So Swiss outfit Zenum sent us this little gem in the mail this weekend (click on the gallery below to see a bigger shot of it), and we don't think that red cloth is stuck there on accident, if you know what we're saying. What is it? It almost looks like the display slides back and forth while the bottom half doesn't, possibly revealing two different keypads -- though we'll be the first to admit that it's a wild guess. The company's previous effort, the Opus, is based on Windows Mobile 6, so we wouldn't be surprised if this sucker met the same fate. Happy New Year indeed, Zenum; we'll be anxiously waiting to find out more.

Well, well, the once-vaporous Opus Operis from Swiss newcomers Zenum has finally crystalized. The kids over at CNET got their hands dirty with what seems to be a production ready unit -- we kid you not. So what did they have to say about this slim QWERTY running Windows Mobile 6 on a 2.5-inch touchscreen with a 2 megapixel camera, miniSD expansion, and infrared, WiFi, and Bluetooth connectivity? Well, overall they were "quite impressed." Sure, the keyboard is "a little squashed" and the phone is limited to tri-band GSM (No 3G, no EDGE), but CNET decided to cut the small startup a break on their first offering. Don't know 'bout ya'll, but they seem to have lost some of "the sexy" we saw in those early teasers. Especially when considering that it's still 4 months away from product launch.

[Thanks, Thomas G.]

In a disturbing trend of pre-pre-releases, Zenum follows up Art.Lebedev by announcing the pre-reservation countdown for their Opus Pocket PC. That's right, in just less than 1 day and 11 hours, the vaporous Opus Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 device will, well, be available for pre-order. Hey, it's a step in the right direction. From all appearances, they'll be shoving the QWERTY slimster out with quad-band GSM, EDGE, miniSD expansion, 802.11b/g WiFi, 2 megapixel shooter, and a 2.5-inch touch panel display presumably sometime this century.

[Via Unwired View]

Man, we hope this is true. Switzerland's Zenum has been talking up its gorgeous "Opus Operis" concept Pocket PC for a while now -- but as is too often the case, the alleged release date came and went with no product in sight. Zenum's site has been reborn recently, though, suggesting that the company is still on track to eventually offer the QWERTY device, this time with a spring '07 launch. Though the site shows Windows Mobile 5 as the platform of choice, we trust Zenum will have the wisdom to switch over to 6 by the time the Opus gets out the door. Other specs should include 128MB ROM, 64MB RAM, 2 megapixel cam, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 1.2, and a tri-band GSM radio (no 850MHz, apparently) atop a 200MHz OMAP750. We'd love to see a successful launch on this one, folks, but we'd gladly wait a few weeks if you could squeeze some quadband action in there. Oh, and Windows Mobile 6, while you're at it, eh?

[Thanks, Ramesh]

We know this might be a sensitive subject in the Windows Mobile community with its on again, off again talk of release, but this looks like the real deal here folks. Our very own Roc A Fella, who brought us a little of this and some of that, was able to get his hands on a Zenum Opus and had some time to play with it. Click on for more.

Don't shoot us -- we're just the messengers on this one, but an outfit going by the name "Zenum" is claiming that they'll be releasing their rather comely "Opus Operis" Pocket PC Phone Edition device come this November. If real (and we really have no basis to form an opinion one way or another on this), it's shaping up to be a hot handset, rocking a full keyboard, 128MB of ROM, 64MB of RAM, 802.11g, Bluetooth with A2DP, miniSD expansion, a 2-megapixel shooter, and a landscape-mounted QVGA display, all in an attractive, thin (looking) shell. Of course, with devices in this category, keyboard comfort is a huge factor, and we won't get a sense for that until this thing -- if this thing -- hits the streets. Sadly, the Opus Operis leaves both GSM 850 and EDGE out of the equation, so data-hungry users and Americans are probably best off looking elsewhere.