Tag: htc
HTC announce Android-based Tattoo
Taiwan-based HTC has confirmed a mass-market mobile that uses the increasingly popular Google Android operating system.
Dubbed the Tattoo, it integrates all of Google's mobile services including Google Maps, search and Google mail as well as the Android market where you can download applications and games. It also comes complete with 3.2 megapixel camera, 3.5mm stereo headset jack and expandable microSD memory.
Available October, it is HTC's second phone incorporating HTC Sense, a new user interface designed to integrate voice calls, texts, photos and status updates.
SHINY PREVIEW VIDEO: HTC Hero with HTC Sense
HTC pulled out all the stops today for their gala launch of the HTC Hero Android phone and HTC Sense secondary OS. They even got out the smoke machines.
The handset seems to have just about everything you could want, except a flash – no idea why smartphone manufacturers keep leaving that out – and. essentially. it’s got all the same internal build as the Magic. But you can read about these things forever, so take a closer look here…
The outsides are all very well and good. I did feel it was a little underpowered and laggy with a slightly dead touchscreen but I’ll wait for a review for the final words on that. What I feel this handset’s going to live and die by, though, is the HTC Sense Android toupee.
It looked fantastic in the demonstration and everything the HTC product designers said made perfect sense. The idea of integrating all of your communictions from each contact looked excellent and the degree of customisation looks beyond anything offered so far.
The trouble is that when I got the Hero into my hands it just seemed a little overcomplicated and rather ruined one of the beauties of Android which is its relative simplicity and ease of use. Now, bear in mind this was only a three minute play, so I’ll give you more on that when I’ve had the chance of a proper review.
I’ll get some more vid up of the Sense as soon as I can but, for now, you can take HTC CEO Peter Chou’s word for it. Chou like.
HTC
HTC announces the Hero – the best Android phone yet
It’s being billed as the first ever fully customisable Android handset. The HTC Hero with HTC Sense will allow users to amend almost every aspect of their setup.
Tech Digest has had its hands on the phone and it has to be said that it is a lot more simple and natural to navigate than its predecessors. It’s actually soft to touch and appears to be quite durable. It’s even contoured to perfectly fit a face during a call. It’s slightly chunkier than the HTC Magic at 14.3mm thick.
Tech wise there is a 3.2-inch, 320 x 480, HVGA touchscreen that supports multi-touch and pinch whilst browsing. It has a compass, AGPS and a gravity sensor, which I don’t think we’ve seen before.
There’s no more need to constantly wipe the screen clean too – the Hero includes an anti-fingerprint screen that is also smudge resistant. A welcome inclusion is the 3.5mm headphone jack.
Browsing should be improved with the inclusion of Flash and there is also a search button that explores everything from your apps to your Twitter feed.
The Sense feature allows for widgets that push content, different customisable content profiles called scenes and it also combines all communication channels into one screen. That means Twitter, Facebook, flickr and the like can all be accessed from one screen. Sense also allows users to link Facebook information, like photos and status updates, directly to contacts.
The white version will come with a Teflon coating – this is a first in the smartphone world and will help keep the Hero fresh and clean.
More spec info:
- Qualcomm MSM7200A processor running at 528MHz
- 512MB/288MB ROM/RAM
- 900/2100MHz HSPA and quadband GSM
- 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
- 5-megapixel auto-focus camera with microSD expansion – but no flash
The HTC Hero was announced today at a launch event in London and should be available in July on T-Mobile and Orange. Expect a full review on Tech Digest some time soon.
Gallery: Top 10 Cameraphones
So your converged life needs a decent camera and mobile phone in one? Here are ten of the best cameraphones around, and not an iPhone in sight.
Click on the image below to start the tour.
Leaked: Image of the HTC Hero, aka the 'G3'
An image has surfaced on the internet, on the ‘Code Android Singapore’ website, of the HTC Hero. This device is a followup to the HTC Magic, and is referred to by many as the G3 because it runs Android – Google’s mobile phone operating system.
