HTC Shift Now Available in Europe

HTC serves up a Vista UMPC with a side of Windows Mobile

After nearly a year since its initial mention on DailyTech, HTC's vision of the UMPC, the Shift, has finally come to market -- at least in Europe.

The HTC Shift sports many of the same features as other popular UMPCs, including an 800MHz Intel A110 processor, 1GB DDR2 memory, 40GB or 60GB 1.8" HDD, 7" 800x480 touch-screen, and Windows Vista Business -- but adds in a 400MHz Qualcomm ARM-based processor with 64MB of RAM and 128MB ROM capable of running Windows Mobile 6. This gives the Shift the ability to run both operating systems simultaneously, and switch between them at the touch of a button, which HTC has dubbed "SnapVUE."

Rather than behaving as two individual devices sandwiched together in a common chassis, the two operating modes of the Shift are designed to interact and synchronize with each other using ActiveSync -- emails, calendar appointments, and contacts can be accessed through Outlook in "full computer" mode, or through the Windows Mobile operating system when running in SnapVUE mode.

HTC is also championing Microsoft's new UMPC software platform "Origami Experience 2.0" designed to make standard computing applications more "finger-friendly." The new Origami platform includes a web browser, RSS reader, media player, and the "Origami Now" screen, which appears very much like the Today screen of Windows Mobile. Even the conventional problem of entering a password on a touch-screen display has been addressed via the "Picture Password" component.

The Shift's connectivity has thankfully remained unchanged from the initial announcement -- UMTS/HSDPA is available for 3.5G connectivity, the slower but more prevalent GPRS or EDGE data connections can be used, and the expected Bluetooth 2.0 and 802.11b/g WiFi is also present.

Cost for the Shift has also been officially announced at €1199 (~US$1750) while importer Dynamism is accepting pre-orders for US$1599.