HTC G1 Gets A Taste Of Ice Cream Sandwich

Still rocking the HTC G1, the world's first Android phone? Didn't think so, but if you have one laying around somewhere, you may want to grab that thing and knock the dust off of it. Why, you ask? Because there's a "working" (I use that term loosely here) port of ICS ready to flash.

As you may imagine, it is incredibly slow and nearly unusable, but c'mon - you have to admit that it's pretty cool. Here's a video of it in action (again, I use that term loosely).

There are a few things that still aren't working in this build, like screen rotation, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. Everything is else is go, so, at the very least, you can check out what ICS is all about. Very slowly.

While this is definitely not a practical port, one thing is certain: it's things like this that show how incredible the Android development community is. Fourth gen Android on a first gen phone? That's just stupid-sick. Hit the source to check it out for yourself.

[XDA Forums via Gizmodo]

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HTC Flyer sees massive price cut in India, down to INR 24K

HTC has given a big price reduction to its only tablet in the Indian market ‘Flyer’. It has been retailing for around INR 36,000 since the day it was launched in the country, but the current price cut takes it down to INR 23,990. It is one massive price downfall of 12K.

We can only guess the reasons for taking this step by HTC India, but it is likely that due to the high price of INR 36K, there weren’t many sales. Flyer was also marred because of the presence of Gingerbread, when other tablets were being released with Honeycomb on-board.

We are most likely to see ICS ROMs popping up for Flyer pretty soon. HTC was also said to be working on the official Honeycomb update for the tablet. It is certainly not a bad deal at this price and you will get a 1.5GHz single core processor, 32GB internal memory with microSD cardslot, Android 2.3 with HTC Sense for tablets, HTC Scribe pen input technology, 5MP rear camera, front camera, and 7 inch display.

It also comes with 3G support, 1GB RAM, 4000 mAh battery and the usual Bluetooth, GPS, and 3.5 mm jack.

Grab the HTC Flyer at INR 23,990 fron Flipkart

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HTC Rezound, Desire S, Amaze and Explorer Souce Code Released

HTC’s just released source code for their latest round of devices, including code for the HTC Rezound the HTC Desire S the HTC Amaze and the HTC Explorer As usual, users may not find much use out of these but developers will be using them to cook up good ROMs and other great modifications. If you fit the latter bill, be sure to head to HTC’s site and download code for whichever phone you’re interested in. Get on over to HTC Dev for all the goods. 

 [AndroidForums.com, PocketNow]

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Facebook's Official Phone to be manufactured by HTC

HTC has agreed to manufacture Facebook’s official phone. The device has been codenamed “Buffy” and you can be sure to find it oriented around cutting-edge social capabilities. But what will it run? Could it possibly scoop up WebOS from HP or even start from scratch in a basic Linux environment? The most possible (and even most practical) solution would be to heavily mask a version of Android OS.

With the Android 4.0 source code now available to the public, you can bet Facebook will manipulate in such a way similar to Amazon. After all, the Facebook phone is bound to look unique. As the king of social networking and such a strong following, who’s to say Facebook won’t try pushing out more than one device. I particularly prefer a device free of buttons to give a better multimedia experience. However, I know a good many that still insist on having a QWERTY keyboard; Facebook’s social network serves us all, so why shouldn’t its line of cellphones?
Social competitor Google+ won’t get as much love if Facebook has anything to say about it. So if Facebook decides to go with Android, you can bet on a heavily modded interface. After all, it will be competing with Windows Phone 7.5, Apple iOS5, the future of WebOS, and even others versions of Android. I would expect to see a Facebook button included in their phone as well. However, with Ice Cream Sandwich supporting phones with no buttons at all, it could be included inside the OS; much like the naivegation keys on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.
A new Facebook phone may even build in their Facebook application into the OS, much like the Google+ app in the Galaxy Nexus. Hey, it may even slay a few vampires too – who knows.
[via AllThingsD]

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HTC Wildfire S smartphone lands at MetroPCS

