It's a PPC? It's A Smartphone? It's a HTC.

[Jon Westfall]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=fr_en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.smartphonefrance.info%2Factu.asp%3FID%3D3069' target='_blank'>http://babelfish.altavista.com/babe...asp%3FID%3D3069</a><br /><br /></div>From the rumor mills, we find this gem of a question. A picture has surfaced of a HTC Blizzard, which looks an aweful lot like a smartphone yet it has a start menu...<br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/westfall-20050910-htc.jpg" /> <br /><br />So the Friday Question of Confusion is: What is this? Could it be legit? If it isn't, why would someone hack a PPC screen onto a Smartphone? What kind of sick individual would do that? And will we ever see it in America legit pic or not? Post your theories! (Link goes to Babelfished French Translation)

[spacehog]

definitely real, not a hack. poised to be launched q2 next year after the V3 Razr killer comes out in q1.

the blizzard will run wm5 pocket pc edition and will be the next big step in form factor reduction after the Jam..

you heard it here first!

[Paragon]

It sure looks to be the real thing. All things considered, the memory confiuration, and features all seem to point to it being Phone Edition device......and why shouldn't it be? ;)

Dave

[surur]

It bears a striking resemblance to a siemens S65, and it shows WM2003SE, which does not make sense for a new HTC device. I vote hoax.

Surur

http://www.siemens.com.ua/img/siemens/mobil/siemens_s65.jpghttp://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/westfall-20050910-htc.jpg

[Paragon]

and it shows WM2003SE, which does not make sense for a new HTC device. I vote hoax.

Very good point. Regardless, it is still going to have a screenshot pasted on. I guess it then comes down to a matter if it has the proper PPC version, if you are going to go with it being a PPC. Like I mentioned above there are more things that point to it being a PPC than just a screenshot. As well the buttons have a PPC configuration. It is all just a guessing game at this point. It could all be Photoshopped.

Dave

[CME2C]

All I can say is it's about time. Smartphone is great, but there are lots of apps that don't run on it. Now that is supposedly going to change with Windows Mobile 5.0, but I don't see what took them so long. With high res screens, there is no reason they couldn't make a small form factor phone with Pocket PC. Unfortunately, I don't see this hitting Sprint or Alltel, so I am SOL.

[surur]

Maybe its the rumoured Fujitsu Siemens 3G PPCphone? That would explain the family resemblance.

Surur

[Sven Johannsen]

My only concern is the much publicized 'marginal' one-handedness of WM5 on a PPC. I don't have an issue with having to haul out a stylus or stick my finger on a touch screen if I am holding a PPC. That comes with the format, IMHO. If I am holding what feels like a smartphone though, I would expect it to be useable one handed, and I expect most folks would. Accidentally finding those instances that require you to use the touch screen is likely going to irritate folks that haven't researched it first.

[CME2C]

My only concern is the much publicized 'marginal' one-handedness of WM5 on a PPC. I don't have an issue with having to haul out a stylus or stick my finger on a touch screen if I am holding a PPC. That comes with the format, IMHO. If I am holding what feels like a smartphone though, I would expect it to be useable one handed, and I expect most folks would. Accidentally finding those instances that require you to use the touch screen is likely going to irritate folks that haven't researched it first.

That is probably why we haven't seen one yet. Most people don't need full Pocket PC and will be annoyed about having to use a stylus. The market just hasn't been there for this product. But darnit, I want one.

[kcrain]

My only thought on this device so far is screen size. If the resolution is QVGA, but only 2 inches in size (or something similarly small), and they used the standard UI resolution of WM, then I'd be concerned that the text is getting to small to see, even for my good eyes. Similar thoughts have crossed my mind when thinking about the Moto Q. How big are these screens, and will the text/icon sizes scale up so they are still readable? Just like the VGA screens did. That's my only concern. Hoax or real? I don't have a clue.

[Jason Lee]

I'll vote fake. cool idea though. think i would rather have something in the k-jam form factor if i were gonna go for small though. But i wouldn't rule out buying one. ;)

[KTamas]

My only concern is the much publicized 'marginal' one-handedness of WM5 on a PPC. I don't have an issue with having to haul out a stylus or stick my finger on a touch screen if I am holding a PPC. That comes with the format, IMHO. If I am holding what feels like a smartphone though, I would expect it to be useable one handed, and I expect most folks would. Accidentally finding those instances that require you to use the touch screen is likely going to irritate folks that haven't researched it first.

That is probably why we haven't seen one yet. Most people don't need full Pocket PC and will be annoyed about having to use a stylus. The market just hasn't been there for this product. But darnit, I want one.
I was kinda the same, i just did not like the concept of the two button mode. However, since I'm using WM5, i just love this feature. I can create a task and set everything in it of course without getting out the stylus for example...

[ricksfiona]

Hoax.

[heliod]

Could be a hoax, but not for the reason of the screen with a start menu, or hacking a PocketPC OS in a smartphone.

Actually, if we look at this at the other way, it is very logical: a pocketpc with the format of a (larger) phone. You can write on the screen, but you can also operate one-handed with the buttons. WM5 allows that.

Putting a phone keyboard on a Pocket PC with a 2.7'' screen is not something new: Asus did that (in some way) with the P505, and others like BenQ and Anextek did so.

In my point of view, it is very probable that the device is true, but the picture is a design-phase picture in which they have mounted a WM2003 screen on the device's design to give it a true look.

The real point is price: this device, if true, will be probably priced as a pocketpc, like the HTC Magician or Wizzard, and not as a smartphone.