Probably too late now. It seems like a natural for "Shift II" though, whenever that is made. However...

Just getting the resolution upped from 800x480 (which I believe is the actual resolution) would cause them more trouble than it would most other manufacturers, because this thing has a VGA resolution WM6 part in it too. 640x480 on n 800x480 screen centers nicely, but how would they fit the VGA box on a 1024x600 one?

The higher resolution is what has me pining for the Samsung Q1 Ultra. I don't mind the "soft touch" touchscreen (in fact, I prefer it) but I know I simply couldn't live with 800x480, especially on a huge 7 inches. I have VGA on a 3.5 inch screen now and that looks fantastic (VGA Pocket PC) and I don't want my next mobile screen to be more coarse than that. Gimme lots and lots of DPI! :)

Yeah, I don't think David quite understands the Shift is limited by what Windows Mobile can support. The Vista side can handle 1024 x 600, but even 800 x 600 is beyond what WM6 is stated to support (up to 800 x 480 WVGA).

That doesn't mean the windows mobile interface can't be scaled to fit the screen. Scaling *up* in resolution can be handled by the panel itself, and requires no additional tweaks.

Yeah, but scaled anything usually looks horrible.

I think for most people, the "scaling up" of Windows Vista to 1024x600 will look horrible and is more of an issue than scaling up WM6, which while a nice addition to the Shift, probably won't be the main function of the machine for most users.

No scaling needed whatsover. Why even try to make Windows Mobile fit 800x600 just so that one of the dimensions is maximized when 640x480 centered on a 1024x600 screen will look just fine.

Barely any engineering away from the intrinsic hardware defaults is needed for that.

Just to say I do understand the issue with scaling in WM6, but in my view the primiary purpose for this device is UMPC with full vista, thus this is should not make the sacrifices. I dont see why the WM6 screen cant be scalled up like mentioned above and if not it does not have to fill the screen, Surely its possible to output to the screen with a black box around the edges. Yes this may mean WM6 appears smaller (but sharper) on the screen, but do people really want a 7inch PDA screen!

Anyone want to begin a small crusade with the title "please enable voice calls" ?

Dave, if it was simply a matter of scaling, I wouldn't see the difficulty. However, the screen also has touch input and is intended to switch quickly between two operating systems.

First, let's say the video can be scaled. That doesn't mean the digitizer can match it. Look at the options for Tablet PCs with passive digitizers and high-res displays. Lenovo offers multi-touch and XGA, but not multi-touch and SXGA. High-res works fine with active digitizers, but not passive. Now factor in the limits of Windows Mobile, and I see trouble.

Second, the black border idea won't work. The digitizer and screen are two separate components that overlay each other. If you touch the edge of the digitizer space, it shows on the edge of the screen output. This is true even if you output to an external monitor; hook up an external monitor, touch the edge of the digitizer area, the action appears on the edge of the monitor. Still true if you were to shrink the display. Now imagine that shrunken display laid over the not shrunken digitizer. Trouble.

Now, take those possible tweaks and factor in the requirement that it switches quickly between Mobile and Vista. Instead of native resolution output for both, one is native and the other is scaled. Is that going to run smoothly through the shared components? I don't know, but I imagine having both sides output the same native resolution causes the least headache.

Now, as far as which end should be primary, Mobile or Vista, I think you're missing the point of the dual-boot system. The Mobile side is, as the name implies, more mobile. It offers instant-on, longer battery life, and an interface that is designed for a small screen. The Vista end offers full computing power. Whichever proves more useful depends on the situation. However, given how the Mobile end offers much greater battery life, it would likely be running most of the time. The device can last two hours running Vista or a whole day running mixed, but Mobile will be what's on most of that time. The power of Vista gives the Shift a big edge over a standard PDA, but the endurance of Mobile gives it just as much of an edge over a standard UMPC. I find that very complementary and wouldn't call either end primary over the other.

That said, I agree it would be nice if HTC could up the resolution. I'm all for that. However, I don't see that as being realistic based on the given technology. In the future, sure. But not now.

As it is right now, I don't believe the WM6's runs on 800x480 to begin with and has to either "window" or scale itself, so the only operating system thats running in its "normal" resolution is Windows Vista in this device. Stretching WM6 to fit the screen, or running it scaled up in appropriate ratio, or running it "windowed" on a 1024x600 screen I don't believe should be any problem both on a technical side or for the user. Essentially, WM6 cannot take full advantage of the screen resolution either way.