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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved the follow up to one of the first supposed BlackBerry Treo killers built on Windows Mobile for release in the U.S. The BenQ P51, introduced at CeBIT earlier this year, is, like its predecessor, the P50, a tablet-style Pocket PC Phone with a QWERTY thumb-keyboard.

Unfortunately, by the time the once cutting-edge P50 shipped in February, nearly two years after a splash inducing March 2004 unveiling, its features were out of date and its keyboard no longer so unique. Palm even had a Windows Mobile Treo by then!

From what we know so far, the P51 updates the feature-set of the P50 considerably. It will run on Windows Mobile 5.0, maintain the P50's Wi-Fi capability (but with VoIP added) and integrate a SiRFstar III GPS receiver for navigation and location-based services.

There's also a 2.83-inch 65,000 color QVGA (240 x 320 pixel) resolution display, SDIO-enabled SD slot for peripheral and memory expansion, 128 MB of RAM, 128 MB of ROM, a 1.3 megapixel camera, and Bluetooth.

Although the FCC has given BenQ the okay to release the P51 in the U.S., it is still not known when or even if the smartphone will make it to these shores. We'll keep you posted.