Canadian mobile internet gadget maker DataWind is coming to London this evening to launch the second generation of its PocketSurfer II wireless web browser. We've of course been invited and will bring you all the gossip after tonight's launch party.
The DataWind PocketSurfer has been on sale in the US and Canada for a while now, but it's the first time it has hit Europe. Promising "the internet anywhere... for free", the PocketSurfer can "significantly reduce the amount of data" it sends out to the handheld.
The firm claims that: "a customer can easily save over 200MB in bandwidth with the DataWind solution, in 20 hours of usage over a month - which could result in $20-80 (£10-£40) in carrier data charges".
There are no specifications for the second-generation PocketSurfer II device. But the US version is a clamshell gadget with a 640 x 240 colour display, a Qwerty keypad and cursor control built into the screen cover. The device measures 13.8cm x 6.9cm x 1.5cm and weighs 96.4g. It has no mobile connectivity of its own, instead using a Bluetooth link to your phone.
It's currently priced at $200 (£100) for the device itself, plus a $10 monthly subscription to DataWind's internet connectivity service. The device is also available for a one-off price of $300, scrapping the monthly fee altogether. We'll find out tonight whether this will be the case with the UK PocketSurfer II too.
