HTC brings S743 smartphone to US shores

HTC this morning revealed that it will bring out a North American version of its S740 slider. The S743 switches from the previously Europe-only HSPA 3G to a dual-band 850MHz/1,900MHz link suited to AT&T in the US and Rogers in Canada. The phone is otherwise a match for the reference model with a lateral slide-out QWERTY keyboard and hardware keys for directions and numbers in place of the touchscreen fitted to the similarly-styled Touch Pro.

A 3.2-megapixel camera and microSDHC-dependent storage also carry over from the regular S740. HTC plans to ship the Windows Mobile 6.1 phone sometime in the first three months of the year as an unlocked, unsubsidized device. Pricing hasn't been named but should be high without carrier discounts.