BenQ T80 Mobile to Start Field Trial Next Month

Next month, residents of a Farglory Land Development housing project in Taiwan will be invited to test a new mobile phone from BenQ, the T80, that uses NFC (near field communications) technology to access home security systems and pay for items including subway rides.

Farglory has teamed up with the island's largest telecommunications provider, Chunghwa Telecom, on the trial, which starts early next month, a BenQ representative said. The T80 is one of BenQ's latest smartphones. It runs on Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.0 OS and allows NFC from either the SIM card (subscriber identity module) or from a microSD card.

The handset also works with Chunghwa Telecom's Combi SIM card, an e-wallet with enough memory to keep record of transactions as well as other service applications. The Farglory project will allow residents of certain apartment complexes to access home security systems in order to turn alarms on or off and receive status updates.

The telecom provider plans to add functions continuously to the handsets as time goes on. BenQ's T80 handset can also be used as a remote control for home entertainment centers as long as a user's equipment supports DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) technology.

The T80 boasts a 2.2-inch screen, a 3.0-megapixel camera and can time automatic wallpaper changes, in addition to smartphone computing functions similar to a PDA (personal digital assistant). The handset's appearance next month in Taiwan will be the first time it has been marketed anywhere in the world, according to BenQ.

BenQ will release another NFC-enabled handset in June in tandem with Taiwan Mobile, another service provider on the island. The T60 is only 8.9-millimeters thick yet carries a 2.2-inch screen and a 2.0-megapixel camera and an audio player.

BenQ declined to discuss further details of the Taiwan Mobile agreement.