Toshiba tames Snapdragon with new smartphone

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 3 Feb 2009 at 16:19

Toshiba is gearing up to release a touchscreen smartphone based on Qualcomm's elusive Snapdragon platform.

The svelte phone, dubbed the TG01, is only 9mm thick but boasts a 4.1in touchscreen and impressive range of connection options including 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, plus GPS and a MicroSD slot.

The TG01 will be running Windows Mobile 6.1, but Toshiba will be hiding it away beneath a custom user interface that will take advantage of the smartphone's accelerometer.

In an effort to make web browsing more accurate, the phone will also feature a virtual trackpad alongside the more customary virtual keyboard.

However, the real story is the inclusion of Snapdragon, which is essentially Qualcomm's answer to Intel's Centrino.

Qualcomm has been touting its Snapdragon platform for the past two years, and in the process has claimed it will be able to run HD video. However, as the press releases have piled up, actual products have failed to materialise, until now.

Toshiba claims the TG01 will run on a 1GHz powered Snapdragon platform, which it promises will "revolutionise the mobile entertainment world."

The TG01 will be available across Europe in the summer. Pricing information is not currently available.