This is not HTC’s flagship device, even though the name would cause one to deduce such a theory. However, by the specifications, it would seem to come pretty close. A 4 inch screen with 480 x 800 pixels and a weight of only 135.5 grams with the battery in (4.78 ounces), a CPU clock speed of 1GHz and internal phone storage of 1.1GB with 778MB for random access memory are at the heart of the device while a microSD memory card does provide expandability for cards of up to 32GB in size.
Thanks to an 8 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash on the front, getting those all-important pictures will never be a problem and you can always capture live events in 720p HD video quality. Video conferencing with the boss, girlfriend or family, well thanks to a 1.3 megapixel webcam on the front, that is possible.
Connectors are microUSB as well as a 3.5 mm stereo audio jack and for sensors, G-Sensor, digital compass, proximity sensor and ambient light sensors are all included. There is a 1450mAh battery that is not only rechargeable but removable and will offer you 380 minutes of talk time on WCDMA and 580 minutes of talk time on GSM. Standby time is rated at 370 hours and 290 hours for WCDMA and GSM respectively. Other features to note is Bluetooth 2.1 with FTP/OPP for file transfer, A2DP for wireless headsets and PBAP for phonebook access from car kits. Lastly there is a GPS antenna included for navigation.
The HTC Incredible S is slated for a release in the second quarter of this year for an undisclosed amount. But be it far from us not to find out as soon as that price becomes available.
It’s not like we had a clue that the Galaxy 10.1 would be coming to Vodafone. Samsung has shown for quite some time now that they do not deal with exclusivities for such big products as they are hell bent on world domination of the smartphone sector and Vodafone only represents a small percentage of the total UK mobile subscriber list. But it appears that Vodafone might have sweet talked the Korean based company into an exclusive launch on its network, at least for the initial onset.
The news came via Vodafone’s Twitter account where it wrote that not only would the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 be making an exclusive appearance on the network, it would have “More info Coming soon!” So far we’ve heard that the device will be coming to Asia and Europe in March. Unfortunately there is no pricing, but we’re hoping it drops within the range of the outgoing Galaxy Tab. Pricing and release date for North America remain a mystery and at this point we’re pretty sure that we here in the UK will get the device before it sails the seas to Canada, South, Central and the rest of North America.
As for a quick recap of specs, there is a 10.1 inch 1280 x 800 WXGA TFT display. Running the operations is a 1GHz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of RAM along with an 8 megapixel camera with LED Flash and a 2 megapixel camera in the front that does video conferencing. The device can shoot full 1080p video at 30fps and thanks to its Honeycomb internals, this has updated software unlike the previous Galaxy Tab. Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Digital Compass and Proximity sensor are all standard as well as a 6860mAh battery to crank the juice needed for operation.
Even though Sony Ericcson came clean on the Xperia Play (Sony PlayStation Phone), the Pro and Neo, the company failed to offer pricing details on said devices. Of course, this could be because the devices are not in the final stages of software testing, even though they do have the latest hardware, or it could be that the company is just trying to drum up support for all three devices.
However, thanks to @aqnx, we are speculating that the prices for all three devices here in Europe could be as follows. The Xperia Play (to be expected), is the most expensive of the bunch with a suggested retail price of €649 which works out to be £546. The Xperia Arc will clock in at €599 or £546. As for the Xperia Pro, that will cost you a cool €499 or the equivalent of £420 while the Xperia Neo will ring up to €479 or £546.
If this pricing should hold true, it should be noted that it is still an MSRP (Manufactures Suggested Retail Price) and not an actual guarantee of what the price will be. But still it will be great to see these enter a world of Android which for the most part has been dominated by the likes of LG, Samsung and HTC. If Sony can get enough developers behind it’s gaming platform for Android and convince customers that said devices are indeed better than the competition, we could have ourselves a winner here. More importantly, seeing that the Next Generation PlayStation is going to support the same titles found on the Xperia Play it could mean a huge boost in sales for Sony. The Xperia Play will be launching sometime this year with over 30 titles on board initially.
As you might know already, the Galaxy S II is official. The device that has been talked about for the past months is finally official thanks to Samsung’s Mobile World Congress keynote on Sunday. But what is even more impressive is that the device is now available for pre-order, SIM-free to those residing in the UK.
The listing we speak of is from Clove.co.uk who is currently offering the Galaxy S II sans a contract (SIM free) for the cool price of £480 which is a much better buy than the previous £550 we had been seeing earlier. That said, we’re not sure if we would actually preorder said device as its expected ship date is “Q2 2011” which means it’s not coming out before April or preferably May.
