Windows Phone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

Engadget reported yesterday on two new HTC handsets which are likely to be destined for China, one with a WVGA screen (Huashan) and the other HVGA (Hengshan). Apart from that there's almost no info available, except that they're likely to be running WM6.5, and not WP7 (credit: WMExperts). With a little less than five months to go, I wouldn't expect much news/rumours/leaks just yet on what manufacturers are planning for WP7 hardware, but things should just about get more interesting as we head into the autumn. For now, apart from the LG Panther, don't hold your breath.

"We first heard wind of this Verizon-bound machine back in December, and now it's been spied by Mr. Blurrycam over at PhoneArena, apparently due for a mid-April release. The QWERTY slider is intended as a world phone, and its list of wireless support certainly sounds comprehensive: CDMA 1x/EVDO Rev A. 800/1900MHz, and GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/190MHz and UMTS/HSDPA."

Wow, every radio under the sun, save for WiMAX! In addition the VS750 will sport a 3.2" WVGA screen, a 3.2MP camera, and a Droid-like directional pad on the keyboard. Release date and pricing are still unknown, but given the countdown to WP7S, I'd expect LG and Verizon will want to make hay while the sun shines, so look for this soon.

There have been attempts over the years for devices with larger screens running energy-sipping processors and OSs, with varying degrees of (non)success, like the hybrid HTC Shift. One of the biggest problems was that for many years the ARM architecture just couldn't provide the necessary power to run applications at a level people expect, to compete with their desktop experience. Now with the advances in both power and graphics, and support for Web2.0 enablers like Adobe's Flash, there's a better argument in favour of putting Win CE/Win Mobile on bigger devices, like the one featured here, which has a 1HGz Snapdragon processor and every radio bar the phone (and we can hope on that score). Would I get one? If the price was competitive enough, I'd certainly consider it.

"Microsoft may not have gobs of Windows Mobile 6.5 demo units out at MWC09, but that doesn't mean your intrepid friends at WMExperts weren't scouring the floor trying to find one. Find one we did, at Texas Instruments' booth. It's running on a development platform (the OMAP34x-II) they've created to help manufacturers use their new OMAP3430 processor."

The article features a run through of WM6.5, but hey, there's plenty of news on Microsoft's new OS isn't there? What's really interesting here is the new processor and reference platform Texas Instruments is pushing. While I'd agree with WMExpert's comments on the viability of the prototype (that's a 4.1" WVGA landscape screen you're looking at there), it's a great vehicle for showing off the capabilities of the new platform. Get this: capacitive touch screen, USB OTG, 6-in-1 card slot, and HDMI out - the beastie actually runs 720p video! Will we see all these features on a production device? Hope springs eternal! Along with the recent unveiling of the Toshiba TG01, for the first time in years I'm actually getting excited about all the hardware advances coming out for Windows Mobile.