Samsung and Hitachi's new CDMA Pocket PC Phone Edition devices - both with integrated digital cameras - will be available from Sprint some time in the second quarter.
Sprint and Microsoft today announced plans to offer two new CDMA Pocket PC Phone Edition devices on Sprint's PCS Vision network, yet again testifying to Microsoft's intense efforts to have carriers adopt its platforms. The Samsung SPH-i700 and Hitachi Multimedia Communicator - also known as the Hitachi G1000 - both sport integrated digital cameras and will be made available by Sprint some time during the second quarter.
 | Hitachi's new G1000 is the first Pocket PC device to sport an integrated thumbboard
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The two new devices are likely to replace Sprint's current offering in the Pocket PC department for its PCS Vision network, represented by the Toshiba PS2032. Based on Toshiba's long-ceased e570 model, the technology powering the PS2032 has become somewhat obsolete, hinting that sales of this model will be ceased once the SPH-i700 and G1000 are available.
Both the Samsung SPH-i700 and the Hitachi G1000 offer powerful internal specifications that outperform the GSM/GPRS alternatives currently available on the U.S. market, including the T-Mobile MDA and the Siemens SX56 models. Most notably, both devices also offer integrated digital cameras capable of taking pictures in up to VGA resolution, while the Hitachi G1000 also uniquely offers an integrated thumbboard - the first ever for a conventional Pocket PC device.
Courtesy of their embedded, rotating digital cameras, both devices will allow users to send digital images through the Sprint PCS Vision service called Pictures. PCS Vision customers can also upload and store their images on the Sprint Pictures web site.
Both the Samsung SPH-i700 and Hitachi G1000 will come with the Premium edition of Microsoft's Phone Edition platform, offering a full host of Pocket PC 2002 applications including Pocket Excel, Pocket Word, the full Pocket Outlook suite, Pocket Internet, Explorer, Windows Media Player, MSN Messenger and more.
Additionally, users of both devices will be able to download Sprint's PCS Business Connection Personal Edition software during installation. This solution provides real-time wireless access to e-mail and PIM information for Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Dominos servers for $5.00 USD per month.
Enterprise customers will also be provided with an alternative through Sprint's PCS Business Connection Enterprise Edition. Among other features, this solution includes a Pocket PC client which will push e-mail directly to the device at optional scheduled intervals, allowing remote offline access to company e-mail regardless of whether the customer is within coverage of the Sprint PCS Vision network.
Additional hi-res pictures of the Samsung SPH-i700 and Hitachi G1000 are available on the following pages.
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