Latest Mobile Phone News

More details of the HTC Desire HD have surface this morning including a quick video showing off the hardware (embedded below). The new details confirm that the Desire HD will run Android 2.2 and that it will have a 4.3 inch WVGA touchscreen. Other details confirmed include the 8 megapixel camera capable of capturing video in 720p HD.

The 1GHz CPU is confirmed by 247Android as being from Qualcomm.

There isn’t much else at the moment although all we really need now is the official name, release date and pricing of this smartphone.
HTC Desire HD Features

* SO: Android 2.2 Froyo
* Display: 4.3” WVGA touchscreen
* Camera: 8 MP
* CPU: 1 GHz Qualcomm
* Video: HD 720p
* Multimedia: Xvid Video Playback
* Audio: SRS Surround Sound
* Automatic Face Tracking
* Adobe Flash 10.1
* Memoria: 4GB
* Altro: e-book reader
* Scocca: monoblocco in alluminio.

Popularity: 5%

Excelent news for all the HTC EVO 4G lovers out there, as Sprint has finished testing Android 2.2 (Froyo) for the EVO 4G smartphones and will be rolling out Android 2.2 from the 03.08.2010.

Android 2.2 will bring a lot of new features to the HTC EVO 4G, including voice dialing over Bluetooth, the ability to store your applications on external memory, plus camera four way rotation which allows the camera icons to rotate with the camera.

Other features in Android 2.2 on the EVO 4G include improved browser performance, with a faster JavaScript engine, and Flash 10x. Android 2.2 will start rolling out to the HTC EVO 4G from August the 3rd.

Popularity: 6%

News hit yesterday about Sprint’s HTC EVO 4G Froyo rollout. And, as expected then, it has been officially confirmed by Sprint this morning.

There’s no word on the update being pushed today for a small batch of owners for test purposes, but every EVO 4G owner will get notified that there is an update starting August 3rd.

If you’re desperate to get it faster, start checking for updates manually on August 1st, you just might get lucky.

Sprint point out that they’re the first carrier to bring the Android 2.2 update to a smartphone in their portfolio, and that will surely help drive some sales until their competitors fully catch up.

Popularity: 6%

Nexus One has had a long and nice run, that’s about to stop, according to some interwebs sources. Google will no longer stock the Android phone, having just received the last shipment of this phone. In spite of Google not selling the smartphone, it’s still available from Vodafone in the UK and KI in Korea, if you want one.

The folks in North America won’t be able to get it via official channels, though. Google’s attempt of selling the cell phone without carrier subsidies was pretty bold, but it didn’t quite catch on, since people want cheap smartphones on decent contracts, not unlocked devices that are a bit more expensive.

Popularity: 7%

Sprint’s version of the HTC EVO 4G has a bunch of issues to deal with right now, but  as they’ll be solved by the OTA update coming next week. This over the air software upgrade brings fixes to the bugs on the phone, including WiFi fixes, meaning that the smartphone will support WiFi N among others.

Better battery management is also on the list, together with better Exchange email support, but what EVO users really want is Froyo, that will come later (weeks or months). HTC EVO 4G might be a pretty cool smartphone, but it’s plagued by a bunch of issues, not necessarily hardware or software, but rather the fact that Sprint’s 4G coverage doesn’t cover that much of an area.

Popularity: 13%

The HTC Wildfire is now available in the UK on the Vodafone network. Vodafone is the first network to offer the handset which is ready for ordering today.

Price wise you can pick one up for free on just a £20/month contract. This is a 24 month contract and you do get a decent amount of minutes, text and data as well. With this particular plan you get 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB of data.

The £25 and £30/month contracts also of course have the smartphone for free, but the more you pay for the plan, the more free minutes you get. Data however, stays restricted to 500MB.

The 18 month contracts are practically the same as the 24 month plans with the HTC Wildfire being free on the cheapest plan although the cheapest plan is £25/month rather than £20/month. Basically you add an extra £5/month to drop to an 18 month tariff.

