HTC Shift finally receives FCC approval
HTC announced the Shift ultra portable PC at CTIA in March 2007. Since that time there has been a few videos and reviews of test units that made it into the wild. You may actually be able to find the device in Europe now (I couldn't find it available anywhere online thought) and the full specs are available on the HTC website. According to Unwired View the HTC Shift has finally been approved by the FCC so it should be coming to the U.S. soon. Most every site I checked out, like Mobile Planet and Dynamism, show a late February availability of the device.
Some interesting information from the FCC approval is that there may be both a GSM/HSDPA version and a CDMA/EV-DO version so the device could be available on all networks in the U.S. The device really needs to get out into people's hands soon before it is obsolete. The reported 2 hours battery life with Windows Vista is a bit scary to me though since I would want it to last 4 to 5 hours to be an acceptable portable device. Battery life is much longer in SnapVUE mode where you can get your email, view your appointments, and more with an interface similar to Windows Mobile.
I finally had a chance to personally use the device at CES in Vegas in a private meeting with HTC and it is a solid piece of hardware. The keyboard seemed quite usable and it had an elegant and simple feel to it. The 800x480 resolution display was a bit of a disappointment though as I was hoping to see a 1024x600 model that is appearing on other UMPC devices like the Samsung Q1 Ultra. The 40 or 60 GB hard drive may be acceptable for the mobile user, but devices today are coming out with 80GB HDD and SSD drive options.
It will be interesting to see how this devices is sold too. I doubt it will come directly from a carrier since people don't think of wireless carriers as selling PCs. It may be sold like the HTC Advantage which is sold by Amazon and CompUSA. Pricing and availability have still not been officially announced, but we should see news soon now that the FCC has approved the device.
I enjoy using HTC Windows Mobile devices and look forward to their Android devices, but I am not sold on their entry into the PC space.