ITG xpPhone 2 is out, promises Windows 7/8 in a smartphone

Intel is looking forward to powering Android-based phones with its Medfield platform, but ITG still haven’t given up on the dream of running a proper desktop OS on mobile phones - namely, the Windows 7/Windows 8 OSes.

Yep, it's the new version of the xpPhone, the xpPhone 2, and it was just released in China with Windows 7 (it will jump to Windows 8 when Microsoft releases it). It's a device that ITG call a "post-smartphone" and have their sights set on beating the iPhone 4S and the other big names in the smartphone world (but the iPhone specifically).

The ITG xpPhone 2 packs a 1.6GHz processor (a single-core Atom Z530), which can be upgraded to 2GHz (it's unclear how), plus 2GB of RAM, which is double what current smartphone flagships have. But then, Windows 7 uses more RAM than a mobile platform.

ITG xpPhone 2

The xpPhone 2 has a 112GB of SSD storage, which ITG brags is way more than what current smartphones offer (we have to admit, though that 32GB internal storage plus 64GB microSDXC get pretty close).

Anyway, you also get things like a VGA port through an adapter (yes, real VGA port). With the xpPhone 2 ITG claims the smallest notebook PC in the world title. This we can believe actually - the xpPhone 2 measures 140mm X 73mm X 17.5mm. The screen measures 4.3", but the resolution is unclear (Windows 8 is said to require at least 1024 x 768 pixels), and there's a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

Supporting Windows 8 is great too - it's where Microsoft and its partners are heading with their phones and the xpPhone 2 can probably run the beta OS right now. Plus, it will run any app for Windows 7 (though probably not very fast) and all Windows 8 apps too (Win 8 on ARM won't run x86 apps).

Hook it up to a keyboard, a mouse and an external monitor and you have something that works a lot like a traditional office PC. Even those laptop docks for Motorola phones don't provide that familiar desktop experience (Android just wasn't designed for that). This should be good for tech-unsavvy people who can't learn to control Android, we suppose.

ITG xpPhone 2

The ITG xpPhone 2 is a curious device for sure - but the press release is more interesting still. It's good for a laugh and raises quite a few eyebrows too.

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