HTC Brings Advantage to U.S.

The Windows Mobile-based palmtop HTC Advantage - with its 5-inch display and Tri-Band, Quad-band, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity - has reached U.S. retailers.

Taiwan’s HTC has announced that its HTC Advantage palmtop computer has finally reached U.S. retailers like Comp USA and Amazon.com, debuting with an approximate retail price of $899. Although that price-tag might put off some buyers, for others the Advantage’s mix of specs and functionality will make it the perfect alternative to a standard notebook computer.

“The HTC Advantage will challenge the way people think of mobile computing,” said HTC CEO Peter Chou, in a statement. “Based on customer feedback, the Advantage is a mobile computer that includes a large display and increased memory while keeping the portability and global 3G connectivity of HTC’s best devices.”

Announced back in February, the HTC Advantage sports a 5-inch VGA-resolution touch screen display, whih uses HTC’s VueFLO interface for easy navigation. The device runs Windows Mobile 6—which means it includes mobile versions of the core Office application suie, plus Outlook Mobile for email, calendar, and PIM connectivity. The Advantage sports an 8 GB hard drive, 128 MB of RAM, a miniSD slot for loading or offloading data, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack for pumping your tunes. And connectivity options? The Advantage has them out the wazoo, offering Tri-band UMTS/HSDPA and Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE connectivity, along with 800.11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. And did we mention the built-in GPS (with optional TeleNav service), TV and VGA video outputs, the three megapixel camera, and the dual usage, magnetically-connected QWERTY keyboard for all your messaging needs?

If the Advantage has a (ahem) disadvantage, it may be the size: the unit measures 133.5 by 98 by 16 mm (5.25 by 3.86 by .63 inches)—slightly more with keyboard—so it’s not the sort of thing which easily slides into a shirt pocket. But it’s certainly more portable than a traditional notebook computer, and for the needs of many always-connected travelers, it might be just the ticket.