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BenQ introduced the P50 Pocket PC Phone over a year ago. Because of its compact 4.7 x 2.4 x 0.8-inch size, 5.3-ounce weight and QWERTY thumb-keyboard, there was talk of the device being a 'Treo killer' from the company and industry pundits.

Like a challenger who talks big but never climbs into the ring with the champion, the P50 continues to be a no show, however.

Originally due to ship late last year, BenQ delayed the P50 until the first quarter of this year, which has come and gone. According to infoSync, a BenQ spokesperson says the handset won't ship now until the third quarter in the United States.

That’s the same time it’ll become available only one country in Europe, Italy. There’s no word about when carriers plan to offer the device in other European markets or Asia.

P50 Details
Unlike the Treo 600 and Treo 650, the P50 integrates Wi-Fi. A small 2.8-inch display helps keep the smartphone's dimensions so small. And although the screen runs at the Pocket PC standard 240 x 320 pixel resolution, it supports 18-bit color (262,144 colors)—more than most other handheld and smartphone displays.

Additional features include a 1.3-megapixel digital camera, an SDIO-enabled Secure Digital slot for memory and peripheral expansion plus a battery with specifications for 5 hours of talk and 200 hours of standby time. Purportedly the P50 will go for about $800 (unsubsidized) when it finally does ship.

No Longer Unique
If BenQ had released the P50 when it was originally supposed to, it would have been quite distinctive for a Pocket PC Phone. Today, the quad-band (850/900/1800/1900) GSM/GPRS P50 is simply one of several new and upcoming handsets offering similar features in a compact form factors.

Other Pocket PC Phones include the Samsung SCH-i730, Asus P505, E-TEN M500, Orange SPV 3G, T-Mobile MDA IV, O2 XDA III, Hewlett-Packard iPAQ hw6500, and Vodafone VPA IV.

Not a small group of smartphones by any means. A few of these devices even integrate 3G, which is notably absent from the P50, while the HP hw6500 will even add a GPS chip for location-based services and navigation.