Archive for July, 2010
HTC to Sell Smartphones Under Its Own Name in China: Report
July 27th, 2010 by admin in HTC
Taiwan-based HTC will begin selling smartphones in China under its own name, as it begins a big campaign to create a brand presence, the Wall Street Journal reported July 27.
Until now, HTC has sold phones in China under the Dopod brand, but that will change with four new devices scheduled to arrive in September or October. According to the Journal, these include two touch-screen models, one a very high-end phone running a Windows Mobile operating system and the other a midrange handset running Google’s Android OS.
“We believe China is a good market for smartphone development,” HTC CEO Peter Chou told the Journal. “Consumers from China will love this kind of product because Internet penetration here is pretty high.”
Chou added that a strong percentage of consumers can afford a smartphone, though HTC has yet to set pricing for the new handsets.
HTC similarly worked—quite successfully—to build brand awareness in the United States, after first arriving under the badges of other brands. Some of the first HTC-made phones for American consumers were branded under the T-Mobile name. These have included the G1—the first Android-running handset in the United States—and later the carrier’s line of myTouch phones. Google’s Nexus One is also an HTC phone.
HTC has since released the HD2, the Droid Eris and—the phone thought to have solidified its standing as a major player in the U.S. market—the Droid Incredible. Following these were the first 4G-enabled handset in the United States, the Evo 4G. The Android operating system is widely considered a growing rival to Apple’s dominance in the United States, and a good part of HTC’s success here has come with its alignment with Google.
“HTC has gone from the edge to the cutting edge,” Pund-IT Research analyst Charles King told eWEEK at the time of the Droid Incredible’s launch. “It stands as evidence that the game should not be handed to Apple by default. There are people out there with great ideas and great design concepts, and with Android they have an OS to build those on.”
In 2009, HTC sold 11.7 million phones—a figure that research firm IDC has forecast to zoom to more than 60 million by 2012. Currently, 80 percent of HTC’s revenue comes from sales in Europe and United States, but China is poised to skew that figure. By the end of this year, HTC handset sales in China are expected to rise 50 percent over 2009′s total and continue heading upward.
“It’s interesting. Before we’ve come to do anything, we already have pretty high [brand] awareness,” Chou told the Journal, referring to HTC devices that have arrived in China through the gray market. Because of these phones, Chou estimates that 8 percent of China smartphone users are already familiar with the HTC brand—a good head start on the road the company is headed down.
What the gray market can’t offer, Chou added, is good services for consumers, which will definitely be part of the HTC strategy.
HTC Wildfire available in India
July 26th, 2010 by admin in HTC
Now the Wildfire is available in India from various dealers across the country for as low as Rs.15000
Here are the features of the Wildfire
- Android 2.1 OS
- Quand Band GSM , Dual Band 3G
- 3.2-inch capacitive touch
- 5 megapixel camera with auto focus and LED flash
- 3.5mm audio jack
- micro SD
- HTC Sense UI
- Friend Stream Social Networking Application
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth , GPSGPS
- 528MHZ Qualcomm Processor
- Optical Trackpad
- 384MB RAM
- 512MB ROM
- FM Radio
- 1300 mAh battery
- Talktime : 7 hours
- Standby : 480 hours
In other news still no official word about the Desire. We had a chance to play with the Wildfire and it’s certainly a very affordable Android phone running on Eclair 2.1. It’s a bit slow for some tasks but that’s not going to be a deal breaker.
T-Mobile G1 Blaze rumors begin to swirl
July 26th, 2010 by admin in HTC, t-mobile
When you look at the high-end Android phones available today, you might notice that there are relatively few devices with sliding QWERTY keyboards.
Aside from the forthcoming Droid 2 and Samsung Epic 4G, there are no other devices with a 1GHz processor and a physical keyboard. However, there are rumors that HTC and T-Mobile will also have a device to add to the bunch.
The phone, according to rumors, is expected to arrive with a 1GHz processor, a 3.7-inch WVGA screen, and HTC Sense user interface. According to the rumors, it will also be HSPA+ capable, which means it will support T-Mobile’s fastest 3G technology. Adding fuel to the fire, the carrier recently wrote to its Twitter account to tell its followers that it will unveil its first HSPA+ smartphone later this summer.
