HTC - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Feb

White HTC Sensation To Launch March 1 In Europe With Ice Cream Sandwich In Tow

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in HTC, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Sensation / Sensation 4G (Pyramid)

The Sensation is one of HTC's most popular handsets overseas, and despite being launched nearly a year ago (May 19,2011), the company just announced a new "Ice White" version. While there are no differences in hardware, the outside will obviously be white (à la Amaze 4G). More importantly, though: it will launch on March 1, and run Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) out of the gate.

That's a pretty big deal for two reasons: first, because as we discussed yesterday, Sense 4.0 (which HTC will slap over top of ICS) pretty much sucks. Second, because that would ...

Feb

[Public Disclosure] Vulnerability In HTC Android Devices Exposed Wi-Fi Credentials To Apps Which Knew How To Ask (But, Thankfully, Didn't)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in HTC, News

A serious vulnerability that affected the way some popular HTC Android phones handle 802.1x usernames, passwords, and SSIDs was disclosed publicly today by engineers Chris Hessing and Bret Jordan. The bug allowed applications with only an ACCESS_WIFI_STATE permission to read your Wi-Fi SSIDs, usernames, and, most importantly, passwords on at least the following devices:

Desire HD (both "ace" and "spade" board revisions) - Versions FRG83D, GRI40
Glacier - Version FRG83
Droid Incredible - Version FRF91
Thunderbolt 4G - Version FRG83D
Sensation Z710e - Version GRI40
Sensation 4G - Version GRI40
Desire S - Version GRI40
EVO 3D - Version GRI40

...

Feb

[Editorial] Sense 4 On Ice Cream Sandwich: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back For Android

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Editorials, HTC, Ville

Yesterday, we saw the first glimpse of Sense 4 on Android 4.0 on the HTC Ville. While watching the video, I assumed that the handset was running Gingerbread since it looked just like previous versions of Sense (save for the updated launcher). The only thing that even slightly resembled ICS is the Roboto font in the clock.

Then it showed the version information, which made me feel physically ill. This is Sense 4 on ICS? Say it ain't so!

I use a Galaxy Nexus as my main phone and the Transformer Prime is my main tablet, so I spend a ...

Jan

Leaked Video Of The Upcoming HTC Ville Shows Up, Will Sense 4 Ruin ICS?

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Videos, Ville

We've been hearing about the HTC Ville, which should be set for an announcement at Mobile World Congress next month, since November of last year. The guys at HTC Hub recently spent some hands-on time with this upcoming mid-ranger and shot some video showing what it's all about. Prepare to be underwhelmed.

The original video (found at HTC Hub) has been made private, so we found an alternative.

Considering the low video quality, it's hard to say exactly what has been changed in Sense 4 compared to previous versions, aside from the pretty animations. There is one thing certain ...

Jan

Sky Go Coming To Android Devices "Next Month", Allows Users To Watch Live TV And Anytime Content On The Move

Posted by John Thompson in Applications, News

Sky Go, a service which allows Sky TV customers to watch live and archived content on the go, has been available in the browser and on iOS devices for 7 months now, and according to Holly Knill, the head of Sky Go, it's finally coming to Android devices next month as well.

Customers running "a selection of Android smartphones starting with Samsung Galaxy and HTC handsets" will be the first to have the opportunity to test the new Sky Go app, but there is no mention of support for any other devices in Sky's post just yet. Presumably, the app ...

Jan

Samsung Reinvents Average With the Galaxy S Advance - 1GHz Dual-Core Processor, 768MB Of RAM, And Gingerbread

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Galaxy S, News, Samsung

Did you think that the Galaxy S II was the follow-up to the widely-popular Galaxy S line of phones from Samsung? Think again! Samsung just announced the Galaxy S Advance, a dual-core, mid-range device sporting an HSPA+ radio and shipping with Gingerbread. The new phone also sports a curved display, which is quickly becoming a hallmark of Samsung phones.

The device isn't a wimp, by any means, but it's also not going to top any benchmarks, which places it firmly in the mid-range of devices, which is a curious position. The phone has 768MB of RAM instead of ...

Jan

HTC Confirms Earlier Rumor That It Will Narrow Its Smartphone Lineup For 2012, Focus On Quality, Not Quantity

Posted by David Ruddock in HTC, News

Verifying a rumor put out by BGR over a month ago, HTC has announced after a dismal end to 2011 (net profits fell 26% last quarter) that the company will be changing its handset strategy to focus on fewer, "hero" devices in the coming year. The problem of excessive handset iteration is one I've opined on before. It is a problem, and while it's unlikely that HTC's balance sheet woes were even in majority caused by the large number of handsets they released, making fewer models is certainly a way to cut costs and increase the amount of ...

Jan

Minor Software Update Coming Soon To HTC Rezound, Brings Various Bugfixes

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in News, Rezound, Verizon Wireless

A software update for the HTC Rezound is coming soon, according to Verizon's support page for the device. Hoping it's the update Rezound owners have been waiting for - you know, the one to ICS? Sorry to burst your bubble, but there's nothing to it but minor bugfixes and changes. But hey, you can't complain about them fixing things in the interim, can you? The update bumps things up to version number 2.01.605.11 and baseband 0.95.00.1118r.

