[Hands0n]

Luvly jubbly - this looks a superb Windows Mobile-equipped handset, it is Quad Band with 3G HSDPA on the T-Mobile network. Cor!



T-Mobile is set to launch HTC's anticipated Athena UMPC-like device, it has been claimed. Given the high quality of the pics that accompany the report, this one appears a dead certainty. T-Mobile is said to have chosen the Ameo brand to label the machine.

According to a report on Dutch-language site PocketInfo, the Ameo contains a 624MHz Marvell XScale processor, 64-128MB of RAM, 64-128MB of Flash ROM and an 8GB hard drive. The unit sports a 5in, 640 x 480 display and a three megapixel still photography and video camera. There's also a front-mounted camera for video calls.

Ameo/Athena is capable of quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and 3G HSDPA cellular connectivity. It has Bluetooth 2.0 and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi on board too. The unit has a fold-out QWERTY keyboard, but will also operate in tablet mode.

Athena has appeared in the past in dropped hints from HTC itself and as a series of blurry images on the web. This is the first time it's appeared as a commercial offering.

Ameo's not a true UMPC - it runs Windows Mobile 5.0 rather than a full version of Windows, but it does incorporate telephony, which most UMPCs don't. The 2,100mAh battery is said to yield up to 300 hours' stand-by operation and five hours' talk time.

The whole thing weighs in at 355g and measures 13.3 x 9.7 x 2cm, so it's more a large PDA-phone than a small UMPC. It would still make an impressive laptop substitute for many users. ®

Article Source and Pictures at The Register (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/01/24/htc_athena_to_ship_as_t-mobile_ameo/)

[Ben]

If it ran full blown Windows or Linux I'd have been extremely excited about this one, but Windows Mobile is just so very weak IMHO. If it does pack a 'new' Vista-loving version then that may be a bit better, but in its current state it seems like a horrible waste of a lovely looking device.

I wonder if HTC have managed to make something that doesn't share tactile qualities with Tomy?

[miffed]

If it ran full blown Windows or Linux I'd have been extremely excited about this one, but Windows Mobile is just so very weak IMHO. If it does pack a 'new' Vista-loving version then that may be a bit better, but in its current state it seems like a horrible waste of a lovely looking device.

I wonder if HTC have managed to make something that doesn't share tactile qualities with Tomy?


Agreed

it is as much a UMPC as the Universal was ! - I can see it as a legitimate replacement to that , but seeing the "UMPC" bit got me all excited , until I clicked the link :(

I still may need to get one - But I'd consider it to be a second priority , with the iPhone being my next intended purchase of course :D

Looks good , But it could be SO much better with a proper OS

[Hands0n]

Here I am, on road, WM2003 in hand, BT to Nokia 6280, T-Mobile Web n Walk - and hating the experience. Give me my Laptop any day and my 3G stuff too. These WMxxxx things are just horrid. WM sucks!

Will the iPhone UI fare better'll see in time. But for me, all this screen tapping, or worse still so-called handwriting recognition, does my head in. It is dire!!

[miffed]

Here I am, on road, WM2003 in hand, BT to Nokia 6280, T-Mobile Web n Walk - and hating the experience. Give me my Laptop any day and my 3G stuff too. These WMxxxx things are just horrid. WM sucks!

Will the iPhone UI fare better'll see in time. But for me, all this screen tapping, or worse still so-called handwriting recognition, does my head in. It is dire!!


Hey ! don't know about that ... :p

I think the HTC universal was the most viable "laptop alternative" I had used - I just got bored with it
The E61 is a funny old device - it is a joy to use , but as soon as you stop using it and look at it - it is bloody ugly !
I'd probably be happy with one of these new jobby's as a PHONE , .... but I'd expect a hell of a lot more from a UMPC really
Never understood why anyone would choose a 8gb HDD over a solid state device ? even if it meant swapping the occasional card from time to time surely solid state would be better in a phone ? would anyone care to enlighten me - as it seems ridiculous to me ... chances are I must be missing something (as usual ! )

[Hands0n]

re 8GB HDD - the factoris convenience of storage/access. As you rightly say, with solid state [as the current state of the game stands] the top size is 4GB, so the 8GB HDD is already twice as large.

Another factor is the limited lifetime of solid state memory with its 100,000 write cycles. This sounds a large number of writes but could be easily consumed in a short time, depending on use. I found a website a while back that had a scheme to kill a SD card within 8 hours! They had a script to place XP on an SD and run the PC from the card. XP has a habbit of writing to disk with great frequency, and hence within 8 hours the 100,000 write cycles have been accomplised and the SD turns into a brick!

I do think that for most of us the 100,000 is not significant. We'll be binning the SD card long before that in favour of something with much higher capacity.

"Better in a phone ......" - well, maybe, maybe not! For sure, solid state memory will not be as susceptible to vibration and shock as a HDD would be. But then these HDD blighters are built to withstand quite considerable shocks such that would trash a mobile phone handset!

I don't think you're missing anything really :)

[JimmerUK]

This thing is massive (http://www.mbmagazine.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1738&Itemid=2), you'd think it was a mini-laptop. Agreeing with Ben, if it ran windows full on then it might be worth it, but as it is Windows Mobile is good enough on a smaller handset (but still not great), I don't see the point in a phone being the size of a brick.