Archive for October, 2010
If you think the N8 is good looking you will be blown away by the C7. Launched recently by Nokia with much less fanfare than it did with the N8, the C7 is a sleek looking stainless steel and glass encased phone with a 3.5 inch AMOLED touchscreen. It runs the same Symbian^3 as the N8. Comes with an 8MP camera (12MP on the N8), 8MB storage, three metallic colours and unfortunately no HDMI port. What a beauty.
The long-awaited v2 upgrade to Palm’s WebOS will be called HP WebOS 2. Sorry Palmfans but this is the next step in the demise of the Palm brand. The new WebOS will initially run on the soon to be released Palm Pre 2, but don’t expect a Palm Pre 3 to follow, it is likely to be an HP Pre 3 or some other moniker under the HP brand. Sad for Palm, but good for WebOS, and hopefully ultimately good for us the consumers.
I hope HP is going to sell their WebOS phones in South Africa. SA Palmfans had to get their Pres from all over the world (mine from Germany with a qwertz keyboard) and still don’t have access to the Palm App Catalog. Here’s hoping HP will remember the SA market. HP has a long history of selling laptops, desktop and printers in the SA market and has an established reseller and support network here. C’mon HP.
I heard via the grapevine that someone in the UK has made it into the Guinness World Book of Records for the fastest typing on a mobile phone, using Swype on a Nokia N8.
Swype was recently released via Nokia Beta Labs, but for S60 5th Edition not for Symbian^3/N8. There is a way to get it onto your N8 though, go to store.ovi.mobi/content/58438 with your N8 browser to bypass the Ovi Store device filters and download. Some people are reporting success while others are reporting crashes with Swype on their N8s. I am definitely going to give it a go. Soon as I can find a N8 to buy in South Africa.
HTC GOES BIG WITH MICROSOFT; LAUNCHING FIVE
NEW WINDOWS PHONE 7 SMARTPHONES
HTC brings its trademark innovation and design to a fresh, new Windows Phone 7 portfolio – HTC 7 Surround, HTC 7 Mozart, HTC 7 Trophy, HTC 7 Pro and HTC HD7
NEW YORK – October 11, 2010 –HTC Corporation, a global designer of smartphones and long-time Microsoft partner, today unveiled five new Windows Phone 7 smartphones: HTC 7 Surround, HTC 7 Mozart, HTC 7 Trophy, HTC 7 Pro and HTC HD7. This strong and diverse family of phones features Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 platform and embodies the stand-out design and innovation for which HTC has come to be known. Each new phone includes a variety of cutting-edge technologies and a series of unique HTC applications that can be accessed through the new HTC Hub that complements the Windows Phone 7 Hub and Tile experience.
“Windows Phone 7 is an entirely fresh mobile experience, on which HTC is excited to be going big. We see tremendous customer opportunities with the integration of Microsoft’s most popular services like Xbox LIVE and Zune,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. “The value Microsoft is bringing to mobile customers around the world sets a new benchmark for the industry. HTC will be introducing five new HTC Windows Phone 7 smartphones at launch to support our customers with a broad variety of choice.”
“HTC has been a partner with Microsoft since we launched our first phones nearly a decade ago, and we couldn’t be more excited to continue this journey with the launch of Windows Phone 7,” said Andy Lees, President of the Mobile Communications Business at Microsoft. “Windows Phone 7 characterizes a new direction for Microsoft and its partners, and HTC is stepping up to support this in a significant way by bringing five new Windows Phones to market.”
Windows Phone 7
Windows Phone 7 has been carefully crafted to help people get more done in fewer steps with a unique Hub and Tile interface. The Windows Phone 7 Hubs offer quick and easy access to a person’s latest and most valuable information and include People, Pictures, Games, Music & Video, Office and Marketplace content. Windows Phone 7 also integrates with many popular Microsoft consumer services such as Xbox LIVE, Windows Live, Bing and Zune.
