The newly announced HTC Flyer just may well be my next smartphone. As mentioned in previous posts, I have been playing with the Samsung Galaxy Tab for around 2 months and while I believe that Samsung did exceptionally well for its first tablet attempt, the average performance of the Samsung Galaxy Tab held me back from upgrading from my iPhone 4. I’ve made up my mind, that for my type of work and lifestyle that a 5 inch or 7 inch tablet would be most suitable. This week it seems that HTC have ticked all the major checkpoints with their new HTC Flyer tablet.
LG’s (Android) Optimus Black… I’ve been wondering just where it fits. It’s not the gun performer. That’s the 2X’s claim. It’s not bleeding edge entertainment. I guess that’s where the new Optimus 3D smartphone stakes its claim. But the Black is very cool, in its own right and I think it fits in nicely as the stylish all-rounder with mega-brightness for outdoor use. And now LG seem to be confirming my suspicions on the whole “positioning” thing with the announcement a few days ago of a partnership with the Keith Haring Foundation to bring a handful of his iconic cool artworks to the Black’s back.
Further to our last Samsung Galaxy S post just a couple of days ago, here’s a walkthrough of its main features by Kim Titus, Director of Public Relations for Samsung Mobile USA. (I like his chunky university ring – I’ve got one too)
I know I’ve said this before but, I love the super AMOLED screen!!
This latest video (below) that popped up in my Youtube subscriptions just reminded me of just how amazingly far HTC have come over the last couple of years.
Although, they’ve only in recent years started using their own brand name when marketing their gear, HTC has been behind some of the biggest game changing gadgets in the smartphone / PDA space.
While I was discovering the HTC Desire for myself at Melbourne’s Telstra T-Life Store, I happened to meet a HTC representative. I won’t mention his name just in case. As we discussed the HTC Desire, he also gave me some juicy tidbits that are sure to spark excitement with those restlessly waiting on the HTC Legend to land in Australia.
There are rumors flying around that the HTC Desire is available as of today in Australia. My friend just got an email (which I will publish once it hits my mailbox) from Telstra saying that the HTC Desire can be purchased from T-Life stores. I’m going to pass by one on the way home so I’ll be able to verify this personally.
The HTC Legend is one of the best-looking upcoming smartphones. Speaking of good-looking here’s a video of the HTC Legend user interface which is HTC’s very own HTC Sense (by PocketNowVideo).
Out of all the nifty features, I particularly liked the pinch and select feature which allows you to choose from multiple HTC Sense windows (see image above). I wish Apple did this on the iPhone. It’s a super quick way to jump from screen to screen instead of flicking through all the time.
I admire companies that take learnings from the past, especially related to successes, and apply them to the current context. In this case, HTC is replicating, what I believe, their huge success that they had with the O2 XDA II Mini. Back in 2004, O2 launched the mini version of the O2 XDA II (manufactured by HTC) which was one of the best selling Windows Mobiles devices of the year. We found that women in particular were attracted to its diminutive size. Zoom to 2010 - the larger and beastier HTC HD2 is a hit and it is an opportune time to leverage this success with a smaller version that provides a similar impressive experience – the HTC HD Mini.
Not only is it more compact but its design is refined and sleek. The HTC HD Mini‘s clean lines and elegant construction will make any owner want to show it off to their office or school buddies.
My only wish was that it kept the 1GHz Snapdragon chip of the HTC HD2 but I’m sure this would have impacted its design. I also think that Apple should consider releasing a mini iPhone as I know of many people who won’t buy one simply because of its size.
Keep an eye on this one. I’m sure it will be a winner.
Starts shipping next month in Europe and Asia.
Specifications of HTC HD Mini:
Size: 104 x 57 x 10.9mm
Networks: WCDMA/HSPA: 900/2100 Mhz GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 Mhz Maximum
Speed: UL=2 Mbps; DL=7.2 Mbps
OS: Windows Mobile 6.5 with HTC Sense
Display: 3.2 inch HVGA capacitive touch screen
Camera: 5 megapixel with auto focus
Internal Memory: 512 MB flash, 384 MB Ram
Memory Card: microSD
Processor: 600 Mhz Qualcomm MSM7227
WLAN: 802.11b/g
Bluetooth: 2.1 with EDR
GPS: GPS/AGPS
Battery: 1200 mAh
Special features: Motion G-sensor, FM radio, 3.5mm audio jack, MicroUSB, Straight Talk Lite, People, TouchFLO 3D, Business Card Scanner, Facebook, Twitter
HTC HD Mini Video:
HTC HD Mini Press Release
BARCELONA, Mobile World Congress – February 16, 2010 – HTC Corporation, a global designer of smartphones, today introduced the HTC HD mini, an HTC Sense-based Windows Phone focused on delivering the popular experience of the HTC HD2 in a more compact design.
