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TAIPEI : Taiwan's High Tech Computer Corp. on Tuesday unveiled a mobile phone it said was designed to make web-browsing as easy as making phone calls, with the device seen as a rival to Apple's upcoming iPhone2.
On a 2.8-inch display, users of the Touch Diamond receive animated access to text messaging, email, photos, music, weather and more, the company said.
They can also zoom-in and pan websites with one hand and automatically view optimised content specially created to fit the display. Touch Diamond also includes a YouTube application and Google Maps.
"Thanks to our software team, the Touch Diamond will make browsing the web and using web-enabled applications just as practical and easy to use as making phone calls," the firm's chief executive officer, Peter Chou, told reporters.
Many experts see the device as direct competition to the upcoming iPhone2, although an unnamed High Tech Computer official would not compare the two, saying merely that Touch Diamond was "already good enough."
"The Touch Diamond is a good device," said Fox Su, a researcher at think tank Topology Research Institute. "It may become a strong rival of the iPhone2 both in price and functions."
High Tech Computer said it was pleased with its previous smartphone, the Touch, launched last year. It has since sold more than three million units worldwide.
"But looking ahead, we know Touch was not enough for 2008 and 2009," Chou said, adding that in the past slow speeds and poor applications meant users were reluctant to access the Internet through mobile phones.
"In the past, we were frustrated using mobile phones to go onto Internet, and nobody wanted to use it. Now we want to let users have a fun and easy experience," he said, referring to high speed wireless connectivity.
The company claimed that it had taken a major leap forward in touch screen innovation with the introduction of a new 3D touch interface, called "Touch FLO 3D."
The Touch Diamond is scheduled to hit the market in June, the company said, without specifying the price. - AFP/de
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