HTC Vigor Details and Picture Appear on Dutch Website

We might have seen our first look at the upcoming HTC Vigor late last night thanks to a Dutch Phone site that posted it up, but it was quickly removed. Seen in the picture below this could very easily be a fake photo but it does look very similar to the Sensation or the popular HTC Thunderbolt that the Vigor is said to be replacing over at Verizon Wireless.

Along with the photo we also saw the impressive spec sheet to go along with it. According to the site the HTC Vigor will feature all those specs we saw leaked back in July. Those include a 1.5 Ghz dual-core processor, a 1280×720 HD Display, Android 2.3.4 as well as an updated HTC Sense UI as version 3.5 and more. They also list a few unconfirmed specs that would line up nicely with recent events, such as coming to market with Beats Audio included.

Either they know something we don’t or they are just going along with recent rumors that the Vigor will launch with Beats Audio now that HTC has acquired the brand, although it would make perfect sense and HTC did say they’ve been working together since February.
So what do you all think? Is the picture and specs real, or was this just an attempt to troll all the Android fans? The page is no longer active and was quickly pulled after being seen and reported by many. If all of this ends up being accurate the HTC Vigor will be one amazing phone having both a 1.5 Ghz dual-core CPU and 4G LTE on board. I can’t wait to hear more.
[via HTC Inside]

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HTC Bootloader Unlocking Now LIVE, For Euro Sensation Only

HTC promised everyone that come August we would be able to unlock our bootloaders and so far they have stayed true to their promise. Word on the street is HTCDev.com is now allowing users to unlock the European HTC Sensation. The last thing we heard is they would offer this via an online web-based tool and it appears that has gone live this morning.

If you head over the HTCDev.com you’ll find all the details as well as that “Unlock Bootloader” option near the bottom right to get started. While we can’t test this out on our T-Mobile Sensation 4G I’m sure there is hundreds of users over at XDA doing it this exact moment so be sure to check that out. Many of us have already unlocked and rooted our devices with the recent Revolutionary tool released by some popular developers.

When you get to the bootloader page over at HTCDev you’ll see the above image showing only the European HTC Sensation is available for unlock currently. We should be seeing more devices receive the green light soon. I have a feeling we will see the T-Mobile Sensation 4G and the EVO 3D before the end of the month, but that is only if this initial start goes well. HTC has had plenty of time to test the procedure so it should be pretty solid.
Remember you’ll have to sign up, agree to their terms and even give them your full contact information and email address but its worth it in my opinion. I’m sure the site will remind you but this will void your warranty of course. Get started at HTCDev.com/bootloader/ and enjoy that unlocked HTC Sensation.

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Nokia Sea Ray vs. Apple iPhone 4

We're indulging in a little constructive speculation this week, as we compare the world-conquering iPhone 4 with some leaked specs of Nokia's upcoming Windows Phone 7 device, the Sea Ray

It's fair to say that the last 12-months haven't been terribly kind to Nokia. The company has seen its stocks take a swan-dive, devices miss deadlines and the smartphone buying public turn their interest en masse to devices powered by Google's Android and Apple's iOS, but in the last few weeks things have started to see a turnaround.
Thanks to the company's deal with Microsoft users can look forward to seeing Nokia's excellent hardware running Windows Phone 7 Mango, and it's the premier device to come out of this union that we concern ourselves with today as we pit the upcoming 'Sea Ray' against the hugely popular iPhone 4.

*Disclaimer*
We must stress that this comparison is based on leaked specifications, speculation and as much enthusiasm as we can muster. So before you come to a decision bear in mind that we're comparing a work in progress with a device that's as close as you can get to a finished article.

