Showing posts with label HTC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HTC. Show all posts
Saturday, June 16, 2012
HTC Tattoo to launch in OctoberLatest Android mobile to be available on Vodafone
The HTC Tattoo will launch next month, however keen customers are already able to pre-order the Android-based mobile phone from Vodafone.
The HTC Tattoo is the latest mobile phone to be announced that will run on Google's Android operating system, which allows owners of Android-based mobile phones to access thousands of applications downloadable from the Android market.
HTC Sense interface
The phone also runs on the HTC Sense interface, which offers users a number of customisable homescreens. More about the Sense interface can be found in the HTC Hero first look video.
While Vodafone hasn't yet confirmed the price or contract details of the Tattoo, the handset is expected to be more affordably priced than the previous three HTC Android phones: the G1, the HTC Magic, and the HTC Hero.
HTC Tattoo specification
The Tattoo's specifications include a 3.2Mp camera, a 2.8-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi, 3G and GPS connectivity. The Tattoo also has an MP3 player and radio - and a welcome 3.5mm headphone socket so you can use the headphones of your choice.
Jon Barrow, Which? mobile phone expert, said: 'We hope that the rumours about the Tattoo being a more affordable handset are accurate, as it would be great to bring the Android market to a wider market. We look forward to testing this device in our labs sometime soon'.
Android mobile phone handsets
HTC currently dominates the market with Android-powered mobile phones, but this is set to change with models from Samsung, LG and Sony Ericsson on the not too distant horizon. A first look of the Android Samsung Galaxy can be read in our mobile phone report, and a first look video of the Galaxy can be viewed in our IFA 2009 report from the consumer electronics show in Berlin.
The HTC Tattoo is the latest mobile phone to be announced that will run on Google's Android operating system, which allows owners of Android-based mobile phones to access thousands of applications downloadable from the Android market.
HTC Sense interface
The phone also runs on the HTC Sense interface, which offers users a number of customisable homescreens. More about the Sense interface can be found in the HTC Hero first look video.
While Vodafone hasn't yet confirmed the price or contract details of the Tattoo, the handset is expected to be more affordably priced than the previous three HTC Android phones: the G1, the HTC Magic, and the HTC Hero.
HTC Tattoo specification
The Tattoo's specifications include a 3.2Mp camera, a 2.8-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi, 3G and GPS connectivity. The Tattoo also has an MP3 player and radio - and a welcome 3.5mm headphone socket so you can use the headphones of your choice.
Jon Barrow, Which? mobile phone expert, said: 'We hope that the rumours about the Tattoo being a more affordable handset are accurate, as it would be great to bring the Android market to a wider market. We look forward to testing this device in our labs sometime soon'.
Android mobile phone handsets
HTC currently dominates the market with Android-powered mobile phones, but this is set to change with models from Samsung, LG and Sony Ericsson on the not too distant horizon. A first look of the Android Samsung Galaxy can be read in our mobile phone report, and a first look video of the Galaxy can be viewed in our IFA 2009 report from the consumer electronics show in Berlin.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Microsoft Launches iPhone Competitor
Microsoft Corp., the world’s largest global software company, has propelled itself into the mobile market with its Kin smartphone.
Teaming up with HTC Corp., Samsung Electronics Co., Sharp, and other mobile makers, Microsoft unveiled a line of mobile phones geared toward teens and young adults, attempting to capture market share with its social-networking focus.
Microsoft is trying to mark its territory in the mobile phone market, as well as diversifying its product line-up into an explosive market. Historically, Microsoft has been a software provider in the wireless industry to different handset makers, however, it has been losing ground with the launch of Apple’s iPhone and Google Inc.’s Android platform.
“Kin is an interesting attempt to target the 15 to 25 market,” said Ross Rubin, consumer electronics and wireless industry analyst at market research firm NPD Group in an interview with Reuters.
Rubin believes that the success of the software giant’s phones will hinge on the pricing of its data plans, which is yet to be announced. Microsoft spokeswoman Melissa Havel has opted not to comment or release details about the pricing of the phones.
The phones have been branded as Kin One and Kin Two, produced by Japan’s Sharp Corp. and sold by Verizon Wireless, based in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. and U.K.-based Vodafone Group Plc.
Microsoft President Robbie Bach, who leads the mobile-phone division, launched the phones on April 12 at an event in San Francisco.
“We said, ‘Look, there’s a segment here that we can really go after deeply,” Bach said on Monday in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “And once you decide to go deep, you can’t go part way and say we’ll do the software and then we’ll hand it off to somebody else. You have to really be involved in the whole process.”
The new phones will be sold in May in the United States, and subsequently Europe in the last quarter of the year—on Vodafone’s European network.
According to the vice president of Microsoft’s mobile communications marketing group, there are possibilities of it developing hardware for other parts of the market in the future. However, Bach has reiterated that the company prefers to work with handset producers that create their own hardware.
