| Phone sports dedicated slot for GPS maps |
Sep. 19, 2008
 Velocity Mobile announced a new Windows Mobile 6.1-based phone designed to provide enhanced GPS capabilities. The Velocity 83 has two microSD slots, with one dedicated to map storage, and it includes a 2.8-inch touchscreen display, quad-band (850/900/1800/1900MHz) GSM support, WiFi, and an enhanced "Odyssey" user interface.
(Click here for a larger view of Velocity Mobile's Velocity 83)
Velocity Mobile's 103 and 111
(Click image for further information) |
Velocity Mobile made its debut earlier this year with the Velocity 103 and 111 (pictured at right). These Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional devices include GPS, and come with either a VGA-resolution display (103) or QVGA resolution and a QWERTY keyboard (111). For further information, see our earlier coverage, here.
The company's third device yet again packs GPS, WiFi, and Bluetooth, but it's smaller and lighter than the first two. It measures 4.4 x 2.3 x 0.5 inches (112 x 59.5 x 12.1mm) and weighs just 103g (3.6oz). Perhaps the company saved some space by omitting a 3G radio, since the Velocity 103 and 111 had both quad-band GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz) and tri-band UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 1900, 2100MHz) cellular connectivity, whereas the Velocity 83 only has the former.
That said, the Velocity 83 isn't exactly a "poor relation," since it has sprouted a secondary microSD slot. This allows one slot to be devoted to storing detailed GPS maps, while the second slot can be used for media and general-purpose storage expansion, the company says. The device also reportedly sports an iPhone-like accelerometer, capable of switching its screen from portrait to landscape mode automatically.
It seems nobody's anybody in the Windows Mobile phone business these days without doing something to tinker with the operating system's user interface. Velocity Mobile says it has joined in with an enhancement called "Odyssey" (see below), which gives Windows Mobile an iconic toolbar similar to the one offered by Windows XP and Vista. Instead of having to use the operating system's Start menu to launch programs, users can use the toolbar from within any application, the company says.
Odyssey interface
More significantly, Velocity Mobile also touts VOTA (velocity over the air) technology, said to be capable of downloading software updates (below left) using a cellular connection and then installing them automatically (below right). Such functionality has been provided in the past by enterprise-oriented management infrastructure products such as Microsoft's own System Center Mobile Device Manager, but, in general, individuals have been able to upgrade their phones only by downloading updates using a desktop PC.
 
Velocity Mobile's VOTA (velocity over the air) technology detects program updates (left) and installs them automatically (right)
The Velocity 83's hardware is relatively standard, apart from the accelerometer already mentioned. The device has a 2.8-inch touschscreen display, 128MB of RAM, 64MB of flash storage, and a two megapixel camera. It also includes both WiFi and Bluetooth.
Velocity Mobile says the Velocity 83 has 400MHz clock speed, but has not specified what processor it uses. The Velocity 103 and 111 both use Qualcomm's MSM7201, clocked at 528MHz.
Features and specifications listed for the Velocity 83 include:- Processor -- n/a
- Memory -- 128MB of RAM and 64MB of flash
- Display -- 2.8-inch touchscreen display, with accelerometer
- Camera -- 2 megapixel
- Wireless interfaces:
- WAN -- Quad-band GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz)
- PAN -- Bluetooth 2.1
- GPS
- Other I/O:
- Battery life:
- 4 hour talk time
- 200 hour standby time
- Dimensions -- 4.4 x 2.3 x 0.5 inches (112 x 59.5 x 12.1mm)
- Weight -- 103g (3.6oz)
Velocity Mobile did not release pricing and availability information for the Velocity 83.
Related stories:
(Click here for further information)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
news feed