Screen
Apple's iPhone 4 is an industry leader in terms of screen tech. It's 3.5-inch LED-backlit IPS TFT 'Retina Display' boasts unparalleled clarity, pixel density and responsiveness.
Images and videos look gorgeous on the iPhone 4. We really can't fault it.
That said we're looking forward to seeing what Nokia has in store for the 'Sea Ray'. No specs have been leaked regarding the screen but we're expecting to see a high quality AMOLED (or even Super AMOLED) display measuring at least 3.9-inches.
Nokia has a long standing record of using Corning's Gorilla Glass in its top-tier products too, so the 'Sea Ray' should be a pretty durable device
Even if the device weighs-in with Super AMOLED Plus display (which is looking unlikely) it won't be able to knock the Apple off its perch in this round though.
Winner - Apple iPhone 4

Optics
Rumour has it that the 'Sea Ray' will be packing an 8-megapixel primary camera with LED flash and 720P video recording. Whether or not the company will continue its affiliation with Carl Zeiss remains unknown but we're expecting good things from this device, especially if the upcoming N9 is anything to go by.
The iPhone 4 features a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, autofocus, geo-tagging and 720P video capture. It performs well and you can expect a decent standard of image whether you're using your device in low-light or on a summers day.
If we were to judge we'd put our tick beside the Nokia 'Sea Ray' in this round though, as Nokia has an impressive track record for producing quality smartphone cameras (think N8) and we aren't likely to see anything remotely comparable to the 'Sea Ray' until the iPhone 5 makes its bow.
Winner - Nokia 'Sea Ray'

Software
Apple's iPhone 4 runs on the company's iOS, a platform which has won many admirers since its release back in 2007.

With iOS you get a smart, simple mobile platform which even the most ardent technophone will learn to love.
Key features include Apple's iPod software for playing all your media, Safari for browsing the Web and access to Apple's App Store and iTunes, for topping up on apps, movies, music and books. iOS arguably offers more than any other smartphone OS currently in use.
The Nokia 'Sea Ray' will be the first device from the company to run on Microsoft's Windows Phone platform, which is shaping up to be a true contender to iOS and Google's Android.
With Windows Phone 7 you're treated to a simple tile based OS which aims to give you as much information at a glance as it can, sparing you the tedium of trawling through menu after menu looking for a byte of information.
Key features of Windows Phone 7 are Microsoft's Marketplace, which boasts some impressive apps (and is growing exponentially quicker than analysts predicted), Zune software for playing back your media and Microsoft's industry leading Office, for handling all your documents and work.
As it stands now Apple's iOS takes the tape in this round, but things will change when the 'Mango' update launches (the 'Sea Ray' may even launch with the update), so we'll reassess then!
Winner - Apple iPhone 4

Nokia's up and comer hasn't fared terribly in this bout against a device that's been dubbed 'the best smartphone ever made'. From what we can see the Finns are on the right track, empowering the 'Sea Ray' with everything that they do right, and leaving Microsoft to handle the things that they don't.
The quality of Nokia's hardware has never been in question and when you take that nous and marry it with a rapidly maturing smartphone platform like Windows Phone 7 you're in for a rare treat.
Here's hoping Nokia and Microsoft carry the competitive spirit into their pricing policy.
With fairness in mind we must doff our cap to Apple's iPhone 4 though, which is still a heck of a device a year after its general release and has taken victory today.
Though we aren't sure it will stand up to the finished 'Sea Ray' quite so well.

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Rumor: Rovio to Receive $1.2 Billion in Funding

Angry Birds or its creator Rovio Entertainment, and today is no exception. Rumor has it that the Finnish game company is in talks with an unknown investor to receive funding in the realm of $1.2 billion. Possibilities regarding the investors include Electronic Arts, Zyngia, and Walt Disney, all of which stand to gain from a collaboration with Rovio. Rovio themselves could use the money for a planned movie adaptation of Angry Birds, pushing its offices out beyond Finland, or creating toys and other products to capitalize on its already existing popularity. Of course, there are other things to spend a large amount of money on.

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Original DROID Incredible’s Gingerbread Update Sure is Coming, According to this .PDF

AndroidForums.com have uncovered the .PDF file on Verizon’s servers detailing the update. When we see this, that usually means the update is right around the corner. Anything can happen, of course, but I’d venture to guess we won’t go too far into the week without hearing official word of rollout plans from Verizon. [Androidforums.com]

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Images of the HTC Pico

The Pico doesn’t look like a high end phone, and may be the yet unannounced HTC Glamour, which was meant to be a fashion conscious phone targeted at people of the female persuasion. The Pico is a low end Android device from HTC looks to be a step below the HTC Bliss which is expected to launch on Verizon this fall. Some new age marketing crap may be involved which includes a rough covering for better grip, preinstalled app “calming wallpapers” which features, calming wallpapers (whatever that means), preinstalled apps for shopping and caloriesthe “Charm Indicator” which is a cube that blinks every time you get a message or a call so women can easier find their phone in their handbag.

