The China-based ODM-maker Wistron has unveiled its GW4 smartphone at the CES 2008 show. This is a candy bar phone with an integrated QWERTY-keyboard and a touch-sensitive display and powered by MontaVista Linux 2.6. The device is peculiar for the support of a new open platform Google Android. The GW4 version based on it will be released in March. Probably it will be the first Google Android smartphone and come out to the market under the brands of biggest vendors, says a Wistron spokesman. Those vendors will set the price of the product.

Wistron GW4 features modest specs, according to the company, this hints at Linux effectiveness. The current smartphone version works in GSM networks (tri-band for the US and tri-band for Europe and Asia). The 3G modification is expected late in 2008.

The specs of Wistron GW4:

• Networks - GSM/GPRS (without EDGE)
• Chipset - TI OMAP 1710 216 MHz CPU and 64 MB of memory
• Display – 2.5” 320×240 pixels touchscreen
• 2-megapixel camera
• Wi-Fi 802.11g
• Built-in SIP VOIP-client
• Opera browser
• Vidgets, for example, weather forecast of share rating