Asus have today launched this, the P552w. Looking very similar to the HTC Touch it’s got a finger-driven control system called “Glide” which uses “cutting-edge Gester technology” which will let you zoom, scroll, flip and select items with your finger. Also included is a range of apps to let you check the weather, news or viewing photographs easily.
The handset is powered by a Marvell Tavor CPU running at 624MHz and there’s 3G / HSPDA connectivity along with 802.11b+g Wifi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, GPS, 2 megapixel camera, microSD card slot and 1100mAh battery. It’ll be available in black or white, although at present there’s no news on where it’ll be available or pricing. 256MB Flash, 128MB RAM and a QVGA screen also feature.
Read on for the full press release.
Link – asus.com
Credit – Richard Collier
A Stroke of Genius: ASUS Launches First Glide-enabled PDA Phone
The New ASUS P552w Promises to Revolutionize the Way Users Work, Communicate and Play with Innovative Touch-responsive Glide Interface
Taipei, Taiwan, September 5, 2008 – ASUS today launched the ASUS P552w PDA phone which features Glide – an innovative touch-responsive user interface that makes navigating and performing tasks on a mobile phone more intuitive and interactive than ever before. Equipped with a 624MHz processor and a host of market-leading features such as 3.5G HSDPA connectivity, GPS and seamless Google integration*, the ASUS P552w PDA phone is a perfect fit for the rising tide of young, tech-savvy professionals who appreciate a good-looking mobile companion that packs a wealth of fun features and yet is no slouch when it comes to work.
Glide to a New Mobile Experience
Underpinning the ASUS P552w’s revolutionary touch-responsive user interface is its cutting-edge Gester technology that enables users to perform a variety of navigational actions – such as selecting, zooming, scrolling and flipping – easily through simple flicks of their fingers. Incorporated into Glide are also applications that enable users to access a wide range of functions such as looking up the latest news, checking the weather forecast, viewing photo slideshows and listening to music within a few finger taps. These applications, dubbed Multi-Home, Anytime Launcher, EziPhoto, and EziMusic, give the expression “the world at your fingertips” a whole new meaning.
Unprecedented Processing Power, Speed and Connectivity
The ASUS P552w boasts one of the most powerful CPUs (624MHz) on the market today. Apart from posting exceptional Vsbenchmark scores, the ASUS P552w’s real-world results are equally tangible – applications and games run noticeably faster and video frame rates are markedly smoother. The ASUS P552w also features 3.5G HSDPA (3.6Mbps) connectivity for the fastest Internet browsing, file sharing and TV program-streaming experience possible. Furthermore, it offers Bluetooth, WLAN 802.11b/g, GPS, USB and other connectivity standards to enable easy data transfers to and from other devices.
Deep Google Integration
The ASUS P552w features Google Maps* which not only facilitates navigation, but is capable of furnishing users with information on points of interest. The ASUS P552w’s navigation capabilities are further bolstered by a feature known as ASUS SMS Location Link. With this exclusive feature, users at two different locations can locate each other easily by sending each other SMS messages. Clicking on the URLs which are automatically embedded in the sent messages will link the phones up to Google Maps, which will then provide the users with clear directions on how to get to each other’s positions. The ASUS P552w also features a convenient Google Search Bar on the Today screen that makes it easier to perform online queries.
EziPhoto, EziMusic and Other Applications
The ASUS P552w comes preinstalled with applications that allow users to get an easy handle on entertainment. The most exciting of these are EziPhoto and EziMusic. EziPhoto enables users to flip through their photo collection with their fingertips, akin to how they would with a real album. It also has a Calendar option which organizes and displays the thumbnails of photos users have taken according to the dates in which they were snapped, allowing them to relive those moments in chronological order at a single glance. EziMusic offers an interactive interface – complete with exciting animations – for users to play and manage their music, performing each task with colorful aplomb. The ASUS P552w also houses applications that enable easy access to web content like RSS newsfeeds, YouTube movies and photos on Flickr, ensuring that users have a full complement of entertainment options to choose from while out of the house or office.
Specifications
Networks – HSDPA 3.6Mbps, UMTS 2100, EDGE/GPRS/GSM 900/1800/1900, Class 10
Operating System – Microsoft Windows® Mobile 6.1™ Professional
Colours – Black or White
Dimensions – 102 x 60.5 x 14.5 mm
Weight – 105g (with battery)
Standby Time – 300 hrs with 3G and 250 hrs with 2G**
Talk Time -3 hrs with 3G and 5 hrs with 2G**
Display – 2.8″ TFT, Touch Screen 65K color, QVGA 240 x 320 pixels
Processor – Marvell Tavor 624MHz
Memory – 256MB Flash + 128MB DDR
Expansion Slot – MicroSD with SDHC support
Connectivity – WLAN 802.11b+g , USB v1.1(FS), Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
Battery – 1100mAh Li-Ion
GPS – SiRF StarIII with internal antenna
Features – Google Maps, Anytime Launcher, ASUS Today, Multi-Home, EziMusic and EziPhoto.
Camera – 2.0 Mega pixel Fixed Focus