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Mobile telivision company Modeo unexpectedly introduced - and is demonstrating - the first Microsoft-based DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld) capable smartphone at CTIA this week.

DVB-H is one of several digital TV standards on the road to market (Qualcomm's MediFlo is the most notable of the others). Standards like DVB-H propose broadcasting television signals separately from traditional cellular-data networks. This frees up bandwidth for other mobile operator content and promises better quality video to the consumer.

Built by Taiwanese ODM HTC, the Pocket PC Phone is due to ship during the second half of the year. We got a chance to handle one while it was receiving television signals from an adhoc DVB-H network at the CTIA show. It felt comfortable in the hand and, more importantly, reception appeared smooth. Not too surprising under the heavily controlled circumstances.

In 2005, Modeo successfully pilot tested its DVB-H mobile broadcast network in Pittsburgh (where it is headquartered) and plans to officially launch service in select major U.S. markets, including New York City, later this year. Nationwide deployment, in the top 30 U.S. markets, is targeted throughout 2007.

The quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE smartphone measures 4.1 x 2.2 x 0.6 inches and weighs 4.23 ounces. It has a Texas Instruments OMAP850 200 MHz CPU, 64 MB of ROM, 64MB of RAM, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a microSD card slot (for up to 1 GB of extra storage), and a 1.3 megapixel camera.

Modeo President Michael Schueppert says, "The new Modeo phone provides a best-in-class multimedia experience that should impress even the most discerning TV viewer, while also delivering on a wide range of more traditional smartphone features and functionality."

It is also one of the first handsets to integrate NVIDIA's new high performance Go-Force 5500 handheld graphics processing unit, which runs at such a low wattage, when I touched one running full throttle at the show yesterday, I barely felt any heat at all. Modeo says the smartphone's 1150 mAH lithium-ion battery provides up to three hours of TV viewing, four hours of talk time or six days of standby time.

Modeo's Pocket PC Phone's graphics engine operates its 2.2-inch QVGA (240 x 320 pixel), 64K-color TFT display at up to 30 fps.

An electronic service guide (ESG) created by Penthera Technologies is designed to provide access to free, subscription, pay-per-view and other protected content with an approach familiar to anyone who has used a cable or satellite TV service.

The handset heavily integrates Microsoft technologies, not just the operating sytem. It receives and plays Modeo DVB-H mobile broadcasts delivered using Windows Media Video and Windows Media Digital Rights Management. The handset also uses Windows Media Player 10 Mobile to playback video and music stored in multiple formats onboard in the WMA MP3 and AAC formats.

"People are constantly juggling personal interests and professional tasks," according to Chad Hodge, group product manager of the Windows Digital Media Division at Microsoft Corp. "The Modeo DVB-H integrated handset uses the power of Windows Media technologies and Windows Mobile 5.0 to converge video, voice, data and productivity applications into a single device for familiar, on-the-go productivity and entertainment."