Is The HTC Shift Losing Its Shine?

After the excellent reporting from GITEX by Kaz 911 on the HTC Shift, a number of folks who had great interest in the device after Hugo’s first look InkShow, have shifted from the “I’m Buying” column to “Wait and See” mode. And, in my opinion, for good reason. Hugo’s first look at a production unit left a lot of questions unanswered for him and thousands of viewers. While Kaz 911 provided us with some more info, most intriguingly the news that the device is not running a full version of Windows Mobile and a 2 hour battery life, there still seem to be a lot of questions out there. I’m still skeptical of how the whole Broadcom/Qualcomm spat is going to affect this, even with contrary assurances from HTC. My searching ability may be in error here, but as of yet, there is no info on the HTC Shift on the FCC site. (Not unusal timing since they are talking November/December at the earliest for US release.) In many respects I think we are dealing with a tough to pin down moving target here. Others seem to agree. Thoughtfix is re-evaluating his purchasing plans based on the new info. Steve “Chippy” Paine has put up a comparison chart with other UMPCs and in his article he says, “the HTC Shift doesn’t look like it’s going to be the de-facto leader in the UMPC market.”

Count me as one of those who thought the Shift was going to be a real game changer. It still might be. But for now, count me as in the “Wait and See” column.