Vodafone introduces 3G compatible Pocket PC Phone Edition

[vodamod]

Vodafone is adding a 3G model to its VPA (Vodafone Personal Assistant) product family. The new Pocket PC Phone Edition will be presented at Cebit 2005 and is set to be available from Summer 2005, beginning in Germany.

The new VPA IV has a QWERTZ (German layout) keypad for convenient text entry. As with a notebook, its display is folded out behind the keypad when users are writing or browsing the Web. The VPA IV is equipped with a 520MHz Intel processor and uses the Windows Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition 2003 OS. The new device comes with standard Windows Mobile applications like Pocket Outlook for e-mail, calendar and contacts management, Pocket Internet Explorer for web browsing, and office applications like Pocket Word and Pockt Excel. The internal 128 MB memory can be upgraded with SD/MMC cards, while the SD adapter is SDIO compliant.

The VPA IV measures 131.6mm (h) x 79mm (w) x 21.6mm (d) when folded. The device also offers Bluetooth, infrared and mini USB as means to connect to other devices.

The VPA IV connects to 3G (UMTS) mobile networks, as well as being a tri-band GSM/GPRS device. It has built-in wireless LAN, which enables users to connect to faster networks available at home, at the office or in hotspots.

Users can enjoy multimedia with two loudspeakers for stereo sound and two cameras which, among other features, enable photos and videos to be recorded and sent and video calls to be made when connected to a 3G network.

The fold and tilt mechanism enables the VPA IV to take the shape of a "normal" PDA. In this way, users can make phone calls and work as if using a standard Pocket PC Phone Edition. The large display, loudspeakers and microphone are then located at the front, the keypad is hidden and entries are made using a stylus on the touch-screen.