According to an Engadget source, the phone could carry the name of G1 Blaze when it debuts, but it’s also been called the HTC Vision. To add to the confusion, a recently leaked T-Mobile road map shows a device the carrier calls the HTC Vanguard that it expects to launch in September, so I expect these to be one in the same. The fall launch would come right around the two-year anniversary of the original T-Mobile G1, so the G1 Blaze name also makes sense.
The rest of the phone’s hardware is unknown at this point, but I imagine we’re looking at it running Android version 2.1 or 2.2 with an 8-megapixel camera, a microSD card expansion, and the requisite support for Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth. With T-Mobile busy building out its superfast data network, I’d love to see this phone show up with a front-facing camera.
Motorola Droid 2 will be released in August
July 24th, 2010 by admin in Motorola
The Motorola Droid 2 is one of those highly-touted smartphones. Available on the Verizon network, the Motorola Droid 2 is already poised to become an instant success. Being that the phone has not been released yet, many potential buyers want to know when to expect it on the shelves.
The Motorola Droid 2 has a couple of strong release date possibilities, both of them in August. One of them is August 12 and the other is the 23.
The phone boasts the Android OS, camera, and slide out QWERTY keyboard. The OS is supposedly Android 2.2 FROYO. It’s set to de-throne the Evo 4g as the most advanced Droid based phone on the market.
It’s no secret that he phone will sell out in retail outlets across the country the day of its release. Those who are particularly excited about handset should either pre-order or arrive at the store on the day of the release extremely early to ensure that they aren’t let down with a sold out handset.
The Droid was one of the first Androids out on the market, and it was hugely successful. Many expect the Droid 2 to live up to the same fame and gusto.
Olive Telecom unveils the OlivePad, a 3G Android 2.1 tablet phone
July 22nd, 2010 by admin in Olive
Olive Telecom has unveiled the OlivePad, an Android 2.1 3G tablet that’s also a quad-band 2G phone. Dell Streak-like, the 7-inch smartphone/tablet is priced at Rs. 25,000 and will release in the “third week of August” in India. The company also announced the capacitive multi-touch tablet will be upgradeable to Android 2.2, FroYo, around October.
Calling the OlivePad VT-100 a “window to the world in your [largish] pocket”, Olive Telecommunication has shown a will to compete with Apple in the handheld space, and Mr. Arun Khanna, Chairman of Olive Telecommunication, made several references to the iPad and the fruity computer giant as their chief competitors. We had a chance to play around with the 7-inch OlivePad, and got the impression that this is no empty boast, rather that the surprisingly sturdy and well-built OlivePad might be a serious Android contender in the tablet space, even supporting video calling over its 7.2Mbps HSUPA 3G connectivity, and access to more than “1 million free apps” in the Android Market (no paid apps until an Indian payment solution is agreed upon, much to everyone’s happiness).
Powered by an ARM11 600MHz processor, the OlivePad is based on the new Qualcomm MSM7227 chipset, and features 512MB RAM, 512MB inbuilt flash memory, and microSD expandability up to 32GB, aside from a CMOS 3MP camera and webcam. It also has full Flash support, as well as WiFi (802.11b/g), Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR), and microUSB connectivity.
Supporting 720p video playback, the OlivePad has a 3.5-mm jack and offers good media features, playing the following formats: 3GP, MP4 AVI, and MP3. Weighing in a substantial 410 grams, the 7-inch tablet has dimensions of 110×11.5×179.4mm, and a 3240mAh Li-polymer battery that gives 16 hours of standby time, and 7 hours of talk time.
With inbuilt GPS, the OlivePad offers Google Maps and MapMyIndia navigation, and also has a gravity and ambient light sensor, apart from a compass and full-fledged internet browser with full Flash support.
Looking at its reasonable price point and its many features, the OlivePad looks like it will have a strong chance in the mobile space, and might just be perfect for those looking for visual real estate as well as a larger form factor. In our short while with the product, the OlivePad and its multi-touch screen seemed very responsive and snappy, and access to the numerous free apps on the Android Market was a major plus point.
