htc

HTC Announces Titan 4G On Telstra In Australia

May 23, 2012 | By Pradeep

HTC today announced Titan 4G with 4.7 inch display and 1.5 GHz Snapdragon processor in Australia today. The device will feature a 16MP camera with 720p HD video recording and 1.3MP front camera. The Titan 4G will be available for free from Telstra for $78 per month on a 24 month plan. The unlocked device will cost over $890. Australian Windows Phone users should be happy to hear the first 4G device on their country.

Soure: CRN

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Windows Phone Devices Outselling iPhones In Russia

May 9, 2012 | By Pradeep

MTS, Russia’s leading mobile operator released its mobile phone sales report in Russia. We have got some interesting stats regarding Windows Phone platform from their sales estimate report. In the data on sales of smartphones by operating systems in Q1 2012 (in terms of units sold), Windows Phone devices outsold iPhone in Russia. Windows Phone had 8.2% of the smartphone market share whereas iOS had only 7.3%.

And in the list of top 5 selling smartphones in the price range of greater than 10000 RUB, there are three Windows Phone devices. Nokia Lumia 800, Nokia Lumia 710 and HTC Mozart. It seems that the earlier reports about HTC Mozart selling out in Russia seems to be true.

Source: MTS

Thanks to Arun for the heads up.

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HTC looking at ditching keyboards, large batteries for 6mm thick phones

April 20, 2012 | By Surur

At a special event for technology bloggers organized in Seattle, HTC’s vice president of product strategy Bjorn Kilburn is reported to have said they are looking at creating phones as thin as 6mm. Rich Brome, editor of Phonescoop.com, reported these comments on twitter.

HTC creative director Claude Zellweger said that while there was still demand for physical QWERTY keyboards, they do not allow HTC to move forward with its design principles, thus the company decided to move away from the sliders. "We feel that putting too much effort into that would take away from our devices.” The company would be looking at adding haptics to their onscreen keyboards instead.

The company also said that their research indicated consumers preferred thinner phones to longer battery life. It should be noted however that they were testing 3000 mAh batteries, so it is likely that the form factor of the handsets were seriously compromised by the large battery.

Do our readers agree with HTC’s design direction, or are they missing a beat by leaving handsets in demand on the design table? Let us know below.

Via Allaboutphones.nl and Pocketnow.com

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Nokia Drive vs HTC Location video review

March 30, 2012 | By Surur

Pocketnow have uploaded this video comparing Nokia’s free GPS Navigation solution, Nokia Drive, with HTC’s new and improved HTC Locations app, which also offers voice-guided turn by turn GPS navigation.

In some ways HTC’s app is somewhat more feature-filled, but it is of note that while basic navigation may be free, it appears that voice-guided navigation may initially be free, but will eventually involve having to pay for the feature.

The applications can be found in the various OEM specific marketplace subsections.

Which do our readers prefer so far? Let us know below.

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HTC patent reveals new HTC Surround-type design

March 30, 2012 | By Surur

The HTC Surround was not the most successful Windows Phone, and may in fact have been the least, using its bulk for speakers instead of the more useful keyboard and with the Zune media player not even supporting landscape mode fully.

It seems however HTC has not let the idea die, and has been working on more designs for the smartphone with speakers.

Above is a version with retractable landscape speakers, and to the right is a more simplistic version which merely separate the speakers by using a kick stand, and rely on echoes to induce audio separation.

The designs were revealed from a patent application from Q1 2011, after the release of the HTC Surround.

WindowsPhoneDaily notes that with HTC’s purchase of Beats they have clearly not let go of their music market aspirations, so who knows, maybe a Surround 2 will one day hit the market after all.

Via WindowsPhoneDaily, Electronista and Patent Bolt

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HTC Locations App Update Brings Offline Navigation To HTC Windows Phone Devices

March 29, 2012 | By Pradeep

HTC has updated its exclusive app Locations which brings Offline navigation of HTC Windows Phone devices. Locations app which was hardly noticed by us so far has now become a must have app for HTC Windows Phone devices. Similar to Nokia Drive app, Locations app allows you to download the whole maps for offline viewing for various countries around the world. Just in time for HTC Titan II launch in USA, HTC has tried to equal the mapping experience on HTC devices on par with the Nokia Maps/Drive on Lumia 900.

Find the app in HTC Section of Windows Phone Marketplace.

via: Engadget

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HTC launching a music service soon?

March 22, 2012 | By Surur

Nokia has Nokia Music and of course Apple has iTunes. It seems HTC is feeling left out, as their subsidiary, Beats, famous for their Dr Dre headphones, are rumoured to be set to purchase music streaming service MOG.

MOG has over 14 million tracks in their library and an iPhone and Android app. Presumably if they are purchased by HTC they will also expand to their Windows Phones.

HTC has been struggling of late, with its aggressive growth from 2011 dropping of steeply in the last 2 quarters.

HTC has however said they intend of focus on music and cameras to stimulate sales, making the deal at least somewhat likely.

HTC has refused to comment on the rumour, saying the deal would be the action of Beats, which is independent of the Taiwanese company.

HTC has been active in the deployment for cloud computing music service, implementing a number of acquisition deals, including the takeover Saffron Digital and Onlive as well as Taiwan-based KKBOX.

HTC to beat Nokia, ZTE to the punch by releasing official Chinese-localized Windows Phone first

March 3, 2012 | By Surur

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It seems HTC is getting ready to beat all the other Windows Phone OEMs to the punch and release an official Chinese localized Windows Phone into the market first.

