Mobile device round-up: Blackberry, iPhone, Twitter and HTC

Here’s a few interesting headlines about mobile devices pulled from the days news. iPhone update: the Chinese still don’t want it. The just-announced 9700 from Blackberry will be shipping with the new Blackberry OS 5.0. HTC has made a surprisingly good impression with it’s latest WinMo device. And a Twitter-only mobile device has raised a few eyebrows concerning being pretty much useless.

iPhone:

Quick update on the emerging iPhone debacle in China. We knew sales were low, but reports indicate that since operator China Unicom launched them over the weekend, a tiny 5,000 devices have been sold. Perhaps that’s big bucks for a smaller manufacturer, but early reports put the number of iPhones bought by China Unicom at around 5 million. Why are the sales so low? Firstly, the WiFi function is disabled. Second, the prices per unit is ridiculously high. See yesterdays article for more details.

Blackberry:

The latest device from Blackberry, the 9700, is being mostly hailed as a merely “decent” device. The phone plays to Blackberrys strengths in push email, good enterprise apps and remote management. However, it’s not particularly innovative, especially in the face of rapid developments from competitors like Android and Apple. It’s the second device from RIM to come with the most recent Blackberry OS - version 5.0. This version greatly improves the somewhat dodgy web-browsing abilities of Blackberrys, as well as other tweaks.

Twitter phone:

With a really solid Twitter phone already on the market from INQ, many people are questioning the need for a device that does even less. The TwitterPeek from Peek is very simply a QWERTY keyboard attached to Twitter. That’s it - there are no other functions to the mobile device.

On the plus side, it’s quite cheap. You can buy it for $99 and get free 6 months free service, paying $7.95 per month afterwards. for the service. Or you can buy it for $199 and get unlimited service for as long the device lasts. Or, more accurately, as long your interest lasts. This looks like the ultimate christmas present impulse buy for those with some Twitter geeks in their lives.

HTC:

HTC has surprised a lot of people by releasing a really decent Windows Mobile device. Given that HTC has been concentrating so fully on creating Android phones, many had expected them to do a lacklustre job with the HD2. But the device has been receiving positive reviews for its processor speed, slick multi-touch UI, high-res screen and user-friendly design.