04
May
htc-logo

A couple of months ago, we told you that the HTC Desire HD and Incredible S would be getting an OTA update to Gingerbread, but we didn't know exactly when this would happen. It looks like the wait is over though, because HTC has started rolling out the official OTA update to European users. Unfortunately, there is no official word when the Desire Z will see an update, but we're still expecting it sometime close to the end of the second quarter.

htc

Now there's only one thing left to do: wait. Drop us a line in comments and let us know when this hits your device.

03
May
HTC Flyer

We may not know exactly when HTC's first foray into the Android tablet world will launch (though we would guess sooner rather than later), but if you simply cannot wait to crack open that case and tear into the user manual, we have good news for you. A PDF file containing the manual has been leaked, along with a several nice-looking wallpapers. Inside the manual, you'll find a full run-through of Sense 3.0, as well as more information on the Scribe software.

Both the manual and wallpapers are available for download below:

Manual | Wallpapers

image

Source: 911sniper

03
May
image
Last Updated: July 18th, 2011

A few days ago, the Chinese HTC blog 911sniper that most HTC ROM leaks originate from posted images and a minimal amount of information on HTC's 2 newest and mysterious devices: the Rider and the Kingdom. Not much was known about either, except that the Kingdom has a qHD (540x960px) resolution.

Today, 911sniper gave birth to an actual ROM of the Kingdom, which cleared up quite a few things to us.

Update: Porting of this ROM to the Desire HD is already in progress.

Update: Looks like it is indeed a whole new device - it's got a smaller, 4" screen, compared to EVO's 4.3" and is possibly a world device.

02
May
image

Nexus One owners, tonight you're getting a nice treat in the form of the incremental Gingerbread update 2.3.4, previously available only to Nexus S owners. To recap, the main feature in this release is the video and audio enabled Google Talk, although since the N1 lacks a front-facing camera, it's not going to be as useful as it was for the Nexus S.

Update: Err, looks like there is no video or audio support in this release at all, according to those of you with Nexus Ones. Why Google didn't just disable the phone's camera and left it a one-way video and two-way audio is beyond me, but at this point you may as well try the Gtalk version that was extracted from the Nexus S for everyone with Gingerbread to play with.

29
Apr
htc-logo

We've been talking an awful lot about the Motorola Atrix 4G's HSUPA update lately, but don't think that we've forgotten that the HTC Inspire 4G suffers from the same problem. I guess HTC hasn't forgotten either, because the OTA update that fixes this very issue is now live.

287391950

The update includes a couple of other fixes as well, mainly where email is concerned. After the update, email setup should be much easier, and Hotmail, Live, and MSN email should auto-configure.

You can can see if this update is available on your device in the Settings>About Phone menu. Once you've got it, run a couple of speed tests and let us know how it goes.

28
Apr
image

It's April 28th, the official release date for the 2nd generation Droid Incredible from HTC, and if you haven't studied this phone in detail yet, you're probably wondering just what exactly has changed since the original "Dinc" entered the market last April. Let's have a look, shall we?

Key Differences

Network

First and foremost, just like the Droid 2 Global Edition, the new Incredible 2 is a world phone with both CDMA and GSM frequencies. Verizon Wireless provides the following interesting numbers:

  • voice service in over 220 countries
  • data in over 200 countries
  • 3G speeds in more than 125

Quite a step-up from the original already, isn't it?

28
Apr
thunderbolt vs. charge

Verizon's pair of LTE handsets are sure to confuse some shoppers - though one is from Samsung (the DROID Charge) and the other from HTC (the ThunderBolt), the two sport relatively similar feature sets and designs that somewhat resemble one another. So what's the difference? Well, aside from the Charge being $50 more expensive than the already-pricy ThunderBolt, there really aren't many differentiators - let's take a side-by-side look at their spec sheets:

Spec type

DROID Charge

ThunderBolt

CPU

1GHz Hummingbird

1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655

Display

4.3" Super AMOLED Plus

4.3" SLCD

OS

Android 2.2 (Froyo) with TouchWiz UI

Android 2.2 (Froyo) with Sense UI

Front camera

1.3MP

1.3MP

Rear camera

8MP with 720P HD recording

8MP with 720p HD recording

RAM

512MB

768MB

Internal storage

2GB

8GB (though not all of that storage is usable)

Included SD card

32GB

32GB

DLNA support

Yes

Yes

Buttons

Physical

Capacitive

Size

130 mm x 68 mm x 12 mm

122 mm x 66 mm x 13.2 mm

Weight

143g

177g

Battery capacity

1600 mAh

1400 mAh

Price on contract

$299

$249

As you can see, neither device is anything to scoff at, though - at least in my eyes - the fact that the ThunderBolt runs Sense UI turns the tide in its favor (despite the Charge's superior screen and slightly thinner profile).

28
Apr

Well, it looks like the good old FCC has given their stamp of approval to the Wifi-Only HTC Flyer. As you can see in the image below, the sticker is ready for deployment and I, for one, couldn't be happier.

 htc_flyer_fcc

Now that the red tape has been cut through, we could start seeing the Wifi-only Flyer in Best Buys stores all across the land any time now (hopefully sooner rather than later). The Flyer is going to launch at Best Buy running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread or, as my friend Snoop calls it, Gingerbrizzle) and will be updated to Honeycomb in short order, says HTC.

26
Apr
Swype_Logo

We Android fans love our input methods. Luckily there is no shortage of options, with keyboards ranging from the standard Gingerbread keyboard all the way to wacky ones such as 8Pen. Despite all the competition, and the fact that it isn't even available on the Android Market, Swype is one of the most popular custom keyboards around. It makes the tedious act of touchscreen typing that much smoother by letting users glide their thumb from letter to letter rather than tapping.

There are a number of imitators on the market today that try to implement this swiping method of text input, and HTC Sense 3.0 is said to be bringing another into the mix.

26
Apr
vzlogo

April 28th is going to be a big day at Verizon for Android lovers, as three new phones are scheduled to hit the sales floor, adding even more choices to the already vast lineup of VZW Android powered goodness.

Samsung DROID Charge

First on the list is the Samsung DROID Charge. I realize that we've known the release date for several days, but it's definitely worth mentioning again since it's the first 4G phone to carry the DROID tag and will most likely take its place as the new flagship phone for VZW.

droid-charge-1 

Specs:

  • 4G LTE
  • 4.3 Inch Super AMOLED Plus display
  • 1GHz Hummingbird processor
  • 8MP rear camera, 1.3MP front camera
  • Mobile Hotspot with support for up to 10 devices
  • Android 2.2 with Samsung's TouchWiz interface
  • Price: $299 with a new two-year agreement

It is (unjustly) the most expensive phone on the list, with the fact that it runs on Verizon's 4G LTE network the only thing that it really has going for it.