| Phone has TV receiver, 2.6-inch VGA screen |
May 05, 2008
 Gigabyte Communications has used Windows Mobile 6 to build a phone with a built-in digital TV receiver and 2.6-inch VGA (640 x 480) display. The GSmart t600 also boasts a two-megapixel camera with macro capabilities, four-band GSM connectivity, WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.0.
(Click here for a larger view of the GSmart t600)
PNDs (personal navigation devices) featuring digital television receivers are fairly common, at least outside the United States. Not so in the case of phones, where only a few devices have been designed to pick up over-the-air broadcasts.
One of these was Gigabyte's original g-Smart, a 2005 devices that boasted an analog TV receiver that was both NTSC- and PAL-capable. The company's new t600 now offers a digital TV receiver said to be compatible with DVB-H (digital video broadcast handheld) broadcasts. Based on the DVB-T specification for digital terrestrial television, DVB-H adds a number of features designed to accommodate the limited battery life of small handheld devices. In situations where bursts of data are received periodically, for example, a technique called time-slicing is used to allow the receiver to power off when it is inactive, leading to significant power savings.
According to Gigabyte, the t600 also operates in standard DVB-T mode, and is compatible with T-DMB (terrestrial digital multimedia broadcasting) reception. An extending whip antenna (not pictured) for TV signals gives the phone a distinctive appearance when deployed. Also unusual is a semi-opaque case said to provide "mesmerizing jade-like and ice-like reflections."
The t600's other features are relatively standard. It uses a 520MHz Marvell PXA270 processor, backed up with 64MB of RAM and 256MB of flash storage. There's also a 2.6-inch touchscreen display with unusually high VGA (640 x 480) resolution, plus a microSD slot for adding storage.
Connectivity is quad-band (850/900/1800/1900MHz) GSM, and the phone also includes Bluetooth 2.0 and 802.11b/g wireless networking. A two megapixel camera, capable of recording videos as well as taking stills, has both autofocus and macro functionality.
The operating system is Windows Mobile 6 Professional, with the usual web browsing, push email, document editing, and media playback capabilities. Via a 1300mAh battery, the phone is said to provide up to four hours of talk time, or 150 hours standby.
Features and specifications cited by Gigabyte for the t600 include:- Processor -- Marvell PXA270 clocked at 500MHz
- Memory -- 64MB of RAM and 256MB of flash
- Display -- 2.6-inch touchscreen display with VGA resolution
- Camera -- 2 megapixel, with autofocus and macro capabilities
- Wireless interfaces:
- WAN -- 850/900/1800/1900MHz GSM
- WLAN -- 802.11b/g
- PAN -- Bluetooth 2.0
- TV -- DVB-H, DVB-T, T-DMB
- Other I/O -- USB 2.0
- Battery:
- 1300 mAh lithium-ion battery
- Up to 4 hours talk time
- Up to 150 hours standby
- Dimensions -- 4.3 x 2.2 x 0.7 inches(110 x 55 x 18.5mm)
- Weight -- 4.9 ounces
Pricing and availability for the t600 were not provided. However, the phone is reportedly being launched this month by Vodafone in Germany, where the device will have access to DVB-T TV channels in most parts of the country.
Related stories:
(Click here for further information)
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