“This isn’t a Microsoft product,” said Robbie Bach. “Sharp is not just the manufacturer, they sell the phones to Vodafone, not Microsoft. This is a very traditional model, it’s just that we were more involved in the design and the hardware with Sharp.”
Sales of data plans at Verizon Wireless rose 46 percent in the fourth quarter, contributing almost a third of the company’s wireless-service revenues.
The target demographic is clearly focused on those who are savvy with social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.
The camera, touch screen, and slide out keyboard interface is designed to move seamlessly between videos, photos, text messages, and Web sites and to simultaneously share content with others.
Read more »
Teaming up with HTC Corp., Samsung Electronics Co., Sharp, and other mobile makers, Microsoft unveiled a line of mobile phones geared toward teens and young adults, attempting to capture market share with its social-networking focus.
Microsoft is trying to mark its territory in the mobile phone market, as well as diversifying its product line-up into an explosive market. Historically, Microsoft has been a software provider in the wireless industry to different handset makers, however, it has been losing ground with the launch of Apple’s iPhone and Google Inc.’s Android platform.
“Kin is an interesting attempt to target the 15 to 25 market,” said Ross Rubin, consumer electronics and wireless industry analyst at market research firm NPD Group in an interview with Reuters.
Rubin believes that the success of the software giant’s phones will hinge on the pricing of its data plans, which is yet to be announced. Microsoft spokeswoman Melissa Havel has opted not to comment or release details about the pricing of the phones.
The phones have been branded as Kin One and Kin Two, produced by Japan’s Sharp Corp. and sold by Verizon Wireless, based in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. and U.K.-based Vodafone Group Plc.
Microsoft President Robbie Bach, who leads the mobile-phone division, launched the phones on April 12 at an event in San Francisco.
“We said, ‘Look, there’s a segment here that we can really go after deeply,” Bach said on Monday in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “And once you decide to go deep, you can’t go part way and say we’ll do the software and then we’ll hand it off to somebody else. You have to really be involved in the whole process.”
The new phones will be sold in May in the United States, and subsequently Europe in the last quarter of the year—on Vodafone’s European network.
According to the vice president of Microsoft’s mobile communications marketing group, there are possibilities of it developing hardware for other parts of the market in the future. However, Bach has reiterated that the company prefers to work with handset producers that create their own hardware.
“This isn’t a Microsoft product,” said Robbie Bach. “Sharp is not just the manufacturer, they sell the phones to Vodafone, not Microsoft. This is a very traditional model, it’s just that we were more involved in the design and the hardware with Sharp.”
Sales of data plans at Verizon Wireless rose 46 percent in the fourth quarter, contributing almost a third of the company’s wireless-service revenues.
The target demographic is clearly focused on those who are savvy with social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.
The camera, touch screen, and slide out keyboard interface is designed to move seamlessly between videos, photos, text messages, and Web sites and to simultaneously share content with others.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
T-Mobile launches next-gen Android mobile phone in the US
The mobile phone market will be watching as T-Mobile launches its next generation Android mobile phone, myTouch 3G, in the US today.
Designed by HTC of Taiwan, T-Mobile myTouch 3G is being presented as the "Google phone".
The search engine giant has developed the Android operating system in its bid to open up the smartphone market which is currently dominated by Apple's iPhone and handsets running Windows Mobile.
The first mobile phone based on the Android platform, the G1 also made by HTC, was launched last September in the US.
A feature of the new handset is that it allows to personalise the entire theme of the device with new widgets, icons and wallpapers, which can be added directly on the home screen.
It will also host the Android Market of downloadable applications.
T-Mobile said its 3G network is currently available in 176 US cities.
Another feature is one-touch access to the Google mobile services.
Read more »
Designed by HTC of Taiwan, T-Mobile myTouch 3G is being presented as the "Google phone".
The search engine giant has developed the Android operating system in its bid to open up the smartphone market which is currently dominated by Apple's iPhone and handsets running Windows Mobile.
The first mobile phone based on the Android platform, the G1 also made by HTC, was launched last September in the US.
A feature of the new handset is that it allows to personalise the entire theme of the device with new widgets, icons and wallpapers, which can be added directly on the home screen.
It will also host the Android Market of downloadable applications.
T-Mobile said its 3G network is currently available in 176 US cities.
Another feature is one-touch access to the Google mobile services.
HTC Clones Nexus One, Launches 3 New Phones
It’s just the beginning of the year and already HTC is on a roll. The company has announced three new smartphones — two of those will run Google’s Android operating system — and a redesigned user interface that aggregates social networking feeds.
The three new HTC phones are HTC Legend, a Nexus One clone called HTC Desire and HTC HD Mini, the only one in the pack to run Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. The phones have been designed by One & Co, the San Francisco-based design firm that HTC acquired in December 2008.
“HTC Legend and HTC Desire take Android to another level in both substance and style,” said HTC President Peter Chou in a statement.
