HTC Athena: Windows Mobile on Steroids

[Nurhisham Hussein]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.mml.com.tw/newsdetail.php?id=1511' target='_blank'>http://www.mml.com.tw/newsdetail.php?id=1511</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Athena is to be highlighted in the 'small' 5" LCD (!! bat and the best type of market, like small Sony Vaio UX17!) equipped with portable keyboards, NoteBook, PDA, Table PC, uMPC immediately change change change With the ups and downs can also feel that the appropriate mix of demand profile occasions factory! uMPC so appealing. through layers of the author, piles of compassion, in a string of night-time network last night. from 'deep throat' to shake the hands of these received the 'history of the smallest uMPC'..."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/hisham-20070123-htcathena.jpg" /><br /><br />Ok, the <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mml.com.tw%2Fnewsdetail.php%3Fid%3D1511&langpair=zh-CN%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools">translation</a> leaves a little bit to be desired (alright, a LOT to be desired), but the pictures speak for themselves. Taiwanese site MobileLife has managed to get some hands-on time with a working model of the Athena, and oh my, isn't it intriguing? Especially the close-up shot of the VGA/composite out screen. Enjoy the p0rn!!

[SteveHoward999]

OK the translation is ... educational ... but so is the 8Gb microdrive :-)

But the question is - is this a built-in hard drive? If is, is i swappable for a larger model? :devilboy:

[ADBrown]

But the question is - is this a built-in hard drive? If is, is i swappable for a larger model? :devilboy:

Probably replacable (if you don't mind disassembly, but as far as I know 8 GB is the largest microdrive currently available. A better question is, can we replace it with an 8 GB CF flash memory card for improved speed and battery life?

[burtcom]

This looks cool -- I've already decided I want to go back to a device with a keyboard, perhaps this will be it.

Enjoy the p0rn!!

I believe it's pronounced "pr0n" these days :D

[saru83]

very nice device, would do a great job as a GPS, PMP &amp; internet browsing device. but not as a phone!! definitely nice to have a sim card slot to be able to use internet where Wifi is not available.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Probably replacable (if you don't mind disassembly, but as far as I know 8 GB is the largest microdrive currently available. A better question is, can we replace it with an 8 GB CF flash memory card for improved speed and battery life?

I rather doubt it, but it would be fun if it could. More likely they'll use the IDE-only microdrive versions, just like in some of the Creative mp3 players - that would probably preclude replacing them with a flash card.

[ricksfiona]

I think these Pocket PC PE 'on steroids' are on their death bed. Once you go UMPC, there's no going back to a PPC PE with a big screen and keyboard.

Unless they come out with holographic displays or some currently far-out technology like that, I think a Treo/Dash/JasJar(maybe) are optimum form factors. Once you go bigger than these devices, they're just too big to hold up to your ear or wear on your hip. And 'no', you're not always going to have an earpiece with you :-(

UMPC are pretty darn cool and they're only 2nd Generation! You can do REAL work with them and at under 2lbs, are pretty easy to take around with you. But I would never use one of these as a phone.

[SteveHoward999]

Once you go bigger than these devices, they're just too big to hold up to your ear or wear on your hip. And 'no', you're not always going to have an earpiece with you :-(

You forget. Outside of the USA, people think you look like a complete dork with your phone on your hip. That's why cargo pants are so popular ;-)

There's plenty of life in devices like this, provided they are not priced like gold bullion.

[alese]

I'm not really sure what to think about Athena. On one side it's Windows Mobile Geek's dream, with pretty much everything you ever wanted included. But on the other side it's not all that usable.
- It's not a usable phone, it's much too big to be used as a phone, even with BT headset. Universal was allready too clunky as a phone and it's smaller. And of course the price is way out of reach for pretty much everybody (even the Flame looks affordable compared to Athena)

- It's not really usable as a PDA. While it is the most full featured PDA ever produced, it's also the most expensive one, easily beating even iPaqs sold on E-Bay at the peak of iPAQ craze and it's large for a PDA. Casios were called bricks and they were smaller...

- It can't compete with UMPCs. Yes it's smaller than most of them, but it also lacks (VGA only, 8GB only...) much of the features that UMPCs have. Judging by my experience with Universal used as an UMPC, at best Athena can pass as an UMPC replacement for very light work. But the problem is you can get full UMPC capable of real work for less...

- What about using it as an internet browsing tablet (like Nokia 800) or as an multimedia player? Againthe price and the limitations of the platform are makin it non competitive.

As far as I'm concerned Athena is an 2007 version of HPC. Having the same problems as all the other HPCs before it. It's just either too expensive or too big or both be competitive with pretty much anything.