HTC Windows Phone 7 portfolio
HTC has brought its innovative design and creativity to its new Windows Phone 7 smartphone portfolio by embracing distinctive materials and unique design elements while providing an exciting set of cutting-edge features and technologies. With the new HTC Hub, HTC is providing an exclusive series of applications and utilities that include a new weather and stocks application and a new photo enhancer that enables a person to apply special effects before sharing photos with friends.
HTC 7 Surround
Whether it be gaming, movies or music, HTC 7 Surround is the ultimate multimedia device. With a unique slide-out speaker and integrated kickstand with integrated Dolby Mobile™ and SRS WOW HD™, the HTC 7 Surround delivers high-fidelity audio and virtual surround sound that enable people to share their favorite music and videos with their friends in style. No longer are they forced to use headphones for a great surround sound experience because the HTC 7 Surround speaker makes the listening experience natural and comfortable.
HTC 7 Mozart
Crafted from a single piece of anodized aluminum, the HTC 7 Mozart feels great in the hand and takes HTC’s unibody design aesthetic to the next level. The slim, solid and smart HTC 7 Mozart sounds as good as it looks and integrates Dolby Mobile™ and SRS WOW HD™ for high-fidelity, virtual surround sound. With Microsoft Zune integration, people can synchronize the HTC 7 Mozart with their PC, enabling them to take their music and video library with them wherever they go.
HTC 7 Trophy
HTC 7 Trophy harnesses the power of Xbox LIVE. Gamers will enjoy the speed and responsiveness of fast action gameplay supported by the phone’s high-performance 1GHz Snapdragon processor, and controlled through the vivid WVGA 3.8” touchscreen. High-fidelity, virtual surround sound – through SRS WOW HD™ – brings a rich audio experience whether the user is playing a game, watching a video or listening to their favorite music.
HTC 7 Pro
The development of the HTC 7 Pro was inspired by power users who want to combine the ultimate in business efficiency with the ability to take full advantage of their leisure time. The sleek handset slides opens and tilts to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard for fast, comfortable typing, while productivity features such as the ability to sort, scan and manage Outlook email, open and edit the latest Office documents on the phone and keep track of the markets with HTC’s stocks application, offer new ways to maximize the business day.
HTC HD7
HTC HD7 owners can enjoy their favorite videos and movies in cinematic-style thanks to the large 4.3” high-resolution screen, while its kickstand allows them to sit back and enjoy the action handsfree. For those who refuse to compromise on their mobile gaming experience, the HTC HD7 realizes the power of Xbox LIVE, bringing gameplay to life in a way that takes console gaming beyond the home.
Availability
The five new HTC smartphones will be available through mobile operators and retailers across major European, Asia-Pacific and North American markets from late October.
North America
HTC 7 Surround will be available exclusively in the United States with AT&T as the HTC Surround.
HTC HD7 will be exclusively available in the United States with T-Mobile.
HTC 7 Pro will be available in the first half of 2011 with Sprint.
HTC 7 Surround will be available exclusively with Telus in Canada.
Europe
HTC HD7 will be available from Telefonica O2 in Germany and exclusively in United Kingdom and Ireland. HTC HD7 will also be available with Telefonica Movistar in Spain.
HTC HD7 will be available from Bouygues Telecom in France.
HTC 7 Mozart will be exclusively available in France, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Spain with Orange.
HTC 7 Mozart will be exclusively available in Germany with Deutsche Telekom AG.
HTC 7 Mozart will be available in Austria with Deutsche Telekom AG.
HTC 7 Mozart will be available in Austria with Orange.
HTC 7 Trophy will be available exclusively in Germany, France, Spain, United Kingdom, Austria and Switzerland with Vodafone.
HTC 7 Mozart and HTC HD7 will be broadly available in Italy.
Asia-Pacific
HTC HD7 will be exclusively available with Telstra in Australia.
HTC HD7 will be exclusively available with Singtel in Singapore.
HTC HD7 will be exclusively available with Maxis in Malaysia.
HTC HD7 will be available with Taiwan Mobile in Taiwan.
HTC HD7 will be available in Hong Kong with CSL, 3 and China Mobile.
HTC 7 Mozart will be exclusively available with Telstra in Australia.
HTC 7 Mozart will be exclusively available with Starhub in Singapore.
