Ericsson demos prototype EPOC communicator

CeBIT 2000 Just the day after giving the impression it wasn't brim-full of enthusiasm for Symbian's Quartz communicator platform, Ericsson unveiled one. Ericsson reps had been present for Symbian's Quartz rollout on Wednesday, but as apparently the company was saving its ammo for its own product (well, prototype), they were confined to positive comments and muted applause. But the appearance of the Ericsson implementation at CeBIT increases the possibility of the leisurely Q2 2001 ETA for the Motorola-Psion Quartz design being beaten. The Ericsson communicator being shown is a "full working prototype," and crucially, Ericsson describes it as "the platform on which Ericsson intends to build future commercial products which will address the new world of mobile Internet, and ultimately the needs in 3G cellular networks." That's a little loaded - it's clearly a vote for Symbian and EPOC, but the device is equally clearly a demonstration unit only. Maybe it'll turn into a real product, or maybe the real products will be a bit like it. In any event, it could still mean Ericsson isn't entirely convinced of the virtues of early shipment. It has a quarter VGA colour touchscreen, and is being aimed at HSCSD (High Speed Circuit Switched Data) and GPRS (General Packet Radio Services). It's also triple band GSM (900/1800/1900), and has built-in Bluetooth and GPS - a bit of a space cadet doobry, in fact, even before you mention the sound player. The CeBIT model doesn't have GPRS, but any production variants will. ® See also: Inside Quartz: Symbian's Palm-killer platform CeBIT 2000: Full Coverage