Countdown to Mwc 09 – Toshiba Tg01 and Palm Pre

Matt Sharp questioned:

In a few days, the largest event of the mobile calendar will start: the Mobile World Congress. Let’s take a look forward to 2 of the superstars that will be on show there: the Toshiba TG01 and the astonishing Palm Pre.

Toshiba TG01 – Windows Mobile evolves

Windows Mobile phones have had a tendency, in the past, to be a bit clunky. The interface wasn’t the best, and that ruined all that power they had. Nowadays, though, a raft of phones have appeared that place the ghost of ancient Windows Mobile phones to bed, phones like the Sony Ericsson X1 and HTC Touch HD… and now, the Toshiba TG01, the most powerful mobile phone EVER made. That’s not an exaggeration, the Toshiba TG01 is the first phone in history to have a 1GHz processor, taking its performance way beyond any mobile phones before, into laptop territory. Combine that with a unique 3D interface on top, and at 4.1 inches, the largest screen of any mobile phone, and the Toshiba TG01 is all set to take its rightful place as the most powerful and best Windows phone that’s ever been released.

Of course, Microsoft themselves will be announcing something new at MWC 09, and that’s a whole new version of Windows Mobile, version 6.5. This is designed to take the power that phones like the Toshiba TG01 have in spades, and fix on top of it Microsoft’s own, new interface, that far surpasses their before efforts, and aims to make Windows Mobile as user friendly as something like the iPhone.

Palm Pre – you’ve NEVER seen a phone like this before…

Meanwhile, while Windows Mobile phones are going for raw power, another phone is set to make its debut in the flesh, and it’s one that goes down a uncommon route, having less power than the TG01, but being far more elegant. It’s sleek, it’s innovative… it’s the Palm Pre, and it’s possibly the most exciting mobile phone that’s ever been released…

Where the Toshiba TG01 has gone for a recognised operating system and piled on the power, the Palm Pre has full a uncommon route, looking more at how the operating system should work, and then building both hard ware and software (called WebOS) from the ground up; believe me, the end result is a massive achievement! It has even more user friendliness and slick graphics than the iPhone, it’s as modifiable as Google Machine, and it’s not far off the power of Windows Mobile. Right multitasking is handled in style, and everything is accomplished with sweeps and swipes of the fingers, building the interface on the Palm Pre a real gem. It always feels fluid, and accessing apps and software is handled in such a natural, flowing way, that it’s hard to imagine any other phone topping the Palm Pre for sheer usability. It is, quite simply, astonishing, and in view of the fact that it and the TG01 will make the other manufacturers sit up and take notice, you can be sure that others, like Nokia, or Sony Ericsson, will be bringing their A-game to the party, at MWC 09.