The phone will support Android 2.3 Gingerbread with a dual-core Orion processor that cranks out somewhere in the range of 1.0GHz in terms of clock speed. The display has been lifted in size from 4 inches to 4.3 inches and the resolution is the same 800 x 400 although the screen technology has been upgraded from Super AMOLED to Super AMOLED Plus. The camera on the rear of the device now sports 8 megapixels instead of 5 and it can do full 1080p video shooting unlike the predecessor which was capped at 720p. Also the front facing camera has been upgraded from 1.3 megapixels to 2.0 so video calls are a lot more crisp and clear. And in case you’re wonder, yes, the phone supports Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n as well as HSDPA and NFC technology.
A worth upgrade for both current Galaxy S owners, and for those looking to move into the fold of Samsung!
It was a clear message that Nokia’s new CEO Stephen Elop sent to his company. The world is changing and we are not changing fast enough. Elop is not one to beat around the bush and skew facts; he made it clear that if Nokia did not change their direction, they would be eclipsed forever by Google, Apple and the reemerging RIM.
Yes the company has had MeeGo on the table for quite some time now as the answer to Android and iOS but as Elop said in his press conference today, MeeGo is not moving at a pace suitable for deployment in the near future and R&D is taking a lot longer than the company officially thought. Although he company will not abandon MeeGo completely, Nokia has said that from now on Windows Phone 7 will be the major OS for their devices from here on out.
The partnership between the companies solidifies years of collaboration between the software giant and he cellphone manufacturer giant. Nokia will be allowed to customize Windows Phone 7 as much as they like, something Microsoft has forbidden other OEM’s from doing, though Nokia is quick to say that they will only do minor modifications to keep themselves different from the rest. Speaking of different, Nokia revealed that they had been in talks with Google to bring Android to their ecosystem, but thanks to the lack of customizability and the tight lock Google has on Android, they dropped the idea of running Android on their phones.
Bing Maps will be ported to Nokia phones and Nokia’s Ovi Maps will see some of its features integrated with Bing Maps. Their Ovi App Store will also see integration with Windows Phone 7 Marketplace and yes, Xbox gaming will be making its way to all Nokia phones running Windows Phone 7.
Although both companies did not specify a timetable when customers will be able to get their hands on devices from the joint partnership, they have said it will be before the end of 2011 as well as Nokia has said that a MeeGo device (N9?) will be coming before years end as well.
Well it’s less than 24 hours from Samsung’s keynote but if we are to believe these leaked specs, we might not have to wait until Sunday to know what the second generation of the Galaxy S has in terms of specs.
The Samsung Galaxy S II‘s processor is a 1.2GHz Qualcomm 8260 Snapdragon processor, dual core with 3D acceleration. The display is a WVGA 800 x 400 capacitive touchscreen with a 4.27 inch screen real estate dubbed the Super AMOLED Plus. Memory is 512 MB and there is 16GB of internal storage along with a microSD card expansion for 32GB. Andoird 2.3 Gingerbread will be included as well and there will be quadband and dual band cameras as well as an 8 megapixel back camera and a 2 megapixel front facing camera for video conferencing. The camera on the back also does full 1080p video shooting.
The Desire 2 will contain a Snapdragon processor at 1GHz along with a WVGA 800 x 480 3.7 display. The camera on the rear of the device is 5 megapixels that does 720p video shooting. The memory is 512MB and internal storage is 4GB along with a microSD card expansion to boost it up to a 32GB. Twitter, Facebook and FriendStream integration. Navigation is done via an AGPS radio along with an accelerometer, proximity sensor and light sensor. Web browser with support for Flash and an Office Document Viewer are all included.
The HTC Desire HD2 comes along with a 1.2GHz dual core Snapdragon processor along with an 8 megapixel camera that does full 1080p video shooting at 30 fps. You also get video streaming via YouTube and it supports formats for MP4, 3GP, DivX XviD. The phone will run Android 2.3 Gingerbread along with dual band and quad band cellular radios. Bluetooth 2.1, HDMI TV Out and WiFi hotspot are all included in the package. HTC Sense 3.0 will also be included.
The HTC Wildfire 2 will sport a 600Mhz Qualcomm processor with 3D acceleration. Display is 320 x 480 on a 3.2 inch screen that is capacitive as well as TFT. Video recording is 720p via a 5 megapixel rear camera. We’re also being told that it will support App Sharing as well as an Office Document Viewer and navigation via an AGPS radio and digital compass.
Oh Samsung, when will the endless update of phones end? Then again, we need choice right? And choice Sammy has given us, first with the Ace and now with the Star II which will be heading to Orange UK as the Tocco Icon. Don’t ask me what got into the head of Samsung’s naming departing regarding this device’s unique name but I guess it works.
