Qtek has officially reveiled the release of its new smartphone - Qtek 8500, at the 3GSM conference in Barcelona, last week. As the company claims, this is the first Qtek clamshell that supports-high speed data transfer standard EDGE.

The smartphone runs on Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system, weighs only 99 grams, and has an ultra-light, slim design measuring only 16 mm. Qtek 8500 seems to be based on a platform developed by HTC, HTC Star Trek more precisely. Besides EDGE, the device features a main 2.2'' TFT LCD with LED backlight and a secondary 1.2'' TFT LCD display on the front cover that shows the time / date, identity of callers, and what music is playing. There is also an integrated 1.3 megapixel camera, special buttons to operate music playback and an expansion slot for SD cards. Qtek 8500 is looking like a powerful personal communication center featuring the push e-mail capability.

The smartphone is expected to be available in Europe in May.