While the OS is not fully-vanilla Android 2.1 and slightly customized, it puts the OlivePad bounds ahead of the similarly sized and fellow smartphone/tablet hybrid, the Dell Streak, which runs on Android 1.6 that’s heavily customized with Stage UI. Just like the Streak though, the device’s capabilities as a phone are rendered unwieldy by its size, and in fact, is two inches bigger. Mr. Artem Orange, CEO Olive CIS/CEE, recommended that you can use the OlivePad with Bluetooth handsets and loudspeaker conveniently, but also confirmed that the company will not be bundling headsets, and that it would be up to the carrier to offer it.
Speaking with David Hines, CEO of Olive America, we learnt that Olive is focussing on catching up with the leading phone and tablet manufacturers abroad, and will also be releasing its own LTE 3.9G devices soon. Not elaborating about further India plans and if there were any more major products expected over the next few months, Mr. Hinds simply assured us that they will continue making innovative devices, and with a portfolio of the triple-SIM OliveWiz phone, the hybrid Li-ion and AA battery-powered OliveFrvrOn phone, the 3G embedded OliveZipbook netbook, and the OliveNexus pocket router, we find ourselves excited.
Mr. Artem Orange, also emphasized the great response Olive and its products have been receiving in Central/Easten Europe, as well as Russia, while Mr. Arun Khanna spoke of the company is growing in Mexico and parts of Africa as well. Olive has also launched the Olive Global Design Centre in Gurgaon, NCR.
Unofficial Android 2.1 for Motorola Cliq sneaks out
July 22nd, 2010 by admin in Motorola
The last we heard, Motorola was still testing its Android 2.1 operating system upgrade for the T-Mobile Cliq. Originally scheduled to be released last quarter, Motorola pushed the update back to a rumored August debut. So with July passing quickly, it makes sense then that a leaked version of the ROM has made its way online.
Engadget Mobile loaded the ROM onto itsown Cliq to give it a run through. According to the blog, the phone runs a bit snappier than it did before the update, even with its 528MHz processor. Apps such as Google Maps and the Web browser run “surprisingly smoothly,” which give the phone gets a new lease on life.
The ROM includes Motorola’s updated MotoBlur user interface with an enhanced desktop experience that includes widgets that can be resized. However, it’s not all roses and unicorns as live wallpapers and pinch-to-zoom support are nowhere to be found in the update. It’s very possible that wallpapers were left off due to hardware restrictions.
As Engadget points out, this looks to be an official build, although it does have a few glitches. With a few weeks to go before this likely hits the masses, there’s plenty of time for Motorola to address any technical issues. Look for the company to iron out any sticking points before the final release.
It should be noted that while the ROM is available to the public, it is somewhat buggy and requires you to have root level access to the phone.
Motorola i1 PTT Android phone now in stores
July 20th, 2010 by admin in Motorola
The rugged Motorola i1, the first ever iDEN push-to-talk Android powered smartphone on the market is available to Boost Mobile customers as of today. The phone features a 3.1-inch touchscreen display, and military spec resistance to things like dust, vibration, and rain. It is currently available for $399.99 only in Boost Mobile retail stores, not online.
Motorola Milestone XT720 now available in the UK
July 18th, 2010 by admin in Motorola
Motorola’s Milestone XT720 smartphone — essentially an upgraded but keyboard-less version of the original Milestone — will be available in the UK tomorrow (July 19).
The new phone will feature a 3.7-inch multi-touch display, HSPA mobile broadband capability, built-in Wi-Fi, and a Google Android 2.1 operating system. Its 8-megapixel digital camera is capable of recording high-definition video at 24 frames per second.
It will be available throught the British online retailer, Clove Technology, at a cost of £381.88, including VAT.
Samsung Captivate Android phone launched by AT&T
July 18th, 2010 by admin in samsung
AT&T has followed that up with perhaps its most impressive Android phone to date, the Samsung Captivate.
The Captivate has a 4-inch, Super AMOLED touch screen, a 1-GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor, and a 5-megapixel camera on the back. Like all the Galaxy S phones, the Captivate’s software is a mixture of Android 2.1, Samsung’s TouchWiz add-ons, and AT&T’s picks.
Mobile Managing Editor Sascha Segan had some hands on time with the phone and fears that AT&T’s add-ons are where things get tricky for the Captivate. He specifically mentioned that “AT&T’s built-in software is also more redundant and more irritating than other carrier’s builds”.