HTC Magic is official!
Vodafone just got the world’s first touchscreen-only Android phone: HTC’s Magic. The phone comes with a 3.2-inch HVGA screen front and center, HDSPA, GPS, 3.2 megapixel camera (no flash), and a G1-style trackball. Details on pricing and availability will be unveiled for local Vodafone markets as they see fit, but pricing in Spain will be from 99 to 199 Euro, depending on contract. Initial markets to nab the phone will be UK (due in April), Spain, Germany, France and Italy, with more countries to follow, and the phone will be a timed exclusive with Vodafone. But at least this one will ship with a touchscreen keyboard out of the gate — it’s running Cupcake.
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Mobile World Congress: HTC Roundup
HTC released 2 phones at this year’s Mobile World Congress: the HTC Touch Diamond 2 on the left, and the HTC Touch Pro on the right.
The Touch Diamond 2 comes with a huge 3.6-inch 480 x 800 LCD up front, and around back there’s a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus. The other main addition is a “touch zoom bar” below the screen. There’s also the new version of TouchFLO 3D running on Windows Mobile, but under the hood there’s the same old 528MHz processor, and the whole kit is actually a tad thicker a 0.54-inches. Still, memory is up to 512MB ROM and 288MB RAM. This phone should hit major markets in Europe and Asia in “early Q2 2009,” with more spots to follow later in the year.
Meanwhile, the Touch Pro 2 now has a 3.6-inch 800 x 400 screen, with 512MB of ROM, 288MB of RAM, microSD expansion, and a 3.2 megapixel cam. The phone still has a QWERTY keyboad, just like the old one. It’ll launch early in the second quarter in parts of Asia and Europe with other “major global markets” following in early Summer.
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Updated HTC Dream coming to Spain
Telefonica, the largest fixed-line and mobile telecommunications companies in the world, is bringing the HTC Dream to Spain. But not the Old T-Mobile G1 one. An updated one, although it does still have the same look and feel. It’ll be available for between €0 and €199 depending on your current subscriber status and the plan you choose. Read
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Optus is bringing HTC Dream to Australia
T-Mobile G1, opps, I meant the HTC Dream, is coming to Australia, thanks to Optus, one of Telstra’s biggest competitor. HTC Dream is one of the phone’s rumored names prior to its original release, you might recall — featuring 2100MHz HSDPA, WiFi, and everything else you’ve come to know and love / hate about the world’s first retail Android device. It’ll launch February 16 on plans starting at $59 Australian (about $38) per month, so it’ll be pretty accessible. Read
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HTC 2009 lineup LEAKED!
A forum post just leaked HTC’s latest 2009 lineup, with many products looking like successors to current phones, including T-Mobile’s G2. They’re all below for your pleasure.
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New T-Mobile Dash makes me cry..
According to the source, the new phones have been seen in a few T-Mob stores across the country, and they’re sporting Windows 6.1 and a camera upgrade of some sort. We’re light on details, like whether or not this bad boy is 3G, but then again there’s no telling whether or not any of this is even for reals. But that is a picture, isn’t it? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Josh’s Verdict: Oh why, why can’t HTC make a frigging Windows Mobile 6 upgrade for the Dopod C720W? (it’s the exact same phone as the HTC Excalibur (HTC S620), also rebranded as T-Mobile Dash). They have one for the HTC Excalibur.. but not the dopod one. Just look how sad my C720W looks with Windows Mobile 5:
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White Touch Diamond now on HTC’s website
We understand that there’s a snowstorm underway at HTC’s website, but we’re pretty darn confident that the HTC Touch Diamond there in the middle is white not from hours under the powder, but from a certain hue of paint.
Josh’s Verdict: Remember the Frosty White T-Mobile G1? Looks like HTC is in white fever with their phones
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HTC acquires design firm One & Co
It’d already been known that HTC got a little help from the boys and girls at San Fran-based One & Co in designing its beautiful, WinMo-defying TouchFLO 3D user interface along with the Touch Diamond on which it premiered; apparently, HTC likes the result so much that it’s snapping the privately-held firm right off the market. One & Co’s expertise certainly isn’t limited to phones — its clients span from Coca-Cola to Adidas, Dell, and Palm — and interestingly, HTC has decided that the move won’t spell the end of the design consultancy, so if you were hoping to get your hands on an HTC-designed K2 snowboard, you might just have a shot. We’re told that the injection of fresh thought that found its way into the Diamond will ultimately filter its way through HTC’s entire lineup, which we’re taking to mean Android- and WinMo-based devices alike — and sorry, G1, but if this means that we can eventually land a Google-powered set with a giant display and some glossy facets on its rear, you know you’re getting eBayed right quick. Read
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HTC Touch HD review roundup
The HTC Touch HD isn’t in Hong Kong yet, but it certainly hasn’t been making itself shy overseas, where it has beenunboxed, examined, and given the early review treatment. Now that it’s readily available in the UK, there’s even more reviews of the phone cropping up, which seem to mostly agree that while it’s not a phone for everyone, it definitely impresses. Among those completely blowing things out is Phone Arena, which, as you might expect, was especially impressed by the phone’s screen, and describe it as “the phone for document viewing.” Pocket Now was equally impressed by that “HD” display, as well as its overall performance and battery life, which they were pleased to find was about on par with the HD-less Touch Pro. CNET was even more effusive in its praise, saying that, despite its drawbacks, it is “HTC’s best Windows Mobile phone yet.” Windows Mobile, and HTC’s GUI, proved to be a point of contention for the folks at Slash Gear, however, who say the phone would be even better running a next-gen version of the OS, or possibly even Android (a sentiment also echoed by Phone Arena). Other drawbacks include the phone’s sheer size, some poor performance from TouchFLO 3D (despite an update) and, of course, it’s lack of US 3G bands, which presents a bit of a problem for folks considering importing one. Still undecided? Then dive into the links below and watch the time slip away.
Read - Phone Arena
Read - Pocket Now
Read - CNET
Read - Slash Gear
HTC MAX 4G officially announced, world’s first GSM / WiMAX phone
The previously-seen T8920 has turned out to be the MAX 4G, an 800 x 480 monster with 8GB of Flash on board, two cameras, an FM radio, GPS, WiFi, triband EDGE, and — most importantly — WiMAX support, making it the first GSM / WiMAX handset anywhere in the world. It’ll be launching on Scartel’s Yota network in Russia, and if you have friends cool enough to have a MAX 4G of their own, calls between the two of y’all will automatically be routed over the WiMAX airwaves using VoIP. A launch date hasn’t been announced, but unless you’re in Russia, there’s probably not much point in even bothering to lust after this one. If you insist, though, you can check out a couple additional shots of the phone over at Engadget Mobile.
