HTC has upgraded its Android FAQ page to lay out the timeline over which a number of its handsets will receive upgrades to Android 4.0. Over the next few months, the Droid Incredible 2, Amaze, Desire, Desire HD, Evo 3D, Evo 4G+, and a number of other models are slated to receive an update to the latest version of Android.
The total mobile user base is significantly less oriented towards Android than phone market share would suggest, according to research. An InMobi study saw iOS extend a slight lead in North America based on ad impressions, going from an 0.6-point lead at 33.1 percent in the fall to a 2.7-point gap at 36.8 percent in the winter. It had Apple, not Google, growing faster for at least the past several months.
New NPD data has credited the iPhone 4S as the primary factor behind the adoption of 4G or pseudo-4Gon smartphones. Where just six percent of devices had support for HSPA+, LTE, or WiMAX at the end of 2010, about 35 percent had it during the newest iPhone's fall launch. Even though it only had two months to sell, Apple's hardware became the most popular HSPA+ phone in the US for all of 2011.
The Wi-Fi security flaw present in some Android-powered HTC smartphones has been acknowledged by the manufacturer on its support page. When connected to Wi-Fi networks, hackers can take advantage of the flaw to gain security access credentials. The flaw was discovered by researchers Chris Hessing and Bret Jordan and would allow the details to be sent to a remote server on the Internet.
Good Technology broke down its latest enterprise stats Wednesday to show that the iPhone 4S had a tangible impact on share at work. The new Apple phone made smartphone activations through the enterprise platform "skyrocket," making up for any pent-up demand from the summer with a record in the fall. iOS as a whole made up 70 percent of the newly switched-on activations, keeping its summer share even in the face of theoretically tougher competition.
A leaked End-of-Life (EOL) report shared by SprintFeed reveals Sprint will phase out the BlackBerry PlayBook, HTC Evo View 4G, and Evo View 4G before month's end. The shipments to carrier stores will decrease before ceasing altogether. The discontinuation of the two tablets could be an indication Sprint is readying sequels, although only the PlayBook refresh has been hinted at so far.
Sprint has confirmed that it is set to release over-the-air updates for Samsung's Epic 4G handset and HTC's Evo 4G and Evo Design 4G models. The updates primarily focus on removing Carrier IQ's controversial tracking software, though the company suggests it has also "bundled up a few other fixes."
Owners unhappy with the selection of hardware in HTC's bootloader unlocking program have developed their own unofficial solution. HTC Super Tool on the XDA-Developers forums both unlocks the bootloader and roots devices whether or not they're part of HTC's plans. Along with the Evo and Sensation models, it also unlocks the T-Mobile G2, Inspire 4G, and multiple myTouch models.
The iPhone 4S is overwhelming talk of other smartphones as holiday picks, Nielsen tracked on Friday. The new iPhone has consistently been the most talked-about device in news and social, at about 40 percent between July and early December. When joined with other iPhone models, Apple had 66 percent of all the buzz, or three times as much as Google's 23 percent for Android.
HTC's CFO Winston Yung in an interview early Monday dismissed worries that its steep outlook drop was an indication of long-term trouble. He told Reuters that HTC had had six straight quarters of improving performance. Even the "most conservative" outlook at HTC had 45 million phones shipping in 2012, up from 25 million this year.
The HTC Evo 4G has now followed in the footsteps of the Galaxy S II and the Optimus 3D in getting an unofficial port of Android 4.0. Courtesy of XDA-Developer forum member the_plattypus, the port is said to be a work in progress and there are a lot of features that aren't working. Features that are working include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, carrier service and audio, while the touchscreen works but lacks the pointer mode.
Flickr's Camera Finder has already put the iPhone 4S as the second-most popular camera phone. In the five weeks since its arrival, Apple's phone has passed the only Android phone in the top five, the HTC Evo 4G, as well as the iPhone 3G and 3GS. The only device in front is the iPhone 4, whose 16-month lead kept it safe from an immediate challenge.
