Don't call it a UMPC: HTC Advantage coming to the States
HTC Advantage
(Credit: HTC)Frankly, I'm not even sure what to call the HTC Advantage. I mean, this gadget is really in a league of its own. It's not an ultramobile PC per se (and HTC doesn't want to identify the Advantage as a UMPC anyway), and categorizing it as a smart phone would do it injustice. Maybe a smart phone on some serious steroids? While the nomenclature is up for debate, we do know a couple of things: it's tricked out with some sick features and it's actually coming to the States. Yes, we're actually going to get one of those Crave-worthy gadgets that are typically reserved for our tech-forward European and Asian counterparts.
Today, at CTIA 2007, HTC announced it will start shipping the HTC Advantage this summer through Amazon.com and other U.S. retailers, and though they didn't release details on pricing or the exact release date, the company did reveal a number of specs to keep us preoccupied for the time being. Check out the stats on this bad boy:
- An 8GB hard drive with 256MB ROM/128MB RAM and a miniSD card slot
- Runs Windows Mobile 6 Professional Edition
- All the wireless options you could want: quadband (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; GPRS/EDGE); 3G (UMTS/HSDPA), Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi, and GPS
- A 5-inch VGA touch screen
- A magnetically connected full QWERTY keyboard
- A 3.5mm headphones jack and ...
- Essentially small enough to put in a jacket pocket (albeit a larger jacket pocket) or purse
HTC's idea for the Advantage is that it frees the mobile professional from always having to carry his or her laptop. It's not meant to be a laptop replacement--although the company is hoping to break into that market too with its brand-new HTC Shift; check out Dan Ackerman's blog on that announcement--but rather, something they can use on one- to two-day business trips or when they're simply out of the office. Now, I asked you guys a question several months ago when the European version of the Advantage (aka HTC Athena) was unveiled: will this type of device fly in the States? And now that it is coming, I'd like to get your opinion again. Will you buy the HTC Advantage when it's released later this summer?
Bonnie Cha is a senior editor for CNET, covering smartphones and GPS. When she's not testing the latest gadgets, you can find her chasing after her crazy lab or surfing in the chilly waters of Northern California. E-mail Bonnie. 
It also depends on just how big it is.
The HTC Advantage X7501 is the logical successor to the Axim X50v/51v. I actually expected Dell to build something like this, but they dropped the ball and discontinued the Axim line The HTC Advantage X7501 uses the same CPU and graphics processor as the Dell. Trust me - this is a very powerful machine. It is the only hand held powerful enough to play Quake! I will have one of these babies the first week that they are available through Amazon, TigerDirect, or CDW.
Hopefully in the future, a CDMA version will also be developed.
- HTC Advantage vs. HTC Shift
- by amacewan July 17, 2007 2:24 PM PDT
- The value of the Advantage will depend upon how much more the Shift (with its Vista OS) costs. One might not want or need to spend an additional $1,000 for a faster, better OS, more memory, and slightly larger display if just for out-of-office use.
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