HTC Status Quick Review with Specs and Info

Jul 192011
 

Facebook Phone called HTC Status

Facebook, twice the juggernaut that Myspace once was, creator of fortunes, invader of privacy. The Social Networking website has continued to grow from its humble origins, a pissed off college kid’s method of taking revenge. Today, even smart phones have been outright designed for the ever addictive social networking site, with Android producer, HTC tapping into this lucrative market.

Platform Android™ 2.3 (Gingerbread) + HTC Sense™
Display HVGA 2.6-inch touch screen
with 480 x 320 resolution
Network Quad-band GSM/GPRS/
EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
UMTS/HSDPA 850/1900
Memory 512 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM
Processor MSM7227, 800 MHz
Battery Rechargeable lithium-ion battery, 1250 mAh
Camera 5 MP main camera with autofocus, VGA
front-facing camera

The HTC Status uses the Android 2.3 OS, Gingerbread. The relatively fast operating system is aided with excess proccessing power and memory to boot for a smartphone. A 2.6″ screen is a bit lacking however, with the smaller statuses and updates on sites such as Twitter and Facebook becoming near unreadable. On the plus side however, there are quite a few features which will advantage the typical Social Networking addict. Firstly, the QWERTY keyboard, while a slight curve in the device ensures that it can be held for longer periods, without causing hand or eyestrain.

While still being a solid phone, the limitations of the 2.6″ touchscreen really begin to show when playing touch dependent games, such as Fruit Slice, among others. This problem is exasperated with some applications being required to be used in portrait mode. Considering that the phone is permanently locked into a landscape orientation, it is likely that frustration will when trying to use certain applications that require a portrait orientation to be used. The phone features a tiny ‘F’ button, representing Facebook (obviously), and allows easy access to the application. Due to the convenient location of the button, generally users are more inclined to use this button, rather than actually tapping on the application, saving a few seconds here and there.

Two cameras, being front and back facing are slightly handy, when you need a new profile picture for example. However, unlike the iPhone 4, and not being an Apple product, the use of a front facing camera can’t be used to emulate Facetime yet. The last criticism is of the phone’s inability to play Facebook videos, something which hopefully should be rectified by Facebook themselves, or by HTC soon.

Being tiny, while featuring a maxi-keyboard favoring thumb-typers, and an ergonomic body that your artsy friends will appreciate, perhaps after the Facebook Video issue is fixed, the HTC Status might become a good secondary phone, or replacement for your aging iPhone.

 

HTC myTouch 4G coming to T-Mobile this July for $199 on contract

Jun 292011
 

After all the rumours and leaked images over the internet, it’s finally here. T-Mobile has finally launched the HTC myTouch 4G Slide (code name- doubleshot) Smartphone. The phone has many high end features and probably has the most advanced camera among all the smartphones. The phone is another consumer friendly android phone from the carrier but has improved significantly over its predecessor the myTouch 3G Slide.

HTC myTouch 4G Slide has a 3.7-inch WVGA Super LCD screen. As the name suggests, the phone supports 4G HSPA + Wi-fi calling at the speed of 14.4 MBPS. The phone uses gingerbread (Android 2.3) as its operating system and HTC Sense UI 3.0. The phone boasts a 1.2 GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor for powerful operational speeds.

The phone comes with a ‘qwerty’ keypad giving the user multiple ways to input text. Sadly, only 1GB of the 4GB of internal memory is available for usage, though the phone comes with an 8GB microSD card preinstalled which can be expanded up to 32 GB.

HTC myTouch 4G comes with an exceptional 8-megapixel camera with dual LED flash and is capable of 1080p HD video capture, offers HDR and panorama modes but this is not the exceptional part. The phone has a wide aperture lens (f/2.2) and a backside-illuminated CMOS sensor (which improves dynamic range and speed) which improves the low-light performance that has always been a trouble spot for most camera phones, but this won’t be the case with the HTC myTouch 4G. If this wasn’t enough, this phone is equipped with a continuous-record shutter that effectively provides zero shutter lag. This is similar to the recently launched Nokia N9.


