CES 2005
Like BenQ, Amoi is a smaller Asian company that has been trying to break into the U.S. market for a couple of years now, with little success so far. But also like BenQ, they were showing off more aggressive designs this year, that may be just the ticket they need.
The most interesting models I saw were unfortunately all mock-ups. Amoi does not seem to have working prototypes yet, which does not lend much credibility to their claims of releasing these phones before mid-year. All the same, there were three that seemed worth noting.
The most ambitious is probably the G6301, a tri-band GSM Windows Mobile Pocket PC PDA-phone with a clamshell design similar to the Motorola A630. This feature-packed device, if it actually ships before the end of the year, could provide competition for the Motorola MPx.
Features of the G6301 include a 300 MHz Intel Bulverde processor, a QVGA touchscreen plus OLED outer display, EDGE high-speed data, Bluetooth, a 1.3 megapixel camera, and a TransFlash memory card slot.
It also sports USB OTG (on-the-go), which enables the phone to be connected directly to devices like digital cameras and printers via USB.
Another very interesting and very ambitious model is the CMA8301. This is the first phone I've seen that includes CDMA 800/1800 for U.S. networks, GSM 900/1800 for overseas roaming, Bluetooth, and EV-DO high-speed data. So it's kind of like a Motorola E815 and A840 combined into one phone. And, like the Motorolas, it also sports a megapixel camera and TransFlash card slot.
Of course, with a phone this ambitious, from such a small company, I would be shocked to see it anytime before 2006. And frankly, I doubt Verizon or Sprint would take a gamble on a relative unknown like Amoi with a phone this sophisticated... But hey - nothing would make me happier than to be proven wrong and see this phone actually come to market this year.
And finally, we have the Amoi DV6, a phone that some people might recognize as a blatant rip-off of the Panasonic X300 design:
It does have much better specs than the X300, though, including a 1.3 megapixel camera, larger TFT display, MP3 player, EDGE, and a TransFlash card slot.
Review: Motorola E815
CTIA 2005
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