February 19, 2008 at 3:40 am · Authored by Julia · Filed under Orange

Orange has decided to get on the “ultramobile PC” bandwagon, and is set to carry the HTC Shift from next month. The Shift is a cross between a normal mobile and a Lilliputian PC, with a flip top, 7 inch screen, full slideout QWERTY keyboard and a stripped down version of Windows Vista running alongside Microsoft Windows Mobile.

The device, which Orange has created execrable category of “mob top” for, also sports HSDPA and wi-fi connectivity. For the paranoid, there’s also a fingerprint reader to protect those precious contacts.

While it’s a little on the chunky side compared to most smartphones - the Shift is a bit too big slip into your pocket - HTC still makes a nod towards phone-dom with SMS functionality. The Shift is a gorgeous looking gadget, and the reviews have been stellar so far, but I can’t help thinking it would have been nice to see some voice action as well, so users don’t need to carry a normal voice centric mobile around too.

While there’s always VoIP, the Shift’s pricing starts at £999 on top of the data tariff. For that sort of price, I’d want the Shift to bring me tea in the morning too.