Wistron Neweb -- Engadget Mobile

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Hands-on with Wistron NeWeb's GW4 Linux phone

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 7th 2008 @ 7:30PM

Though it bears a vague resemblance to the utterly nonexistent device pictured in Android's emulator, rest assured: the GW4 QWERTY phone from Wistron NeWeb doesn't run Google kit. It does however run some other homegrown flavor of Linux, giving promise that it could end up as a nice little clean slate on which to drop an Android image when the time comes. Like the physical phone itself, the existing UI seems really functional, if not a little rough around the edges; you get VoIP, weather and stock widgets, WiFi, and Bluetooth, though you won't find any HSDPA, UMTS, or even EDGE here. Not a bad effort, guys -- keep crackin' and we might see you fighting for market share with the OpenMoko types of the world.

Gallery: Hands-on with Wistron NeWeb's GW4 Linux phone

Qtopia dual-mode phone drops in France

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 15th 2006 @ 7:33AM

We first told you about Wistron NeWeb's GW1 dual-mode candybar with tri-band GSM and VoIP over WiFi back in January when we caught wind of it at CES; now, it looks like they've picked up a launch partner. Rebranded as the "Twin" by French MVNO Neuf (that's "Nine" for you non-Francophones out there), the phone appears to be hit with the basically the same ugly stick that afflicted the GW1, but never mind that -- the big draw here is dual mode, which Neuf will offer at regular mobile rates through customer's Internet connections and its own hotspots. Also of note is that the Twin / GW1 runs Qtopia for folks looking to make an escape from more traditional smartphone platforms. The Twin is available unlocked and without contract for €200 or €1 when purchased with a Neuf Internet connection and phone plan.