Best HTC Blog

HTC have today announced that they are to release a budget Android handset named the HTC Wildfire. It will essentially be a smaller version of the Desire, with a few less features for a lot less money. We reckon this will come with a price tag of between £150.00 and £200.00 so you can expect to get this one for free on a contract of between £15 and £20 per month. We had a little play with the Wildfire earlier today and it has a lot of the same functionality as the Desire and indeed the Legend. OK it doesn’t pack as much processing power, and the screen isn’t as big, but for an entry level version smartphone, you do get a lot for your money. The great thing about the Wildfire is the ability to customise your handset with a growing number of Android APP’s, which incidentally are usually cheaper than the Apple equivalent. More to follow…

The Taiwanese mobile phone manufacturer has been making waves in the industry thanks to their amazing devices.

From the Hero to the upcoming Legend, HTC’s line up of Android smart phones have ranged from super high-end to well balanced devices that covered almost every single market range available. Even their Windows Mobile smart phone, HTC HD2 has been sought after –thanks to the use of the impressive HTC Sense user interface that made using a capacitive touch screen on a WinMo device possible.

All in all, there is no doubt that HTC is practically reaping gold with their smart phones. Google has acknowledged HTC’s dedication and capabilities as a manufacture and has teamed up with the Android supporter to create the Nexus One smart phone –which explains why the Nexus and the HTC Desire share very similar specifications.

Speaking of the HTC Desire, the Snapdragon powered Android smart phone is not available on store shelves along with the Legend (the successor to the Hero). WinMo fans may be feeling a little left out after it was confirmed that the device cannot be updated to WP7, but HTC has let out a teaser that they are currently working on a new WP7 handset (presumably the HD3).

Even Apple recognizes HTC as a threat –being a major developer of Android handsets. The Cupertino based giant recently filed a lawsuit against HTC regarding the infringements of several patents own by Apple. Expect to see development on this issue later this year.

A recent report brings out the cold hard numbers on HTC’s Q1 sales and has shown that the company’s profit growth is continuous –gaining over 19% more than it did last year for the first quarter. Expect to see the numbers to keep rising as HTC’s new phones come out this 2010.

Read more about the Q1 sales performance of HTC at GSM Arena.

HTC has now taken the position of defending itself fully as CEO Peter Chou speaks out against the lawsuit

“HTC disagrees with Apple’s actions and will fully defend itself. HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best mobile experience possible.”

“From day one, HTC has focused on creating cutting-edge innovations that deliver unique value for people looking for a smartphone. In 1999 we started designing the XDA and T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition, our first touch-screen smartphones, and they both shipped in 2002 with more than 50 additional HTC smartphone models shipping since then.”

It is still too early to say how things will go, but the CEO has a good point, HTC has been around long enough to be considered one of the foremost innovators in the mobile industry. In fact, their contributions to the Pocket PC technology have inspired many of the innovations we see today. Apple’s 20 patent infringement lawsuit is heavy, but quite hard to pin down as they are dealing with one of the best mobile phone manufacturers in the world.

Many already see through Apple’s motives. It has already been announced that 2010 will be the most prolific year for the Android smart phone. In April alone, several high end Android devices will be launched and several more are confirmed to be coming out later this year.

By striking down HTC, Apple would gain a solid advantage over Google as the Android developer would lose one of their main partners in developing the Android technology.

Get to know more about the details of Apple’s patent infringement lawsuit versus HTC at PC Mag.

It is pretty obvious that there is more to the Apple lawsuit against HTC. After all, HTC is the manufacturer behind the Nexus One and many other Android smart phones. With Apple aggressively marketing against their biggest competitor on the field, it makes perfect sense that they would try to cripple one of the key members of the Open Handset Alliance which heavily supports the Android OS.

