HTC has reported it will launch HTC Shift Ultra mobile PC in 4Q 2007 together with the P6500 communicator and S730 smartphone. The device is powered by Windows Vista OS. It comes with a 7” touch-sensitive screen that slides out and tilts to a comfortable angle and a full QWERTY-keyboard. According to the company, HTC Shift has the optimal blend of portability and functionality. The SnapVUE always-on mode provides instant access to important info – e-mail, calendar events, SMS and contacts, even if the device is not switched on. The new product supports GSM/GPRS/EDGE and UMTS/HSDPA networks and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connections. HTC shift will hit European stores in November.

• Direct Push Outlook e-mail
• Incredibly long battery life, up to 2 days in standby mode
• Always-on access to critical information with HTC SnapVUE
• Revolutionary small form factor providing portability without compromising mobility
• Powerful enough device to run Windows Vista

HTC has unveiled HTC S730 smartphone. This is a successor of HTC S710 (Vox): it comes with the number pad on the front and the QWERTY slide-out keyboard. The S730 is powered by Windows Mobile 6 Standard. It will be available in Europe in October.

• Networks - GSM/GPRS/EDGE 900/1800/1900 MHz and WCDMA/HSDPA 2100 MHz
• OS - Windows Mobile 6 Standard
• Chipset - Qualcomm MSM7200, 400 MHz
• Display – 2.4” 240x320 pixels
• 2-megapixel and frontal VGA- cameras
• 256 MB ROM and 64 MB RAM
• microSD-slot
• Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g)
• Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
• HTC ExtUSB connector
• Li-Pol 1050 mAh battery
• Talk time - 210 minutes (WCDMA), 318 minutes (GSM)
• Standby time - 388 hours (WCDMA), 290 hours (GSM)
• Dimensions – 105.8x51x19.4 mm
• Weight - 150 g

HTC has officially announced HTC Touch Dual slider, an heir of HTC Touch communicator. It’s the second device with TouchFLO screen technology for finger and stylus input. I’d note that its slide-out keyboard contains 12 (traditional numeric) or 20 buttons (two letters for each button) depending on the region and operator’s preferences. The European release of HTC Touch Dual will take place later this month.

• Networks - GSM/EDGE 900/1800/1900 MHz, WCDMA/HSDPA 2100 MHz
• OS - Windows Mobile 6 Professional
• Chipset - Qualcomm MSM7200, 400 MHz
• Display – 2.6” touch sensitive QVGA
• 2-megapixel camera, frontal camera for video calls
• 256 MB ROM, 128 MB RAM
• microSD-slot
• Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
• HTC ExtUSBTM connector
• 1100 mAh battery
• Talk time – up to 240 minutes (WCDMA) and up to 360 minutes (GSM)
• Standby time – up to 150 hours (WCDMA) and up to 250 hours (GSM)
• Dimensions – 107x55x15.8 mm
• Weight - 120 g

HTC has released a free operating system upgrade to Windows Mobile 6 Professional for some of its communicators sold in Asia under the Dopod mark. The upgrade for Dopod D810 (HTC Trinity) is available from July 10 onwards, for Dopod 838pro (HTC Hermes) – from July 12, for Dopod P800W (HTC Artemis) – from July 13 and for Dopod U1000 (HTC Athena) – from July 20. The upgrade is provided for free download from Asian HTC site.