Seems like Android is fuelling a smartphone race to the bottom in terms of pricing, following on from the very promising looking T-Mobile Pulse, Vodafone and HTC have announced the Tattoo (the smartphone formerly known as Click) to compete at the low end of the market.
Whilst the Pulse manages to retain a fairly standard Android specification HTC have chopped two major lumps out of the Tattoo which are going to make it somewhat less appealling to anyone who knows their smartphone onions.
Hello is that HTC? 2007 is calling and they want their screen back. Yes, HTC are actually going to deploy a new device with a QVGA screen. And, given the resolution and small (2.8") size, they've also decided on a resistive touchscreen. Which is fine on a Windows Mobile device, designed for stylus use and skinned to be finger friendly, but I'm not altogether sure that an OS designed to be run on a HVGA screen with capacative inputs is going to work quite so well.
Price is also going to be an interesting challenge for Vodafone. The very nicely specced Pulse is currently £179, on Windows Mobile the much better specified XDA Zest can be had for under £190 and the Symbian-powered Nokia 5800 runs to £160. As HTC are saying that the unlocked cost for the Tattoo will be €320 that's a pretty hefty subsidy for the operator to find before its anywhere close to competitive.
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