With the top-flight HTC Desire already turning heads and the forthcoming HTC Smart poised to snap up the entry-level market, the Taiwanese manufacturer really has every chance of pinning down both ends of the mobile market this year.
The HTC Desire, with it’s 3.7” super-bright AMOLED screen offers an unmatched viewing experience for the user, while the 1Ghz Snapdragon processor delivers extremely rapid web browsing and amazing multimedia functions.
Initial comparisons were drawn between this and the Nexus One, and the parallel was an obvious one, seeing as HTC actually designed both handsets.
However the Desire boasts additional touches that leave Google’s handset in the dust; most notably the inclusion of an optical trackpad which makes navigation a doddle.
Another bonus is that HTC Desire deals tend to be much more competitive than iPhone deals and consumers have already jumped upon this opportunity, with demand outstripping supply in the UK a number of times since it’s April release.
Meanwhile at the other end of the scale, HTC have been preparing for the launch of their entry-level ‘smart’ phone – the HTC Smart.
Ironically, the Smart isn’t strictly speaking a smartphone – it doesn’t run multiple applications and it is pretty lightweight on specs. Nevertheless the 300 Mhz chipset shows very little lag and with its snappy Sense UI, the Smart performs all the usual mobile tasks with ease and first impressions of the Smart from the mobile gadget community are very positive.
Looks-wise, the Smart is a reasonably handsome device with a 2.8” touchscreen, a clean and integrated design but the real star feature on this handset is the lightweight and agile Brew MP operating system, which is designed to make accessing the internet an enjoyable experience for the user on a budget.
Additional features such as the 3.5mm headphone jack and microSD card slot are then also likely to endear the HTC Smart to music loving users who want a phone that doubles as their mp3 player.
With a release date just around the corner, it remains to be seen how well the public take to HTC’s entry-level handset. In some ways it does resemble the Tattoo, HTC’s entry-level Android handset, however since that release there’s been a great deal of positive press surrounding HTC’s new portfolio, not to mention a high-profile advertising campaign. In fact, we’d put money on HTC’s Smart shifting some serious numbers this season.
Expect to see some great HTC Smart deals bringing the mobile internet to the budget-crew later this summer.
Despite being the most ugly model in handset history, we can confirm that the unsightly Blackberry clamshell effort is on it’s way.
The Frankenstein design looks part Blackberry 9700, part Motorola Pebble, yet exudes none of the charm of either of these influences.
Without a specs sheet, there’s no definite answers for people keen to find out what’s on the Blackberry 9670’s insides, but it is rumoured to pack a 5MP camera and screen resolution of 480 x 360.
It’s no the first flip phone to come from RIM, with the Kickstarts launching way back in 2008, but if this is how they look, let’s hope it is the last.
The Motorola Milestone was only released in March, but if a new sighting is to be believed, Motorola could well be building up to the release of it’s successor.
A submission to the WI-Fi Alliance shows a device labelled Motorola MB810, and it is thought this is rumoured Motorola Shadow – the follow up device to the Motorola Droid / Milestone.
The rumoured Motorola Shadow’s specs look impressive with an 4.3” touchscreen, 8 million pixel camera, support for HD video playback and 720p HD video recording. The Shadow is also said to run the latest version of Android, v.2.2 / FroYo.
More details on this mysterious handset as they become available at Mobile Release!
Oprah went mobile today with the launch of a range of branded mobile applications for the iPhone, Blackberry, Google Android, and Palm Pre.
Oprah Mobile offers users the chance to access and interact with content from the website of the popular show, Oprah.com.
Featurs include video clips and previews of “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. Users can also take polls on issues, listen to audio clips, read articles and view picture galleries from Oprah.com, Oprah Magazine and Oprah Radio and even keep up to date with Oprah’s tweets.
Oprah took to Twitter last year and quickly gained over one million followers. Now she’s tested the waters, it’s clear the American talk show host means business as the app comes across all the major platforms.
These apps aren’t free however, prices range from $2-$3.
Want to compare the latest touch phones or in particular the latest Samsung touch phones? Check out Omio.com – the ultimate mobile phone comparison site!
The HTC HD Mini becomes available on contract in the UK today, so Windows fans can get a taste of the Taiwanese manufacturer’ super-intuitive Sense UI.
The HTC HD Mini looks to build on the success of its predecessor, the HTC HD2, by cramming a highly capable set of specs into a cut-down chassis. It might not have the power of the original, but thanks to a 600 mhz processor, 384 MB RAM and sizeable 3.2” touchscreen, the HTC HD Mini deals with everything you’d care to throw at it.
As a Windows phone, one of the biggest selling points is the HD Mini’s ability to run Office applications, but to have all that in such a slick form factor is quite a treat.
Window’s mobile not for you? Be sure to check out the HTC Legend then.
HTC are widely regarded as masters of Google’s Android OS and although the Legend is not their flagship phone (that honour goes to the Desire), the HTC Legend is an awesome handset.
Featuring a one-piece aluminum body, tight specs and a slick optical trackpad for navigation, the HTC Legend is as robust as it is nimble.
So, whether you’re a Windows fan-boy, or an acolyte of Android, HTC have got something in store for you!
We received a mail from BlackBerry today letting us know that the flagship BlackBerry Bold 9700 would be arriving in a gorgeous white colourway, making the handset a little less stuffy when unleashed in the boardroom.
