A Chinese company is now taking orders for what it's billing as the world's first phone running Windows XP. In Technology Group's "XPPhone" has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 4.8-inch touchscreen display, up to 120GB of storage, GPS, and either GSM or CDMA connectivity, the company says.
In Technology says its XPPhone (right) -- first revealed in July -- runs Windows XP on an AMD processor described only as a "Super Mobile" CPU, with either 512MB or 1GB of RAM, and both HDD (hard disk drive) and SSD (solid state disk) storage. SSDs range from 8GB to 64GB in capacity, while hard disk drives range from 30GB to 120GB, the company says.
According to the Pocketables website, which noticed that In Technology is now accepting unpriced pre-orders for the XPPhone, it's claimed that the device supports simultaneous installation of an SSD and HDD. The SSD can "help save power," while the HDD offers "the full internet experience," the website reports.
At the time of writing, we found the In Technology website swamped with traffic and difficult to interact with. However, we confirmed the Pocketables report that orders are being taken, and that the XPPhone's specifications haven't changed from what was announced in July. In Technology says the XPPhone "supports the global three major 3G standards," and lists AT&T, Orange, and Vodafone as networks the device will be compatible with.
In Technlogy states that its "patented technology ... makes it possible for a mobile phone to run Windows XP," and claims that the device offers up to five days of standby. The phone is capable of bringing Windows XP out of sleep mode whenever a phone call or SMS message is received, the company adds. However, no word was provided on whether the XPPhone is compatible with push e-mail, for example.
The XPPhone has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard (Click to enlarge)
A removable lithium-ion battery is claimed to power the XPPhone for about five hours of talk time, about seven hours of typical application usage, and a maximum of 12 hours. Meanwhile, the device has a 4.8-inch, 800 x 480 touchscreen display, and a slideout QWERTY keyboard. While we couldn't find overall dimensions, the XPPhone is reportedly just under an inch thick, and weighs 14.1 ounces (400g), with battery.
The XPPhone (Click to enlarge)
According to In Technology, the XPPhone includes 802.11b/g wireless networking, Bluetooth, and either itgGSM/WCMDA and CDMA/EV-DO cellular connectivity. The device will reportedly also be offered in the future with TD-SCDMA (time-division synchronous code-division multiple access), China's homegrown 3G standard.
Features and specifications listed by In Technology for the XPPhone include the following:
Processor -- AMD "Super Mobile"
Memory -- 512MB or 1GB of RAM
Storage:
SSD -- 8GB/16GB/32GB/64GB
HDD -- 30GB/60GB/80GB/120GB
Display -- 4.8-inch touchscreen display with 800 x 480 resolution
Cameras -- VGA-resolution for videoconferencing, and 1.3 megapixel main camera
Keyboard -- Slide-out QWERTY keyboard with separate numeric keypad
Wireless:
WAN -- GSM/GRPS/EDGE/WCDMA, CDMA/EV-DO, TD-SCDMA (forthcoming)
LAN -- 802.11b/g
PAN -- Bluetooth
GPS
Other I/O:
1 x USB 2.0 host
1 x USB device
Microphone and earphone jacks
Docking connector with VGA output
Expansion -- SIM slot
Battery life:
Talk time -- 5 hours
Standby time -- about 5 days
Windows XP application usage -- from 7 to 12 hours
Dimensions -- n/s, except for thickness of .98 inches (25mm)
Weight -- 14.1 ounces (400g)
Background
It's been thought that phones running a desktop version of Windows wouldn't appear until next year, when Intel says it will release its "Moorestown" platform, cutting idle power consumption to just 1/10th of today's Atom CPUs. But, a prototype phone from BYD Electronics was shown off by Intel during April's IDF in Beijing, using the chipmaker's original Z5xx Atoms, in either 1.1GHz (Z510) or 1.6GHz (Z530) flavors. The same CPUs have also been adopted by Taiwan-based DigiCube for its MIDPhone-50, a MID (mobile internet device) that's said to double as a 3.5G cellphone.
A video of the XPPhone at the Computex show in Taiwan Source: Jkkmobile (click to play)
Further information
In Technology did not release either pricing or availability for its XPPhone. However, both an order form and more information may be found on the company's website, here.
The Pocketables story alluded to above may be found here. Related stories:
In Technology says its XPPhone (right) -- first revealed in July -- runs Windows XP on an AMD processor described only as a "Super Mobile" CPU, with either 512MB or 1GB of RAM, and both HDD (hard disk drive) and SSD (solid state disk) storage. SSDs range from 8GB to 64GB in capacity, while hard disk drives range from 30GB to 120GB, the company says.