Thanks to its close partnership with Google, HTC has emerged as a powerhouse maker of Android devices. The company designed the first phone to run Android, the T-Mobile G1. In January, HTC’s Nexus One became the first smartphone to be sold by Google.
Last June, HTC introduced Sense, a user interface that allows users to set up profiles for work and play and has widgets that bring in data from different social networking streams such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.
Since then, the idea of aggregating all those feeds and offering them to customers through a single window has popular among cellphone makers. HTC rival Motorola got a jump on the idea with MotoBlur, an interface that aggregates Facebook and Twitter feeds and debuted on the Cliq.
HTC has tried to mimic that with its HTC Friend Stream that organizes updates from different online sources into a single flow. Friend Stream also lets users organize their contacts into different social circles such as groups of friends, colleagues or even high school friends.
All three of HTC’s phones announced Tuesday at the Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona, Spain, will include the updated Sense interface.
Yet another Android phone from HTC, the Desire, with its 3.7 inch OLED display, is closest to the Nexus One in terms of its technical prowess and features.
The Desire uses the same Qualcomm 1-GHz Snapdragon processor that we have seen in the Nexus One phone. It has a 3.7-inch display and weighs about 4.7 ounces. It also runs Android 2.1, the latest version of the Android operating system, first seen on the Nexus One.
The Desire, formerly known as HTC Bravo, supports Adobe Flash 10.1. It has a 5-megapixel camera with flash and geotagging capability, digital compass, FM radio, GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity.
The phone has an optical joystick surrounded by a narrow button instead of a trackball in an attempt to ostensibly improve usability.
Desire will initially be available in Europe and Australia before the second half of the year, says HTC.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
The HTC HD Mini Offers With a Wealth of Technology
The HTC HD Mini is a compact unit that manages to incorporate a wide range of useful technology into a small casing. The handset is only 103 mm x 57 mm wide and is 11 mm thick. It offers effective functionality by virtue of its Qualcomm 7227 600 MHz processor and Microsoft Windows mobile 6.5.3 professional operating system.
The handset comes with an impressively vibrant 3.2 inch TFT touch screen that displays 65,000 colours and their variants within a screen which is 320 x 480 pixels in size. Thehandset also includes accelerometer and proximity sensors which automate certain tasks including automatic shutdown, to save battery power and image aspect orientation. As its primary means of navigation, the touch screen utilises the sense user interface which is aneffective multi-touch input method that is both responsive and efficient.
The phones 384 MB of internal memory is supplemented by the fact that the integrated microSD card slot can be utilised to increase memory storage capacity up to 16 GB. Thehandset provides a myriad of connectivity options which include GPRS and EDGE, both of which are class 10 in addition to the integrated blue tooth and micro USB connections. For those who require internet access, this is available by virtue of the Wi Fi and HSDPA connections with speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps available. The GPS function which comes with A-GPS support offers satellite navigation as standard.
Audio and visual entertainment is offered by virtue of the included stereo FM radio and MP4/MP3 media player. The radio comes with RDS capabilities whilst the media player supports all major audio and video file formats. In addition several games are also included, providing additional entertainment options. Thishandset also provides social media integration in the form of Facebook, Flickr and twitter applications.
The HTC HD Mini, is an effective handset, that bears similarities to its sister handset the HTC HD2. The premise behind this mini version of the popular handset is the fact that it squeezes into a small and compact body, a wide array of useful technology that provides the means to perform numerous tasks whilst on the move.
The handset comes with an impressively vibrant 3.2 inch TFT touch screen that displays 65,000 colours and their variants within a screen which is 320 x 480 pixels in size. Thehandset also includes accelerometer and proximity sensors which automate certain tasks including automatic shutdown, to save battery power and image aspect orientation. As its primary means of navigation, the touch screen utilises the sense user interface which is aneffective multi-touch input method that is both responsive and efficient.
The phones 384 MB of internal memory is supplemented by the fact that the integrated microSD card slot can be utilised to increase memory storage capacity up to 16 GB. Thehandset provides a myriad of connectivity options which include GPRS and EDGE, both of which are class 10 in addition to the integrated blue tooth and micro USB connections. For those who require internet access, this is available by virtue of the Wi Fi and HSDPA connections with speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps available. The GPS function which comes with A-GPS support offers satellite navigation as standard.
Audio and visual entertainment is offered by virtue of the included stereo FM radio and MP4/MP3 media player. The radio comes with RDS capabilities whilst the media player supports all major audio and video file formats. In addition several games are also included, providing additional entertainment options. Thishandset also provides social media integration in the form of Facebook, Flickr and twitter applications.