Overall, some pretty good prices there although the data lacks a little. However, most consumers don’t use 500MB/month, so for those it wont be a problem.

Popularity: 12%

The oldie but goodie handset  from Verizon namely HTC Touch Pro 2 has recently received a ROM update which will certainly make the device more user-friendly and it also brings some new features. With that being said, here are some of the items of the list of improvement/changes to this smartphone:

- improved word prediction and auto-correction
- improved the performance of VZ Navigator
- improved user interface
- support for GlobalAccess Connect
- new optional related to the compact QWERTY keyboard
- auto-complete in the “to” field when sending an email

Popularity: 19%

Acer has just announced two brand new Android phones, the Acer beTouch E120 and Acer beTouch E130 models, with the latter being pictured immediately below. Both run Android 1.6 Donut and we learn that the E120 comes with a 2.8 inch QVGA touchscreen, while E130 relies on a 2.6 inch QVGA touch display and a QWERTY keyboard. Both new Acer devices feature a 3.2 megapixel camera, dualband 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth, plus FM radio, a microSD card slot, GPS, an accelerometer and digital compass. The usual suite of Google apps also makes the cut, but the main drawback of this handsets is certainly the processor, a 416MHz CPU. beTouch E120 will hit the market in mid-July 2010, while beTouch E130 will be launched in August 2010, for a yet unknown price.

Popularity: 12%

What a way to announce a smartphone! AT&T officially announced the long-awaited and speculated upon HTC Aria cell phone, a mobile device based on Android 2.1 and the Sense UI, but they made it official through the hands-on video you can see at the end of the article. The device was unboxed in front of the camera by AT&T’s Android Product manager and we have to mention that the handset will be available starting June 20th online and in AT&T stores. Its specs list includes a 7 panel home page with widget support, a 3.2 inch WVGA TFT LCD display, a digital compass, proximity sensor, light sensor and GPS. HTC Aria uses a 5 megapixel autofocus camera, as well as an optical joystick and a case with super compact design. Under the hood you’ll find a Qualcomm MSM 7227 600 MHz CPU 512MB ROM, 384MB RAM, a microSD card slot and a 1200mAh Li-Ion battery. Connectivity-wise you get HSPA, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP Stereo, WiFi 802.11 b/g, GPS/AGPS. The phone’s battery provides 6 hours of talk time and up to 15.5 days of standby functioning. Here’s the unboxing video for Aria:

Popularity: 11%

Xmoo is a collector of ROMs and prototype devices and recently he’s managed to score some info concerning a potential follow-up to HTC HD2. Apparently dubbed HTC Leo-S, this mobile device is practically a HD2 with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

The ROM collector discovered info about the slider phone in the registry keys included in one of the ROMs, mentioning the Leo-S with the proper codes for a slide-out QWERTY handset. It’s not yet clear if this will be a Windows Mobile phone (one of the last) or a Windows Phone 7 device (smartphone).

Xmoo also mentions that there’s a new HTC ROM coming (1.78.911.1 with OS 5.2.21905.5.0.93), but no trace of a Windows Mobile 6.5.3 yet.

Popularity: 18%

HTC Legend and Desire have just received OTA updates and if you’re hoping for Android 2.2 Froyo already, keep your pants on, as these are mere bug fixes that you’re getting. The software update is only 4MB in size, which is nothing, compared to major enhancements.  We have to mention that HTC didn’t exactly detail the updates, but the folks of XDA Developers seem to think that the new software includes new radio images, a HQ option for the YouTube app and it also solves the Facebook/unknown contact issues.

Popularity: 12%

Here’s news that’s probably raging like wildfire among Three patrons – the company has stepped in to confirm that they will be picking up the HTC Wildfire handset, although the precise release date hasn’t been given a mention as yet.

“It’s great to be adding the HTC Wildfire to our ever growing Android range. The HTC Wildfire brings together your communications platforms, making sure you never miss an update, message or tweet. When staying in touch on the move a strong 3G network like ours is necessary. Pairing this affordable Android phone with our network continues to give our customers great smartphone choices. We’ll be announcing dates and pricing shortly,” articulated Sylvia Chind Head of Branded Devices, Three.