Metro PCS has announced that it is now carrying the HTC Wildfire Ssmartphone. The Wildfire S is the first HTC for MetroPCS, and it features a 3.2-inch, HVGA (320 x 480 pixel) display, a 600MHz processor, and Android 2.3 Gingerbread with HTC's Sense interface. MetroPCS is selling the Wildfire S for $179.99 without a contract, and the phone can be used with Metro's $50 per month or $60 per month unlimited plans, the latter of which includes the Rhapsody Unlimited Music service. 

 via: Phone Scoop

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HTC Quattro Tegra 3 tablet photo revealed

And the HTC leaks keep coming. After images of the Edge, Ville and Zeta phones showed up in some leaked images, the HTC Quattro is the latest device to escape from Taiwan. The new 10.1-inch tablet is showcasing the latest quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, according to the anonymous source that leaked the image. Current release date is pegged as some time in 2012, like the other leaks, and may show up at the Mobile World Congress in February.

Other specs leaked include the standard 1GB of RAM, Ice Cream Sandwich and a 10-inch, 1280 x 768 LCD display. That’s the same size as HTC’s only 10-inch tablet so far, AT&T’s Jetstream. The Quattro is currently predicted to come in WiFi and 3G variants, so hopefully you won’t be forced into a two-year contract to get a hold of one. 16GB of on-board storage, an 8MP camera and Beats audio round out the hardware. All this is shoved into a chassis less than 9mm thick.
On the software side of things, besides a Sense version of Ice Cream Sandwich, the source is also claiming that the Quattro will receive an updated high-def version of HTC’s Watch movie store. Other goodies include the standard 5GB of Dropbox storage that’s being bundled with all HTC Android devices and compatibility with the Scribe active stylus first revealed with the 7-inch Flyer.
[via PocketNow]

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HTC gets cease and desist for Vivid smartphone from porn firm

Earlier this month we got hands on with our review of the HTC Vivid smartphone. We thought the device was nice with good build quality, but it had a sub-par battery that left some to be desired. If you like that smartphone you might want to get one now. Apparently, HTC has received a cease and desist order from a porn company called Vivid Entertainment.

Apparently, the porn firm thinks that the HTC smartphone will cause brand confusion. Seriously? Brand confusion between a smartphone and porn empire? Vivid Entertainment has demanded that HTC change the name of the smartphone or risk being sued. HTC says that it is reviewing the claim and won’t make comment until it is finished.
I think that Vivid Entertainment is going to have a very hard time making this argument stick in court. I would imagine that the porn firm is simply looking for some press. The phone is on the AT&T network so AT&T may ultimately get into the issue as well.
[via The Verge]

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HTC Zeta superphone leaked with insane 2.5GHz processor

HTC has been leaking like a sieve for the last few weeks. The latest goodie to get out of Taiwan is the HTC Zeta, a rumored Ice Cream Sandwich phone with a 2.5 gigahertz Snapdragon processor. Other specs include Ice Cream Sandwich, a full gig of RAM and 4.5-inch 720p display. Naturally, there’s no availability, pricing or verification in sight.

This one goes squarely in the “rumor” category. To round out that unbelievable processor you get 32GB of built-in storage, Sense UI, Beats (see the logo on the bottom) and a 1,830mAh battery. The strangely exposed 8MP battery on the back is twinned to a forward-facing cam with 1.3Mp. For something with a 4.5-inch screen the device is a little chunky at 9.8mm, so I’ll go ahead and add fuel to the fire by guessing that it has LTE as well. Remember that capacitive buttons don’t automatically mean that the device isn’t running Ice Cream Sandwich.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say this one probably isn’t real. The sharp edges are a pretty radical design departure for HTC, and there’s a good reason that most devices designed to go in your pocket don’t have sharp corners. That crazy 2.5Ghz processor is suspect too; a Snapdragon of that caliber will be available soon, but why upstage your entire product line, including the upcoming Edge, so soon? I’m guessing this is a commendable but fake fan render. Still, I could certainly be wrong, and if I am, expect to see the Zeta or something like it at Mobile World Congress in February.
[via Engadget]

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Motorola Razr vs HTC Sensation XL

We're comparing Motorola's new Razr with HTC's Sensation XL this time around, but which of these super-smart Android's will come out on top?

