With its clean, softly rounded case, the Touche may be an OEM design, as similar devices have appeared under other brands. The device is as close to a "generic" Windows Mobile phone as we can imagine, though none the worse for all that. In fact, most carriers would do well to emulate Elef's complete description of what it is selling.
Unlike many carriers, Elef describes its new Touche in detail
(Click to enlarge)For example, the Touche is forthrightly stated as using Marvell's 416MHz
PXA270 processor, plus SiRF's
starIII GPS chipset. Additionally, the device includes 64MB of RAM, 128MB of flash storage, and a microSD expansion slot, according to Elef.
The Touche has a 2.8-inch touchscreen display, providing access to the usual
Windows Mobile 6.1 capabilities. The device also includes a two megapixel camera, the carrier says.
Wireless capabilities are said to include 802.11b/g local area networking and Bluetooth 2.0, with the A2DP (advanced audio distribution profile) that lets the Touche stream music to stereo headsets. The device has quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900MHz) connectivity, and downloads data at up to 236.8Kbps, says Elef.
As for GPS, the Touche is said to include a "Route 66 Navigate 8" application provided to Elef by
Navteq. The software includes a Navteq map of Brazil, covers nearly 520,000 miles of roads, and includes more than 15,000 POIs (points of interest), says Navteq.
Helder Azevedo, Navteq's general director for South America, says, "We believe that the positioning speed of the Elef Touche, combined with the accuracy of Navteq map data, will provide Brazilian consumers with a cutting-edge navigation experience."
According to Elef, the Touche also ships with Google Maps software and a
Skype VoIP client.
Features and specifications listed by Elef for the Touche include the following:
- Processor -- Marvell PXA270 clocked at 416MHz
- Memory -- 64MB of RAM and 128MB of flash storage
- Display -- 2.8-inch touchscreen display with 320 x 240 resolution
- Camera -- 2 megapixel
- Wireless:
- WAN -- Quad-band (850/900/1800/1900MHz) GSM/GPRS/EDGE connectivity, with 236.8Kbps downloads
- WLAN -- 802.11b/g
- PAN -- Bluetooth 2.0, with A2DP
- GPS
- Other I/O -- USB port
- Expansion -- microSD slot
- Battery type/life:
- 1500mAh battery
- Talk time -- six hours
- Standby time -- 13 days
- Dimensions -- 4.76 x 2.48 x 0.62 inches (121 x 63 x 16mm)
- Weight -- 5.2 ounces (147g)
The Elef Touche appears to be available now, though pricing was not released by the carrier. More information may appear on the Elef website,
here.
Related stories:
