Chip giant Intel doesn't reckon its Atom chip family will be ready for mobile phones until 2009-2010, but that hasn't stopped Japanese carrier Willcom punting an Atom-based handset - the first if its kind, the company claimed.

The D4: made by Sharp, sold by Willcom, powered by Intel

The Sharp-made D4 uses Intel's Centrino Atom platform to run Windows Vista Home Premium SP1. It has a 1.33GHz Atom Z520 on board, along with 1GB of 533MHz DDR 2 memory and a 40GB 1.8in hard drive.

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The 188 x 84 x 25.9mm, 470g device sports a full Qwerty keyboard and a 5in, 1024 x 600 display. It has 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and PHS network compatibility. PHS (Personal Handy-phone System) is the cellular technology Willcom's network uses.

There's a two-megapixel camera on the back, a Micro SD card slot of storage expansion, a USB port for PC connectivity and an integrated TV tuner.

The D4 is set to retail for ¥128,600 ($1275/£647/€811) to which you can add ¥1600 a month for two years, which is the minimum contract. The handset is due to go on sale in Japan in June - the month Intel ships Atom.

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