The newest device to drop from Motorola is the Razr – a slim, smart Android-powered phone that firmly has the iPhone 4S in its sights.
But rather than worrying about the newest Apple handset, we wanted to see how the Razr stacked up against some tough Android competition. And they don't come much tougher than HTC's Sensation XL.
Will Motorola's next-gen Razr have what it takes to stand-up to HTC's brutish device? Let's find out.

Power
Motorola's Razr is powered by a Ti-OMAP 4430 chipset consisting of a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU and PowerVR SGX540 GPU and augmented by 1GB RAM.
The running gear on the device performs well, and you'll be hard pressed to tax it to the limit of its capability. We're pleased to see 1GB RAM installed too as it should allow the Razr to age a little more gracefully than some of its peers.
The HTC Sensation XL runs on a single-core Scorpion processor from Qualcomm, clocked to 1.5GHz, and also boasts an Adreno 205 GPU.
With its single-core CPU, the Sensation XL is definitely lacking in comparison to the Razr, but the device can still crunch data with the best of them and will run fast enough for even the most discerning tech-freak.
One concern with the Sensation XL is that the RAM hasn't been upped. It still has the same 768MB as the original Sensation, and while it isn't a massive problem, it does degrade the device's appeal and potential lastability.
Winner - Motorola Razr
Display
HTC's Sensation XL features a 4.7-inch Super LCD screen that operates at a resolution of 480x800 and offers up a pixel density of 199PPI.
Performance is solid enough from the display. It responds well and its colour reproduction is good, but it never rises beyond that.
The Motorola Razr, however, features a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen that operates at a resolution of 540x960 and comes in with a much more respectable 256PPI pixel density.
The Super AMOLED is, without wanting to be too blunt, vastly superior to the S-LCD on offer in the Sensation XL.
Colours are much more real, blacks are deep, and the display also draws less power. It also benefits from a Gorilla Glass fronting, to keep it safe from scratches and scrapes.
Winner - Motorola Razr

Software
Both of these devices run on version 2.3 of Android (Gingerbread) and are all the better for it.
Obviously you'll have access to the hundreds of thousands of applications, games and customisations available in the Android Market too.
The dividing factor here is the device's custom UI, with HTC's Sensation XL offering up the tried, tested and loved Sense UI and the Razr weighing-in with its own (though we haven't been given a catchy name for it yet).
Sense UI is a good-looking, powerful addition to the Android platform and offers the user custom-widgets, social networking features and other selected apps and tweaks.
It adds a much needed layer of aesthetic quality to the Google platform and, in our book at least, is still the benchmark custom user interface in the market.
The newly designed UI that features on the Razr is nice too though, with custom widgets, unlock screen and other tweaks you'll definitely feel like you're using a cutting edge device and the addition of features like MotoCast, for streaming media, is a real boon.
Winner - HTC Sensation XL

Form

Motorola Razr - 130.7 x 68.9 x 7.1 mm, 127g
HTC Sensation XL - 132.5 x 70.7 x 9.9 mm, 162.5g

Overall the Sensation XL's vital statistics are good (even without the Cosmopolitan-style half measures). The device is thin, well-built and manages to carry off its large, lustrous screen with aplomb.

The Motorola Razr is similarly fortunate.

The device feels very solid in the hand and, uniquely for such a thin smartphone, has a nice balance when in use.

The aforementioned thinness is odd and worrying at first though, and for the more clumsy among us it may remain so but if you're careful it's a nice feature.

One thing we weren't so keen on was the profile of the Razr. When viewed in profile the device gives off the illusion of a painfully thin person wearing a crash helmet.

Materials on both devices are pleasing, with shades of metal and plastic woven together to create a premium feel (successfully on both counts).

Winner - Draw

Camera

8-megapixel sensors are the order of the day with these two competitors.

The Razr features auto-focus, LED flash, touch-focus, geo-tagging, face detection, image stabilisation and 1080P video capture.

The Sensation XL chips-in with auto-focus, dual-LED flash, geo-tagging and 720P capture.

Both devices feature near identical 1.3-megapixel secondary cameras too, for all your video conferencing needs, and both perform as you would hope.

The Motorola Razr's imagining, despite the high pixel count, is decidely noisey. The XL's on the otherhand was dramatically clearer and thus gets our vote in this aspect of the comparison, despite not being able to shoot 1080p video.

