The xpPhone Gets a Price, Still Looking for Reason to Exist

Posted 01/18/2010 at 6:03pm | by Ryan Whitwam

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If you have a smartphone, there’s probably at least one thing missing from it. Any idea what that might be? If you answered a clunky desktop operating system experience, you are apparently correct. The long rumored xpPhone seems to be one step closer to reality now that it has a price. According to the phone’s maker, ITG, the price is expected to be 3000-4500 Chinese RMB, depending on options. That’s about $400-650 in the US.

Overall, the price isn’t outlandish. Many unlocked smartphones sell for similar prices. The xpPhone is no ordinary phone though. In fact, it’s like something straight out of Intel’s fantasies where MIDs actually took off.  First off, it is massive, packing  a 4.8-inch LCD display. There’s support for multiple 3G bands, a USB port, VGA-out, and even a tiny trackpad on the keyboard.
 
There will apparently be custom phone software on the device, making its essential functions a bit more usable. We are still less than convinced that running a full version of XP on something of this form factor is a good idea. Still though, there will be plenty of time to judge it when, and if it comes out.