The PPC 4100 from Audiovox is the latest device to join the expanding number of WAN handhelds based on Microsoft's Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC Phone Edition platform.
Audiovox and AT&T Wireless today officially announced the rumoured PPC 4100, a WAN handheld powered by the lengthily-named Microsoft's Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC Phone Edition platform. To be available in June 2004 and showcased for the first time today at Microsoft's Tech Ed conference in San Diego, California, the GSM-based PPC 4100 will join Audiovox' second-generation CDMA WAN handheld, the Audiovox PPC 5050.
 | In introducing the PPC 4100, Audiovox now has both GSM and CDMA WAN handhelds covered
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A tri-band GSM 850/1800/1900 MHz device with GPRS capabilities, the Audiovox PPC 4100 will be available through AT&T Wireless, apparently replacing the now-discontinued Siemens SX56 - a device much similar to the PPC 4100, albeit it with poorer specifications and running the 2002 edition of the Pocket PC Phone Edition platform. Currently, AT&T Wireless offers several BlackBerry handhelds and the Treo 600 by palmOne in the WAN handheld category.
The PPC 4100 is powered by Microsoft's Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC for Phone Edition platform, however does not utilize the recently announced 'Second Edition' but rather the original version. It is currently not known whether Audiovox or AT&T Wireless will be offering an upgrade to Second Edition.
Powered by a 400 MHz processor, the PPC4100 is on par with other Windows Mobile powered handhelds available in the U.S., such as the Hitachi G1000 from Sprint and also the Samsung SPH-i700 from Verizon Wireless. It offers 64 MB of RAM and 64 MB of ROM, as well as an SD Card expansion slot allowing for memory expansion by means of SD and MMC memory cards.
Additionally, the PPC 4100 will also be available with GoodLink software from Good Technology, which offers enterprise customers always-on e-mail synchronization. Other improvements over the 2002 version of the Pocket PC for Phone Edition platform, utilized by the Siemens SX56, include the introduction of Windows Media Player 9, improved SMS management, separate phone and handheld volume controls, improved connectivity options and more.
According to Audiovox and AT&T Wireless, the PPC 4100 will be available in retail outlets across the country in June for $349 USD following a $50 USD instant rebate. It will come bundled with an AC adaptor, USB Cradle and a single ear bud headset.
An additional hi-res picture of the Audiovox PPC 4100 is available on the following page.
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