Should the patent infringement lawsuit cause HTC devices to be pulled off shelves, this would mean that many Android devices and several WinMo phones will be affected –in some ways, concerns about other Android manufacturers being affected has also been raised. The lawsuit covers 20 patents for software and hardware innovations and technologies; developments that HTC is heavily defending.

After all, when words such as “stolen technology” are being thrown about, it is also a matter of principle for the Taiwanese Manufacturer to speak up against such claims.

HTC Chief Executive Officer Peter Chou says that “HTC disagrees with Apple’s actions and will fully defend itself. HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best mobile experience possible.”

“From day one, HTC has focused on creating cutting-edge innovations that deliver unique value for people looking for a smartphone. In 1999 we started designing the XDA and T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition, our first touch-screen smartphones, and they both shipped in 2002 with more than 50 additional HTC smartphone models shipping since then.”

With many years in the industry behind them, it was a pretty obvious thing for HTC to remind Apple that HTC has been an innovator long before the coming of the iPhone.

Read more about the Apple lawsuit at Pocket Lint.

Carphone Warehouse has already revealed some pretty nice pricing information about the upcoming HTC Desire Android smart phone for the Taiwanese manufacturer and from the looks of things, there will be some pretty tempting deals under T-Mobile that might just get a lot of attention from phone users. A deal for two years at 30 Pounds per month delivers unlimited internet access and the device for free –it also comes with free 500 messages and 900 minutes of talk time.

Looks like things are all green for the Desire’s upcoming launch this April with many people already hoping to try out the new Android smart phone. Vodafone and Orange have also confirmed that they will be offering the device when it launches so expect to see more good deals for the phone by then.

With HTC still embroiled in that big legal dispute with Apple suing them for 20 patent infringements, it would be a good idea to go purchase the Desire as soon as possible in case Apple manages to squeeze out an order that would hold back the sale of HTC devices –many experts believe that Apple is aiming to cripple the distribution of HTC devices as a blow to Google (as HTC is a major supporter of the Android OS).

Lawsuit or not, plenty of people are already looking forward to the release of the Desire as the device is placed as an excellent option to choose instead of having to get the Nexus One over the internet. While some say that Google’s decision to stick with an online store was made to avoid direct competition with manufacturers, they have also painted the Google phone into a corner with its inaccessibility.

Get to know more about the HTC Desire Android smart phone and its various price offers at Mobile Choice UK.

Vodafone just might have an indirect exclusivity to the HTC Legend as the Android smart phone has yet to be found on other operators.

While the HTC Desire Snapdragon Android smart phone is pretty much offered by everyone else (it makes for the perfect Nexus One substitute –that is why), the HTC Legend is still a Vodafone-only find.

So far, the UK based Vodafone has yet to confirm as to whether the device is indeed an exclusive offer, but it is hard to believe that other operators simply passed this device up. Surely the Desire is a much more superior mobile phone in terms of specs. It runs at 1GHz, has a 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen and a 5 mega pixel camera that can shoot in 720p

The Legend on the other hand, only has a 3.2 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen, a 5 mega pixel camera (with WVGA video recording), and a Qualcomm 600MHz CPU. It does have a cool aluminum cover and is the successor of the HTC Hero. As a mid range phone, this is one great device that is much cheaper than the Desire. This smart phone also uses the Sense user interface on the Android 2.1 Éclair operating system.

HTC is a Taiwanese based mobile phone manufacturer that is currently the target of a 20 patent infringement lawsuit from Apple. Despite the lawsuit itself, many consider the move by Apple as a strike against Google –its chief competitor. Since HTC is a close industry partner of Google (and a big part of the Open Handset Alliance), Apple would be able to take out a major portion of Google’s mobile phone industry foothold. Google has announced that they stand behind HTC in regards to the lawsuit.

Get to know more about the HTC Legend and Vodafone’s offerings for the device at Tech Radar.

Paul Miller at Engadget raises a good point for many HD2 owning hopefuls: that the amazing new Windows Phone 7 Series will be making it to the Snapdragon powered HTC smart phone.