“The demand for the HTC HD2 has exceeded our expectations, and the HTC HD mini fulfils a desire from some customers to bring the capabilities and experience of the HTC HD2 to a more compact design,” said Peter Chou, chief executive officer, HTC Corporation. “The integration of HTC Sense and Windows Phone on HD mini and HD2 gives customers an additional choice for an advanced Windows mobile phone that is sleek, well crafted and easy to use.”
The HTC HD mini sports a high degree of usability along with its own unique and beautiful design. Precision fasteners used to assemble the phone are externally visible, displaying a high level of craftsmanship rarely found in mobile phones. And the strong design ethos continues under the battery cover where a bright yellow internal structure, offers an unexpected surprise when the phone is opened.
The HTC HD mini utilises HTC Sense, a user experience focused on putting people at the centre by making the phone work in a more simple and natural way. This experience revolves around three fundamental principles that were developed by observing and listening to how people live and communicate. These core tenets of Make It Mine, Stay Close and Discover the Unexpected continue to be the key to the new HTC Sense experience.
Like the HTC HD2, the HTC HD mini continues the same focus on people-centric communication with complete Outlook integration. It helps you stay close to the important friends and colleagues in your life by providing a single contact view that displays individual communication snapshots of your conversations, regardless of whether it was a call, text, status update or email. HTC’s Windows-based Twitter application, HTC Peep, enables you to tweet and follow your twitter stream.
HTC HD mini includes capacitive touch for viewing, zooming and resizing websites, Microsoft® Office files, PDF documents and pictures with just a pinch of your fingers. Leveraging its 3G broadband connectivity, the HTC HD mini also offers personal Wi-Fi anywhere for your computer or other devices. The HD mini can also be further enhanced to reflect your needs and style by downloading a variety of applications from the Windows® Marketplace for Mobile.
Availability
The new HTC HD mini will be broadly available to customers across major European and Asian markets beginning in April.
The Samsung Omnia II (i8000) is now available at Verizon in the United States and it’s a beauty. Major features that I like are its 3.7″ AMOLED screen, 5 Megapixel digital camera with editing capabilities on board and the snappy Opera 9.5 internet browser. Samsung were on a winning formula with the first Omnia, so with these enhancements and more, I’m anticipating that it will remain being one of Samsung’s mobile flagships.
Features of Samsung Omnia II (i8000):
- 3.7 inch WVGA AMOLED display
- Swype technology
- Samsung TouchQiz 2.0 interface
- Windows Mobile 6.5
- 5 MegaPixel digital camera with flash, autofocus
- Video recording and editing capabilities
- Opera 9.5 enhanced browser
- MicroSD card (expandable to 16GB)
- 8GB of built-in internal memory
- 3G Network compatible (Verizon)
Besides HTC, I believe that Samsung is the other major player who is helping keep Windows Mobile alive in the wake of the iPhone. Microsoft needs to be sending some generous gifts to these two for Christmas!
Below is a Samsung Omnia II (i8000) unboxing video by the folk at www.pocketnow.com.
As the new Blackberry Bold 9700 (Blackberry Bold 2) rapidly makes it way to shelves across the United States, I thought I’d share this informative video by the Phonescoop guys that I found on Youtube with my maybe not so informed Aussie readers. Phonescoop dude shows just how much effort Blackberry have gone to, to improve this already successful device.
This post is also in response to some of my Twitter followers saying that I only post about iPhones and related gadgets these days
For those who are keen to grab hold of the new Blackberry Bold 9700, contact your local Telstra dealer to find out when stock will be arriving in your locale.
The newly announced HTC Flyer just may well be my next smartphone. As mentioned in previous posts, I have been playing with the Samsung Galaxy Tab for around 2 months and while I believe that Samsung did exceptionally well for its first tablet attempt, the average performance of the Samsung Galaxy Tab held me back from upgrading from my iPhone 4. I’ve made up my mind, that for my type of work and lifestyle that a 5 inch or 7 inch tablet would be most suitable. This week it seems that HTC have ticked all the major checkpoints with their new HTC Flyer tablet.
The Samsung Omnia II (i8000) is now available at 