HTC 7 Mozart will be available in Hong Kong with CSL, 3 and China Mobile.
HTC 7 Mozart will be available with Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan.
HTC 7 Trophy will be exclusively available with Vodafone in Australia and New Zealand.
HTC 7 Trophy will be exclusively available with M1 in Singapore.
About HTC
HTC Corporation (HTC) is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile phone industry. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC creates innovative smartphones that better serve the lives and needs of individuals. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.
So you want to buy an iPhone4 but don’t want to go through the hassle of a sim swap? Or you want to move your sim from your iPhone4 to another phone? Then a microSIM cutter and adaptors are what you need. Reason being that Apple has very cleverly introduced a smaller sim card called the microsim with the iPhone4 and the iPad. This makes it just that bit more inconvenient to switch from your iPhone to a competitor’s phone. But with the microsim adaptors, which I received included with my cutter product, the problem is solved. I picked mine up for around ZAR200 on BidorBuy .
Motorola has been turning out Android-based smartphones at a rate of knots, and in every conceivable form factor. Have you seen the Flipout or the Backflip? I think they are simply throwing designs out to see which ones will stick. The Droid Pro is one such design which is going to stick I think. It is a design that has been used successfully for years by Blackberry – portrait with a fixed qwerty keyboard. Coupled with a 1GHz processor and Android 2.2 which provides enterprise email integration and document editing capabilities this promises to be an impressive device. The device will come with other enterprise goodies, such as remote wipe, complex passwords, device and sd card encryption and VPN ability.
If you are a corporate Lotus Notes user you will be very pleased to hear that Notes Traveler for Android is in beta. Hopefully by the time the Droid Pro lands on your desk you will be able to sync your Notes email, calendar and contacts using Notes Traveler.
The Droid Pro will launch on Verizon in the States in the next month or so. No word yet on a European launch, but if Motorola does release it in Europe it is likely to be called the Milestone Pro. South African droiders shouldn’t hold their breath though, as Motorola has been very slow in releasing their Android phones here. Point in case: the Milestone was launched in Europe/UK a year ago, while it became available in South Africa only a month or so ago.
Latest on the upcoming Palm WebOS 2.0 device is that it will be code named Mansion, have an 800 x 480 screen, and no keyboard. I guess the Pre moniker was odd already so no reason to complain about Mansion, but no keyboard?! Hopefully this will be the first of a plethora of new Palm devices and some of them will have keyboards. Me, I like them qwerties.
Thanks to my trusty on-line mobile phone retailer Ca-Cellular I have the new Blackberry 9800 aka Torch in my hands. It is AT&T branded but that is the price you have to pay to be the first Torch owner in South Africa. Actually I bought two Torches. Gave one to my wife who is now completely in love with the device. She moved from a Blackberry Curve to the Torch, which is like moving from chalk to cheese. She loves the combination of large(ish) touchscreen, usual blackberry keyboard, and slicker new OS. I am somewhat more jaded and critical, having used the latest high-end Android devices and iPhone 4. But even I am taken with the device, which strikes a nice balance between touchscreen and keyboard. The new OS works well with both, making it easy and smooth to use whichever interface you want. Web browsing is also much improved, and the Torch has a proper Youtube client, not as good as on the iPhone or Android, but nearly. I quite like the new notification system and home page, and the integration with Twitter and Facebook is very good. Even though the OS is new, Blackberry users will be instantly at home, as the new UI is very similar to the old one. And the Blackberry’s bread and butter – email and messenger – work as well as it always has.
The device looks great and feels great in my hand. The spring-loaded slide mechanism works well also, making one handed use of the Torch a pleasure.
My only real complaint is the speed. It is not that the device is slow, but it is not snappy.
Will people queue for hours to get their hands on this device? No, but if you are a Blackberry fan you will love it. O, and if you are going to upgrade from your existing Blackberry to the Torch, make sure you download and install the latest version of Blackberry Desktop Manager on your pc. It will move all the data from your old Blackberry to the new one – contacts, emails, text messages, pictures, videos, wifi settings, everything.
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