Unfortunately, Microsoft has just declared that the HD2 will never have an update to Windows Phone 7. Despite the fact that an update has the potential to boost the sales of the already available HD2, allowing the device to be compatible with the new OS would potentially lead to a loss of sales for the new batch of WP7 mobile phones that are expected to be launched within this year.

HTC was among the first to announce that they will be working on their own WP7 device and are expecting to have it ready by the end of the year. If the HD2 will get WP7, it could very well threaten the sales of the newer HTC device.

Hardware-wise, the HD2 is an impressive smart phone, provided that the Snapdragon is more than enough for the new OS. Despite the fact that 1GHz of processing power is already good for current standards, the new Windows mobile platform features so many dynamic elements and animations that it actually makes the Android and the iPhone OS look like bland interfaces. Another interesting point is that the new OS will be incorporating the Xbox Live Games service, which means that the new game apps might be pushing the HD2’s capabilities.

Even if the hardware on the HD2 could run the new OS, there is also the fact that the 7 series is a completely new operating system. Sadly, WinMo 6.5 will never have an update to WP7. Instead, a phone would have to be completely wiped or formatted (including the HTC Sense UI) in order to install the new mobile platform. This cannot be done with just a simple downloadable patch.

Head over to Engadget to read Paul Miller’s article.

HTC Desire

For users considering buying a Google Nexus, or those who are jealous of a friend that already owns a Nexus, good news is at hand: HTC has unveiled a new handset that overtakes the Nexus and some wags have even referred to the new HTC device as the Nexus Two. The new phone which had originally been pencilled as the HTC Bravo has been unveiled with the name HTC Desire and is set to both impress and enthral tech junkies and casual users alike.

With such similar specifications to Google’s Nexus One the questions circling around for many people were ‘what extra will you get from the HTC Desire that you don’t get from the Nexus?’, ‘Will it be worth it when it eventually arrives in shops?’, and ‘Is the extra wait of a couple of months going to be worthwhile?’ Fortunately, tech journalists and reviewers got a taste of the new HTC Desire at the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to help provide some greater insight into what the Desire has to offer as well as get some hands-on experience with the new model.

Google Nexus One

On first impressions the HTC Desire appears to be almost the spitting image of the Nexus One, with an almost identical 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED screen as well as similar rounded curves and the top-positioned power button. The Desire’s internal specifications are also very similar to those found in the Nexus, featuring as it does the same 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor allowing for ultra-rapid applications and browsing as well as a microSD slot for performing memory capacity upgrades. GPS and AGPS functions and 512MB of flash memory as well as 256MB of RAM help round off some of the device’s other key features, though one other big plus for many users is the device’s integral compass which can be readily and easily used along with the various different augmented reality applications found on the phone.

The Desire is also Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and HSDPA ready, as you might expect from a high end smartphone. It also comes complete with a 5-megapixel camera, which is a decent spec, and features a useful LED flash – great for those low-lighting snaps. The camera is even capable of capturing 800×480 video and can be accessed via the feature shortcuts which can be found on the home, menu, back and search options.

So, to one of the principle questions: What actually is the difference between the Desire and the Nexus?

HTC Desire

The first point to mention here is that Google’s device scores points for its active voice cancellation, and the user cannot use voice recognition to text on the Desire. This， however, is just one (not especially major) point, and HTC’s Desire has trimmed and improved upon some of the features found on Google’s device to make this slight drawback seem un-noteworthy. For example, the Desire has done away with the front-positioned mechanical trackball and the on-screen touch-sensitive button and has replaced them with actual shortcut keys. There is also an optical navigation button on the Desire, which works much more precisely than other hardware-based alternatives.

HTC have clearly sensed the way the wind is blowing in the market in replacing the trackball, and it is a decision that Blackberry themselves have also taken. There have long been concerns that trackballs are apt to fail and break which can atrophy possible phone usage – not something a user on an 18-month contract want s to happen. The Desire, however, provides the user with such great touch response from the on-screen display that users might never actually use the navigation button at all.