The phone comes loaded with plenty of software as well. It has software for video chat powered by Qik, also one by Bobsled for group text. The phone has a new advanced Genius Button, which offers one shot voice commands, powered by Dragon Dictation from Nuance. It also contains a hands free mode which allows its users to stay connected while driving as you guide the phone to text or dial to continue the conversation.

HTC myTouch 4G is expected to be out in early July and with a price tag of $199 (+ 2 year contract). The phone is definitely going to have quite a few buyers.

HTC to add a 4.5-inch Smartphone codenamed “Holiday” to its arsenal

May 242011
 

HTC HolidayAs per latest news leaks HTC might be gearing up to launch a Smartphone codenamed “Holiday” which will support a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8660 processor coupled with 1GB of RAM and running on the latest version of Android operating system i.e. Ginbgerbread (v2.3.4). This behemoth will have a 4.5-inch screen size that will support a resolution of 540×960 pixels. The leak also suggests that it will have an 8MP rear camera, 1.3MP front camera, Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi 802.11b/g/n and this device might just be making its way into the market through AT&T.

Although, we are quite familiar with the 4.3-inch form factor but this 4.5-inch form factor will be the latest addition to HTC’s arsenal. I personally like phones with big screen sizes provided I am able to work on it for at least a day without completely draining the battery. The major point of concern for HTC would be to ensure that this beast is able to last that long on a single charge as the 4.5-inch high resolution screen and the dual core processor are sure to tax the battery.

This new phone HTC Holiday might be a reply to Samsung’s 4.5-inch Infuse 4G which was released this May. The Samsung Infuse runs on a 1.2GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor and Android 2.2 operating system. It has an AMOLED display with a resolution of 480×800 pixels. The differentiating factors between the HTC “Holiday” and the Samsung Infuse 4G will be the screen resolution, the processor, the battery life, and off course the obvious liking for the HTC sense UI which has managed to appeal the users more than Samsung’s TouchWiz 3.0 UI.

Windows Phone 7 powered HTC Trophy up for grabs from May 26th on Verizon Wireless

May 192011
 

Verizon Wireless has issued a press release stating that the Windows Phone 7 powered smartphone –  the HTC Trophy will be available online at Verizon Wireless on May 26th at a price of $149.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.

This is the first Windows Phone 7 device to be made available on Verizon. Although many of you might prefer to buy this powerful device online, but those who stay away from online shopping will have to wait till 2nd June to get their hands on this beauty as that is when Verizon plans to make this phone available at its communication stores. In order to lure buyers, Verizon is also offering a $50 mail-in rebate in the form of a debit card.

To get going users will need to shell out a minimum of $39.9/month to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide talk plan and an additional $29.9/month for an unlimited data package.

For those of you who are unaware of the HTC Trophy here is a brief about the technical specifications of this smartphone. The phone has a 3.8-inch 480*800 pixels touchscreen display powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon processor wih Adreno 200 GPU and packs 16GB of storage. It has a 5MP camera with autofocus and LED flash with 720p video capture capabilities. The device delivers surround sound through SRS WOW HD.

This smart phone has it all from gaming to business to entertainment. The HTC Trophy will let you play games with XBOX LIVE by making it possible for users to access their avatar, profile, gamer score, etc. Users can play alone or can engage themselves in fun-filled multi player turn-based games. What’s more, customers who buy an HTC Trophy before July 15 get a free Xbox 360 console game. Users can stream or download songs with a Zune Pass subscription and access some quality applications and games in Windows Phone Marketplace through the Marketplace Hub.

HTC Thunderbolt Gets More Coverage Than Motorola Droid Bionic

Jan 072011
 

It’s just weird to me that HTC Thunderbolt is more hyped up in blogsphere than Motorola Droid Bionic which in my opinion has better features. Looking at the Google News and some other news aggregators, all I could really find on front page is HTC Thunderbolt.

