HTC Obsession and LG Apollo first Windows Mobile 7 phones, launch end 2010

HTC Obsession and LG Apollo may be the first phones to come with Windows Mobile 7, the latest version of Microsoft’s mobile operating system. There are two versions of Windows Mobile 7 that will go into the phones – Windows Phone Seven Business Edition and the Windows Phone Seven Media Edition.

LG Apollo

LG Apollo is likely to be the first phone to come with Windows Mobile Seven. The mobile is expected to be launched in the second half of this year. The LG Apollo may come with a 1.3 GHz Qualcomm processor and connect to CDMA-EVDO networks. It is likely to be a world phone with SM capabilities as well. The LG Apollo, with dimensions of 115 x 57.5 x 11.2 mm, is likely to have a 1 GB RAM/ROM and slot for an external memory card. The display may be a 3.8 inch multi-touch AMOLED touchscreen. The WXGA screen is expected to have a resolution of 1280 X 720 pixels. There will be a 10 megapixel camera for still pictures and videos, assisted by an LED flash. The LG Apollo is likely to be able to shoot 720p videos at a rate of 30 frames per second, WMExperts reported.

LG Apollo is also likely to have a standby time of 290 hours, and a talk time of 7.5 hours. With internet usage, the phone battery may last up to 4.5 hours on 3G and 6.5 hours on 3G. The LG Apollo will be able to play back video for 10 hours and audio for 30 hours.

If the phone is launched first in the US, it is likely to be sold by Verizon and Sprint. The chipset being a hybrid CDMA-GSM one, it can be used in GSM networks of AT&T as well.

The LG Apollo Windows Mobile 7 phone is expected to be launched in the last quarter of 2010. Obviously, no photos -leaked or official – of the phone are available yet.

HTC Obsession

HTC Obsession is likely to follow LG Apollo with the launch of its Windows Mobile Seven phone. The HTC Obsession may launch in October, and sport Windows Mobile Seven. The HTC Obsession is likely to sport a Qualcomm QSD8250 1GHz processor. This will be a GSM-HSDPA phone, which means the phone is likely to debut with AT&T and T-Mobile in the US. The HTC Obsession has dimensions of 112 x 56 x 11.7 mm. The 3G GSM HTC Obsession will have memory of 512MB/512MB and internal storage of 4GB. The HTC Obsession may also come with an external memory card slot which can hold up to 32GB.

The HTC Obsession likely to have a 3.7-inch capacitive AMOLED multitouch screen. The Obsession is also likely to have a 5.0 MP camera with LED flash and HD video recording in 720p video@ 25fps. WMExperts said that the battery could last up to 10 hours in talktime, and up to 240 hours in standby time. The phone battery will last 6 hours of internet use on 3G and up to 7.5 hours on WiFi.

No photos of the HTC Obsession are available yet. Launch is expected in the last quarter of 2010.

Currently, HTC’s highest specced phones are the Google Nexus One Android phone and the HTC HD2 Windows Mobile phone.

Windows Mobile Seven features and technical specifications

WMExperts reported that Windows Phone Seven Business Edition will be the base version of Windows Mobile 7. Mobile phones like HTC Obsession may be overlaid with customised user interfaces like Sense UI. The Media Edition will be more media-rich. The minimum display resolution of the Windows Phone Seven Business Edition will be 800X480 pixels, which is higher than the highest resolution currently on Windows Mobile phones.

WMExperts also said that this BE version will have the ability to remotely sync with a computer (or computers) so that documents can be remotely edited and even pictures remotely inserted into documents in a computer via the phone. The website also reported this version is nearly complete.

The higher-end Windows Phone Seven Media Edition will have support for Silverlight, Mediaroom, XBox Live, Facebook and Twitter and Zune Music Integration. This may be shown at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month, the website speculated.

Windows Mobile Seven versions are also likely to come with “Orion”, an AGPS solution. This will ensure rapid locking of location. Windows Mobile Seven Orion will function irrespective of carrier support, WMExperts said.