Blurring The Lines: Is it a Smartphone or a Pocket PC?

[Kris Kumar]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.mobiletechreview.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Board=news&Number=19469' target='_blank'>http://www.mobiletechreview.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Board=news&Number=19469</a><br /><br /></div><i>"The phone is extremely compact for a PPC phone and has a gloss black finish. When closed you can use it like a "normal" mobile phone, thanks to its external number pad, d-pad, display and outward facing camera lens. Open the clamshell and you'll be greeted by a full QWERTY thumb keyboard and a landscape oriented display."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Kris-Mar2005-amoi_2.jpg" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><br />Unlike the other Pocket PC Phone Edition devices, that have a BlackBerry style thumbpad below the screen, the Amoi G6301 has a Nokia Communicator inspired clamshell design and has a dedicated numeric keypad. Which makes it a <i>phone first</i> device. Isn't that what a Smartphone is supposed to be? We have discussed this topic before, and with the release of the next version of Windows Mobile and the devices based on it, the difference between the Pocket PC Phone Edition and the Smartphone might get blurred. What are your thoughts?

[Bacco]

Interesting looking device. I'd like to see more photos of it though. EDGE does sound nice, doesn't it.

I do think that PPCs will all but disappear as SmartPhones continue to mature and blurr the gap between PPCs and SmartPhones.

Sometimes I do miss the touch screen of my PPC. So I'm hoping as the technology grows we are afforded more SmartPhones with a touch screen option.

[caspiand]

I think the reason clamshells were dropped in the first place was the size factor; We hadn't the technology to make them small enough to be a true mobile companion. Now we can make them small enough. With 320 lines accross instead of 240 or 176, you get to take in a full 25% or 50% more (respectively). It is a far more familiar and comfortable experience than the vertical, low-res mess we have now. Great Idea.

[rbrome]

More photos here:

http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/ces_2005/index.php?p=am1

[Graffiti]

Personal opinion, but ... it (the Amoi) looks downright ugly to me :(

The line between smartphone and Phone Edition devices are definitely blurring, and considering that future Windows Mobile operating systems starting from Magneto are promising a "one-size-fits-all" solution all I can see in the horizon are more clamshell, touch-screen phones similar to the new HTC Universal.

[Jerry Raia]

I like this design. Much better than the goofy chinese puzzle box styled MPx made by "he who must not be named". :)

[Kris Kumar]

More photos here:

http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/ces_2005/index.php?p=am1

Thanks for photos. I like the form factor - design. But the color scheme and the shiny plastic that is used in the current design should be changed to something better.

[rzanology]

where can i buy it...how much will it cost...and can i work for cingular? Does this thing have edge???

[Bacco]

where can i buy it...how much will it cost...and can i work for cingular? Does this thing have edge???

Don't know yet, don't know yet, maybe and yes :wink:

No one really knows when it'll be out. As for Cingular, possibly if they request the phone and, I guess, guarantee enough orders.

But, EDGE is a yes.

[[email protected]]

I like it alot. Not just the Amoi but the current trend too. Crearly this is Microsofts way into portable gaming. Will Magneto support "wide" display resolutions?

[xxpinballxx]

I really think its a nice looking phone.
I call it a phone since it really looks nothing like the recognized PPC PE that we normally see around. I think I might have to et another phone. My Girlfriend is going to shoot me!

Any word of when it might be available?

[surur]

This is clearly a nice pocketpc phone edition. Just because it looks nice does not change the OS. The most desirable Windows mobile devices released recently have been Phone Edition devices.

Smartphone edition is meant for low end devices. As soon as the capabilities increase people demand the fuller feature OS.

Surur

[Mike Temporale]

It runs Windows Mobile 2003 SE on a 300MHz Intel XScale "Bulverde" processor and has a separate processor for phone functions (i.e. a DSP).

Wow... This really sounds like the phone is seperate from the PDA. Pretty neat.

[Kris Kumar]

It runs Windows Mobile 2003 SE on a 300MHz Intel XScale "Bulverde" processor and has a separate processor for phone functions (i.e. a DSP).

Wow... This really sounds like the phone is seperate from the PDA. Pretty neat.

Hopefully this means that I can still receive phone calls even if the Pocket PC part of it is in a hung state. ;-)

[pdagal]

It isn't available for sale yet. It should have been ready this month but has been pushed out, and Amoi won't supply a new date at this time. My guess is that it will cost around $550 unlocked for use with any carrier. Cingular would only carry a version that supports 850MHz, and since they don't have a relationship with Amoi, my guess is that they won't offer it directly. You'd have to buy an unlocked 850MHz version, if available, from an electronics retailer rather than Cingular direct.

Yes, it has EDGE.

Lisa from www.MobileTechReview.com

where can i buy it...how much will it cost...and can i work for cingular? Does this thing have edge???

[Kris Kumar]

... My guess is that it will cost around $550 unlocked for use with any carrier. ...

Wow, that's a lot less than the i-mate Jam and soon (read "maybe") to be released MPx. 8O

[pdagal]

HTC is very established as is the iMate brand, so they can command high prices. And of course Moto has a way of getting top dollar for their phones. Amoi has sold phones primarily in mainland China where prices are lower (as they must be) and the expectation is to make money on volume rather than margin. Supposedly they've even cut their margins aggressively in China recently to compete with other brands there. But we'll see :)