The handset demonstrates off a 3.2” capacitive touchscreen and runs the Android 2.1 a.k.a. Eclair mobile OS with HTC Sense. Clients can crack pictures with its integrated 5 MP camera that brags of incorporating auto focus and LED flash. The tool hosts a 3.5 mm audio jack and microSD card slot. E-mail, text messages, images and popular SNS are brought simultaneously in one place for easier access to them. Contacts include threads of recent messages, e-mails as also social networking applications. The application sharing widget allows customers to recommend applications that can be found and downloaded from the Android Market by associations.

Three hasn’t given any unambiguous information on the HTC Wild fire apart from the hint that it’s ‘coming soon’.

Popularity: 8%

More powerful than any mobile communications device you’ve seen before, the HTC TyTN II takes global connectivity to the next level. Staying connected means staying ahead. The TyTN II smartphone supports the full spectrum of network standards, guaranteeing that you will stay in touch ANYWHERE in the world. With an internet connection via 3.5G HSDPA that is nine times faster than 3G, using the TyTN II to download files and surf the Web is a breeze. Communicating on the go is easier than ever with an innovative, ergonomic LCD design that positions the touch screen perfectly for reading and creating e-mails, using applications, or even just playing games. Important information is just a glance away with HTC Home™, which displays a big clock and provides live weather updates, access to a quick application launcher and one touch ring settings, easy photo dialing, and more. With a complete suite of Microsoft® Office Mobile applications, including Outlook® Mobile, Word Mobile, Excel® Mobile, and PowerPoint® Mobile, being out of the office doesn’t have to mean you’re out of the loop. Always ready for business – and pleasure – the HTC TyTN II makes sure you are too.

HTC TYTNII Specifications

Popularity: 8%

The HTC P4350 is a quad-band PDA slider phone that comes in a slim and compact package but gives you everything you need for a mobile phone. Armed with a full QWERTY keyboard that easily slides out, entering information has never been faster and easier. The large 2.8″ screen gives you enough room to read files and browse the Web comfortably. Windows Mobile 5.0 with Direct Push technology lets you get updates to your e-mail, tasks and contacts immediately. With GPRS/EDGE, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, you stay connected at any time, any place. Use the built-in 2.0 megapixel camera to take pictures and record video. Keep yourself entertained by playing back music and video using Windows Media Player. The HTC P4350 smartphone is your mobile office and entertainment center in one.

HTC P4350 Specifications

Popularity: 8%

The HTC Touch Pro™ brings together elegant touch screen response with the direct precision of keyboard entry… leaving out nothing to deliver a powerhouse   communication tool in a beautiful, compact design. The 2.8-inch VGA touch screen provides four times the resolution of most smart devices, making email, documents and web pages sharper and easier to work with than ever before. HTC’s rich, touch-responsive interface, TouchFLO™ 3D, provides a stunningly intuitive way to zip through common tasks like messaging, calendar checks or making calls. Delve a little deeper to find that playing media files, searching for contacts and surfing the web are also responsive to your touch. The web browser of this slider phone puts the full Internet in the palm of your hand. Websites look just like they do on a PC, and TouchFLO™ 3D makes it easy to pan around and zoom in on exactly the information you’re looking for. If you need a wide screen, simply tilt the Touch Pro sideways and the page switches to landscape view. Slide out the 5-row QWERTY keyboard to make light work of typing-intensive tasks like composing email or working on Microsoft Office® documents… perfect for when your day takes a serious turn. High speed connectivity will keep you in touch with colleagues and contacts wherever you are. Integrated GPS can be used with maps software for a full turn-by-turn satellite navigation experience. Built-in Wi-Fi and TV-out functionality* mean you can hook up to the local wireless hot spot to surf, then deliver the perfect PowerPoint® presentation without a laptop in sight. A beautiful angle on business, the HTC Touch Pro smartphone introduces effortless presence to enterprise-standard communications.

HTC TOUCH PRO Specifications

Popularity: 11%