The HTC HD Mini, is an effective handset, that bears similarities to its sister handset the HTC HD2. The premise behind this mini version of the popular handset is the fact that it squeezes into a small and compact body, a wide array of useful technology that provides the means to perform numerous tasks whilst on the move.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Why HTC is betting big on the Indian Handset Market
Bharti Airtel , HTC and Qualcomm launch HTC Smart at Price of Rs.9990
The 3 big guns of the telecom world Bharti Airtel , HTC and Qualcomm have joined hands to launch the HTC Smart in India and a reasonable price of Rs.9990. The phone is the world’s first 3G smartphone powered by the Qualcomm BREW platform and features a 2.8 inch touchscreen , 3.5 mm audio jack, HTC SenseHTC Sense UI , 3.03.0 Megapixel Camera.
Although the name suggest it’s smartphone , it’s just a feature phonefeature phone on steroids. They are aiming to bring the HTC Sense experience to the masses.Airtel is going to offer exclusive data and content with the phone.
HTC Corporation, a global smartphone designer and Bharti Airtel, one of Asia’s leading integrated telecom service providers, today announced an exclusive partnership to launch the HTC Smart in India in collaboration with Qualcomm Incorporated. The HTC Smart marks HTC’s strategic focus on India, the fastest growing telecom market in the world. HTC Smart, an easy-to-use and affordable smartphone, aims to create a new category of smartphonessmartphones by bringing the globally acclaimed HTC Smart to the masses.
“HTC has always focused on setting the stage for new mobile experiences and the HTC Smart is clear differentor from touch phone and the result of customer feedback from all over the world for an easier-to-use, affordable smartphone,” said Peter Chou, Chief Executive Officer, HTC Corporation. “We’re excited to launch the HTC Smart with Airtel in India first and Qualcomm, a company known for its innovations. HTC Smart offers easy-to-use widgets, browsing and connectivity at an affordable price. The integration of HTC Sense brings an unparalleled smartphone experience for people looking to do more on their phone.”
The HTC Smart incorporates the latest cutting-edge features and is powered by Qualcomm’s Brew Mobile Platform™ operating system. The stylish device sports a 2.8-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with QVGA resolution and is equipped with a 3.5 mm stereo audio jack. The HTC Smart also includes a 3.0 megapixel color camera with fixed focus and flashlight.
“As the undisputed leader in the Indian telecom industry, Airtel is committed to constantly delighting its customers and offering innovations to enrich their experience. With the HTC Smart, Airtel customers will be the first in the world to experience a revolutionary Smartphone that is not only affordable but is also 3G-ready” said Sanjay Kapoor, CEO-India & South Asia, Bharti Airtel.
“Qualcomm is pleased to collaborate with HTC and Airtel to launch HTC Smart, which brings the 3G smartphone experience to the mass market,” said Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, chairman and chief executive officer of Qualcomm. “HTC Smart is the first smartphone using Qualcomm’s distinctive Brew MP operating system. This platform, combined with the powerful HTC Sense technology brings a unique and compelling smartphone user experience to Indian consumers.”
Bringing HTC Sense To The Masses
The HTC Smart embodies HTC Sense, HTC’s unique design philosophy that focuses on putting people at the centre by making your phone work in a more simple and natural way. The HTC Smart’s compact touch design integrates the pillars of HTC Sense – Make It Mine, Stay Close and Discover the Unexpected. People can customize their own personal experience using a variety of widgets for quick access to contacts, photos, music, weather and more. People are able to follow their friends’ status updates using HTC Friend Stream, an application that seamlessly aggregates social communication streams like Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr into one organized flow of updates. This simple aggregation makes it easier than ever to focus on what friends are doing as well as the images and links that they share.
HTC Smart utilizes Qualcomm’s Brew Mobile Platform™ (Brew MP), a powerful and popular mobile operating system that enables HTC to deliver the HTC Sense experience on more affordable smartphones. By pioneering a new era of mass-market smartphones, Brew MP also provides the HTC Smart with a mass-market opportunity for new applications and services from software developers worldwide.
Availability & Pricing
The HTC Smart™ will be available through Airtel in top 30 cities across the country at a Market Operating Price of Rs. 9,990.00* and at all authorized HTC resellers.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Top 5 Smartphones in India
Planning to buy a Smartphone and spoilt for choice. Here ia a list of the Top 5 Smartphones in India.
HTC Hero (AKA T-Mobile G2 Touch) for Rs 31,990
A Google phone that plays down its Googly elements, the Hero feels next-gen in every respect. Its custom multitouch interface gives the iPhone a run for its money and its internet apps are superb. It has a 3.5 mm jack but only MicroSD for storage.
Nokia E72 for Rs 22,989
Just edging out the Bold 9700 as our favourite messaging mobile, the slender E72 offers a potent mix of multimedia talents (5 MP camera, GPS) and a fine QWERTY keypad. A metal finish and welcome 3.5 mm headphone socket seal the deal.
BlackBerry Bold 9700 for Rs 31,990
BlackBerry's updated Bold remains one of the stars of mobile emailing. It brings a sharper 480x360-pixel screen, snappier menus and ridged keys that are a delight to prod. There’s even a 3.2 MP camera with LED flash for fun outside the boardroom too.
