Guest Paul [MVP] Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 I've just come across a very interesting article here at the very well respected 'Mobile Review' website, entitled 'Communicators, smartphones and PDA in 2006 - the forecast'. It makes for very interesting - and in some places controversial - reading, so I suggest you head over and check it out... I've posted a few highlights below too! P Windows Mobile. This operating system is trying to win its share of the market. If in the Symbian-segment we'll clearly see the monopolization, the Windows Mobile segment in 2006 will show us a burst of the number of manufacturers (we mean manufacturers and not trademarks). Until this year the big share of new smartphones and communicators was recorded by the Taiwanese company High tech Computer (HTC). In 2006 this trend will be broken for the first time, the company will get strong rivals, but keep its leadership in sales volume and the number of new models. It's hard to believe, at least 16 vendors (mainly Taiwanese companies) will fight their place under the sun. And there will be ever more trademarks for the devices. Vendors of Windows Mobile smartphones / communicators in 2006: HTC Samsung Asus Kinpo BenQ-Siemens Quanta Computer GIGABYTE Motorola Acer Wistron (Annextek) Sharp Lenovo CMCS E-Ten MiTAC Tatung ... HTC. Last year the company's plans were published in the Internet (specs, photos), so we can talk about them in details. In all, the company expects to release 6 communicators and 2 smartphones in 2006. 4 of them support UMTS and another 4 - GSM/EDGE. The majority of new devices (except for modifications of old models) will be switched to microSD memory standard. Let's have a look at the upcoming models in the light of the current models: HTC Wizard - the model with the side sliding keyboard. It had been developed in two directions. Firstly, we have a UMTS version, HTC Hermes, the models are similar in design and functionality. Secondly, HTC Herald is set for the end of the year, it's the same HTC Wizard but in thin shell (18 mm thin), with less capacious battery and microSD memory standard. The keyboard-less HTC Magician has got the successor HTC Prophet (the European premier has been suspended till March, read the review here), not everybody welcomed the model enthusiastically. HTC Magician will be really continued in 3Q 2006. This will be HTC Trinity based on Intel processor, built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, A-GPS and HSDPA support. The design has been inherited from HTC Prophet. A fundamentally new model, HTC Muse , will come out in the mid of the year. It has been obviously created under the iPod popularity. It has a square (2.4") LCD, there is enough space for the digital keyboard, but instead we see a big navigation and soft keys (that makes it closer to the iPod design). I'd note 4GB of built-in flash-memory, an FM-radio, a remote control, a TV-out. We see the device is first of all oriented at the opportunity to listen to the music and watch video, including on a big screen. The weak points are the square LCD and the lack of Wi-Fi, in the rest the model is interesting. Another new direction is with the navigation model HTC Artimes. It lacks Wi-Fi and UMTS, however it attracts attention with a GPS-receiver, a digital compass and a scrolling wheel instead of the navigation button (like in Samsung i300). The release date is set for the mid of the year. At last we see a clamshell among HTC smartphones (HTC Star Track). There will be also a UMTS-smartphone (HTC Breeze). Both models will be slim. The release date - the end of 2Q-the beginning of 3Q. What won't we see by HTC? Independently of Motorola the company has started developing a slim smartphone with the QWERTY-keyboard and landscape screen orientation. The model has got the code name HTC Excalibur. Should we mention that it was very like as Moto Q. Following the Motorola announcement HTC decided to cancel its model. Besides we won't see the successor of HTC Universal. The heir of HTC Universal will come out only in 2007. Now let's mention the companies, which will release HTC products under their brands. ... Asus. The company has impressive plans - the release of 2 smartphones and 3 communicators. In April the company will demonstrate its communicator under the code name Galaxy (see the photo above). It features an ordinary digital keyboard and needless to say Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, a 2-megapixel auto focus camera. In 3Q there will be the announcement of the model called Mars standing out for 3G support. And later we will see Mars II, which will have a side sliding keyboard like HTC Wizard. Asus P305 smartphone will be announced in April (a dull 3G-clamshell), it will be replaced by the Scorpio model in the end of the year, it will differ in a better camera and built-in GPS, the miniSD slot will be replaced with the microSD slot. It's hard to believe that Asus will complete its plans, most likely we'll see 2 models on the market. Samsung. This Korean company will offer 4 new GSM-devises based on Windows Mobile. They are Samsung i300x with higher capacity disk and new OS, Samsung i400 with 10 GB HDD, Samsung d300 smartphone, a slim slider with the functions of Samsung i750, new OS and a 3-megapixel camera. Kinpo. It's a relatively young player on the market. There is just one announced model - Kinpo S600 (known under Qool trademark). In future it will get Wi-Fi and WM 5.0 operating system. In 2006 the company plans to release 7 (!) communicators, gradually upgrading the functionality of the initial model and using slider and side slider form-factors. One of the models will be with built-in GPS. I'd note the "planet" code names of the products, for example, Jupiter, Titan, Mercury. Most likely we'll see maximum 2-3 models by Kinpo in 2006. GIGABYTE. A new and ambitious manufacturer has already managed to stand out with its unique slider GIGABYTE g-Smart (a built-in analog TV-receiver, for the first time). The company plans to release 6-8 new communicators in 2006 (with such functions as GPS, digital TV DVB-H, extended multimedia opportunities like in HTC Muse). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dr Who Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 SO the question is, are either of the HTC Breeze or the Asus Galaxy going to have both 3G AND WLAN??? Do I REALLY have to wait until 2007 for a Smartphone with both these features???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pigo Posted February 2, 2006 Report Share Posted February 2, 2006 now... what I'm interested in is seeing pictures of thos products. very interested in the new (slim) clamshell design! But everything looks promissing. wanna see all pic's available maybe I'll find some :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pigo Posted February 2, 2006 Report Share Posted February 2, 2006 I found at least one :)... I found something about the HTC Star Track This is what I read over at Mobile gadget news: The HTC Star Trek will be a a smartphone about the size of a RAZR V3, but slightly thicker: HTC Star Trek - 98.5 x 51.4 x 15.8mm Motorola RAZR V3 - 98 x 53 x 13.9mm The HTC Star Trek phone is rumoured to have the following features: EDGE, GPRS, GSM Quadband Display resolution of 320 by 240 - QVGA, Bluetooth support 2 Megapixel Camera with Flash, Texas Instrument OMAP processor 64 RAM, 64 or 128 ROM, Micro SD slot Looking forward to this device. and The HTC Herald sounds great to me aswell, but haven't found any pic's yet. Pigo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest battletank Posted February 2, 2006 Report Share Posted February 2, 2006 SO the question is, are either of the HTC Breeze or the Asus Galaxy going to have both 3G AND WLAN??? Do I REALLY have to wait until 2007 for a Smartphone with both these features???? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Surely the Universal already fits this description? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dr Who Posted February 2, 2006 Report Share Posted February 2, 2006 Surely the Universal already fits this description? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Smart*PHONE* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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