However it isn’t just the UK that’ll be getting the new Bold, according toTest Mobile the Dutch T-Mobile site is showing off this brightened hue of the 9700, complete with a 2GB micro SD card. Nice…
Hey! What’s happening with the iPhone’s new 4.0 operating system, which is getting a first airing on the 8th of April? Let’s fire our speculation cannon at the sky and see what falls!
The Guardian has a great post up, cherrypicking the best features touted round the web including:
- support for the rumoured second front camera, which means mobile iChat. Yay!
- a global message inbox and contact ’speed dial’ for valued contacts.
- slightly more fanciful, but could a Spotify-killing iTunes streaming service be on the way? We think…no. Nice thought though.
Check out the rest here…or you could wait until the 8th and indulge in some FACTS, but where would be the fun in that?
Not prepared to wait until the 8th to join the iPhone gang? How about checking out the latest iPhone deals, including the newly added Vodafone iPhone deals. Happy with your current mobile and just looking for a new tariff? Then peruse Omio’s selection of SIM only deals.
Nope, the above is not a typo. It seems as though the Japanese / Swedish manufacturer is very confident with the upcoming Sony Ericsson Vivaz and Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10, as they have decided to make a bunch of variants to suit all moods.
The Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro was unveiled, and is a high definition camera phone with the addition of a keyboard and dedicated ’scribble pad’. All else remains the same – 8MP camera, wi-fi, GPS, tapered body – just the addition of a four row keyboard for those who feel that touch input just isn’t doing it for them when hammering out texts and status updates.
The Sony Ericsson X10 Mini and Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro are equally out of left field, both are diminutive XPERIA offshoots packing Android and the TimeScape ’spline’ of messages and status updates of their bigger brother.
MediaScape is offloaded and replaced by a standard media player, whilst the functionality has been simplified to four ‘hot’ corners of the screen which act as shortcuts to various programs.
The tiny 2.55″ screen is QVGA 240 x 320 meaning the lion’s share of Android apps are still compatible, whilst the cute 83 x 50 x 16 mm (90 x 52 x 17 mm for the X10 mini pro) frame still manages to house a 5 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, a blistering (on such a small device) 600MHz processor and a 3.5mm audio jack. Perfect for your skinny jeans!
“There has been an enormous buzz around XPERIA X10 so it is really exciting to be already unveiling compact versions of this powerful proposition,” said Rikko Sakaguchi, Executive Vice President and Chief Creation Officer, Sony Ericsson. “With the X10 mini and X10 mini pro we have pushed the boundaries of what is possible with smaller devices and are giving consumers exactly what they want; two high performance mobile phones with a fully customisable user experience platform and a stunning ultra-compact design.”
Like we said before, spin-offs or sequels before the first handset hits shelves is remarkably confident, so we are eager to see how all three models of the XPERIA X10 perform against each other as well as in the market at large…surely you will like one of them?
Nevertheless, if you’re on a super strict budget, then the absolute cheapest deal with a free handset is on Orange and is £30 for a lengthy 24 month tie-in.
Don’t expect much talktime for that price however, (150 anytime minutes / 250 texts) if you want some decent minutes/texts combo expect to pay at least £35 per month.
Alternatively, if you to keep your options open with a shorter contract length, doing so will incur either a hefty upfront payment for the handset, or higher monthly costs… or both.
With pricing fairly similar across the networks you have to compare the relative benefits of the service they offer:
Orange is renowned for high standards of customer service, and bills itself as having the broadest 3G coverage in the UK and attracts customers keen to take advantage of the iPhone’s 3G capabilities.
Meanwhile Vodafone offer Sure Signal – a service which guarantees you service in your home – a useful service if you live in a trouble-some 3G void, but less important if you a mainly mobile, with your mobile.
O2 however, offer little in the way of extra services – perhaps they are complacent in the fact that they were the first to sell the iPhone and can rely more on customers upgrading their iPhone contracts.
However, over 2 years on from iPhone’s launch, many people have completed their contracts and are now proud owners of the handset. What customers are looking for in these circumstances is a SIM-only deal which suits their mobile needs best – the networks clearly know this and that’s why we now see more SIM-only deals with unlimited internet bolt-ons.
“Power is nothing without control”, so the slogan goes, and in that respect Taiwanese manufacturers HTC seem to be very much on-track. Their HTC Sense UI, as debuted on the Hero last June, is proving to be the perfect harness for a wide range of operating systems and hardware.
The key? HTC’s Sense UI which puts people at the centre of a a simple and natural user journey and in doing so makes the most of the components it is paired with.
Take for instance HTC’s HD2 – their first stab at WinMob – oft lamented as a difficult and unpredictable operating system. Not only does it work, but it works remarkably well, with some critics hailing it as perhaps the best realisation of Microsoft’s mobile OS yet.
It’s not just with top-end gear that the Sense UI performs well on however… HTC recently announced the HTC Smart – a feature phone device which is designed to get young people on the entry-level market using internet social messaging on the move.
In the HTC Smart, the UI helps to deliver once again an experience that is best in it’s class.
In a blogosphere largely obsessed with hardware, we’re quietly confident that it’s HTC’s approach to UI that lies at the heart of their recent success.
Want to see the latest Android phones? Check out the HTC deals now available on Omio.com to see prices and features of the HTC Magic, HTC Hero, HTC HD2 deals and the forthcoming HTC Bravo!