HTC Touch HD for Rs 49,900
The HD's 3.8 inch, 800x480 screen is exceptional. It makes this HSDPA-equipped handset a brilliant web browser and movie player, and glosses over WinMo's complexities. Other highlights include a 5 MP camera and a-GPS.
Apple iPhone 3G for Rs 29,650
Hot Buy: Apple's latest manoeuvre has the smartphone veterans reeling. It's taken the best gadget ever, added HSDPA broadband and GPS to its competition-trouncing mobile experience and knocked a huge chunk off its price.
Sure, the 2 MP camera is disappointing, but glossy black or white finishes update the design and applications galore extend functionality in new and cool ways. It even supports Microsoft Exchange, so it can now be used as your business phone. The emphasis is still on fun, though, with 8 GB or 16 GB of pure pocket entertainment prowess.
KILLER FEATURE: Best ever iPod, amazing video and web… and it makes calls.
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Monday, March 5, 2012
HTC Incredible S Review
Expensive, but the best Android smartphone in the market until the dual-cores come along.
The HTC Incredible S wasn't love at first sight for me. That may be because it is just another 'droid, or it is simply down to the horrible name. Nokia may bore you to death with robotic naming convention, but on the other hand, HTC blurs the line between creativity and hilarity with phones such as HTC Hero, Trophy, Rider, Flyer, Dream and Chacha. However, I can't seem to get my hands off this phone - banal nomenclature notwithstanding. The device may not look stunning, but it blends subtlety with out-of-the-box design cues. While it certainly can't beat Nokia N8's excellent anodized aluminium unibody, the attention to detail that HTC has put into the Incredible S is remarkable nonetheless.
Unboxing and Introduction
The phone supports PC charging through the micro-USB cable, HTC also throws in a wall-socket-to-USB adapter for the times when you don't have access to a PC. The supplied headset sticks to tradition with its ugly looks and lacklustre sound quality. Since the phone has only 1GB of internal memory, the retail package mercifully includes an 8 GB microSD card. A rubberised plastic construction provides a comfortable grip over the device. It is good to see HTC experiment with the body material, instead of replicating the design cues of phones such as iPhone and Samsung Galaxy series. The back-cover protrudes along the outline of the battery, but instead of forming a rectangle, it assumes the shape of a SIM card.
The phone has dimensions of 120 x 64 x 11.7 mm and weighs 135.5 g. The Incredible S sports a 4" S-LCD display, which is nothing short of spectacular. The panel has pixel dimensions of 480x800. Despite being an LCD, the display is as good as any fancy AMOLED or Super-AMOLED display. It delivers vivid colours with great contrasts and maintains definition even over acute viewing angles. Sadly, the display tends to reflect light. Even though the text remains readable, the colours seem to fade out under the sun.
Just below the display are four capacitive keys - Home, Menu, Back, and Search. Being capacitive, the keys won't react to anything but your finger. The placement of these keys and the backlight goes perfectly with the display. These capacitive keys even auto-rotate along with it; while that adds nothing to functionality, it looks damn good.
A lock/power button and a 3.5 mm jack reside at the top edge. The volume rocker on the left edge of the phone is flanked by a bare micro-USB port. The right edge has nothing, where a camera key is conspicuous by its absence. Not only does it rob one of the pleasures of using the phone like a standalone camera, but it prevents one-touch-triggering of the autofocus feature. The rear bears a relatively large lens with dual-LED flash and a loudspeaker grille.
The battery cover is easy to release, as long as you can pry it open with your fingernails. It reveals a SIM Card and a MicroSD memory card slot. The bundled 8GB memory card isn't sufficient to hold a good collection of music and movies. A miserly 1 GB internal memory doesn't help matters either. That's a shame when the market is rife with the likes of Nokia N8 and Samsung Galaxy S - both of which boast of 16 GB internal storage. A gigabyte will never be sufficient, considering the number of Android apps available - most of which will be installed to the internal memory.
The HTC Incredible S wasn't love at first sight for me. That may be because it is just another 'droid, or it is simply down to the horrible name. Nokia may bore you to death with robotic naming convention, but on the other hand, HTC blurs the line between creativity and hilarity with phones such as HTC Hero, Trophy, Rider, Flyer, Dream and Chacha. However, I can't seem to get my hands off this phone - banal nomenclature notwithstanding. The device may not look stunning, but it blends subtlety with out-of-the-box design cues. While it certainly can't beat Nokia N8's excellent anodized aluminium unibody, the attention to detail that HTC has put into the Incredible S is remarkable nonetheless.
Unboxing and Introduction
The phone supports PC charging through the micro-USB cable, HTC also throws in a wall-socket-to-USB adapter for the times when you don't have access to a PC. The supplied headset sticks to tradition with its ugly looks and lacklustre sound quality. Since the phone has only 1GB of internal memory, the retail package mercifully includes an 8 GB microSD card. A rubberised plastic construction provides a comfortable grip over the device. It is good to see HTC experiment with the body material, instead of replicating the design cues of phones such as iPhone and Samsung Galaxy series. The back-cover protrudes along the outline of the battery, but instead of forming a rectangle, it assumes the shape of a SIM card.
