HTC unveils quartet of messaging handsets

HTC adds new handsets to its range with PDA-like features

Mobile device maker HTC has added four new handsets to its line-up, including a BlackBerry-like model with a qwerty keyboard for emails; a PDA with built-in satellite navigation; and a new candy-bar smartphone for business users.

Available from October, the four new models offer different mixtures of features to appeal to different market segments. All have wireless connectivity and are based on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 5.0 platform.

HTC European vice-president Florian Sieche said the new devices demonstrated the firm’s ability to innovate and lead in the smartphone market. “Each is very distinctly targeted at a different user group, it’s about being able to offer a great, segmented portfolio that can serve all sectors. We don’t to leave a hole in the portfolio anywhere,” Sieche said.

The HTC S620 has a BlackBerry-like design with a qwerty keyboard beneath a 2.4in colour screen and features a new Joggr touch-sensitive navigation bar. It offers mobile access to corporate Exchange email servers via Microsoft’s Direct Push, and is a quad-band GPRS device with Wi-Fi support and Bluetooth. It is expected to cost about £279.

Meanwhile, the HTC P3300 and P3600 are styled more closely along traditional PDA lines. The P3300 is HTC’s first model with integrated GPS functionality and includes TomTom Navigator 6 software. It is a quad-band GPRS device with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and costs from £349.

The £419 P3600 builds on HTC’s existing compact PDA line-up and is a 3G handset with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, plus a two-megapixel camera for taking photos and a secondary camera for video calls.

Finally, the HTC S310 is a candy-bar Windows Mobile smartphone with quad-band GPRS and Bluetooth. With an expected price of £179, it offers companies an affordable messaging device for mobile email, according to HTC.

“It’s basically a powerful but small smartphone that allows us to address the broader enterprise audience, as firms can deploy mobile email to a wider employee base with it,” Sieche said.

HTC sells its handsets via UK resellers such as Expansys and Hugh Symons, but the models will also be available as own-brand versions from mobile carriers in the near future.