The company resulting from the liquidation of once-giant workstation developer Silicon Graphics, Graphics Properties Holdings, hoped to profit from the work of the smartphone and TV industries after it quietly filed an International Trade Commission dispute late this week against key companies. It alleges that Apple, HTC, LG, RIM, Samsung, Sony, and Sony Ericsson are violating three patents for video technology. The patents appear to cover obvious technology, including floating point math to render the image, parcel instruction processing, and even widescreen LCD displays.
The iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS held on as the US' bestselling smartphones during the third quarter of 2011, according to new NPD Group data. Following behind in the top five were two Android-based phones -- the HTC EVO 4G and the Motorola Droid 3 -- as well as the Samsung Intensity II, which NPD classifies as a smartphone even though the device is more basic than most. The updated top phone list is almost identical to one for Q2, the only difference being the Droid 3 replacing the HTC Inspire 4G.
Sprint CEO Dan Hesse during a visit to Taiwan promised HTC that the carrier would continue to support HTC in spite of the iPhone 4S launch. He noted with Digitimes in attendance that the teamwork between Sprint and HTC had made the Evo 4G one of the most popular smartphones in the US, suggesting that the two needed each other. HTC was widely known to be Sprint's main smartphone supplier until at least Apple's arrival.
Sprint on Tuesday sent notice that it was the first carrier to push a broadly available fix for the major privacy hole in HTC's Android phones. Evo 3D, Evo 4G, Evo Design 4G, Evo Shift 4G, Evo View 4G, and Wildfire S owners on the network are now getting an over-the-air upgrade. Users will get the notices in stages, although anyone can push the update sooner by checking in HTC's software updates.
During the last quarter in the US market, about 22 percent of all smartphones sold supported 4G networks, the NPD Group found. This is a huge jump from last year's quarter, which saw only three percent of all smartphones be 4G capable. The growth is no doubt due to the added number of available 4G services and devices, such as Verizon's LTE network.
A study performed by Localytics found 36.6 percent of all Android devices sold in the summer of 2011 in the US offer 4G network speeds. This includes HSPA+, LTE. and WiMAX network compatibility, however. The tally represents an increase of more than 50 percent since the 22.6 percent in the first quarter.
Sprint is planning on discontinuing its HTC Evo 4G smartphone by October. SprintFeed reports that the flagship, along with several other phones launched in 2010, will be phased out as well. Sprint will discontinue the white model in September, and other versions in October.
iOS bounced back in June as new data from Millennial Media showed faster growing use and app support. Android still grew slightly from the month before in smartphone OS traffic to 54 percent versus Apple's 26 percent, but the iPhone was growing faster. Impressions from iOS devices had grown 18 percent in the spring compared to Android's 11 percent.
Flickr's Camera Finder has officially confirmed Apple CEO Steve Jobs' claims at WWDC that the iPhone 4 was the most popular camera. The smartphone just edged past the Nikon D90 to get the largest percentage of members and 4,800 photos uploaded per day. It had been threatening an upset for the past several weeks.
The HTC Evo 4G is to receive an over the air update to patch the device within the next few days. The patch restores Netflix and visual voicemail to device after the most recent update resulted in killing the features on install for many users. The bug crept in for users who upgraded the phone from Android 2.2 (Froyo) to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).
Sprint in an update has confirmed previous clues that it would upgrade the HTC Evo 4G to Android 2.3. Starting today, June 3, owners can check for the upgrade themselves and load it manually. Automatic, over-the-air updates would happen in waves starting from the hinted-at June 6 release date.
According to a leaked calendar from Sprint, the HTC Evo 4G will get an OTA update to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) on June 6. Other clues about an OS update have also appeared recently. Changes to Sprint's website last week, since reversed, showed new orders for the Evo 4G would ship with Android 2.3. Earlier this year an HTC representative indicated that the Evo 4G would be getting the upgrade sometime in June.
Sprint on the Evo 4G's product page gave out strong clues that the phone was getting Android 2.3 soon. The carrier mentioned that it "ships with Android 2.3" in one area. At one point, it had mentioned the new OS in 2.3 and even singled it out as an improvement, though all but one reference has flipped back to 2.2.