The phone has dimensions of 120 x 64 x 11.7 mm and weighs 135.5 g. The Incredible S sports a 4" S-LCD display, which is nothing short of spectacular. The panel has pixel dimensions of 480x800. Despite being an LCD, the display is as good as any fancy AMOLED or Super-AMOLED display. It delivers vivid colours with great contrasts and maintains definition even over acute viewing angles. Sadly, the display tends to reflect light. Even though the text remains readable, the colours seem to fade out under the sun.
Just below the display are four capacitive keys - Home, Menu, Back, and Search. Being capacitive, the keys won't react to anything but your finger. The placement of these keys and the backlight goes perfectly with the display. These capacitive keys even auto-rotate along with it; while that adds nothing to functionality, it looks damn good.
A lock/power button and a 3.5 mm jack reside at the top edge. The volume rocker on the left edge of the phone is flanked by a bare micro-USB port. The right edge has nothing, where a camera key is conspicuous by its absence. Not only does it rob one of the pleasures of using the phone like a standalone camera, but it prevents one-touch-triggering of the autofocus feature. The rear bears a relatively large lens with dual-LED flash and a loudspeaker grille.
The battery cover is easy to release, as long as you can pry it open with your fingernails. It reveals a SIM Card and a MicroSD memory card slot. The bundled 8GB memory card isn't sufficient to hold a good collection of music and movies. A miserly 1 GB internal memory doesn't help matters either. That's a shame when the market is rife with the likes of Nokia N8 and Samsung Galaxy S - both of which boast of 16 GB internal storage. A gigabyte will never be sufficient, considering the number of Android apps available - most of which will be installed to the internal memory.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Windows Phone 7 smartphones to be launched in India soon
Microsoft is slated to launch its much talked-about Windows Phone 7 operating system
Microsoft has completely made a new start Windows Phone 7. Its just-discarded mobile OS, Windows Mobile 6.5.3, had seriously gone long in the tooth. First, it was Apple which showed everyone how outdated and unsophisticated it was with iOS and iPhones. Then came Android, Google’s entry into the smartphone OS space. Being free, it quickly picked up as a more open alternative to the walled garden of iOS and Phone. Microsoft is late to the party alright, but remember this is Microsoft, and whenever they have felt really threatened, they were perfectly willing to throw major marketing muscle and money at problems.
Android currently is growing extremely fast, and not just in the US. Cheap Android phones are being introduced prce-sensitive markets of Asia and Africa – something which expensive iPhones cannot do. Here is our list of Android smartphones in India.
In this context, Microsoft’s decision to launch Windows Phone 7 in India so quickly after its launch in US is intriguing. Would they be able to put up a fight in India?
Free pass to Microsoft App Marketplace
First, let us look at the information that is available about the upcoming launch of Windows Phone 7 in India. Developers can create applications sell them, or offer them free through Microsoft’s App Marketplace after they register for a fee of $100 – but app developers who show up at Unpluggd will get free passes for Marketplace.
These passes will allow them to bypass the credit-card entry section on the AppHub website and they will directly be able to register to sell their products through Marketplace to Windows Phone 7 users around the world.
People who want to attend Unpluggd, though, need to register to do so. Microsoft, along with various phone manufacturers, will also showcase some of the smartphones that run on the new operating system.
Windows Phone 7 prices in India will be key to success
What has kickstarted the Android market in India are the super-cheap Android phones. Nowadays, for pretty much the price of a top feature-phone, you could pick up an Android device in India. iPhones, even the last generation 3GS models, cost above Rs 30,000 here. It is no contest, then.
But Microsoft is likely to face its first hurdle here. Windows Phone cell phones have high-end specifications, so how will they keep prices low to make them popular in India?
This will be a touch challenge for Microsoft, for sure. If they price them similar to how they would priced in US without contracts, they would be at the very top of the smartphone market in India – and sell very few units. Are Microsoft’s amibtions for Windows Phone 7 in India so limited?
Or, they could try and do what Apple may be planning – introduce phones on contract. Yes, rumors are that CDMA iPhones would come to Tata and Reliance on contract. This would ensure that initial prices remain low, while the buyer is bound by a one or two year contract.
That, definitely, is one way out for Microsoft. The alternative would be to limit themselves to the top-end of the market, and price their Windows Phone 7 smartphones out of almost everybody’s reach. Well, all we have to do is to wait for the actual launch!
Windows Phone 7 mobile phones for India: Which of these would be launched?
These WP7 phones haven’t yet been announced for the Indian market, though quite a few of them are slated for international launch – including in the US. The new Windows Phone 7 cell phones launched in the US, which are likely to cost typically around $200, include:
HTC HD7
HTC’s HD7 is a Windows Phone 7 smartphone available with T-Mobile in the US, O2 in the UK and Telstra in Australia. The phone will be available around mid November in the US and a little before that in Europe.