Device Features
+ Updated signal strength meter to 5 bar Received
Signal Strength Indication (RSSI).
+ Screen Timeout issues while connected to Wi-Fi have

...

Jan

Editorial: Android May Be Winning (Or Not Losing) Battles Against Apple In Court, But Don't Expect An End To The Lawsuits Any Time Soon

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Editorials, Legal, News

Last Updated: January 27th, 2012

A recent Newsweek article has been making the rounds claiming, through an unnamed Apple "insider," that Apple has spent north of $100 million litigating its various grievances against HTC since late 2010. Verifying the accuracy of this number is pretty much impossible. But that doesn't really matter. It may just as well be $80 million, $150 million, or $300 million - the conclusion drawn would remain the same: Apple is spending quite a chunk of income on its growing lawsuit habit.

Apple currently has open suits against Motorola Mobility, Samsung Electronics, and HTC in the ITC (International Trade Commission), ...

Jan

HTC Adds Bootloader Unlock Support For More Devices - Desire Z, Aria, Droid Incredible, T-Mobile G2, Status, And ChaCha

Posted by Brandon Lancaster in Aria (Liberty), Chacha, Desire Z (Vision), Droid Incredible, G2 (Vision), Status

If you didn't know, HTC has promised to provide bootloader unlock support for all devices released after September of 2011 as well as many others released before, and they have been keeping good on that promise with added support for many devices over the last few months.

They're still going strong, and added several more devices to the list earlier today.

There you have it, the newly supported devices are the HTC Desire Z, ChaCha, Aria, Droid Incredible, Status, and T-Mobile G2. If you own one listed above, you can head on over to the HTCDev website to unlock your ...

Jan

Small Update Now Rolling Out To The HTC EVO 3D, Brings Better Battery Life And 'Security Improvements'

Posted by Cameron Summerson in EVO 3D (Shooter), News

Owners of the HTC EVO 3D on Sprint may find themselves hitting the install button on an OTA update today. The update brings a few minor tweaks to the device:

Updated Peep client (to align with Twitter)
Battery life improvements
Security update

It began rolling out earlier today and should hit all devices over the next five days.

To see if it's available on your device, hit Settings > System Update > HTC Software Update > Check Now.

[Sprint]

...

Jan

[CES 2012] Motorola To Stop Flooding The Market With Thousands Of Phones

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Motorola, News

"More wood behind fewer arrows."

That's the phrase Larry Page used to describe Google's recent shut down of underperforming products. Stop flooding the market with crap, and focus on fewer, higher quality products. Now it seems Motorola has somehow gotten the exact same idea.

AllThingsD reports that Motorola "plans to release fewer new models this year, in an effort to concentrate its marketing dollars." I hope they are concentrating their design, polish, and update efforts too.

Motorola's release schedule since they jumped on the Android train has been absolutely insane. Their 2011 US product lineup looked something like ...

Jan

HTC Adds Bootloader Unlock Compatibility For Desire HD, Additional Desire And Wildfire Models

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Desire (Bravo/BravoC), Desire HD (Ace), HTC, Mods, News, Wildfire (Buzz), Wildfire S / Wildfire 2 (Marvel)

Those following HTC's efforts to liberate bootloaders everywhere have a bit more to talk about tonight, as the Taiwanese manufacturer added support for a handful of devices.

For those not in the loop, HTC pledged to enable unlocking the bootloaders of all devices released after September 2011, but is doing the community one better by extending support to older models as well. HTC allows users to unlock their bootloaders using a quick, (relatively) easy online tool.

Among the newly unlockable devices are the original Desire, the Desire HD, Wildfire, and Wildfire S. To get started, just head over to ...

Jan

HTC's Growth Stalls While Samsung Has Record Quarter

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Android OS, HTC, News, Samsung, Tablets, Toshiba

The latest unaudited results from HTC for Q4 2011 indicate that total revenues reached NT$ 101 billion (US$ 3.34 billion), a 2.49% drop as compared to the same period in 2010. In stark contrast, Samsung just had a record breaking quarter with profits reaching 5.2 trillion won (US$4.5 billion), almost double the figures of Q4 2010. Samsung's results for Q4 2011 breaks its previous record profit period of 5.0 trillion won (US$ 4.3 billion) from Q2 2010 and is an increase of 22% from Q3 2011. According to an analyst Samsung shipped an estimated 35 million smartphones in the previous ...

Jan

[The First Annual Android Police Andy Awards] And The Winner Of The Award For Best Non-Nexus Android Phone Of 2011 Is..

Posted by David Ruddock in Android Police Andy Awards: 2011, Galaxy S II, Samsung

You made your nominations, and you voted. Now we have a winner. The Andy for Best Non-Nexus Android Phone of 2011 goes to...

Best Non-Nexus Android Phone Of 2011: Readers' Choice

The Samsung Galaxy S II.

This really comes as no surprise. The Samsung Galaxy S II is still one of the most powerful handsets on the market, and with an Ice Cream Sandwich update inbound sometime in the coming year, it's only going to get better. The jaw-dropping SAMOLED Plus display and wickedly fast Exynos dual-core processor made quite an impression when we reviewed the Sprint-ified version, ...