The handset’s model number is S5230 and it will be an affordable 2G touchscreen phone with a WQVGA display on a three inch display. Samsung is including its TouchWiz UI with heavy social media integration. There is Wi-Fi and surprisingly, Bluetooth 3.0 (not 2.x) comes on the device along with a 3.5mm headset jack for listening tunes. There is an HTML browser for all your web browsing needs as well as 3.15 megapixel camera to record your friends most embarrassing moments and share them with the world. Oh and while we’re at it, you get a microSD card to store said photos on.
The phone will be available to Orange UK customers only on PAYG account and so far we have no mention of a price from Orange’s website. That said, we’re sure a few people will admire the device and who knows, there might be something to get from the on board accelerometer and TFT capacitive screen.
On the other hand one could always wait for the next 72 hours when Mobile World Congress becomes a reality and Samsung will pull the latest mobile phones from their magical hats. But if the idea of a feature phone without a true operating system (no Android here) sounds like a good option, then you are welcome to start saving those pennies which we figure you’ll need a few hundreds of them.
By now we are all aware of the fact that Sony Ericsson has made the XPERIA play official. The company did so at last weekend’s Super Bowl where an ad depicting the device was shown to millions of hungry football fans.
In the commercial, a man was running along a dimly lit city street passing dingy workers rushing to deliver something to a surgeon. Only thing about the surgeon is he was grafting human legs and thumbs to a 3 foot replica of Google’s famous Android robot.
The commercial had been leaked before, but this was the first time that it as being shown in all its glory, err goriness. In the commercial, thanks to the thumbs from the human, the Android robot is able to use the XPERIA Play, yes, creepy, but then again we can always assume the limbs were from a cadaver so no harm done right? The Android robot seems delighted by the end of the commercial as its antenna continues flipping back and forth with glee.
And why not, after all, the phone it is using sports a 1GHz processor, Android 2.3 Gingerbread and all the power of the Android marketplace such as Gmail, GoogleTalk, GoogleVoice, Google Maps, Google Goggles, and if your phone is lost Outlook Mobile Security, not to mention the fact that gaming will now be second nature to Android, thanks to Sony’s resolution to bring the PlayStation world to Android.
Yes, the commercial is highly disturbing but I’m sure Sony achieved its objective, it had more than a few people talking about the commercial, and in today’s world, the more controversial a commercial is, the more effective it is as well. Then again Sony is no stranger to controversy, thanks to its previous PlayStation 3 commercials which dabbled in scenes from World War 2 which were none too pleasant.
Apple is staying mull about their plans on the iPhone 5 and the iPad 2. So far the company has not released any information as to the device or any detail regarding it’s launched. But if we’re to believe the latest rumors, Apple will be launching the iPhone 5 at its WWDC conference between June th and the 9th. Those are the dates that Apple has booked the Moscone Center in San Francisco for this years event.
According to the Moscone Center’s website, the event is listed as a “Corporate Meeting” with an anonymous description. This is generally the type of description that is used to refer to Apple’s events at the Moscone Center.
It has been traditional for the company to announce the next generation of the iPhone at the WWDC in the Moscone Center each year in the month of June while saving huge announcements and product launches for its other divisions for the months of January (computers etc.) and September for its musical line.
Other rumors have said that Apple is indeed planning to launch the iPhone 5 which will be a world phone and work on both the GSM and the CDMA bands meaning one model would work on both networks. More importantly, it is said that the iPhone 5 will feature NFC as well as a faster processor and an updated storage.
The iPad 2 which is also rumored to be revised at said event will be getting similar treatments, an updated processor, dual cameras, one for HD recording on the back and a front facing camera for FaceTime and Skype. We’re hearing that the previously spied IPS screens will be held off until version 3.0 which makes sense seeing Apple generally likes to bring updates in a timely manner and not everything at once.
Mobile World Congress is less than a week away and already there is much talk and speculation on what will and won’t be announced there. For now, we are certain that Samsung has something big in store as they prepare to reveal to the world the next generation of Galaxy S devices. HTC is said to be prepping a flagship smartphone, one that will run Android 2.3 Gingerbread as well as run on a GSM network and of course who can forget the rumors of their tablet as well? Last but not least, LG will be announcing the world’s first 3D cellphone as well as the first 3D tablet (last one is a speculation).
That said, we’re getting new information about the rumored existence of an HTC device by the code name of Desire 2. Of course you will recall this is the European version of the Evo. We also have some more information that there will also be a tablet dubbed the HTC Flyer which will be around the size of the Galaxy Tab, at least in screen real estate.
On to the news of LG, we’re hearing that the Korean company has a new device out called the Optimus 3D. as the name would suggest, the device has a 3D screen, and we’re hearing from reliable sources that there will be the inclusion of a camera that can also record in 3D. LG is also expected to announce the Star Tab which is a European version of the Optimus Tab which will be heading to the United States sometime this year.
We’re not going to hold our breath just yet, but if this is the case, it could be just a bit more interesting to pay attention to both company’s MWC keynote.
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