Motorola today launched the Ming A1600 and A1800 in China, both adding new and enhanced GPS, smart handwriting technology, and business and multimedia functions. The A810 is an entry-level PDA candy bar design.

Photo: Motorola Ming A1600 and A1800 Launched in China Photo 1

The A1600 and A1800 features a distinctive transparent flip cover. The A1600 is equipped with a 3.2-megapixel camera with auto-focus and panorama capability and a camera scan talking dictionary, while the A1800 supports CDMA/GSM dual-mode dual standby, integrated incoming call/SMS firewall and a 3.0-megapixel auto-focus camera.

Advanced stand-alone touch-screen GPS helps users find their destination, supporting both independent satellite positioning and GPS positioning. The A1600 and A1800 also position and navigate independently like specialized GPS devicea without mobile network support.

When the exact address is unknown, the A1600 can find the destination by sending an MMS of landmark buildings.

Both devices come with a 1GB microSD card preloaded with the latest electronic maps of the Chinese mainland (not including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan). Motorola will offer a free one-time upgrade of the electronic maps on the A1800, while owners of the A1600 can also take advantage of this upgrade for a small fee.

The large 2.4-inch touch screen provides a clear and comfortable writing experience with rapid cursive Chinese handwriting input. With smart learning (A1600 only), prediction and memory capabilities, the handhelds learn and remember writing habits and increase input speeds.

"Designed specifically to reflect the Chinese preference for writing characters by hand, our pen-based PDA series has met with incredible success in China," said Ray Yam, Vice President, Motorola Mobile Devices, China.

They also offer a suite of mobile business applications, including email, Internet access (A1600 only), a business card reader, Kingsoft translation software, and a Office document reader.

With a 3.2-megapixel camera, the A1600 makes it easy to snap, save and share pictures. The panorama capability can piece together multiple shots taken across a horizon and make a 300 degree panoramic photo.

When reading English documents, the A1600 can scan and translate the unknown words. The integrated talking dictionary can scan characters, recognize the words and pronounce them.

With its CDMA/GSM dual mode, the Ming A1800 supports both SIM and UIM cards and is a dual standby phone, which searches both the CDMA and GSM networks for the strongest signal. Users can answer calls from either network without needing to manually switching networks.

The 3.0-megapixel auto-focus camera captures memorable moments. The Ming A1800's 150MB on-board memory, expandable to 4GB with microSD card, offers enough storage space to save plenty of photos.

The A810 is an entry-level PDA with a built-in 2.0-megapixel camera and microSD slot expandable to 2GB.

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