HTC Thunderbolt vs Motorola Droid Bionic Features:

HTC ThunderBolt

Motorola Droid Bionic
     

Android OS

Android 2.2 w. HTC Sense

Android 2.2

Processor

Qualcomm MSM8655 Snapdragon 1 GHz processor

1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 AP20H Dual Core processor

Battery

Li-Ion 1400 mAh

Li-Po 1930mAh

3G/4G

Yes

Yes

Memory Internal

8GB storage, 768 MB RAM

16GB 512MB Ram 2GB Rom

Card Slot

microSD, up to 32GB, 32GB included

microSD, up to 32GB

Release Date

Q1-Q2 – 2011

Q1-2011

 

Features above are not much different but then again we are talking about 1GHZ Tegra 2 (Dual Core) processor vs 1Ghz Snapdragon which makes it a huge difference between these two smartphones. Maybe media is just covering HTC Thunderbolt bit more now since its going to be released first.

HTC Thunderbolt Pictures Leaked: Coming To Verizon

Dec 292010
 

HTC Thunderbolt pictures leaked this morning. As it looks like HTC Thunderbolt that should be announced at CES is coming to Verizon very soon. Looking at the pictures more closely HTC Thunderbolt looks like HTC EVO 4G that is on Sprint network therefore we can assume that HTC Thunderbolt should have…

  • At least 1GHz Processor (Dual would be preferred)
  • 8MP rear Camera
  • 1.3 (VGA) front Camera
  • Android 2.3 (a.k.a Gingerbread)
  • 4.3 Inch Display (Super AMOLED would be preferred)

htc-thunderbolt7-446x600

For now all we can do is wait until January 6th 2011 for the HTC Thunderbolt announcement at the CES.

To see more pictures of HTC Thunderbolt please visit our friends at Droid Life.

Best Android Phone With Best Wi-Fi Hotspot

Sep 282010
 

Android smartphone list is today growing enormous and this is leaving a buyer at crossroads to decide a best phone among them. This problem can be easily solved with the help of laptopmag.com results. These results were arrived after complete testing through speedtest.net with a Toshiba A665 for Wi-Fi connectivity. Few of the best and top most sites such as ESPN.com, NYTimes.com and CNN.com were all tested by downloading times through Google Chrome as well.

In this testing two devices are resulted as winner and those are HTC Droid Incredible over 3G and HTC EVO over 4G. Samsung Fascinate took the last spot in the race due to its bad download rate, but average on uploads.

The results said as “If you’re looking for a good mobile hotspot phone, we’d say that HTC Incredible is your best bet on Verizon Wireless because of its superior download and upload speeds. However, the Droid 2 is also a good choice because of its zippy web page download times” according to Laptopmaq.com.

via Laptopmag

DROID Incredible and Desire Adorned HTC Desire HD ROM Port Now It is for EVO 4 G

Sep 272010
 

HTC Desire HD is gained more attention through its fast booting time of 3 to 5 seconds and the secret behind this act was the ROM port. Already the same ROM port was adorned for DROID Incredible and Desire HD and experiencing fast booting time automatically. Now, the same act is extended for EVO 4G too. This ROM port is already gaining more attention and this is the reason for making it a part with the EVO 4G too.
The people wanted to go with the new ROM port should know some facts about it. This addition is creating some bad effect on device camera, Wi-Fi, 4G and on many other features. This is the reason some of the people are taking a back step from this new addition. This is advised to people that are having no problem with the mentioned problems can go with this addition successfully and use the following links for your device new ROM port.

• DROID Incredible ROM
• HTC Desire ROM
• HTC EVO 4G ROM

Via Engadget

CDMA/GSM Android Slider from HTC Under Verizon Umbrella

Sep 062010
 

A dual mode CDMA/GSM Android slider phone is now available from HTC through Verizon. This big, honking red-and-black HTC slider is a known design from HTC as earlier dwarfed version of EVO 4G.

This model is comes with CDMA 2000 and GSM 850 plus EV-DO Rev. This HTC “PD42100” is still missing a proper internal codename. This device is adorned with Bluetooth and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi at 2.4GHz frequencies. Chunky chiclet keys and its removable battery is no need to mention in particular. It is going to be a masterpiece and a king of Droids. Many people are seriously looking forward to won this dual mode phone. The features and looks are so far impressive and seems to be gaining more attraction from all.

