| MacUpdate Weekend Sale | :This weekend MacUpdate has slashed prices on Painter 12 and Painter Lite. Painter 12 retails for $429, but has been reduced by 54% to $199. Painter Lite has seen a 58% price cut from $69 to $29. Hurry, because these deals are only available until May 19th 2013. |
A rumor is circulating that RIM will partner with user interface design firm YOU i, the company that created the Sense UI with HTC. Sources for GigaOM say that RIM was interested in buying the design company, but has settled for a "significant partnership." YOU i also works closely with Teknision, the Canadian company that developed the UI for RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook.
HTC today switched on HTCSense.com, its online service for its smartphone owners. The service closely follows the path set by Apple's MobileMe, as embers can locate their phone and remotely wipe it if they suspect it's been stolen or permanently lost. It builds on the formula by using two-way interaction, such as checking messages remotely or using Android 2.2's "intent" support to push mapping directions directly to a phone.
HTC's mystery Android QWERTY slider has been spotted today in greater detail than before. The tip to BGR shows the slider, codenamed the ADR6325 and possibly the Merge, much closer to its finished design without the red keyboard background but a metal or metal-effect look. It would ship with Android 2.2 and Sense UI out of the box, but it has a Bing icon that suggests it might not be labeled as a Droid phone.
The spec sheet for the upcoming HTC HD7 smartphone has just been leaked at WMPowerUser. The specs reveal a device that will be only slightly larger than the existing HD2 and which will have support for T-Mobile USA's 1,700MHz 3G band. The HD7 is expected to replace the flagship HD2 at the carrier.
An upcoming HTC smartphone known as the Lexikon may soon arrive at Verizon, according to a leaked render image and leaked specs. The device may also be branded as a Droid handset, as the red accents indicate. Other specs revealed by Phandroid include a 3.8-inch, 800x480 resolution touchscreen, an 800MHz processor and 512MB of RAM.
Nokia's new MeeGo user experience leader Peter Skillman in an interview on Friday criticized both Apple and Motorola in equal measure for interface design choices. He didn't give a full critique of the iPhone to ZURB but said iOS was inconsistent in how users navigate the interface. The former Palm Pre creator embraced Apple-like design philosophy but argued that the iPhone broke the metaphors it wanted to create by forcing users into a different control method to start a new app.
HTC's special event today brought out two new flagship Android phones. The Desire HD leads the group as an internationalized version of the Evo 4G; it centers on a large 4.3-inch, 800x480 display, a 1GHz processor and an eight-megapixel camera, though it uses HSPA+ 3G in place of WiMAX. Both Android 2.2 and the latest version of Sense UI is onboard and includes PC integration, such as pushing messages from a computer to the phone's lock screen or remote location and wipe, as well as pre-cached maps and dynamic ringtone volume that recognizes when it's in a pocket and needs to be louder.
HTC's Benelux regional president Mark Moons today said that Android 2.2 (Froyo) would finally start reaching Sense UI-based phones as of Thursday. Starting with the Desire, the smartphone company will push out the upgrade to a first batch on July 29 and stagger it out to reach everyone. He added that the update would have two extra features, one of which is expected and one which isn't.
HTC's Windows Phone 7 devices will have at least some form of Sense UI in spite of Microsoft's limits, user experience design lead Drew Bamford said in an interview. Although Microsoft is preventing changes to the main interface, HTC believes it can have a version that is an "augment" to WP7 rather than a replacement. The manager has no preview but told Forbes it won't look like the major overhaul seen in Windows Mobile 6.5.
The HTC Vision may have finally been spotted today by a Croatian with hands-on time. The device on display at njuskalo has traces of the Touch Pro2 and its slide-out QWERTY keyboard, albeit non-tilting, but has obvious design changes to support Android and HTC's 2010 design philosophy. It now has a row of touch-sensitive Android keys and an optical trackpad.