HTC Desire

The Desire’s handset also features HTC Sense UI, the same as is found on their Hero handset, although it has been improved to suit the Desire’s design in particular. It is faster on the Desire, for instance, and with extra added contract features it blows the Nexus One out of the water. Sense also features what is known as a helicopter view, and it operates in much the same way as Expose does on the Mac. The user simply pinches the home screen in order to display all home screen pages currently running and can then simply tap in order to go to the desired program or pinch back out again as needed as multi-touch is fully supported.

The inclusion of Flash Lite 4 also allows the user to view videos straight out of the box (a feature still not offered by the much-celebrated iPhone) and you can also select text on-screen and get it instantly translated or look it up on Wikipedia – two great little bonuses for those dealing with large amounts of information regularly. Along with the ultra-fast Android 2.1 operating system the Desire is completely user-friendly, and runs at a great lick.

HTC is pretty much a big name mobile phone manufacturer these days. The Taiwanese company has been busy with Google’s Android operating system and is also expected to be coming up with new Windows Phone 7 device.

They were part of the Mobile World Congress this February at Barcelona, Spain. They showed off the HTC Desire and the HTC Legend. The two Android devices have been expected to arrive by March so it was not surprising to see them being readied, though it was a bit of a news that the Desire got a name change (it was originally the Bravo).

The Desire runs on a Snapdragon processor clocked at 1GHz. It uses a 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen and a 5 mega pixel camera with 720p D1 video recording capability. It is considered to be the basis for the Nexus One. The Legend on the other hand is a successor to the Hero with its 600 MHz processor, 3.2 inch AMOLED touch screen and 5 mega pixel camera. One new device at the MWC is the HTC HD Mini which features the new Windows Mobile 6.5.3 Maldives operating system.

Aside from the devices shown at the MWC, HTC has also a couple of new smart phones coming later this 2010. The first is the HTC Scorpion that is expected to arrive sometime later this year as a high end competitor in the Android market. The HTC Incredible on the other hand boasts specs closer to the Desire.

It will also have a 3.7 inch touch screen, a 1 GHz Snapdragon and a 5 megapixel camera with dual LED flash. The Incredible is currently a Verizon exclusive for now, though we would not be surprised if it gets a new name and is brought over to the UK soon.

Get to know more about the HTC Incredible at Tech Radar.

When you have four new products coming out, it is not surprising that the marketing budget will be pretty large.

HTC just reported that it will be having its largest marketing spend, ever. The HTC Desire, Legend, HD Mini and Smart are going to be coming out around March which means that plenty of money will be allocated into marketing the devices.

The Mobile World Congress at Barcelona, Spain has already brought those four mobile devices to our attention, but with the commercial release of the phones coming up, it is not surprising that HTC wants the rest of the world to know. The Taiwanese company has a pretty good reputation when it comes to the reliability and efficiency of their mobile devices, and a big marketing spend is just the thing they need to get the word out.

Anyway, for those of you who missed out on what the four new phones are, here’s a quick recap of the HTC devices:

The whole lineup is lead by the HTC Desire. This phone was originally known as the HTC Bravo and just got a name change when the device was shown off at the MWC. Specs wise, the phone has kept the same specs when it was first announced. It runs at a speed of 1GHz thanks to the Snapdragon CPU, perfect for handling heavy apps. The 5 mega pixel camera comes with D1 video quality recording and the 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen gives accurate controls and clear graphics.

The HTC Legend is the sequel to the Hero (which makes it famous) and will have a 600 MHz Qualcomm CPU. The HTC HD Mini is a WinMo 6.5.3 Maldives device while the HTC Smart is an “entry level” smart phone that is exclusive to O2 Mobile.

Read more about the HTC marketing spend at Mobile Today UK.