KEY POINTS:
Telecom today lifted the covers on its new mobile brand Okta.
Initially, there will be three handsets available in the range, starting with the $599 Agent flip-open smartphone, which runs the Windows Mobile 5 operating system.
At the business end of the range is the solid $999 Boss, which features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and will be released on November 8.
But the darling of the range undoubtedly is the Touch which, as the name suggests, supports an iPhone-esque touchscreen and is controlled by various finger flicks across the screen.
Touch is one the first mobiles on sale in New Zealand that comes loaded with the much-vaunted Windows Mobile 6, and retails for a surprisingly light $799.
The rebadged HTC smartphone thrives on the capabilities that Windows Mobile give it - like Outlook integration with POP support as well as IMAP, which is now supported by Gmail.
It carries the pared-down Internet Explorer Mobile and Windows Media Player, plus a two mega-pixel camera, which will also shoot video.
Telecom GM of consumer marketing David Craig says the company is aiming at the 25-35 market with the stylish Touch.
None of the phones are compatible with the Telecom's upcoming WCDMA network, with each running on 800/1900MHz CDMA bands.
Unlike Australia, which has just pulled the pin on its CDMA network, Telecom has undertaken to keep that network running for the next five years.
HTC executive vice president David Lee, who once lived in New Zealand and worked for IBM, says he is very excited about the new relationship between the Taiwanese company and Telecom.
He told nzherald.co.nz that the Touch is a groundbreaking product for the company, and that an impressive $US100million had been poured into its research and development.
Lee was pleased that HTC had decided on the Windows Mobile 6 platform, as opposed to the Symbian OS that is used on other smartphones.
"I think that Windows Mobile 6 will experience a lot of growth over the next few years," he said.
"Also it is far better suited for working with businesses."
He joked when asked about the 3G Touch model's similarities to the Apple iPhone, which is not a 3G device.
"Apple is a very good company to do the marketing," he said. "Thanks to Apple, there is a bigger pie for everyone with touchscreen PDA handsets."
Lee said there are more touchscreen products to come out of HTC, some of which will probably wear Telecom's Okta branding.
"We have 1500 people in R&D, our investment in this area is a very big one."
