Gigabyte unveils PDA-phone lineup at 3GSM Asia
Gigabyte has traditionally been a brand associated with PC component parts such as motherboards and graphics cards, but this perception may soon change when the Taiwanese maker expands its PDA-phone rollout into Asia later this year. The vendor, which is in Singapore for the 3GSM Asia World Congress, told CNET Asia that it plans to introduce its cellular-enabled handhelds in Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam in December 2006. Gigabyte handhelds currently have a presence in selected Asian markets such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Indonesia.
According to Christopher Chen, Gigabyte Communications' general manager for Global Sales and Marketing, the devices will sport a stronger emphasis on mobile phone features even though they are all full-fledged Windows Mobile PDA-phones with touchscreen displays.
According to Chen, an innovative feature that can found on the Gigabyte handsets is the ambient noise generator. This function emits a sound from the device when a call is answered to create the effect of the desired surroundings for the other party. For example, if you want the caller to think you are at a meeting, you can set the phone to play the sound of someone talking in the background in a meeting room. Like the Treo 750v, Gigabyte handsets also come with a function to reject calls accompanied by a preset SMS message you can customize, such as "call you back" or "in a meeting".
At the five-day tradeshow, Gigabyte demonstrated several of its current and upcoming PDA-phones including showcasing the g-Smart i200 PDA-phone for the very first time in Asia. Slated for launch early next year, the i200 will come with a built-in DVB-H receiver, although the company plans to pack in a DVB-T receiver chip as well. The i200 will also feature a VGA display, limited recording capabilities and 512MB of onboard memory. The device will come with the upcoming Windows Mobile (codenamed Crossbow) operating system if it is ready at the time of the i200's launch, said Chen.
Also on display at the booth were the TV-enabled i128, i120 with TV recording functions as well as the soon-to-launch i300 phone with built-in GPS. Bundled with the i300 is a Bluetooth headset that doubles as a security device for female users. According to Chen, if the headset is activated during an emergency, it will prompt the phone to send a message with the last known coordinates to pre-assigned numbers that can be left with friends, family, even colleagues.
| Model name |
In a nutshell |
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Cool factor: This PDA-phone is expected to come with both DVB-H and DVB-T receivers.
Notable features:
Onboard DVB-H and DVH-T receivers
2.69-inch VGA touchscreen display
USB 2.0 port (for TV-out connectivity)
Onboard 512MB memory
Limited TV recording capabilities
Runs on the upcomng Windows Mobile (codenamed Crossbow) OS
Availability: Early 2007
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Cool factor: Comes with onboard GPS and Bluetooth headset with security function.
Notable features:
Triband with SiRF Star III GPS receiver
Intel PXA270 520MHz processor
256MB ROM, 64MB RAM
2.4-inch QVGA touchscreen display
2-megapixel camera
Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), Bluetooth 2.0 and USB 2.0
miniSD card expansion slot
Runs on Windows Mobile 5.0
Availability: Q4 2006
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Cool factor: Lets you record TV programs while on the go.
Notable features:
Triband
Intel PXA272 416MHz processor
256MB ROM, 64MB RAM
2.4-inch QVGA touchscreen display
2-megapixel camera
Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), Bluetooth 1.2 and USB 1.1
miniSD card expansion slot
Runs on Windows Mobile 5.0
Availability: Already available in selected markets
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Cool factor: Gigabyte claims that this is the first TV Roaming mobile PDA phone in the world.
Notable features:
Triband
Intel PXA272 416MHz processor
128MB ROM, 64MB RAM
2.4-inch QVGA touchscreen display
2-megapixel camera
Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), Bluetooth 1.2 and USB 1.1
miniSD card expansion slot
Runs on Windows Mobile 5.0
Availability: Already available in selected markets
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