As CES rolls on there’s a lot of news in the smartphone world. One nice bit has to do with a little company called HTC and the upcoming US availability of the HTC S743. The S743 is a neat little handset that looks like a sleek candy-bar phone with a 12-key front keypad but also sports a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard and some nice power under the hood.

The S743 is a non-touch screen device that offers the benefit of both a more traditional user interface and a full QWERTY keyboard. It has the, now familiar, faceted design first implemented on the HTC Touch Diamond. While it is just 1.7 inches wide and weighs a mere 4.9 ounces, it still has a large 2.4 inch QVGA display and packs a whole lot of power. As a US-release, it supports high-speed HSDPA (850/1900 MHz) networks and runs Windows Mobile 6.1.

The S743 might look familiar from this shot of Judie’s CES: Getting Ready post. Yup, that’s Judie’s S740 (the European variant of the new S743) getting ready for the trip while some “other” phone gets left behind. I’m pretty darn happy with my current handset but the rave reviews from Judie… they sure have piqued my interest in this small, but powerful, handset.

The S743 will be available through select retail channels, including dell.com and cdw.com, during the first quarter of 2009.

Another high quality image after the break.