HTC steps up, goes UMPC with Shift

HTC (High Tech Computer) never lived up to its name, being a Pocket PC manufacturer in essence, but all that has to change now, as HTC announced their first UMPC, a mobile device closer to a PC than a smartphone.

Their UMPC is called Shift, a clever name that also suggests change for the company. As HTC accustomed us, Shift it’s no ordinary UMPC, as it features for the first time a sliding and tilting keyboard. Unfortunately, the price is not ordinary also, being a little too steep, at around 2000$. For that you get a VIA CPU, Vista Business running Aero, a 7″ touchscreen, 30 GB hard drive, Tri-Band UMTS / HSDPA / quad-band GSM / GPRS / EDGE, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, a biometric fingerprint reader and a front-facing camera.

Shift definitely has a smooth design, with no love/hate element

All I have to say is that for 2000 $ I would have loved to see an Intel Core 2 Duo Low Voltage and a bigger hard drive. Also we don’t know how much RAM Shift will be shipped with and the capacity of the battery, as we know that UMPC’s don’t have a much bigger autonomy, compared to regular notebooks.

Source: Engadget