14 DAY TRIAL // Computer hardware manufacturer Gigabyte is preparing its second Android-based smartphone, the Gigabyte Gsmart Rola. The Taiwanese company has a five-year experience in the smartphone business and is well-known for its collaboration with Microsoft.
Gigabyte launched its own branded Android smartphone only this year in April. The Gigabyte GSmart G1305 Boston, also known as GSmart G1305 Codfish is a mid-end device which comes with Android 1.6 out-of-the-box. The device was picked by Orange and retailed as Orange Boston, in Europe.
The upcoming GigaByte Gsmart Rola is scheduled for an early 2011 release, but an exact launch date is yet to be disclosed.
The device is powered by a Qualcomm MSM7225 528 MHz processor and runs on the Android 2.2 Froyo platform.
Apparently, the Gsmart Rola is an affordable, low-budget smartphone that will probably attempt to compete with LG's Optimus One.
Gigabyte's yet unannounced smartphone offers dual-SIM compatibility, as well as HSDPA technology, but it is unclear if this is available on both SIM cards.
The phone features a 3.2-inch TFT resistive touchscreen with 16 million colors, 240x400 pixels resolution, as well as accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate and proximity sensor for auto turn-off.
Other highlights of the Gsmart Rola include: GPRS and EDGE class 10, HSDPA technology, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g connectivity, 512 MB ROM, 256 MB RAM, microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 16GB), Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP support, 3.5 mm audio jack, microUSB 2.0, Stereo FM radio, GPS with A-GPS support, Digital compass and 3.2-megapixel camera with video recording capabilities.
The Android-powered smartphone is expected to be launched at the beginning of 2011 in “select regions,” which probably means Europe and a few Asian countries.
Gigabyte Gsmart Rola will be purchasable for around EUR 175 (about $230) without subscription, which is $50 cheaper than the Optimus One.