Google could put an end to custom Android interfaces with its next major release, sources said Wednesday. Android 3.0, also known as Gingerbread, will focus heavily on the user experience and is specifically aimed at reducing the need for layers like HTC's Sense UI or Motorola's Motoblur. As most core features were added with Android 2.2, the attention now is on having an interface with polish closer to that of the iPhone.
Virgin Mobile Canada had the distinction later on Friday of becoming the first North American carrier to offer the HTC Legend. Its version runs on the 850MHz and 1,900MHz 3G bands but is otherwise very close to the international version with a 3.2-inch, 480x320 AMOLED touchscreen, a five-megapixel camera with flash, GPS and Wi-Fi. It runs Android 2.1 with the latest version of HTC's Sense UI and stands out through an extremely solid, unibody aluminum body.
HTC today said it had bought out Abaxia to claim an edge in smartphone interfaces. The roughly $13.1 million buyout gives access to a developer best known for customizing the home screen, such as supplying info and services directly from the top level. Abaxia also has an instant type-to-search feature much like Palm's webOS that finds contacts and other info without a specific search command.
HTC's CEO Peter Chou defended Android and some of his company's practices in his turn on stage at the D8 conference. The smartphone maker denied that his firm's Sense UI was contributing to Android's fragmentation by delaying when phones could get Android OS upgrades. He instead put a minimal amount of the blame on the OS itself and argued that Sense UI was capable of the apps if the OS didn't conflict.
A reliable tipster has sent photos of an upcoming HTC handset, believed to be the Aria, to AndroidGuys. The source claimed the device will be offered by AT&T and have Android 2.1 along with HTC's Sense UI, as well as a 5-megapixel camera. Placed beside a business card for comparison, the phone should be the smallest Android device to date.
HTC today gave a major upgrade to its entry-level Android smartphones with the post-leak launch of the Wildfire. It replaces the several months old Tattoo and switches from a cruder resistive touchscreen to capacitive touch; the display is still kept cheap with a 320x240 resolution but is larger at 3.2 inches. It appropriately moves to Android 2.1 and, while it uses a 525MHz Qualcomm chip, carries a larger 384MB of RAM.
The previously mysterious HTC Triumph for Canadian provider Telus is actually be the Desire geared to the North American market, a scoop today uncovered. It would be exactly the same as the reference design save for the HSPA-based 3G bands needed for Telus, which would also let it work on other Canadian carriers and AT&T in the US. Any software changes weren't detailed by Mobile Syrup, but Telus has usually left phones like the Hero and Milestone with their built-in apps and UI.
As promised, Verizon today began shipping the Droid Incredible to customers as well as its online and retail shops. The HTC phone virtually replaces the Motorola Droid as Verizon's Android flagship and is in some areas an upgrade to the Nexus One. It shares the official Google phone's 1GHz Snapdragon chip, 3.7-inch AMOLED touchscreen and 4GB of storage but adds an 8-megapixel camera and HTC's Sense UI, including its more advanced on-screen keyboard, widgets and social networking stream.
Google on Monday confirmed that it had dropped the Verizon Nexus One from its plans. Although planned for the spring, the Android "superphone" is no longer coming to the carrier as the Droid Incredible is now considered its equivalent. It reflects the "amazing innovation" in the Android platform, Google said in a statement.
Verizon today formally launched the Droid Incredible as its new flagship. The smartphone is Verizon's fastest with a 1GHz Snapdragon and also the first on the network to pack an 8-megapixel camera supported by twin LED flashes. It should similarly be Verizon's first phone with Android 2.1 and gets HTC's newest version of Sense UI, which brings multi-touch for an Expose-style view of the home screens and a unified friend feed for Facebook, Flickr and Twitter updates.
Verizon today officially confirmed the HTC Incredible with a teaser page. Now called the Droid Incredible, the phone is called the "next chapter in the Droid saga" and is due to launch on April 29th. No pricing or Verizon-specific features were included in the early details.
Verizon's edition of the Touch Pro2 should get a firmware upgrade that adds HTC's Sense UI, leaked firmware appears to have confirmed today. A new build would replace TouchFLO with a customized version of the same interface used on the HD2. Little has changed from the reference Sense UI other than carrier branding, and the OS would still sit at Windows Mobile 6.5 rather than the newer 6.5.3.