Canalys late Wednesday provided one of the few estimates of Windows Phone 7 shipments for early 2011. The analyst team believed that Microsoft's combined partners shipped under 2.5 million phones between January and March. Each of the top five Android phone makers sold more than this number by themselves, and Samsung's in-house Bada OS also saw more shipments at 3.5 million.
The launch of the Verizon iPhone 4 in the winter not only helped Apple gain status in the US but saw Android share decline for the first time in two years, the NPD Group found on Thursday. Apple was now the third-largest phone maker of any type in the US at 14 percent, slipping only behind basic phone specialists Samsung (23 percent) and LG (18 percent). The iPhone jumped nine points in smartphones to 28 percent, but Android had slipped from a record high 53 percent smartphone sales in the fall to 50 percent spread across its several manufacturers.
Sprint on Thursday touted signs of recovery by getting its best cellphone customer growth in five years. It added a total of 1.1 million new users, most of which were 846,000 prepaid customers but also included 310,000 regular subscribers. The total number matched the fall but saw about five times more regular subscribers.
Recent Skype acquisition Qik has now launched a full-fledged video chat app for Android phones. The free app (Android Market), the app offers not just live streaming and sharing but two-way conversation. Previously, this version was only available preloaded on devices like the Evo 4G, with the downloadable app being simpler and allowing only recording of videos.
The iPhone 4 should soon carry the distinction of being the most popular camera on Flickr. The Yahoo-owned site's Camera Finder shows Apple's phone on the verge of overtaking the Nikon D90 and having already passed Canon's EOS 5D Mark II, Rebel T1i, and Rebel XSi. Without timestamps, it's unclear exactly when the shift began, but it followed after a surge a significant amount of time after the iPhone 4 was on sale.
A response from an HTC representative has suggested that some of HTC's year-old phones may get Android 2.3. Along with plans to upgrade the Thunderbolt, at least the Evo 4G would also get the upgrade to the newer OS in spring, before the end of June. The TalkAndroid reader didn't get more detail but said it was on track "assuming that there are no major setbacks."
An LCD examination for the iPad 2 has shown both its quality but has also called out for major improvements in software and, eventually, in hardware. Like with the original iPad and the iPhone 4, DisplayMate gave the iPad 2's screen praise for having an IPS-based, 24-bit color panel but said it needed better antialiasing to improve the perceived smoothness of text and other elements. As an example, company president Dr. Soneira put it next to a netbook and noticed that a similar pixels-per-inch ratio still netted smoother fonts due to Windows' ClearType.
The HTC Thunderbolt's ongoing delays may be attributable to battery life based on tips from sources on Friday. Verizon's headlining 4G phone is reportedly supposed to have battery life poor enough that it can drain out in two to three hours, or even more aggressively than the Evo 4G's WiMAX did at first. Firmware was said to blame by Engadget's informers and could see the issue fixed in software.
Good Technology in a new study (PDF) showed the iPad quickly becoming one of the most popular devices activated in the enterprise outside of the BlackBerry. Apple's tablet shot up from 14 percent in October to about 22 percent in December, putting it only just behind the iPhone 4 as the most popular. The rise was helped by a surge in interest from banks, whose interest spiked up to 40 percent.
Sprint may have seen its first absolute increase in contract subscribers for the past three years if more
The HTC Evo 4G smartphone, with its 4.3-inch touchscreen, 1GHz CPU and 8-megapixel camera, is now available for just $100 when tied to a contract with Sprint through Amazon. The price is half the that the Android 2.2 flaghsip at Sprint itself. The deal extends to both black and white versions.
Apple passed on making an LTE version of the Verizon iPhone because it would have required too many sacrifices, Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said during the keynote to launch the CDMA device. The first generation of LTE chipsets weren't good for the device because they would have required "design compromises," he said. The launch was instead about timing and thus better to get the device to people who wanted it now, not later.
Skype may be on the verge of buying Qik in a push to hold the lead in video chat, a purported insider claimed on Thursday. The deal would reportedly be worth $100 million. The historically reliable SAI source said the a deal could be completed as soon as this week, before CES is over.
