HTC Announces Shift is Now Available in Europe with Origami Goodness

The HTC Shift, if you didn't know, is a sweet mashup of a UMPC and a Windows Mobile device. HTC calls the “SnapVUE,” we call it “The magic button that instantly switches between Windows Mobile and Vista.” It's available, at long last, but it looks like Europe is getting it first (is anybody else detecting a theme here). In our hands-on with the HTC Shift during CES 2008, we didn't spend too much time on the Vista side of things and that's looking like perhaps it was a good decision. A good decision because the Vista side of the Shift just got a lot spicier with the addition of Microsoft's Origami software.

Origami (it's ok, we forgot it existed too) is Microsoft's suite of neat tools specifically designed for touchscreen UMPCs. It has widgets like Picture-based passwords, re-vamped interfaces with big, touchable buttons, and little notepads.

HTC has managed to pick up carrier support from Telefonica and Orange in various countries, selling the Shift for 1199 Euro.