Chinese site WPDang.com reports that HTC flagship store in Beijing’s Solana mall has started taking pre-order for HTC Titan, to be released in China as the Triumph.

The handset is being promoted as the “The first ever Chinese Windows Phone 7.5 device on this planet” and “the authentic Chinese version” and is being sold for CNY 4,999 (USD 793.7). This price is significantly more than the grey market imports, which average CNY 3,600 (USD 571.6), but then those are not “authentic Chinese version” handsets with all the appropriate localizations.

These localizations likely includes those we associate with Tango in China, including replacing the hardwired Facebook and Twitter features with local Chinese equivalents such as Weibo.

Providing for the Chinese market is increasingly important as the market there grows explosively, with China recently becoming the first country with over a billion mobile phone subscribers.

Via WPSauce.com

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Is Microsoft negotiating with record companies for additional streaming rights for Zune?

February 18, 2012 | By Surur

CNET reports that Microsoft is in talks with some of the major record companies about creating a new music service, utilizing streaming rights, rather than just downloading music.

The service would supply music to Windows Phone and Xbox 360, and would presumably be different from the existing service by not requiring a fee to play, like Spotify or Rdio on the desktop.

CNET also reports that Microsoft may be planning to hook up with Nokia and HTC, both major Windows Phone 7 OEMs, to partner in the deal.

Negotiations are still apparently in an early stage and specifics are not available yet.

HTC launches new design studio to create better phones

February 6, 2012 | By Surur

HTC did not have a good Q4 2012, and blames it on thicker LTE products with poor battery life (possibly the HTC TiTan II?)

Here is what HTC CFO Winston Yung said in their earnings call:

“When we look back to the 4th quarter of last year, we simply dropped the ball on products. If we compare some of the products that we have launched, (especially in the U.S., LTE products) with some of our competitors products, you’ll see thicker form factor for example. And LTE at this point also has some compromises, like battery life. So we simply need to do a better job on both the design, and also the internals and the components of products.

They however have a plan to succeed:

And these are the various areas where we will be working on. From the design point of view, from the choice of components, having a lot more open mind as to what components we use, and using the most appropriate components for the phone. By having a more focused approach to our product strategy, and having the organization behind the product strategy to support it. I think I have told some people when talked about the creation of this “Studio”, which is a department within HTC that reports directly to Peter (Chou, HTC CEO). And this group of people comprise the team from design, the team from engineering and etc; working on a cross disciplinary approach, and reporting directly to Peter. It has a lot of focus, is spending a lot of time on the key products that we are going to launch this year. And I think from these various perspectives, organization more focused on strategy and having a more open mind on components, choosing the best components, will allow us to regain the edge in products. “

Hopefully the initiative will also involve their Windows Phones, meaning we will also see super thin and super sexy Windows Phone 8 devices at the end of the year.

Via Unwiredview.com

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HTC to ship less, better models

January 26, 2012 | By Surur

HTC UK chief Phil Roberson has told MobilityToday HTC released too many models in 2011, and suffered the consequence.

‘We have to get back to focusing on what made us great – amazing hardware and a great customer experience. We ended 2011 with far more products than we started out with. We tried to do too much.’

He said the company will be concentrating on more on high quality, high end “hero” devices from Q2 2012.

‘So 2012 is about giving our customers something special. We need to make sure we do not go so far down the line that we segment our products by launching lots of different SKUs.’

The move is however not risk free, as with less models there is a bigger effect if a phone fails to be a hit.

CCS Insight analyst Ben Wood said: ‘If you rationalise your portfolio you have to deliver a ‘hero’ product, but the margin for error increases and you have fewer products to fall back on.’

IDC’s Francisco Jeronimo said HTC had ‘great’ products but it did lack the marketing spend of a company like Samsung, which closed 2011 in an impressive position.

Motorola has recently said they will adopt the same strategy of less models with more marketing attached to each device.

The change of heart is really a symptom of the malaise of all major Android OEMs except Samsung at the moment, with both Sony Ericsson and Motorola recently reporting poor sales.

HTC’s first quarter net profit fell 26% to $365m, its first quarterly decline in earnings for two years as it faced competition from Apple and Samsung’s Galaxy range.

HTC’s new Windows Phone range appears relatively optimised at present, with a high and handset, the HTC Titan and a mid-range handset, the HTC Radar, which appears to be selling well. The HTC Titan will soon however have to compete with the HTC Titan II, a near identical device with LTE and a higher resolution camera, which suggests HTC still has some work to do working on their roadmap.

Via MobileToday.com

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Highlights of Windows Phone at CES – Video

January 12, 2012 | By andrewbares

Check out our highlights video of Windows Phone as seen at CES 2012! The video includes the best scenes from Microsoft’s Keynote, Nokia’s Press Conference, hands on demos, shots of the Nokia Lumia 900, 800, 710, HTC Titan 2, and more!

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WTH! Now HTC’s YouTube app also pulled from Marketplace: Update: Still there if you search

December 22, 2011 | By Surur

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We heard this morning about MetroTube being removed from Marketplace due to a violation of Google’s APIs.

Now it seems the HTC YouTube app has also been pulled from Marketplace.

We don’t know what is behind the change, but if it is Google turning on the screws on Windows Phone 7 maybe we are not particularly impressed. We have been informed Microsoft has no response yet, but are considering their options.

Update: The app is still there if you search, but has been moved from HTC’s app section.

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