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Mio to introduce PDA phone with integrated GPS in 2H

Jessie Shen, DigiTimes.com, Taipei

Mio Technology, an own-brand division of Mitac International, expects to debut a PDA phone with a built-in GPS module in the second half of this year, according to Michael Hsu, Marketing Director of Brand Marketing Division at Mitac.

GPS capabilities will be one of the key features for Mio’s smart handheld devices, said Hsu, noting that built-in MP3 player functionality will be the other key feature.

Europe is currently Mio’s largest market, and it accounts for 65% of the company’s sales, Hsu stated. South Korea is the company’s next biggest market, and Mio has been expanding its presence in Japan and North America starting earlier this year, Hsu said.

The Mio-brand business currently accounts for 35% of Mitac’s handheld device business, said Hsu, adding that Mitac’s other business is all ODM/OEM. All production for the handheld devices is done at Mitac’s Kunshan Plant, Jiangsu Province (China), according to Hsu.

In related Computex news, Mio was also showcasing the Mio 268, its first mobile navigation system with a hidden antenna. Rivals Acer, Asustek Computer and Leadtek Research also presented similar devices.

Computex: Mobile navigation systems with hidden antennas

Company

Acer

Asustek Computer

Leadtek

Mitac International

Model image

Model name

n35

MyPAL A636

9700

MIO 268

Chipset provider

-

NA

SiRF

SiRF

CPU provider

Samsung

Samsung

Intel

OS

Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 software for Pocket PC Premium Edition

Windows Mobile 5.0

Microsoft Windows CE .Net 4.2

Microsoft Windows CE .Net 4.2

Memory

64MB SDRAM, 32MB cache

NA

32MB NAND, 64MB SDRAM

32MB Flash, 64MB SDRAM

Display

3.5-inch 65,536-color TFT (240x320)

3.6-inch 65,536-color TFT with touch panel

3.5-inch 65,536-color

Dimension

12x7.2x2cm

-

13.78X7.198-7.818X2.57cm

Weight

165g

-

210g

Expansion slot

SD/MMC, SDIO

SD

SD/MMC

Wireless transmission

IrDA

USB 1.1

USB

Source: companies, compiled by DigiTimes, June 2005.