The HD7 has a 4.3-inch WVGA TFT screen that offers a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. It is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8250 chipset, and gives you 576MB of RAM. The device comes with a 5-megapixel camera. The phone is rather similar to the HD2, albeit with the ability to record 720p high definition video at 24 frames per second. The phone has 16GB of memory, and offers built-in apps for Netflix, T-Mobile TV, etc.
HTC has a major presence in India, and now have a wide range of Android phones. They might decide to bring this excellent Windows Phone 7 device to India.
HTC Surround
HTC Surround is yet another Windows Phone 7 device, which is available with AT&T in the US and Telus in Canada. In the US, it will cost about $200 with goodies and a two-year contract.
The phone has some interesting hardware features such as a kickstand and a speaker that slides out from under the device. The Surround sports a 3.8-inch WVGA display and has a similar processor from Snapdragon as the HD7. The phone is different from the HD7 because it offers Dolby Mobile and SRS surround sound. So, this might be the one handset for audiophiles looking for great music capability on the move.
Music aficionados in India would be thrilled if Microsoft launches this smartphone in India.
HTC Mozart and 7 Trophy
The HTC Mozart and 7 Trophy will be out in October. These two Windows 7 devices are very similar to the HTC Surround and HD7. The Mozart has a 3.7-inch display and an 8-megapixel camera with xenon flash, while the Trophy offers you a 5-megapixel camera and is going to be the cheapest WP7 phone from HTC (or, so the company says).
HTC 7 Trophy will be available in the UK on Vodafone’s network, while the Mozart will be sold through Orange in the UK and some other European markets. Neither handset is slated for release in the US though.
HTC 7 Pro
The HTC 7 Pro will be available through Sprint in the US early next year. The phone has a tilting screen. Its touchscreen slides back and snaps into place so that the device takes the form of a mini laptop. It has a five-row QWERTY keyboard in landscape format.
Dell Venue Pro
Dell’s Venue Pro runs Windows Phone 7. It will be available from T-Mobile in the US this holiday season. Expect a 4.1-inch touchscreen that displays a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. You will also find a 5-megapixel HD camera. The phone has a QWERTY keyboard, but in portrait format so you can hold the handset and type with one hand. The Venue Pro, in all likelihoods, will be the first of many WP7 devices to be made by Dell. The company hasn’t yet revealed how much the phone will cost.
LG Quantum and Optimus 7
LG, too, has entered the Windows Phone 7 market with its Quantum device for the US and Optimus 7 for Europe and the rest of the world. The Quantum will be available in the US with AT&T for $200.
The two phones have the usual Windows Phone 7 features – 1GHz chip, 8 or 16GB memory, a 5-megapixel camera, HD video recording and playing capabilities, etc.
The Optimus is meant for entertainment, while Quantum is for business users. The key feature of these phones is apparently their ability to transfer media to computers, HD TVs and other devices nearby.
Samsung Cetus
Finally, we have Samsung’s Cetus smartphone, which recently debuted on – guess what? – Windows Phone 7 OS. It seems that the South Korean consumer electronics company has renamed the Cetus to Samsung Focus and has also launched the Omnia 7. The Focus has a 4-inch WVGA screen and gives you the usual Windows Phone 7 specs. It will be available with AT&T in the US, while the Omnia 7 will be available in Europe with T-Mobile, Orange, SFR and Movistar.
Microsoft has completely made a new start Windows Phone 7. Its just-discarded mobile OS, Windows Mobile 6.5.3, had seriously gone long in the tooth. First, it was Apple which showed everyone how outdated and unsophisticated it was with iOS and iPhones. Then came Android, Google’s entry into the smartphone OS space. Being free, it quickly picked up as a more open alternative to the walled garden of iOS and Phone. Microsoft is late to the party alright, but remember this is Microsoft, and whenever they have felt really threatened, they were perfectly willing to throw major marketing muscle and money at problems.
Android currently is growing extremely fast, and not just in the US. Cheap Android phones are being introduced prce-sensitive markets of Asia and Africa – something which expensive iPhones cannot do. Here is our list of Android smartphones in India.
In this context, Microsoft’s decision to launch Windows Phone 7 in India so quickly after its launch in US is intriguing. Would they be able to put up a fight in India?
Free pass to Microsoft App Marketplace
First, let us look at the information that is available about the upcoming launch of Windows Phone 7 in India. Developers can create applications sell them, or offer them free through Microsoft’s App Marketplace after they register for a fee of $100 – but app developers who show up at Unpluggd will get free passes for Marketplace.
These passes will allow them to bypass the credit-card entry section on the AppHub website and they will directly be able to register to sell their products through Marketplace to Windows Phone 7 users around the world.
People who want to attend Unpluggd, though, need to register to do so. Microsoft, along with various phone manufacturers, will also showcase some of the smartphones that run on the new operating system.