(Update with lawsuit details) Apple today sued HTC for allegedly infringing on 20 patents relating to the iPhone. The simultaneous International Trade Commission and Delaware complaint accuses Taiwan-based HTC of copying elements relating to the iPhone's interface as well as its hardware and "underlying architecture." The American firm doesn't say what damages it seeks but claims HTC is thieving its technology rather than being original.
The HTC Incredible smartphone has surfaced in Verizon's inventory system, according to a screenshot posted on Berry Scoop. The latest leak appears to corroborate an earlier report showing the CDMA-equipped device running Android 2.1. The Incredible is said to get a Snapdragon CPU, 3.7-inch touchscreen, and 256MB of RAM.
Alongside new phones, HTC today also said it would upgrade the Hero and its Verizon sibling, the Droid Eris, to Android 2.1. It should bring all the core features of Google's OS, including the HTML5 web browser, and should also upgrade HTC's own Sense UI. Among other changes, this should bring a consolidated social network feed known as Friend Stream that pools Facebook, Flickr and Twitter updates together.
HTC's turn at MWC includes two mid-range but very important smartphones. The Legend replaces the popular Hero as HTC's bread-and-butter Android phone but borrows a pair of design cues from Apple. It uses an upscale, unibody aluminum shell much like a MacBook Pro and uses black plastic over the antenna section much like the first-generation iPhone.
HTC this morning made its presence felt at Mobile World Congress by launching multiple smartphones, including its new Android 2.1 flagship. Previously known as the Bravo, the Desire becomes HTC's version of the Nexus One without Google branding. It gets an upgraded HTC Sense with a unique home screen look known as "helicopter view:" somewhat like Apple's Exposé, a pinch gesture at a home screen shows all home screens at once to jump quickly to one of them.
An unofficial video shows a never-before-seen multi-tocuch functionality for the HTC Sense UI that runs atop the Android operating system. The demo shows a user performing a multi-touch pinch on an HTC Hero device's main view and shows all home screens visible at once. The interface is most likely due in the upcoming Android 2.1 release from HTC, though this is not yet confirmed.
HTC's Legend has finally appeared in a leaked set of photos that confirm its design. Expanding on a concept render, the Engadget shots show a design partly reminiscent of the first-generation iPhone with an aluminum body and black plastic in key areas to provide wireless reception. It also confirms what's likely an optical trackpad at the front and signals a more confident branding that puts the HTC logo in a very prominent place on the back.
HTC's Incredible smartphone has finally been spotted today in a leak that also gives away most of its details. The full-touchscreen smartphone should be one of the first to mix HTC's custom Sense UI interface with Android 2.1. It should appropriately serve as a range-topper with a "fast" Snapdragon processor, a large 3.7-inch (likely AMOLED) display and 256MB of RAM.
HTC has likely pushed back an update to Android 2.0 for the Hero to March. A contact from Irish carrier Meteor says HTC has had to spend time integrating its Sense UI front end with the new Google OS and that it now expects the upgrade to arrive in March. Android 2.1 also isn't immediately in the cards.
Microsoft will launch Windows Mobile 7 with a version rebranding and two very high end devices, a potentially revelatory rumor says today. The OS would be rebranded as Windows Phone 7 and would be split into two releases different than today's. Its highlight would be a Media Edition that would have Zune-like elements in its media player as well as deep tie-ins with Microsoft, such as in-browser Silverlight, Mediaroom for IPTV and at least the social side of Xbox Live.
Sprint is reading an ultimate Android smartphone that it hopes would draw attention to its network, a leak late Sunday hints. Nicknamed "Supersonic," the HTC device is expected to be similar in spirit to the HD2, including its very large 4.3-inch touchscreen. The Engadget contact notes it would run Android 2.1, however, and would be one of Sprint's first phones with WiMAX, beating other US carriers to having the first 4G phone in the country.
