UTStarcom reveals HTC 6800; Wizard followup will be Herald

by Ryan Block, posted Sep 13th 2006 at 7:41PM

Let's face it, the Apache (aka PPC-6700 / XV6700) and Wizard (aka MDA / 8125) are getting a little long in the tooth. We all know HTC's working on a followup for these devices, but it was seriously on the DL that we discovered the UTStarcom 6800, pictured above (and after the break). Ok, so it wasn't totally hidden or whatever, they actually had this thing right on a big banner on the booth, but UTStarcom refused to comment on the device, its launch, or any other details. They were just satisfied putting it up for thousands of industry people to see, and nothing else. For reference, it seems to look like an Artemis up in the face, but slides open like you know what, but now also features caps and function lock LEDs. Oh, we also learned -- not from UTStarcom, mind you -- that HTC's got a Wizard followup in the wings called the Herald (a name we've heard before), which gave us the warm n' fuzzies. Oh, and click on for another shot of the 6800.

Filed under: Handsets, HTC, Windows Mobile, GSM, CDMA

Tags: 6800, ctia, features, herald, utstarcom

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

Alex @ Sep 13th 2006 8:28PM

Sexy?

Neutral

CTA3 "ItsAllVerbatim", Master Paperpusher @ Sep 13th 2006 9:24PM

Sexy is right.

Give that to me; I swear I'll break up with BlackBerry for good. No cheating; I promise!

Neutral

Urban Strata @ Sep 13th 2006 9:25PM

Are you sure this isn't actually the Libra or Titan you previously reported? Both are rumored to be provided by UTStarcom and destined for Verizon Wireless before year's end.

Link: http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2006/08/31/roc-a-fella-shows-three-new-verizon-wireless-winmo-devices/

Neutral

Hein @ Sep 13th 2006 9:30PM

can someone explain the difference between UTS Starcom and HTC?

Neutral

Urban Strata @ Sep 13th 2006 9:53PM

#4 - You're (basically) correct. The TyTN is the HTC-branded successor of the "Wizard" reference design. The TyTN's reference design is codenamed "Hermes," so to really nit-picky about it, you would say the Hermes is the successor of the Wizard.

#5 - HTC is a Taiwanese designer and manufacturer of PDAs and smartphones, particularly Windows Mobile devices. HTC re-brands and sells its devices to other vendors and carriers around the globe, including UTStarcom.

Take the Sprint UTStarcom PPC-6700 (a reference design called the "Apache"), for example: the PPC-6700 was designed and manufactured by HTC on behalf of UTStarcom, which then sold it to Sprint (and subsequently Verizon as the XV6700). In that particular case, UTStarcom is acting like a VAR (value added reseller), though the company designs and manufacturers its own products, as well.

Neutral

Donald @ Sep 13th 2006 10:44PM

HTC actually develops the device. UTStarcomm (the artists formerly known as Audiovox) stick their names on it and throw it out the door.

Neutral

Dustin Wyatt @ Sep 13th 2006 11:08PM

Wait...Isn't the HTC TyTn the successor to the Wizard?

I mean, the upcoming Cingular 8525 is the successor to the 8125 you mention in your post and the 8525 is a TyTn-based device.

Neutral

Sparky2 @ Sep 14th 2006 12:39AM

The keyboard opens the other way than the 6700.

Neutral

jeff @ Sep 14th 2006 1:30PM

any specs on this thing.

Neutral

boe @ Sep 14th 2006 3:02PM

Jeff - specs - It is made by HTC so I can give you some preliminary specs that will make it to the production version - THICK as a BRICK and the BT on it is so bad, you will think you got a defective phone.

Neutral

boe @ Sep 15th 2006 3:07PM

Things that are wrong with the 6700 that will probably carry on to the 6800 but shouldn't.

Things they should be able to fix for the 6800
1. Fix the BlueTooth - not sure why they can't figure it out - tiny cheap/free phones have better BT than the $500 HTC phones

2 MAKE IT THINNER - OTHER FULL WM5 phones are now 13.5mm - NO HTC phones should be ANY THICKER THAN 15mm. (I'm not talking about smartphones like the Q - there are now 13.5 mm FULL PPC WM5 phones http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=139977)

3 Fix the DSOD - not asking for a miracle - just the don't regress - the 6600 didn't suffer this issue. You could just create a kludge - specify the darkest the screen should ever be when the screen is turned on - so if it thinks I'm trying to save power - have it go to that darkness - make it easier for me to go to a higher brightness.

4. Make a seperate Volume control for just the ringer - not the speaker in general but just the ringer - that way it could be set for loudest even when you don't need a loud speaker for conversation.

5 Decent plastic - the crappy paint job looks like a primer but chips easier than most primers.

6 move the headphone jack to the top - wouldn't matter as much if they had a decent BT unit.

7 Put a lock on the battery door - comes off too easily

8 Should be AKU3

9 Double the memory 256/128

10 Include the car charger - it is a MOBILE phone.

11 Make the speaker louder -fine for conversation - sucks even with the loudest custom ringer.

12 If you are going to make the thing thicker by putting on a keyboard - put a slash in both directions.

13 Make the flash LED brighter - The camera sucks/is useless but the LED is great as a flashlight - they've improved brightness over 30% in the last year on LEDs.

14 Include a decent case - stop selling them with fanny packs - its bad enough to look like a nerd but it I'm not thrilled about cases that broadcast you are a little TOO in touch with your feminine side. Take a hint from the Piel Frama cases.

Fix those and I'd consider upgrading

Things I'd like for the 6800
1. VGA screen - can't really browse the web with anything less than VGA - Samsung or LG came out with ultra thin touch vga screens for mobile devices about 1 year ago - use less batter too!

2. LONGER BATTERY LIFE

3 No antenna - not sure if it can be done and keep good signal - but it would be nice.

4. Throw in the GPS unit - would be nice - rather have that than a useless camera for the same space - wouldn't want it if it made the unit any thicker!

5. Make a unit with and without the keyborad for those who want even thinner. E.g. 15mm with keyboard, 11mm for the non keyboard edition.

6 Faster processor

Neutral

Paralel @ Sep 17th 2006 10:14AM

How does the Herald relate to the Hermes (the successor to the Wizard)? Is it the successor to the Hermes, is it the CDMA version of the Hermes for Verizon/Sprint, or did they just rename the Hermes to Herald?

Neutral

CingularOwnsMe @ Sep 19th 2006 12:27AM

Why did HTC re-sell it? They could have made more selling it to Verizon/Sprint directly right? Someone was telling me that there was a reason behind it, just never got around to telling me.

Neutral

Brandon @ Dec 19th 2006 5:51PM

UTStarcom has a better relationship with CDMA clients then HTC. May cost less to get right into the marked through someone else then trying to sell it themselves.

The new model seems to be slimed down a bit more like the MDA. It would be nice if the keybaord was detachable, although some idiots will lose it and probly have to spend $89.99+ to get a new one.

Call quality should be much better and more available ram/rom would be nice, less lag because the proccessor is fast enough.

A colaboration with sharp to create the best lcd(Aquos) display on a PDA would be asking too much wishfull thinking.

http://cellphones.techfresh.net/archives/category/sharp/

Neutral

ReDz @ Jan 15th 2007 9:42PM

6800 is a nice phone.. i am very satisified with my 6700 and if there are no great improvements with the 6800 i can't see myself upgrading for another year or 2 easily..

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