Skype's plans to bring video calling to the iPhone and the iPad were given away today with a help document (may not show the same on all browsers). The page tells users how to set up video calls on the mobile platform and promises that it will work on 3G as well as with Mac and Windows clients. It also won't be limited to the iPhone 4 or fourth-generation iPod touch, Skype said, adding that current iPad owners would only get one-way video calls from recipients.
Hybrid Audio LLC late Tuesday joined in a spate of recent lawsuits by suing Apple, Dell and HTC. The Tyler, Texas-based complaint accuses all three of violating a patent for processing MP3 songs using a tree-structured array. The lawsuit claimed that Apple's iPad, iPhone 4, iPod nano, iTunes and MacBook Pro all violate the patent; Dell's Adamo, Alienware, Inspiron, Studio and XPS systems have been similarly named, as have its Aero smartphone, the Streak tablet and HTC's Evo 4G.
Free video chat provider ooVoo detailed launch of the ooVoo Mobile service for Android devices on Wednesday with a tease of Apple plans. The app allows up to six users to participate in a video call at the same time, even with high video quality. This is also the first time desktop ooVoo users can video chat with mobile users.
"ipad" ranked second amongst the fastest-rising search terms of 2010, says Google. The query lost to "chatroulette" only by a short margin; both beat celebrity searches for the likes of Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry. Two other prominent technology entries, Twitter and Facebook, ranked a distant eighth and 10th respectively.
Sprint leader Dan Hesse during his interview at D: Dive Into Mobile admitted that he would like the iPhone. He maintained an unusually elusive stance on whether or not there were any plans on Tuesday, saying that he "can't say" if there were plans. However, a follow-up question revealed that he liked the idea and was complimentary to Apple.
While the first official handset running on Android 2.3 will be the Nexus S, as announced just yesterday, developers are hard at work trying to bring the OS to other devices. They are targeting the HTC Evo 4G specifically and an early build of the OS is available, though it is said to be extremely buggy at this point. Users can download beta ROM from the XDA Developers Forum.
Google's latest OS distrubution chart published today revealed that Android 2.2 has finally become the most-used single version of the platform. As of the start of December, 43.4 percent of phones are using the OS, up from 36 percent last month. The figure had Android 2.1 still relatively close at 39.6 percent, while 16.9 percent were still running a 1.x version over a year after it became obsolete.
A pair of filings with the US Patent Office discovered today have revealed that HTC will call a future 4G smartphone the Evo Shift 4G. The documents were filed on October 21, and provide the first mention of such a device. As with the HTC Evo 4G and Samsung Epic 4G, the handset is likely to arrive at Sprint when it's launched.
Wireless provider Sprint has taken arbitrary action against Clearwire, of which it's a majority shareholder, over a dispute related to money Sprint pays Clearwire for operating its WiMAX-capable smartphones. This includes the HTC Evo 4G and the Samsung Epic 4G and several hundred thousand owners who use them outside of Clearwire's 4G coverage area. Clearwire believes Sprint needs to make monthly payments for these handsets despite this under their wholesale agreement, with Sprint disagreeing.
Sprint's Corporate Communications spokeswoman Stephanie Vinge gave a quick update that WiMAX service would go live in Los Angeles by December 1. The figure narrows a looser end-of-year goal and follows after New York City. San Francisco and other areas don't yet have definite targets.
HTC's Desire HD may get its first North American appearance through Telus based on slips both from sources and HTC itself. Visitors to the Canadian registration page for HTC's Sense service are given the option of picking the Desire HD where it should only have shown the Desire Z that just launched at Bell. Until now, the Desire HD was previously off-limits for North America as it didn't support the 3G frequencies used by Canadian carriers and AT&T.
Clearwire today reported major losses that prompted it to take dramatic action and conserve its resources. After a net loss of $564.6 million, the 4G service said it would take "cash conservation measures" and cut 15 percent of its entire workforce. The plan will also see it delay plans for its own smartphones and stop development of future retail stores. It characterized itself as an "early-stage" network for whom losses were part of its growth phase, but it also warned that problems were immediate and that there were no guarantees it could survive past mid-2011.
