You’re probably wondering what the heck is PHONE Magazine doing writing about the HTC Shift launch in Taiwan. The Shift isn’t all beauty; believe it or not, it has more wireless protocols than many devices on the market. Starting with HSDPA/UMTS (Tri-band 850/1900/2100MHz), Quad-Band GPRS/EDGE, WiFi, Bluetooth and USIM/SIM card slot. Wow, ok now that’s out of the way, lets dig into the hardware and software components.

It’s amazing how much HTC was able to pack into the Shift, yet still keep it under 800grams in a very small slider form factor. It’s powered by the Intel Processor A1100, 800 MHz and Qualcomm MSM 7200, 400MHz. The QWERTY keyboard is large enough to use without feeling cramped. There’s also a decent CMOS VGA camera, MicroPad, a bunch of smart keys and a 1.8-inch 40GB HDD.

The only unfortunate part of the Shift is Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition. Running Vista on the Shift is like powering a 2500-ton Chevy with a 4-cylinder. Things will be rather slow.

So HTC, when is the Shift coming to the US? [via sogi.com.tw, more HTC Shift coverage at SlashGear]