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[Review] HTC Inspire 4G: A Pretty Face Only Gets You So Far
Not too shabby for a 4G smartphone with a reasonable price tag.
About this time last week, I first started playing with our Inspire 4G review unit. And at first blush, I admittedly found myself enamored with this phone. Unfortunately, it was a love that started to splinter as the days went on, and the more I used it, the more I noticed just how unfinished some parts of this phone can feel. Overall, the Inspire is a good phone with the potential to be great, and I'll talk about what's holding it back (software, connectivity) further on in the review.
Twitter's laying down the bird-law this morning, and the owners of Twidroyd, UberMedia, don't have much in the way of good news to tweet about right now (I am so sorry for that entire sentence).
Right now at MWC, Eric Schmidt is showing off a brand-new, Google-developed Android app: Movie Studio. The app, as the name may suggest, is a video editor. It's designed specifically for Honeycomb tablets, and as a video editor, that sort of makes sense. It's pretty rough trying to edit video on a smaller screen, though not impossible (which is to say, I imagine an XDA port for phones will happen as soon as an APK gets leaked).
Uhoh, he's at it again. No, I'm not going to make this a rant that is hugely controversial or upsetting. Seemingly contrary to what I write sometimes, I love Android. And anyone who loves Android can agree: the Android Market kinda-sorta sucks sometimes.
Yesterday afternoon I unboxed an HTC Inspire 4G, the first Sense UI-equipped smartphone I've used. And let me say right now: I'm impressed. The interface has very little lag, is quite nice to look at, and very informative on the Inspire's large 4.3" LCD display. Anyway, I'll just direct you to my video hands-on:
Some internal document sent somewhere at some point today was captured by someone and then sent on to Droid-Life, and the news it contains isn't going to be making anyone particularly happy:
Ok, so it's not that expensive, but $10 (5.99GBP)? Seems a little pricey for a remote viewer client (though LogMeIn will run you , by comparison), especially considering RealVNC's "Personal Edition" desktop software costs 30 bucks. Fear not, because there is a free version of the RealVNC software for Windows, and while it lacks a lot of the nifty features the full Personal Edition has, the Android viewer client doesn't support most of them anyway.
As you may have guessed from the title, I figure I'll let you know what I think about the Echo while you're here (alternatively, if you don't care what I think, scroll on down for the poll). (For those who need to familiarize themselves with the device, here's the official announcement.)
T-Mobile just announced their upcoming Valentine's Day sale: all smartphones will be free on a new 2-year agreement, upgrade, or the addition of a new line from February 11-12. This includes all two of T-Mobile's available HSPA+ devices: the G2 and myTouch 4G. Why this Valentine's day sale doesn't actually take place on Valentine's day is somewhat obvious: a slew of new Android handsets will probably be announced that day at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Yeah, Nvidia's Tegra line of mobile processors is pretty exciting, and will be getting the quad core treatment later this year, but don't forget about the competition - namely, Texas Instruments. TI chips have powered most of Motorola's Android products to date (excluding the upcoming ATRIX / BIONIC / XOOM), but Nvidia ended up beating TI to the punch in the marketplace for multi-core handsets and tablets.
There's been exciting news floating around the blogosphere today of a "working" beta of CyanogenMod 7 for the Galaxy Tab being released. Just one caveat - it isn't really CyanogenMod 7.
Before anyone jumps on me, I know there's a number of remote torrent management applications out there on the Market, including ones that work with uTorrent. This app, however, is being put out by none other than BitTorrent Inc., the owners of uTorrent. That means you can expect a remote torrent client that actually works, as opposed to the aforementioned mediocre alternatives. Not to mention the fact that uTorrent Remote packs a feature set other remote torrent apps simply can't match.
A German HTC fan blog by the name HTC Inside published a shot from Vodafone's internal inventory system last night, revealing the existence of an HTC phone by the name "Desire 2". Phandroid pointed out that this may be a European version of the upcoming and equally mysterious dual-core Pyramid, and I'd say that's not too farfetched a theory.
Google released its monthly update of the Android version distribution charts today, and the battle against fragmentation is slowly being won.
Do you have $500 laying around to spend on a smartphone? Well then, have we got a deal for you - Dell's most attractive piece of Android hardware to date, the Venue (formerly know by its code name "Thunder"), is up for grabs on Dell's website right now. At $500, it's not too exorbitant a price for an unlocked handset, and you get your choice of frequency band versions: AT&T or T-Mobile. You can expect it ship by the 18th of this month.
Dell Streak 7 Available Now - Are You Getting One?
Dell Streak 7 Available Now - Are You Getting One?
The world's first 4G (subject to your definition) tablet is available now! Well, if you live on the East Coast, and assuming snow or rain or some terrible combination thereof aren't preventing you from going outside. Those of us west of the Rockies will have to wait another 2 hours before getting our Streak on, but I feel like my LA sunshine is worth it. Of course, anyone can order it online right now. Oh, and you can get it directly from Dell as well.
The first of AT&T's entourage of Androids for 2011 has had its release date and pricing set in stone. The Inspire 4G, essentially an AT&T version of the Thunderbolt, will be dropping on February 13th for 99 bucks on contract or upgrade pricing. And for a double-digit price, the Inspire 4G is packing some respectable specs.
A couple of leaked Verizon charts popped up on Droid Life this morning, their contents? HTC Thunderbolt propaganda - well, at least in one of them.
Next Wednesday, Google will be holding a press event to showcase Honeycomb and discuss Android at large. Team Android is going to give attendees an "in-depth look" at Honeycomb, news regarding the Android ecosystem, and a number of hands-on opportunities while at Google headquarters in Mountain View.