MWC 2009: Gigabyte Round-Up

Gigabyte is one of the most prolific manufacturers in the computer motherboard industry, but lately is started to build up its name in the PDA phone department. While the company is not renowned for its good-looking devices, it has become a fact that the Taiwanese company’s PDA products are among the best in terms of performance. The new g-Smart series tries to reshape the design of Gigabyte's devices to a more appealing look. Either the company managed to do that or not, users will be able to judge for themselves by checking out its booth at Mobile World Congress 2009, in Barcelona.

The only new device available from Gigabyte has been codenamed g-Smart S1200, and it features a specially developed Flash UI, instead of the standard Smart Touch interface. Moreover, g-Smart S1200 is among those few devices that have been listed as compatible with the Windows Mobile 6.5 version. While the Pocket PC will come with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system, a future upgrade will be possible.

In terms of performance, Gigabyte opted for the same CPU that has been included in most HTC devices, Qualcomm 7200A running at speeds of up to 528MHz. Other highlights include: amazing 3.1-inch WGA touchscreen display, built-in GPS receiver, Wi-Fi, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, 256MB ROM and 128MB RAM memory, microSD slot card, built-in 3.2 Megapixel camera with autofocus, flash and video capabilities and a 1010 mAh Li-Ion battery. Nothing really surprising here, except for the fact that users will be able to upgrade to the 6.5 version of Microsoft's Windows Mobile. There's no information regarding its price or date of release, yet.

Another device that has been showcased at the annual MWC, namely g-Smart MS820, is an old acquaintance, as it has been also present at last year’s Computex. Moreover, it managed to get the Taiwan Excellence Silver Award for its accelerometer feature. Following the same line as HTC, Gigabyte's g-Smart MS820 G-Sensor is used as a navigation solution in more than a few applications and games. This time Gigabyte opted for a more traditional approach in terms of UI and included the usual Smart Touch UI version 3, which comes with all the latest g-Smart devices.

Other technical specifications include: Marvell PXA270 520MHz processor, 2.8-inch touchscreen display, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, 256MB ROM and 128MB RAM memory, microSD slot card, built-in 5 Megapixel camera with autofocus, flash, video and face detection, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, miniUSB 2.0 and a 1300 mAh Li-Ion battery. The device runs on a Windows Mobile 6.1 platform and will most likely be available on the market in Q2 2009. Information about its price hasn't been disclosed yet, but it will surely be cheaper than any of the latest HTC rival devices.

MWC 2009: Gigabyte Round-Up

Nothing really impressive

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