Falcon set to fly among the airwaves

NEWS Gadget manufacturer High Tech Computer (HTC) has received approval from the Federal Communications Commission in the US to begin selling the 'Falcon' - a mobile phone powered by Microsoft's Pocket PC Phone Edition software. The Falcon uses the more basic of Microsoft's two sets of mobile phone software. Pocket PC Phone Edition phones can make calls but have a large screen and lack a number pad. By contrast, devices running Microsoft's Smartphone 2002 operating system look like slightly bulkier mobile phones, with a jog dial for one-handed dialling and for browsing contacts and other information. UK carrier Orange already sells a Smartphone 2002 phone. Microsoft is battling to be inside the next generation of devices that blend the functions of a phone and a PDA. However, all five of the world's top mobile makers - Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Siemens - are planning to make phones using the rival Symbian operating system. Samsung is the lone licensee of Microsoft's Smartphone software among the top five handset makers. Microsoft recently suffered a big blow when UK handset maker Sendo said it dropped the software giant's Smartphone software in favour of using Symbian. Ben Charny writes for News.com