Hitachi Unveils its First Microsoft Pocket PC Phone Edition Handheld Slated to run on the Enhanced Sprint Nationwide PCS Network
Jan 6, 2003 09:15 AM
Windows Powered and Wireless, Hitachi’s Multimedia Communicator Sports an Integrated Camera, Keyboard, and Phone Feature.
Redmond, Wash. and Brisbane, Calif. -- January 6, 2003, Microsoft Corp. and Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), a leading global electronics company, today unveiled the Hitachi Multimedia Communicator Pocket PC, the company’s first Windows Powered device and the first Pocket PC to feature an integrated camera, keyboard, and phone feature all in one mobile device. The Multimedia Communicator combines the comprehensive functionalities of a Pocket PC experience, with the high-speed enhanced Sprint Nationwide PCS Network to deliver the ability to take pictures, provide comfortable text input for emails with a built-in keyboard, place and receive phone calls, and browse the web. Based on the new Microsoft Pocket PC Phone Edition software for CDMA networks, the Multimedia Communicator is expected to be available in the first half of 2003 only from Sprint (NYSE: FON, PCS).
“The unique combination of consumer capabilities in the Hitachi Multimedia Communicator based on Pocket PC represents the culmination of Hitachi's advanced research and development efforts and Microsoft’s powerful Pocket PC Phone Edition software,” said Shigeru Matsuoka, general manager of Mobile Information & Communication Appliance Division, Hitachi, Ltd. Ubiquitous Platforms Systems Group. “We're thrilled to be working with Microsoft and Sprint in this product category and believe customers will find this product highly functional and an appropriate solution to today’s need for total portability and convenience. The introduction of Hitachi’s first ever Multimedia Communicator based on Pocket PC complements our global focus on providing our customers with innovative products for which Hitachi is known”
“Hitachi has taken a great software platform and expanded it with compelling consumer features such as the camera and built-in keyboard,” said Juha Christensen, corporate vice president of the Mobile Devices Division at Microsoft. “We’re delighted to welcome Hitachi as a Pocket PC partner.”
“The new Hitachi Pocket PC device is planned to not only deliver Sprint customers high-speed, wireless access to corporate data and the Internet, but provide the necessary built-in tools and device features – such as a keyboard and camera – to quickly and easily take action. A smart device, like the Hitachi Pocket PC device, is just one tool in the suite of solutions offered through the PCS Clear Wireless Workplace that helps ensure mobile professionals that use Sprint are more productive and given an advantage in the ever-increasingly competitive world of business,” said John Garcia, senior vice president of sales and distribution for the PCS division of Sprint.
Hitachi is working toward not only retail but also enterprise availability of the Hitachi Multimedia Communicator in the United States. The Multimedia Communicator is planned to offer: Microsoft Pocket PC Phone Edition software including Pocket Outlook (contacts, calendar, in-box), pocket versions of Microsoft Word and Excel, Pocket Internet Explorer browser, the Windows Media Player, phone dialer and more such as a Xscale 400MHz processor, full-color TFT screen, integrated camera, QWERTY keyboard and is designed with a replaceable battery.