Product: Xplore G18 Manufacturer: Group Sense Price: Estimated HK$3,600 Pros: Small and light, all-in-one smartphone Cons: The screen is too small, the phone lacks Bluetooth, triband and the latest Palm OS
We have been waiting for this for a long time - a GSM/GPRS mobile phone that runs the Palm operating system and comes with a modest price tag.
The Xplore G18 smartphone from Hong Kong company Group Sense, launched last week, will sell for about HK$3,600 through mobile operator CSL. We will review this phone in a couple of weeks' time but here are our initial thoughts from handling it at the press conference.
Weighing just 105 grams, it is lighter and smaller than the Treo 270, which was the most petite Palm-based cellphone on the market until the Xplore G18 came along.
According to PalmSource staff, Group Sense's product will appeal more to the mainstream user because it is smaller than even the highly publicised Handspring Treo 600, which has excited Palm fans worldwide.
The Xplore G18 runs Palm operating system 4.1.2, just like the Tungsten W, rather than version 5, which is a slight disappointment. Unlike the Tungsten W, however, it is only dual-band GSM, which explains the relatively affordable price tag.