At this year's CES I combed the floor and press events in search of hot new products. While most of the show focused on home entertainment (HD-DVD, and iPOD wannabees), I was able to find a bevy of new (and improved) technologies related to Windows Mobile. Here are my show picks:
Best new product: DualCor Handtop PC
http://www.dualcor.com
DualCor's new cPC Handtop PC is the first handheld device to sport two operating systems: Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 and Windows Mobile 5.0 OS. It's powered by a 1.5 GHz Via C-7 processor and has 1GB of RAM, 1GB of flash ROM, and a 40GB internal hard drive. The screen is a 5" diagonal, 800x480 touch screen—reasonable for a Tablet PC and great for a Pocket PC. The end result is an instant-on Tablet PC with all of the features you love in your Windows Mobile Pocket PC.
I predict that the cPC will be a big hit in the medical, pharmaceutical, retail, and transportation industries, and even in government and military organizations. I can't wait to get my hands on one! When it becomes available sometime in the first quarter of 2006, the DualCor cPC is expected to retail for about $1,500.
Coolest car accessory: Parrot's 3400 LS-GPS
http://www.parrot.biz
Parrot introduced the coolest car accessory of the show. The 3400 LS-GPS is a Bluetooth-enabled GPS receiver that doubles as a hands-free car kit for your mobile phone. The device sends GPS data to your Bluetooth-enabled Pocket PC Phone Edition device allowing it to act as a navigation tool. (The GPS software of your choice must be installed on your Windows Mobile device.) It addition, it controls the Pocket PC's phone features, allowing you to make (and end) hands-free calls from the 3400. The device features 150-name voice recognition and sports a beautiful color screen that can display caller ID photos. The 3400 is permanent accessory for your vehicle and requires professional installation.
Most improved: UTStarcom's 6700 Pocket PC Phone Edition
http://www.utstarcom.com
If you read my review of the Sprint PPC-6700 in the Feb/Mar issue of Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine, you may recall my complaint that the white backlighting on the silver keys made the letter/number labels hard to see. With the introduction of the Verizon XV6700, this has been replaced with easier to see blue backlighting. The Sprint counterpart (PPC-6700) has also changed its back light to the more functional blue. To make sure you are getting this improved Sprint version make certain you get a device with the new yellow Sprint/Nextel "fan" logo (not the old black and red logo found on pre-merger Sprint devices). Aside from the black finish on the Verizon device and the Silver Sprint product, the hardware and software options are nearly identical.
Best new GPS: Pharos Traveler GPS 525
http://www.pharosgps.com
The Pharos Traveler GPS 525 is currently the world's smallest GPS device with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Windows Mobile 5.0! Included with the device is built-in Skype, allowing you to use VoiP for phone calls over live Internet connections. Notably absent on the 525 is the standard fold-out antenna, which helps to keep the device small. Included with the device is Pharos GPS navigation software with TeleAtlas maps, and a 512MB SD card preloaded with the top 50 U.S. metropolitan city maps with Points of Interests. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology allows for high speed map downloads and access to real-time traffic information.
Smallest storage card: SanDisk and Kingston MicroSD
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