Winner - Sensation XL

It's a win for the new boy!

Motorola's Razr has snatched victory from HTC's big-screened gem, and with real voracity!

If you're in the market for a new Android device make sure you certainly look long and hard at the Motorola Razr, which looks, feels and performs well enough to be held-up against the Galaxy Nexus and Apple's iPhone 4S.

HTC's Sensation XL is, for its defeat today, still a nice smartphone. But it seems to be beleaguered by its averageness.

Come on, HTC! Let's have a device that goes above and beyond, rather than staying within sensible boundaries and parameters!

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HTC Sensation XE v/s Nokia Lumia 800

Choosing between the Nokia Lumia 800 and HTC Sensation XE for your business is far from easy. Both are stunning smartphones, so let’s see how they compare.

The HTC Sensation XE is one of the Taiwanese brand’s latest powerful smartphones, built for pretty much any task – whether it be work or pleasure. The Nokia Lumia 800 is the phone Nokia that hopes will set a new standard in Nokia phones. And, it’s one of Nokia’s fastest yet. But can it cut it in the corporate world? Here’s a side-by-side look at both handsets.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: power
For getting things done, both the HTC Sensation XE and Nokia Lumia 800 are worth considering. The HTC Sensation XE sports a very quick 1.5GHz processor. This means that apps, documents and spreadsheets load quickly so that you spend less time waiting around, and more time doing the things that are most important. The Nokia Lumia 800 is just as capable. It has a 1.4GHz processor. Technically that makes it the slower of the pair, but most users will barely notice any difference between the two.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: screen
Screen size and quality is pretty important when it comes to using a phone for business. It’s likely you’ll spend a lot of time looking at it, so any screen will need to be large enough, and of high quality. Both the HTC Sensation XE and Nokia Lumia 800’s screens tick all the boxes when it comes to quality. But for that extra bit of screen real estate, the HTC Sensation XE is superior for working on. Its 4.3-inch screen (compared with the 3.7-inches of the Nokia Lumia 800) is great for viewing spreadsheets without having to strain for a closer look.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: memory
You’re going to need a healthy amount of storage to get the most out of your handset. Out of the box the Nokia Lumia 800 looks the more attractive proposition. Its 16GB mass memory appears to dwarf the 4GB of the HTC Sensation XE. However, the Lumia 800’s absence of any micro-SD card slot means 16GB is the limit of its storage. The HTC Sensation on the other hand can be upgraded via microSD card to house 32GB of storage – twice that of the Nokia Lumia 800.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: camera
Both The HTC Sensation XE and Nokia Lumia 800 carry reputable 8-megapixel cameras. The downside to the Nokia Lumia 800 is that it does not feature a front-facing camera – so video conferencing is out of the question. But if video calls don’t matter to you, the Nokia Lumia 800, with its Carl Zeiss lens, takes the better photos.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: operating system
It’s the Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) operating system of the HTC Explorer XE versus the Windows 7.5 Mango system of the Nokia Lumia 800. Deciding upon a leader here is tricky. Android has been a mainstay of some of the very best smartphones in recent years. Both Android and Mango are slick, and easy to operate, and both have features and applications that let you work on the move and the ability to sync your calendar for meetings and planning ahead. The Nokia Lumia 800 has Microsoft Office, while the HTC Sensation XE gets Google Docs. Business features-wise, both are on a level playing field. Though it must be said, Windows 7.5 Mango is the more visually appealing operating system.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: dimensions
The HTC Explorer XE features a bigger screen, but this comes at the expense of portability, so it will take up more space in your pocket – bigger than the Nokia Lumia 800 in height, width and thickness. It is also the heavier phone – weighing 151 grams compared with the Nokia Lumia 800’s 142 grams.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: the winner
Overall, it is difficult to separate the two handsets on business use alone. Both are well powered and fully featured smartphones. However, the HTC Sensation XE comes out on top in nearly every category, besides size. If not being able to fit your phone in your top pocket doesn’t matter to you, the HTC Sensation XE is almost certainly the business phone for you.

