Oswin Technology Set to Release a Line of New Phones

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/sub/bizit/story/0,4574,150830,00.html' target='_blank'>http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/...,150830,00.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Singapore-based Oswin Technology, which designs and produces a range of mobile wireless devices, has created what it says is the world's first smartphone compatible with five operating systems. The Zircon Axia A108, the Microsoft Windows CE operating system version, released on April 2 here, retails at $899 and is also touted as the smallest Microsoft Windows CE-based smartphone. The other versions slated for release in the third quarter this year are the Microsoft Windows Pocket PC (PPC) version and the MXI operating system version."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20050406-Oswin.jpg" /><br /><br />Oswin Technology have just released a Windows CE phone, and if you read the latest sentence of the quote, you'll notice that they also plan on releasing a Pocket PC version of the phone sometime during Q3 2005. The hardware across all five versions of the phone remains the same, so if the user prefers a different operating system, he/she need only to pay a licensing fee to get it. The article, which discusses the new range of phones, can be accessed from <a href="http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/sub/bizit/story/0,4574,150830,00.html">here</a>, but please bear in mind that it is only open to the public after 6PM [GMT +8]. You will need subscriber access otherwise.

[surur]

I think this "multiple OS" thing is just talk. If you are jack of all trade you are master of one. Most of the hardware may be the same, but I think the screen resolution will tell us which OS this is really aimed at.

If its 240x320 then it will be windows CE, if its 320x480 or 320x320 its Palm.

When more specs come out things will become more clear.

Surur

[Ed@Brighthand]

It's 2.2 inch screen has a resolution of 240 by 320 pixels.

You can find a fairly complete set of specifications here (http://www.brighthand.com/article/Oswin_Zircon_Axia_A108_Announced).

[powder2000]

And why shouldn't all manufacturers have this option. Seems like a win/win approach for both the manufacturers and the consumers. Of course, I could see how some devices would excell at having a certain OS, but still, more option is better.

[twalk]

I think this "multiple OS" thing is just talk. If you are jack of all trade you are master of one. Most of the hardware may be the same, but I think the screen resolution will tell us which OS this is really aimed at.

If its 240x320 then it will be windows CE, if its 320x480 or 320x320 its Palm.

When more specs come out things will become more clear.

Surur


Actually, the internals of all these devices (PPC, Palm, Symbian, Linux) are pretty similar, and in many cases exactly the same.

This thing isn't going to run PalmOS5. It's going to run PalmOS6 (Colbalt, stupid name...). Ver 6 runs perfectly fine on QVGA and VGA screens.

This is a really smart thing for them to do, because they'll only need one production line, and the OS can be changed to meet changes in demand in different parts of the world.

Todd.

[ricksfiona]

I think this is bigger than we think it is...

If it has WiFi....