It’s a lot squarer than the HTC Magic, and it looks like the infamous chin from the G1 has returned. There’s no trackball, either, which could indicate that G1 users haven’t been overly fond of it as a control mechanism. Also in the shots, though, may be a slot for a 3.5mm headphone jack. That would be a fantastic addition to the handset.
(via Code Android Singapore)
The lowdown on the HTC Magic – pricing, release dates and contract info
We’re eagerly awaiting the Vodafone HTC Magic, which is basically the G2, so that there’ll be a little more choice in the Android chunk of the mobile phone market. The G1’s all well and good, and I like it more the more I use it, but evolution – even if it removes the lovely keyboard – is good too.
The HTC Magic will go onsale in the UK on the 1st May. Before that, you’ll be able to pre-order the handset from the 17th April, though I’m thinking that it’s fairly unlikely there’s going to be queues around the block, so you’ll probably be able to get one on the day itself.
It’ll be only available on an 18 month contract for £30 a month (totalling £540). That’ll get you 600 minutes, though, as well as “unlimited” texts and “unlimited” emails. Those will have some sort of crappy and overly restrictive fair-usage limit, no doubt. I hope Vodafone’s prepared for G2 users to hit that internet limit.
(via UK Gadgeteer)
Diotek launches handwriting recognition Android app
I’ve been having a play with the G1 over the last week and it’s not the look of the thing that gets to me as the slightly too small slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Mercifully, Korean company Diotek is here to save the day for those fat fingered among us. They’ve invented the first Android handwriting recognition application…
OPINION: Why is nobody using Android?
I’m going to do you a favour before I make you read everything I’ve got to say. I don’t know the answer. I don’t know why just about every phone manufacturer save Apple and Nokia has given Google’s mobile OS the cold battery cover ever since the G1 came out in October last year. I don’t know.
You don’t hear any Android user talking about how rubbish the platform is. You don’t hear any developers saying it isn’t any good either, and in techland, that’s a sign that a product is more or less perfect. So, what’s the problem…
Vodafone Europe gets HTC Magic G2
Here’s news that Vodafone has exclusively snagged the HTC Magic G2 in Europe.
Voda has currently only managed to announce some fairly boring low-spec handsets at MWC, so official details are sketchy. Boy Genius Report, who ran with the story, reckon the Android-based handset will be 3G with Wi-Fi and have GPS. Mind you, that’s fairly standard fare these days.
Can’t say I’m overwhelmed by the sight of the handset, but hopefully some more details will surface that will inspire me…
MWC 2009: HTC shows off Touch Pro 2 and Touch Diamond 2
This is the HTC Touch Pro 2, newly announced by HTC in Barcelona. HTC claims that it delivers “the most powerful productivity experience available on a mobile phone”, and who are we to argue? Let’s talk specs.
The phone has a 3.6″ touchscreen at WVGA resolution, Windows Mobile 6.1, 512MB of memory (but with a microSD card slot), HSDPA, GPS, Bluetooth, a 3.2-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, FM radio and a five-row QWERTY keyboard. Phew.
Conspicuously missing when compared to rival phones are a 3.5mm headphone jack, decent operating system (Android, Android, Android), 5-megapixel camera and more internal memory. When put against the N97, this phone doesn’t really stand up too well.
Then there’s the Touch Diamond 2. It’s rather similar to the Touch Pro 2, but doesn’t have the QWERTY keyboard and has a slightly smaller touchscreen at 3.2″. It does have a slightly nicer 5-megapixel camera, though.
Other than that it’s mostly identical. Same WVGA resolution, Windows Mobile 6.1, 512MB of memory (with microSD card slot), HSDPA, GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and FM radio. Still no 3.5mm headphone jack.
Both are arriving this year, with the Diamond “Touch”-ing (sorry) down in Q2 and the Pro showing up in early summer. No pricing info yet. Personally speaking, I’d rather plump for the QWERTY over the 5-megapixel camera. How about you? Which is your favourite of the two? Let us know in the comments.
