HTC Shift
Preview by Bibhas Basumatary


Overview
In order to get a hold of the high-end mobility market HTC has come out with an ultra portable tablet pc with some mobility features like touch screen, GPS and HSDPA connectivity. However, it doesn’t have the mobile phone GSM / CDMA function even though it has a SIM slot for wireless Internet connectivity. Other than GSM voice it has most of the connectivity options like GPRS/EDGE, HSDPA, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0.

With the failure of HTC Advantage (X7500) this bulky device in my opinion is neither a mobile device nor a laptop and will find takers only in the corporate sectors. This would be a handy device for field engineers, medical professionals and architects due to its 7-inch touch screen input, Windows platform and high speed connectivity. However, general consumers would prefer to have both PDA mobile and Laptop. It is expected to be priced around US$1,750. It cannot replace a laptop for the simple reason that a laptop with much higher configuration in terms of processor speed, memory and hard drive can also have accessories for HSDPA and GPS connectivity at a much lower cost.

Plus Points

The Shift comes with dual processors in the form of Intel® Stealey 800MHz + 945GMS + ICH7U and Qualcomm® MSM 7200, 400MHz. The later being mainly to support the GPS functionality. The Stealey is based on Intel's new "Ultra Mobile Platform 2007" spec and incorporates low-power Intel Pentium M processor technology set to make UMPC (Ultra-Mobile Portable Computer) devices better performers. It seems powerful enough to run Windows Vista® Business and heavy duty third party software applications. It is loaded with 1GB DDR2 microDIMM RAM and 128 MB ROM.

It has two hard drive options (depending on the distribution region) of 40 GB / 60GB and for Middle East consumers it is expected to be the 40GB option. It has an SDIO slot with hot swap functionality to add more portable memory and other SDIO accessories like SD FM Radio etc. Though it does not have the standard Mega Pixels camera for taking photos found in PDAs or SmartPhones it has a VGA Camera in the font for Video Conferencing and Web chat.

Shift is can be called a portable device due to its sleek dimension of 207 mm in Length, 129 mm in Width, 25 mm in depth and weighs only 800 grams. It also features a 7-inch touch sensitive screen that slides out and tilts to a comfortable angle. It has a full QWERTY keyboard for convenient messaging and text input. A built-in fingerprint sensor is provided for increased security. It has the standard I/O ports with one USB 2.0, VGA out, and 3.5mm stereo audio out with microphone.

The high point of Shift is that it has a wide range of connectivity options like GSM (No Voice only SMS), GPRS, Edge, HSDPA / UMTS, GPS, Bluetooth® 2.0 Wi-Fi®. IEEE 802.11 b/g.

Software

As expected on a standard Laptop or PC with Windows Vista operating system one can have the luxury of the Office Applications on such a portable mobile device. In order to bring out the best Windows Mobile and have a HTC look HTC has added a Today Screen with their own customised application named SnapVUE™. Like the now common HTC Today Screen on Windows Mobile devices the “always-on mode”, SnapVUE™ provides an instant access to critical information -- including e-mail previews, local weather, calendar, and SMS -- even if the device is not switched on.

The Push e-mail feature gives the instant alerts whenever a new Outlook® e-mail arrives. Through Wi-Fi or 3.5G high-speed connectivity, one would enjoy the wide bright screen for productivity, multimedia and Internet browsing experience while on the move.

Final Analysis and Beyond

Trying to be an ultra mobile pc and the Shift does not have the GSM connectivity for Voice function and even a Bluetooth headset cannot help. Only sending and receiving SMS is expected. For the GSM voice function the Flybook which was one of the first laptop style mobile device with touch screen functionality and wide range of connectivity (other than the GPS) was a semi success. However, the success of the Shift will depend much on its performance in speed and smoothness of running the GPS, Internet and heavy-duty Third Party Applications. According to HTC, the Shift provides "all the power, functionality, and connectivity busy professionals need in a sleek, portable design." Like we all know, in this segment, performance counts more than anything else.

Specifications

Processor and Chipset	Intel® Stealey 800MHz + 945GMS + ICH7U; Qualcomm® MSM 7200, 400MHz
Operating System	Windows Vista® Business
Memory	RAM: 1GB DDR2 microDIMM RAM for Vista + 64 MB for SnapVUE™ ROM: 128 MB for SnapVUE
Hard Disk	1.8-inch 40 GB or 60 GB hard disk (manufacturer's option)
Dimensions	207 mm (L) x 129 mm (W) x 25 mm (T)
Weight	800g with battery
Display	7-inch, 800 x 480 TFT-LCD display with adjustable screen angle and touch-sensitive screen
Network	HSDPA/UMTS: Tri-band 850, 1900, 2100 MHz
HSDPA	Up to 3.6Mbps for download and 384kbps for upload UMTS: Up to 384kbps for download and upload
GSM/GPRS/EDGE	Quad-band 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz (The device will operate on frequencies available from the cellular network)
Keyboard	Slide-out QWERTY keyboard
Mouse Control	Left/right mouse buttons and microPad
Wireless Connections	Bluetooth® 2.0 Wi-Fi®. IEEE 802.11 b/g
I/O Ports	1 USB 2.0, VGA out, and 3.5mm stereo audio out with microphone
Card Slots	1.8/3V USIM/SIM card slot SDIO slot with hot swap functionality
Security	Fingerprint sensor
Web Camera	Color CMOS VGA camera for videoconferencing
Audio	Built-in microphone and dual speakers
Battery	2700 mAh rechargeable Lithium-ion polymer battery
Vista® operating time	Up to 2 hours
SnapVUE™ standby time (push e-mail enabled)	Up to 53 hours
SnapVUE™ standby time (push e-mail disabled)	Up to 10 days
AC Adapter Voltage range/frequency	90 ~ 265V AC, 47/63Hz
DC output	12Vdc, 3A max.