Microsoft Corp's mobile handset dreams are finally set to become reality this month as the first Windows Smartphone 2002-powered device hits the shops, care of Orange SA.
The mobile unit of France Telecom SA plans to launch the phone, built by Microsoft embedded OS enthusiast High Tech Computer Corp (HTC), in the UK before the end of the month.
Reports suggest that Orange's new smart phone will be priced well below rival UK operator mmO2 Plc's Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition-based XDA, one of the few other Microsoft-powered wireless devices currently on the market.
The XDA is also made by Taipei, Taiwan-based HTC, which makes an almost identical device, the MDA, for T-Mobile's operations in Germany and the USA. It is unclear whether HTC will offer derivatives of Orange's new smart phone to other operators.
Orange's and HTC's new handset beats the long-gestating Smartphone 2002-based Z100 from Birmingham, UK-based Sendo Holdings Ltd. After numerous delays, Sendo now expects the Z100 to reach European stores during November, with Cingular Wireless set to offer the device in the US before the end of the year.
View: The full story
News source: The Reg
-1 Comments - Add comment