HTC QWERTY Candybar Smartphone to Ship as Vox?

[Jerry Raia]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/12/05/htc_to_ship_libra_as_vox/' target='_blank'>http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/12/05/htc_to_ship_libra_as_vox/</a><br /><br /></div><i>"HTC looks set to market its upcoming candybar smart phone with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard as the Vox, leaked roadmap slides reveal. The Taiwanese handset maker showed off the device in September as carrier UTStarcom's Libra. According to slides published in a report on Arabic-language webside CE4Arab.com, Vox is due to ship toward the end of Q2 2007, pitched as messaging-friendly phone rather than a PDA-phone replacement."</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Jerry-htc_libra.jpg" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><br />Is it a Smartphone or is it a Pocket PC Phone? You decide. I'm going with Smartphone. No sign of a stylus so presumably no touch screen. I think this device is great if it is the real thing. I have no reason to think HTC wouldn't make such a device. It takes care of the QWERTY vs keypad debate. It gives you the best of both worlds I think. If it comes to this side of the world I will have one in my hands a split second later. :)

[onlydarksets]

The screen shot is clearly a PPC Phone (pic on the left has the start menu coming down). Like you, this is my #1 phone if it actually comes out on Verizon like it's supposed to.

[Jerry Raia]

Yeah good point about the menu. I'm hoping its just a cut and paste job for the visuals.

[dstrauss]

Size, size, size...

Now that I've had the Cingular Blackjack in my pocket for three weeks, I can't see going with a much thicker phone. By the looks of those pictures, it's as thick as the 8125. Just can't do that anymore; too spoiled.

[alese]

The screenshots are PPC Phone Edition, but it could be that it's actually a smartphone.
On the other hand Palm is calling it's Treos, smartphones...

[Janak Parekh]

Yeah good point about the menu. I'm hoping its just a cut and paste job for the visuals.
It's possible, because there's a Home button instead of a Windows button (which is the Pocket PC Phone equivalent). Hmmm.

--janak

[tsaylor]

I don't see any directional keys or joystick. That makes me think it is a PPC Phone Edition.

[Rocco Augusto]

im getting really annoyed with smartphone promotional material having screenshots of pocket pc's :(

take a look at the new cingular blackjack commercial (the guy shuffling the phone like a deck of cards) if you want to know what i mean. at the end when they are just showing the blackjack by itself, there is a pocket pc layout on the screen. don't carriers they have a QA team to check these things before they are sent out into the world? :evil:

[Jerry Raia]

I don't see any directional keys or joystick. That makes me think it is a PPC Phone Edition.

Now that is a big deal. Could very well be the Telltale Heart so to speak. Still it could just be a new design. Am I working this or what? :lol:

[Pete Paxton]

If this is a smartphone and has all the high speed it should have, Jerry and I may be fighting for the same phone the split second it comes out :lol:

[dstrauss]

I don't see any directional keys or joystick. That makes me think it is a PPC Phone Edition.

That could be more an Achilles heel than the Telltale Heart. Even a PPC needs a Dpad (from my experience with Cingular 8125). A touch screen alone isn't going to get the job done.

[cromdubh]

smartphone or ppc....I dont care....I WANT ONE

[Kris Kumar]

I don't see any directional keys or joystick.

It will have 5 way jog bar. Similar to the Dash/Excalibur, but will be 5 way instead of just up/down.

[Mike Temporale]

I don't like where they put the space bar! :?

As others have mentioned, I don't care for the thickness of the device. My i320 is about as big as I want to go.

[Jerry Raia]

It is very much like my 8525 as far as thickness. No matter, if they build it I will buy it and have it and use it. :mrgreen:

[smartphone2002.info]

Ok guys - the device in the first post is not the VOX but the HTC Libra. The HTC Libra is - so far I know - indeed a Pocket PC Device.

The HTC VOX (aka HTC S710) is looking like this:
http://www.smartphone-web.com/modules/wysiwyg_editor/upload/htc_s710.JPG

And this is a Smartphone Device. :)

[Jerry Raia]

Pretty similar looking. Nice shot! Thanks for that. :)

[Pete Paxton]

So does the screen automatically rotate?

[Jerry Raia]

I can't imagine it wouldn't with that keyboard.

[smartphone2002.info]

So does the screen automatically rotate?

Yes - it's a feature of crossbow.

[Mike Temporale]

So does the screen automatically rotate?

Yes - it's a feature of crossbow.

Screen rotation has been there since before Crossbow. We just haven't seen it in action on the Smartphone yet. ;)

[onlydarksets]

Looks like there's more info on this at Engadget:
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2006/12/13/htc-vox-s710-smartphone-revealed/
Original story here:
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2006/12/13/htc-vox-smartphone-revealed/
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/uploads/Image/HTCVox.jpg

[dannypro45]

I don't see any directional keys or joystick. That makes me think it is a PPC Phone Edition.

it think i will second that notion....PPC for sure

[onlydarksets]

Apparently it's on the side of the phone. The screen shot is definitely Smartphone, but it's blatantly Photoshop'd, so who knows for sure?