Windows Phone 7 prices in India will be key to success
What has kickstarted the Android market in India are the super-cheap Android phones. Nowadays, for pretty much the price of a top feature-phone, you could pick up an Android device in India. iPhones, even the last generation 3GS models, cost above Rs 30,000 here. It is no contest, then.
But Microsoft is likely to face its first hurdle here. Windows Phone cell phones have high-end specifications, so how will they keep prices low to make them popular in India?
This will be a touch challenge for Microsoft, for sure. If they price them similar to how they would priced in US without contracts, they would be at the very top of the smartphone market in India – and sell very few units. Are Microsoft’s amibtions for Windows Phone 7 in India so limited?
Or, they could try and do what Apple may be planning – introduce phones on contract. Yes, rumors are that CDMA iPhones would come to Tata and Reliance on contract. This would ensure that initial prices remain low, while the buyer is bound by a one or two year contract.
That, definitely, is one way out for Microsoft. The alternative would be to limit themselves to the top-end of the market, and price their Windows Phone 7 smartphones out of almost everybody’s reach. Well, all we have to do is to wait for the actual launch!
Windows Phone 7 mobile phones for India: Which of these would be launched?
These WP7 phones haven’t yet been announced for the Indian market, though quite a few of them are slated for international launch – including in the US. The new Windows Phone 7 cell phones launched in the US, which are likely to cost typically around $200, include:
HTC HD7
HTC’s HD7 is a Windows Phone 7 smartphone available with T-Mobile in the US, O2 in the UK and Telstra in Australia. The phone will be available around mid November in the US and a little before that in Europe.
The HD7 has a 4.3-inch WVGA TFT screen that offers a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. It is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8250 chipset, and gives you 576MB of RAM. The device comes with a 5-megapixel camera. The phone is rather similar to the HD2, albeit with the ability to record 720p high definition video at 24 frames per second. The phone has 16GB of memory, and offers built-in apps for Netflix, T-Mobile TV, etc.
HTC has a major presence in India, and now have a wide range of Android phones. They might decide to bring this excellent Windows Phone 7 device to India.
HTC Surround
HTC Surround is yet another Windows Phone 7 device, which is available with AT&T in the US and Telus in Canada. In the US, it will cost about $200 with goodies and a two-year contract.
The phone has some interesting hardware features such as a kickstand and a speaker that slides out from under the device. The Surround sports a 3.8-inch WVGA display and has a similar processor from Snapdragon as the HD7. The phone is different from the HD7 because it offers Dolby Mobile and SRS surround sound. So, this might be the one handset for audiophiles looking for great music capability on the move.
Music aficionados in India would be thrilled if Microsoft launches this smartphone in India.
HTC Mozart and 7 Trophy
The HTC Mozart and 7 Trophy will be out in October. These two Windows 7 devices are very similar to the HTC Surround and HD7. The Mozart has a 3.7-inch display and an 8-megapixel camera with xenon flash, while the Trophy offers you a 5-megapixel camera and is going to be the cheapest WP7 phone from HTC (or, so the company says).
HTC 7 Trophy will be available in the UK on Vodafone’s network, while the Mozart will be sold through Orange in the UK and some other European markets. Neither handset is slated for release in the US though.
HTC 7 Pro
The HTC 7 Pro will be available through Sprint in the US early next year. The phone has a tilting screen. Its touchscreen slides back and snaps into place so that the device takes the form of a mini laptop. It has a five-row QWERTY keyboard in landscape format.
Dell Venue Pro
Dell’s Venue Pro runs Windows Phone 7. It will be available from T-Mobile in the US this holiday season. Expect a 4.1-inch touchscreen that displays a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. You will also find a 5-megapixel HD camera. The phone has a QWERTY keyboard, but in portrait format so you can hold the handset and type with one hand. The Venue Pro, in all likelihoods, will be the first of many WP7 devices to be made by Dell. The company hasn’t yet revealed how much the phone will cost.
LG Quantum and Optimus 7
LG, too, has entered the Windows Phone 7 market with its Quantum device for the US and Optimus 7 for Europe and the rest of the world. The Quantum will be available in the US with AT&T for $200.
The two phones have the usual Windows Phone 7 features – 1GHz chip, 8 or 16GB memory, a 5-megapixel camera, HD video recording and playing capabilities, etc.
The Optimus is meant for entertainment, while Quantum is for business users. The key feature of these phones is apparently their ability to transfer media to computers, HD TVs and other devices nearby.
Samsung Cetus
Finally, we have Samsung’s Cetus smartphone, which recently debuted on – guess what? – Windows Phone 7 OS. It seems that the South Korean consumer electronics company has renamed the Cetus to Samsung Focus and has also launched the Omnia 7. The Focus has a 4-inch WVGA screen and gives you the usual Windows Phone 7 specs. It will be available with AT&T in the US, while the Omnia 7 will be available in Europe with T-Mobile, Orange, SFR and Movistar.
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