Orange to ship Wi-Fi Pocket 'in October'

M2000 same as XDA IIs, VPA III, MDA III

Update Mobile phone network Orange is preparing to launch its second-generation wireless Pocket PC, the M2000, and, according to web reports, the device will be based on - yes, you've guessed it - the same HTC PDA that's the basis for T-Mobile's MDA III, O2's XDA IIs and Vodafone's VPA III.

A report on MoDaCo alleges Orange will release the GSM/GPRS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi-enabled Pocket PC next month.

The site provides a blurry pic of the beast, and sure enough it looks like the XDA IIs/MDA III/VPA III - aka HTC's 'Blue Angel'. The specification the site lists matches what has already been published by the other networks' official announcements.

And, according to eagle-eyed Register readers, the device can also be seen in the September 2004 brochure Orange stores are currently handing out to potential customers.

On the basis of the piccy, the M2000 most closely resembles the MDA III - too see the official models side by side, take a look here.

When Orange announces the M2000, we're likely to hear that the it will sport a 2.5in 65,000-colour 240 x 320 display and a VGA digicam. Powered by a 400MHz Intel XScale PXA263 processor, the device contains 128MB of RAM and 64MB of Flash ROM - on which is stored Windows Mobile 2003 Phone Edition. An MMC/SD IO card slot is provided for expansion.

Measuring 12.5 x 7.2 x 1.9cm, the M2000 will undoubtedly weigh 205g. Its battery provides 300 minutes' talk time and 200 hours' on standby. The device will run as a PDA for 17 hours on a single charge. The PDA contains a quad-band GSM/GPRS radio and of course features a slide out QWERTY keyboard.

Separately, Orange is said to have reduced its orders for Motorola's MPX110 smart phone in favour of its own SPV C500, made, like the M2000, by HTC. Taiwanese show-related site Computex claims HTC is to ship 600,000-700,000 SPV C500s each month during Q4. ®

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