September 30th, 2009 | Posted in Mobile | 
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Way back when I reviewed HTC’s Windows Mobile-powered “Touch Diamond” smartphone, I gave props to the handset maker for trying to put a consumer and ‘finger-friendly’ face on Microsoft’s aging mobile OS, but ultimately concluded that the effort was in vein. Instead, I urged HTC build an OS of its own or more realistically, adapt the then up and coming Google Android platform to reflect the company’s own User Interface and UX ambitions. Enter the HTC Hero.
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September 22nd, 2009 | Posted in Mobile | Comments
Yesterday I wrote a rant about a few of Android’s shortcomings but my faith in the Google-led OS has already been somewhat restored (not that it had waned completely). A few minutes after hitting publish, a helpful courier dropped off a review loan of the HTC Hero, courtesy of mobile carrier Orange. The Hero is the first Android-powered device to be heavily customized in terms of User Interface, with HTC’s Sense UI, something that we’re going to increasingly see handset makers do. Just last week, Motorola unveiled its own social networking-driven take on Android, and INQ, makers of the so-called ‘Facebook’ phone, have revealed plans to do the same.
But back to the Hero. A few notable improvements over the standard ‘out-of-the-box’ Android include…
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July 22nd, 2009 | Posted in Mobile | Comments
Forget Chrome OS versus Windows (for now), there’s another Google / Microsoft battle taking place right in front of our eyes and Google’s winning. No, I’m not talking search. That war is over and Google was victorious a long time ago. I’m talking mobile. Android versus Windows Mobile to be precise, where Redmond is looking a little vulnerable to say the least.
Tech pundits like to talk endlessly about how Apple’s iPhone has shaken up the industry and that’s undeniable. But Android is a slow burner — don’t get fooled by the pig of a phone that was the T-Mobile G1 — the Google-led mobile OS is only now beginning to show its true potential. It’s not that consumers are flocking to Andriod — yet — it’s that handset makers right across the board are. And prior to Android, many of those handset makers were more than willing participants in Microsoft’s Windows Mobile eco-system. Less so now.
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July 7th, 2009 | Posted in Mobile | Comments Off
It’s now official: The Palm Pre will launch exclusively on Telefonica-owned O2 here in the UK.
When?
“In time for the holidays”, say Palm and O2, with no word yet on pricing. My guess is that we’re talking early October, enough time to ramp up for Christmas spending.
Either way, it’s a pretty long time to wait, especially since O2 will have been busy pimping its other flagship exclusive. Apple’s newly launched iPhone 3GS.
And then there’s the rest of the competition.
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July 2nd, 2009 | Posted in Mobile, Review | Comments
It goes by many names. The HTC Magic on Vodafone here in the UK, Google Ion, when handed out as a freebie at the search giant’s developer conference, and the myTouch 3G on T-Mobile in the states. But, whichever way you slice it, the second Android-powered Google phone, manufactured by HTC, is an improvement over the original T-Mobile G1 in almost every way.
Where the original G1 is clunky, in part due to its death-trap of a slide-out keyboard – OK I exaggerate but only slightly – the HTC Magic is relatively slim with subtle curves and a much reduced “chin”, which is a universal complaint of the G1.
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June 24th, 2009 | Posted in Mobile | Comments Off
I knew it would happen, I’m just surprised it’s taken so long: Google’s Android has been given a major UI overhaul by a third-party handset maker.
At a press conference in London this morning, HTC unveiled it latest Android-based phone – dubbed “Hero” – but unlike the G1 and HTC Magic before it, the new handset has been given a major UI overhaul that the company is calling HTC Sense.
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February 17th, 2009 | Posted in Mobile | Comments Off
This week’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona has seen a flurry of handset announcements boasting, amongst other features, more megapixels, support for HD video, OLED screens and touchscreen UIs. Here’s five handsets that caught my eye.
Samsung Omnia HD
Not content with competing on megapixels alone, the Omnia HD, as the name suggests, is the first smartphone to both record and playback High Definition video. And that’s proper High Def (720p) unlike the slightly misleadingly named Touch HD from HTC. However, there’s much, much more to like about the Omnia HD, not least its 3.7″ AM OLED touch screen, which if the screen on Nokia’s N85 is anything to go by (I have one on loan right now), will be absolutely stunning. The device also has full DLNA certification, meaning that it’s possible to share media shot or stored on the handset with other UPnP AV devices, such as a PlayStation 3 connected to a High Definition TV.
OS-wise, the Omnia HD uses the latest Symbian OS and the touch-friendly version of S60, although Samsung have customized the home screen quite a bit, including various widgets as first seen on the Tocco.
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August 4th, 2008 | Posted in Mobile | Comments
It’s hard not to look at HTC’s new flagship smartphone, the Touch Diamond, through iPhone-tinted glasses. Featuring a touch screen interface that’s been designed, on the surface at least, to be operated using a finger rather than a stylus, like Cupertino’s own crown jewel, the Touch Diamond is marketed as a device that makes accessing the Web on the go just as easy as making a phone call. It’s also HTC’s latest attempt to put a consumer face on the business oriented Windows Mobile operating system. No mean feat in itself.
Read on to find out if the HTC Touch Diamond truly sparkles or if it’s just an expensive piece of “bling” (Ed. enough puns already).
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August 1st, 2008 | Posted in Mobile | Comments
Overheard at a Verizon wireless store today:
Kid: “This phone sucks.”
Dad: “I know. But there’s not much I can do about it.”
Kid: “Why?”
Dad: “Your contract isn’t up until March and I don’t want to pay $300 for a new one.”
Kid: “Your phone is eligible for an upgrade. Let me use yours.”
Dad: “I don’t want to buy any new phone right now. There’s going to be a lot of phones coming out in the next six months and I want to see them first. All the phones here are lame duck technology.”
Kid: “Oh. Well, this phone still sucks.”
At least some relief is on the horizon for dad. High Tech Computer (HTC), a Taiwan-based maker of Microsoft Windows Mobile cell phones, announced it is on schedule to deliver by 4Q 2008 its first phones based on Google’s open source mobile operating system, Android [via DigiTimes and IntoMobile]. No other details were provided.
HTC has long been rumored to be making their HTC Dream smartphone available on the Android platform later this year, making HTC the first manufacturer to deliver an actual working model and not a prototype with promise.
It is expected that an Android-powered Google phone — along with the introduction in July of the Apple iPhone 3G — will completely shake up the U.S. cell phone/smart phone market with its touch screen and haptic feedback, a full QWERTY keypad (that slides or swivels for easy typing and texting), and Internet access, among other features.
It’s enough for dad to hold off buying a new phone for the kid.
May 6th, 2008 | Posted in Mobile | Comments
It’s about time. Well, sort of.
Taiwanese smart phone manufacturer HTC launched the Touch Diamond today and, as expected, it’s small, sleek, sexy, very iPhone-esque, and promising.
Unfortunately for those of us in the U.S. or Latin America, the Diamond will not be available until the second half of 2008. If you’re in European markets, the phone begins shipping in June, followed by Asia and the Middle East.
As you know, much has been said about the iPhone since its launch last June. Ever since then, any phone released by any manufacturer is compared with the iPhone.
But so far, no one has come close to the iPhone’s design, interface, usability, user experience, and overall satisfaction, although Nokia’s offerings are popular. One “phone” promised to take on the iPhone, but the so-called Gphone, running Google’s mobile operating system Android, hasn’t been released by any manufacturer yet, it isn’t expected until the fourth quarter, and is completely untested in the market.
LONDON - Steve O'Hear reporting from the trenches of convergence (more)
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