viva

The name's Touch Viva... It's not HTC, and it's not approved by Microsoft. But it's the first handset to come with Windows Mobile 6.5 installed out of the box. The price is just 1,099 yuan (about $161) off contract, so you might as well give it a try. Oh, that is if you happen to live in China.

Features include:

• Windows Mobile 6.5 OS;
• 460MHz CPU;
• Quadband EDGE;
• 2.

Reportedly, T-Mobile will release the HTC Touch Viva as the MDA Basic on its network in early February. While this phone isn't high-end, it still offers a set of decent features such as a 2Mpix camera, GSM/EDGE, TouchFLO 2D, Wi-Fi and GPS.

The newly announced HTC Touch Viva (former Opal) and HTC Touch 3G look almost alike, but belong to different categories. The first is a low-end-to-mid-range handset, while the other is a high-end smartphone with support for several high-speed data networks.

HTC Touch Viva features:

• Stripped-down TouchFLO 3D interface;
• 256MB ROM;
• Integrated GPS;
• 2Mpix camera;
• Wi-Fi connectivity

HTC Touch 3G features include:

• GSM/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz & WCDMA / HSPA: 900/2100MHz.

The first live pic of the recently unveiled HTC Opal (aka Viva) has been leaked in the Web. Well, it looks nice, similar to the HTC Touch, but this sparklly finish leaves a two-fold impression. Wonder how business users will accept such a decorative design.