Details of pdQ² Appear

Details on Kyocera's upcoming pdQ² hybrid phone running the Palm OS were posted late last week onto SiliconInvestor, including pictures and a preliminary users manual, both of which have now been removed.

The pdQ² is both a CDMA cell phone and a Palm PDA in one small package. Its list of features is impressive. Some of the most notable are a small dial called a shuttle that allows users to move through on-screen menus one handed, voice dialing of everyone in the Address Book, voice memos, paging, voice mail, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and a headset jack. Most importantly, it can act as its own digital modem, if this feature is offered by your wireless ISP.

While it isn't stated specifically in the user guide, the pdQ² appears to be running some version of OS 3.5, based on the screen shots of the built-in applications.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of details still missing, such as the price and the size.

Background
In September, Kyocera Wireless Corp. announced that they would be using the Palm OS as the foundation for a new line of advanced wireless communications products. In February of this year, Kyocera purchased QUALCOMM's CDMA handset business, including the pdQ smartphone.

Masahiro Inoue, president and CEO of Kyocera said "Improving on the foundation established by the pdQ smartphone, Kyocera's next generation product will feature greatly improved usability and security enhancements to support mobile e-commerce applications. Kyocera expects to introduce this new generation of smartphones before the end of this year."

Disclaimer
We received an anonymous tip to the SiliconInvestor link but it seems quite real. If it isn't, it is an astonishingly detailed and well-constructed hoax.

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Wow

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/28/2000 8:29:01 PM #
If this thing performs as advertised and looks that good, it makes that handspring phone look like a bad joke.

RE: Wow
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/31/2000 11:46:04 AM #
And the launch will be end of next year .... ?

RE: Wow
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/2/2000 1:21:05 AM #
I'm sorry but you're way out of line here. From what I cant tell by the pictures, the Visor seems smaller, has a bigger screen and IS a great machine. Their phone module looks nice and is very promising in terms of features and integration with the Visor itself.
Nothing to do with that chubbyt cell phone by Kyocera.
Maybe it'll turn out to be great but Handspring has nothing to be ashamed of...

RE: Wow
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/31/2000 3:46:01 AM #
oh come on... If you use your visor to play galaga from time to time the phone add on looks great to you. But if you are like me, an add on won't cut it. My Palm V has been brutalized because I use (and drop) it so much (same with my samsung phone). Some snap on phone module will be in pieces in a matter of days.

Sure this thing is a little thicker but it will also withstand a little more abuse, and as often as i travel... that is important.

RE: Wow
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/31/2000 3:46:01 AM #
oh come on... If you use your visor to play galaga from time to time the phone add on looks great to you. But if you are like me, an add on won't cut it. My Palm V has been brutalized because I use (and drop) it so much (same with my samsung phone). Some snap on phone module will be in pieces in a matter of days.

Sure this thing is a little thicker but it will also withstand a little more abuse, and as often as i travel... that is important.

RE: Wow
I.M. Anonymous @ 12/31/2000 10:42:48 PM #
Who are these butterfingers who not only drop their devices constantly, but go around telling the world that they do? I have flown from GA to Chicago and GA to NYC and back with my IIIxe, I have taken it hiking with me, I take the thing everywhere with me (except the bathroom -- can we say GROSS??? I will NEVER handle anyone else's device. Yuck.), and it hasn't fallen once. I dunno. Maybe since I had to work harder than some of you (and my employer certainly didn't supply mine for use on the job) to be able to afford it, I appreciate it more and I'm more careful with it.

DAMN, I missed it !!!~~!!!

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/28/2000 8:54:48 PM #
The site is down does anyone have the pdf files posted any where else??


Getting at the FCC ifno

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/28/2000 11:00:05 PM #
If you go to the FCC authorization search by FCC ID (http://www.fcc.gov/oet/fccid/) and
search for the grantee ID of OVF you will see all of the Kyocera Wireless applications. You can
pull up the form, exhibits, and grant.

They do have the form for the QCP-6035, which I'm reading as a dual mode phone, but I don't
know how the application works -- it includes 800 MHz and 1900 MHz ranges on the form. None
of the attachments (which include the ones linked to in the article) will come up -- even if the
native_or_pdf parameter is changed to native.


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