“HP has begun shipping the iPAQ 210 Enterprise Handheld to retailers, which means this traditional handheld should go on sale any day now.This news — which comes from Mike Hockey, Hewlett-Packard’s Worldwide Public Relations Manager — apparently means the end a long delay in the release of this model, which was originally scheduled to launch last fall.The suggested price for this Windows Mobile device is $450; whether any retailers will offer discounts is not yet known.HP is taking orders for the iPAQ 210 now on its web site, but the shipping date isn’t for another two days. Product OverviewThose looking for a replacement for the iPAQ hx4700 or Dell Axim X51v should be interested the iPAQ 210 Enterprise Handheld. The centerpiece of this model will be a 4-inch, VGA (640 by 480 pixel) touchscreen. It will run Windows Mobile 6 Classic on a 624 MHz processor. This operating system is essentially the same as Windows Mobile 6 Professional but without the phone features that are unnecessary in this device.This iPAQ will have 128 MB of RAM and 256 MB of ROM, as well as SD and CompactFlash card slots. These will be for additional storage as well as plug-in accessories. The 210 will also sport Wi-Fi b/g and Bluetooth, as well as a 2200 mAh battery.Overall, this model will be 3.0 inches tall, 5.0 inches wide, and 0.63 inches thick. It will weigh 6.8 oz.” via brighthand.com
Motorola announces a Linux based DVBH handheld!
“Motorola has announced a personal media player (PMP) and related broadcast transmission equipment based on the emerging wireless TV broadcast standard, DVB-H (digital video broadcast, handhelds). The Linux-based Mobile TV DH01 handheld will enable the viewing of live, on-demand, and recorded programs, says Motorola.Along with rivals such as Nokia, Samsung, and LG, Motorola already sells phones that offer live TV playback. However, because they are not optimized with a technology such as DVB-H, the quality is lower and the phones quickly use up battery life as they struggle to process video. Motorola joins Nokia as a major backer of the IP-based DVB-H, which is optimized for 3G-enabled handheld displays, and which broadcasts data in bursts to accommodate battery-dependent devices.Motorola’s Mobile TV DH01 is smaller than a paperback novel, says Motorola, and will enable live or recorded DVB-H playback at 25fps (frames per second), indoors or outdoors. It boasts a 4.3-inch screen with 16 million colors, an SD slot, USB, DVR capability, and support for numerous video and audio codecs. Based on “non-proprietary” Linux, the device is said to support open standard interfaces across devices, networks, and application service platforms.Details were sketchy, but Motorola lists the following features on the DH01, which is being demonstrated at this week’s CES show:
Display — 4.3-inch Wide Quarter Video Graphics Array Screen, supporting up to 16 million colors
Video frame rate 25fps
Flash — SD/MMC card slot
DVR — via supported Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard card; 90 minutes of TV video storage on 256MB card
I/O — Mini A/B USB connector; USIM/UICC card reader; earphone and power jacks
Video formats — H.264 AVC QVGA, MPEG-4 SP level 3 QVGA
Audio formats — AAC, MP3
Image formats — JPEG, GIF, PNG
Battery — rechargeable battery with up to four hours per charge
Other features — Five-minute memory buffer for live-TV pause; automatic channel scan; channel listings” via linuxdevices.com
MWG, imate and Palm switching smartphone orders back HTC
“Smartphone handset vendors, including Mobile and Wireless Group (MWG) (ex-O2 Asia Pacific), i-mate and Palm, have recently switched their smartphone orders back to High Tech Computer (HTC), with the shifting of orders to push the ratio of ODM revenues at HTC to over 10% in the first quarter of this year, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report.ODM revenues contributed less than 10% to HTC’s total revenues in the fourth quarter of 2007, the paper quoted HTC CFO Hui-ming Cheng as indicating. Cheng said that ODM revenues will increase slightly in the first quarter 2008 and that the company plans to launch 10-12 new handsets this year, according to the paper.” via digitimes.com