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HTC Rezound Review

The HTC Rezound is not the nicest HTC device to have been released thus far to the market here in the USA, but it certainly does have all the features that make it one of the best smartphones on Verizon, and certainly one of the top two LTE devices today. In the following review I’m going to prove to you why if you’re in the market for an HTC LTE device, this is your very best choice, that if you’re in the market for the best HTC device on the market, you’d better go with the Sensation, and finally why if you want the most iconic, memorable, and well supported devices on Verizon you may well be better off going with the DROID RAZR.

Before we continue, note that we’ve got reviews of each of the devices mentioned above that you ought to take a peek at since they’ll be mentioned below again. First there’s the HTC Thunderbolt, aka the only other HTC device on Verizon’s LTE network. Next there’s the HTC Sensation 4G, the HTC smartphone your humble narrator still calls the most perfect total package in an HTC device to date. Finally there’s the DROID RAZR by Motorola, the Verizon LTE device that I’m voting as the top choice for an Android smartphone running on Verizon’s LTE network today. You can also find a hands-on video review of the device in the text review here.

Hardware

What you’ve got here is one of the thickest smartphones on the market at 13.65mm, with the other dimensions at 129mm tall and 65.5mm wide. Inside this rectangle you’ll find a 4.3-inch 720 x 1280 pixel resolution S-LCD display, one that’s certainly up for battle against the highest resolution smartphones on the market if you just consider the pixels per inch. While the iPhone 4S has 329.65 PPI, the Rezound has 341.54 PPI. The Rezound’s main contender, the DROID RAZR, has 256 PPI but does have a Super AMOLED display meaning you’ve got an obvious difference in the device’s capacity for brightness, as shown here, noting the Rezound is on the left and the RAZR is on the right:

The Rezound has the superior pixel density, but the brightness and the inability of your average everyday user to see the difference between the pixel differences without holding both next to one another make the RAZR have the upper hand here. Also see how the display is a visible amount closer to the glass than the Rezound is, this making the whole situation seem more up close and personal. There it something to be said for how wide both devices are, noting here that the Rezound will be able to fit in more normal-sized palms better than the above-average wide chassis on the RAZR.

That brings us to the appearance of the device – as the Rezound looks to be continuing where the Incredible 2 left off, we’ve got a phone that both does not stick out in a crowd but feels rather solid. The red ring around the camera lens on the back, the red capacitive buttons on the front and the read speaker face above the display all make one feel like they’ve got something special, and the Beats “b” logo on the back seal the deal, but you won’t get the “oohs” and “ahhs” you would with the RAZR or the HTC Sensation. If you take the time to hold both the HTC Sensation and the Rezound in your hands, you’ll like the Sensation better – I certainly do. The trade-off here is in the audio quality (no Beats!), the slightly less impressive processor (not by a whole lot), and the lack of LTE (Sensation is T-Mobile), but the chassis are as close to perfect HTC has ever gotten on the Sensation, it feels so sweet.

That said, if you’re upgrading from anything less than a 720p display from any other HTC device, you’ll be utterly pumped by the upgrade to the Rezound. The same goes for a person upgrading from a lower-grade display on any smartphone, even more so coming from a feature phone, and if you’ve had just a single-core processor before you’ll basically have a heart attack over how slick, quick, and powerful this device is. It’s only against other top-tier devices that this smartphone has any competition.

Beats integration

The Rezound’s main value lies in its Beats branding, and it’s no joke. While HTC is scant on details on how precisely Beats is integrated here, we do know that there’s an algorithm written into the software, that HTC worked with the Monster Audio folks on the hardware to optimize the experience for Beats in and over-ear audio phones. You get a pair of iBeats in-ear earbuds with the Rezound but it’s with any piece of Beats audio technology that you’ll get a great combination for lovely audio.

I’ve personally done some very basic listening tests with combinations of earbuds and devices and have found that, believe it or not, the HTC Rezound with the iBeats earbuds it comes packaged with sounds the most amazing together. I tried a couple other earbuds in other devices and here in the Rezound and found that first of all, the iBeats earbuds bring a slightly more full sound with any smartphone than earbuds from other groups which shall not be named but are price competitors. The Rezound on its own doesn’t present a gigantic improvement in audio quality from any other current smartphone competitor with 3rd party earbuds, but when you plug the iBeats in to the HTC Rezound, you know that these two belong with one another. Listening to the song “Kush” by Dr Dre, a song which we’d certainly would hope would sound amazing on his own line of audio products, certainly does: boom, booboom chik, boom boom chik, if you know what I mean.

