)

» Digital Cameras (956)

» Notebooks (1211)

» PC & Peripherals (1288)

» Handhelds (581)

» Printers (80)

» Home AV (1113)

» Music & Play (876)

» Gadgets (1456)

» Future Tech (381)

» Green Tech (168)

» Lifestyle (147)

» Luxury (22)

» Home Appliances (56)

» Cars (98)

» Games and Gear (233)

» Software (88)

» Web (92)

Previously...

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

Hot Topics

Subscribe to
Crave

What's Hot

apple apple inc. apple iphone apple ipod asia battery camera game google inc. iphone microsoft corp. microsoft windows mobile phone photograph singapore smart phone software sony corp. video

Today on CNET |  Reviews |  Crave |  Blogs |  CNET TV |  Digital Living |  Downloads