Andre Yoskowitz
5 Jun 2007 19:19
HTC, the large Taiwanese phone maker, introduced its "Touch" mobile phone on Tuesday, boasting many of the features of the Apple iPhone.
The phone maker, which usually sells its phones directly to mobile carriers which then rebrand the phone as its own is putting alot of faith in the phone as it believes it can contribute significantly to the company's financial performance.
The Touch has a 2.8 inch color LCD screen and is based on the Windows Mobile 6 OS. Also included is a 2-megapixel digital camera, built in Wi-Fi and EDGE, and a microSD slot for added memory. In total the phone is a bit thick, measuring in at 14 millimeters.
HTC said the first carrier to recieve the device would be the European Orange and the carrier is expected to begin selling the phone next week. The rest of Europe as well as Asia will receive the phone later this month and the Americas will recieve it later this year.
While in Europe the Touch will keep its HTC brand, when it hits North America, T-Mobile will launch it under their own name.
The Touch will include HTC's "TouchFLO" technology, a technology that will allow the phone's UI to act similarly to the iPhone.
"This was a smart move for HTC, provide a really cool, local optimized, touch screen device when the iPhone launches in all the markets where you won't be able to get one immediately," JupiterResearch analyst Michael Gartenberg said.
Source:
BetaNews