Software

There aren’t a whole lot of surprises here as far as software compared to the rest of the HTC family as of late as they’ve not changed things around significantly in the past few months on any device. Here you’ve got Sense 3.5, which is the newest, but look at any HTC top-tier device from the past four months in our reviews here and you’ll find the same experience. The HTC Vivid is almost identical, for example. Have a peek at the hands-on video below to see the software in action and a rundown of what’s included in the onboard applications and version numbers.

Above you’re seeing the Rezound again next to the Incredible 2 – note how similar the UI is, with ever so slight bits of difference. Also have a peek here at a couple of benchmark tests for all your joyful number munching desires. You’ll find at the end of the review that we’re asking you if you’d like any other tests done, mind you, so if you’ve got your own benchmark you’d like us to run, let us know!

Hands-on with the HTC Rezound

Here we go through essentially everything there is to go through on the HTC Rezound in one video. Still coming up: comparison videos to the devices we’ve not yet mentioned – got one you want compared to the Rezound? Ask in the comments section below, we’ve likely got one right over here on the desk!

Camera

HTC continues to improve upon (or at least change) their camera interface with each new smartphone, and here we’ve got a perfectly capable 8 megapixel shooter with 1080p video with a complete set of funny effects and lovely looking filters. One of the more interesting additions here is a slow motion mode for video – audio not included, but it’s fun anyway. Have a peek at a few examples here and in the final gallery below as well, starting here with the 1080p video demo, the slow-motion video, and a couple of photos.








Again there are so many different ways to take a photo on this device that you’re likely to have a heart attack, but it’s an excellent shooter without any modifications when it comes down to it. Note the detail in the screen window here and the vibrancy in the bananas below. Then there’s a flash photo of a toaster taken in a nearly complete-dark situation – those dual LEDs take you to a bright place.

Battery

One of the tests I keep getting requests for is one of the battery of any device tested while the device is connected via its mobile data connection and playing streaming video. What you’re seeing in the results here is a test over a span of a few hours:

What you can see there is Netflix playing some videos using LTE only. What’s appeared is certainly a decent amount of play-time, enough to watch a movie or two at least, and an OK standby rate of battery pull as well. Without playing non-stop LTE-based streaming video the battery here has lasted more like 10 hours with a small amount of usage of the phone during the day. It appears that this isn’t the same battery destruction machine that the HTC ThunderBolt was at first, but it’s not just a whole heck of a lot better. We’re still going to go ahead and blame bad LTE handling.

Wrap-up

If you’re not waiting for the Galaxy Nexus, need LTE speed on a smartphone, and have a strong hate for Motorola devices, buy this handset. This phone is released at a time when a vast amount of people are getting ready to switch up for their next Google hero phone in the Galaxy Nexus, so it’s not realistic to speak of another just-released device as one that’s not going to be in direct competition with said device, especially when its on the same mobile network. Remember the Beats and remain strong!

The fact that this device is not in reality sleek or unique enough to warrant calling it a hero device for HTC or Verizon shows a greater understanding by all parties involved in the power of branding. The DROID RAZR has two majorly recognizable names right there in its title, while the HTC Rezound, without even looking at the device, appears to be the next in a never-ending line of HTC devices. They’ve latched on with Beats though, and in that the Beats “b” logo is second only to the HTC logo itself on the device, we know that HTC is positioning themselves as a more brand-power group as well.

When faced with the decision between the DROID RAZR and the HTC Rezound, you’ve got to think of what I always ask anyone asking me for advice on a new device: what do you need it for? If you want an iconic device whose usefulness as a status symbol almost outweighs its otherwise still impressive specifications set, go with the DROID RAZR. If you want and HTC device and want the most superior audio quality on a smartphone your humble narrator’s own ears have ever heard, go with the HTC Rezound.
Note now that though this is the end of the Rezound review, this is not the end of the review process. If you’ve got any other questions about this device or would like us to expand in any way, let us know!

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