HTC not done with non-touchscreens yet, brings S743 to US market

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 6th 2009 at 8:00AM

We'd never pegged the S740 as the kind of phone HTC would be looking to bring to the New World; it's an oddball by modern Windows Mobile standards, shucking the touchy, feely trend for a traditional numeric keypad that reminds us of a simpler, more innocent time. Miracles can and do happen from time to time, though -- and on that note we give you the S743, a dead ringer for the S740 that's had its Euro-friendly 3G gutted and replaced with HSDPA 850 / 1900 for North American use. It's got WinMo 6.1 Standard, a 2.4-inch QVGA display, and faceted styling inspired by the Touch Diamond, but the S743's real claim to fame is its slide-out QWERTY keyboard for those moments when triple-tapping and predictive text just aren't going to cut it. Look for this sucker to invade US retailers some time this quarter.

Filed under: Handsets, HTC, Windows Mobile, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS

Tags: breaking news, BreakingNews, ces, ces 2009, Ces2009, htc, s740, s743, windows mobile, windows mobile 6.1, WindowsMobile, WindowsMobile6.1, winmo, wm6.1

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

Lorne @ Jan 6th 2009 9:49AM

How great would this phone be with WM 6.1 PROFESSIONAL!!!

Neutral

RCC2k8 @ Jan 6th 2009 11:30AM

@Lorne: This phone is already available with WinMo 6.1 Professional; it's called the Touch Pro.

I'm glad to see non-touchscreen users will have a new option, given that new WinMo Professional devices scream "I wanna be an iPhone so screw the keyboard-oriented users!"

I just hope it materializes and doesn't turn another white whale like the S730.

Neutral

Lorne @ Jan 6th 2009 1:13PM

I would agree, however if you notice that wonderful 10 digit keypad in front without having to flip...

I had a TyTn II and went to the Treo Pro for that reason.

Typing a phone number on screen with gloves got to be more trouble than it was worth...

Neutral

Alex @ Jan 6th 2009 11:30AM

Jesus Harrison Christ. Would it KILL HTC or Nokia to put AWS 3G bands in their North American models? Really, is it THAT difficult? Yet another unlocked phone useless on T-Mobile 3G.

Neutral

tbplayer22 @ Jan 6th 2009 11:47AM

That is one beautiful looking phone.

Neutral

carcomptoy @ Jan 6th 2009 12:07PM

I'm wondering why manufacturers are still reluctant to include AWS 3G bands on their "American 3G" phones. Granted, it's only T-Mobile that uses it, but how hard can adding a compatible frequency be??

Neutral

Kumar @ Jan 6th 2009 12:28PM

My ma would dig that phone. About the same size as her 5-6 year old sprint monochrome, yet can slide out for texting.

Not much used for the windows mobile part of it though.

I could see it being popular with company types that need exchange for work, but have trouble fumbling with dialing and could use the numberpad.

Neutral

kachra @ Jan 6th 2009 1:51PM

how much mAh juice it has? thats was is important for me when it comes to 3G.

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RWK @ Jan 6th 2009 4:53PM

How about US 3G with the Touch HD please. I'll beg if i have to.

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Beretta1526 @ Jan 6th 2009 5:20PM

All who are asking about 900MHz, the S740 is 900/2100MHz, so you can already have your cake and eat it too.

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bernardino @ Jan 6th 2009 5:37PM

I think they're talking about 1700MHz, which is T-mobs 3G band.

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bernardino @ Jan 6th 2009 5:31PM

This little guy has wifi, right?

MediaNet... $15
pdaNet... FREE
Free wifi whenever and wherever you are... Priceless

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Iced_Eagle @ Jan 6th 2009 5:40PM

Wow, I do want!

The one thing that would make me want this phone is if it was a touchscreen as well.

I'm currently a Blackjack II owner, and unless I'm missing something, it's really annoying to type phone numbers, when it's words. IE, when they say call 1800 PICK UPS. I have to recall where the letters were on the numerical keypad. Plus, the big keypad is much nicer for dialing numbers rather than 9 keys in the middle of my keyboard.

Neutral

KilgoreTrout @ Jan 7th 2009 6:47PM

My dear american friends I've got news for you : first of all, yes it's touch screen too , with the usual htc's touch flo gig, but even if it has been available here in our decrepit continent for well over 3 months, it has been a big failure in terms of sales, mostly because it costs practically the same as HTC's own Touch HD , which even if does'nt have a full qwerty, with its 3" touch screen in landscape mode and haptic feedback has got an excellent touch qwerty anyway.
If one really wants the physical keys on the kboard he would buy the cheaper HTC touch pro.
Even if in scandinavia HTC phones(touch HD, diamond, touch pro, touch viva etc..) are very popular I have never seen anybody with this strange thing

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