Via Engadget

Microsoft Signed Patent Agreement With HTC

Apr 282010
 

Tuesday, Microsoft signed patent agreement with HTC for cell phones which are running Android OS.

Here is the full press release:

REDMOND, Wash. — April 27, 2010 — Microsoft Corp. and HTC Corp. have signed a patent agreement that provides broad coverage under Microsoft’s patent portfolio for HTC’s mobile phones running the Android mobile platform. Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will receive royalties from HTC.

The agreement expands HTC’s long-standing business relationship with Microsoft.

“HTC and Microsoft have a long history of technical and commercial collaboration, and today’s agreement is an example of how industry leaders can reach commercial arrangements that address intellectual property,” said Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing at Microsoft. “We are pleased to continue our collaboration with HTC.”

Microsoft’s Commitment to Licensing Intellectual Property

The licensing agreement is another example of the important role intellectual property (IP) plays in ensuring a healthy and vibrant IT ecosystem. Since Microsoft launched its IP licensing program in December 2003, the company has entered into more than 600 licensing agreements and continues to develop programs that make it possible for customers, partners and competitors to access its IP portfolio. The program was developed to open access to Microsoft’s significant research and development investments and its growing, broad patent and IP portfolio. More information about Microsoft’s licensing programs is available at http://www.microsoft.com/iplicensing.

If Sony Smartphone Rumors Ring True, will it represent an iPhone Competitor or a Patent Infringement Opportunity?

Mar 052010
 

March 5, 2010 – According to a Wall Street Journal article, Sony Corporation is currently planning to release a line of products to compete for a share of the Apple-dominated smartphone market. The word is that they are working on a smartphone that can support the downloading and playing of video games. Additionally, it seems they may be working on a device that includes netbook, e-reader, and gaming functionality. It seems that both of these unconfirmed devices would also take advantage of the company’s online media platform. Another potential competitor for Apple’s iTunes Store, it is slated to open before April 2010.

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Nexus One Google T-Mobile and HTC Customer Service

Jan 082010
 

customer service Many complaint’s have been reported about Google  Customer Service for Nexus One.  But who is it to blame? T-Mobile, Google, HTC or Customer it self?

I think 70% of customers that complained about Google or T-Mobile Customer Service for Nexus One are somewhat new to touch screen yet Android OS or overall Smart Phone.

As lazy as they can be, they open up the browser, go to Google support and start emailing questions like “How do I dial on this phone?”  Are you serious?

People sometimes don’t take a bit time to just think for 1 second who they should call? I personally know that because, I worked at ISP (Internet Service Provider). Customer’s would call in saying “My Internet Is down!!!!!” I ask “ Please open up the browser and go to Google.com”  He says “Yup that’s up” I ask “So how come internet is down?” He says “Well I can’t get to my website!!! Duhh…”

So who’s fault is it? ISP’s or Webhosting or Domain Registrars?

Same thing probably is going on between T-Mobile, HTC and Google right now, redirecting illiterate phone users around “Sir Call T-Mobile, Sir Call HTC, Sir Email Google”.

Anyway, if you are Nexus One owner and you have good idea on who to call here is the customer service for you:

Google

T-Mobile

HTC – Why would you call them? They just built it, that’s all. Do you call Intel to fix your HP pc or Mac? No! (I thought so…)

HTC Touch Pro2 Release Date

Jul 292009
 

We just got news that HTC Touch Pro2 release date is August 12th for USA.Read some of HTC Touch Pro2 features below:

“Enabled for T-Mobile’s expanding high-speed 3G network and Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g), the HTC Touch Pro2 offers fast data delivery and an enhanced Web-browsing experience along with popular features such as built-in GPS and location-based services. Featuring a 3.6-inch color WVGA touchscreen that slides back and tilts up to reveal a full-QWERTY keyboard, the screen is perfectly positioned for reading and creating e-mail, browsing the Web, using applications, and playing videos and games. A 3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus also provides customers with an easy way to capture and share high-quality images and video as well as view that content on the crisp display.”