SO the Glamour / Bliss / Pico has emerged in China, it’s an interesting looking little device, with a 3.2″ HVGA 480×320 touchscreen. There’s a 5MP camera on back, with a 1230mAh battery for power. With 900/2100MHz 3G bands enabled, this may not be for the US market at this point. Leaked images suggest that it will hit the Chinese market first, and it has a rather peculiar accessory, Not quite sure how this works, but it’s an external indicator to alert to messages and missed calls.

Pocketnow discovered photos of the Pico on a Chinese site, and they look incredibly familiar, it’s quite often hard to tell where HTC’s leaked devices will turn up, this phone was at first thought to be headed to Europe, but it’s bright colours and novelty value and budget price line, make it perfect for the Asian market.
 

The spec sheet looks quite good

Although it’s a minimum level smartphone, there’s a twist, HTC Sense Zero? Android GingerBread to be determined? I can only speculate as to what that means, is this some sort of cut down GingerBread build to allow it to run on a device with a smaller rom capacity. With it’s cute and familiar design, the Pico will help raise awareness of the HTC brand in a very large market for what should be  a budget price. How do you like the look of the Pico?

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HTC, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson sound off on Google’s Motorola acquisition

Early Monday morning, Google announced that it will acquire Motorola for $12.5 billion. Google CEO Larry Page explained the acquisition will help bolster the tech giant’s patent portfolio and that his company will continue to “work with all [of its partners] to deliver outstanding user experiences.” While it may seem that Motorola will now have the upper hand in creating Android smartphones, execs from Samsung, Sony Ericsson, HTC, and LG have all issued statements in support of the acquisition. “We welcome today’s news, which demonstrates Google’s deep commitment to defending Android, its partners, and the ecosystem,” J.K. Shin, president of Samsung’s Mobile Communications division said. “I welcome Google’s commitment to defending Android and its partners,” Sony Ericsson president and CEO Bert Nordberg said. “We welcome the news of today’s acquisition, which demonstrates that Google is deeply committed to defending Android, its partners, and the entire ecosystem,” HTC’s CEO Peter Chou added. “We welcome Google’s commitment to defending Android and its partners,” LG’s president and CEO Jong-Seok Park said. The deal should certainly help Google defend Motorola, Samsung and HTC in their ongoing patent battles with Apple and other companies, though it remains to be seen how the acquisition might affect the Android ecosystem in the long run.

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Google CEO Larry Page explains reasoning behind Motorola acquisition (spoiler: patents)

In a post penned by Larry Page on Google’s company blog, the CEO explains why Google decided to shell out $12.5 billion to purchase smartphone vendor Motorola Mobility. While Page had plenty to say about Motorola’s extensive history and its leading role in Android’s explosive growth, he also points to what many believe to be one of the leading factors behind the deal: patents. “We recently explained how companies including Microsoft and Apple are banding together in anti-competitive patent attacks on Android,” the CEO wrote on Google’s blog. “The U.S. Department of Justice had to intervene in the results of one recent patent auction to ‘protect competition and innovation in the open source software community’ and it is currently looking into the results of the Nortel auction. Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies.” Read on for more.
Regarding where this deal might leave other big Android partners such as Samsung and HTC, Page was sure to indicate that Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility will not push them out of the space. “This acquisition will not change our commitment to run Android as an open platform,” Page noted in his post. “Motorola will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. We will run Motorola as a separate business. Many hardware partners have contributed to Android’s success and we look forward to continuing to work with all of them to deliver outstanding user experiences.” Google is obviously looking to build a scenario where it can control the end-to-end Android user experience as a result of this acquisition, but it also appears that the company is looking to protect the Android ecosystem as a whole by using patents obtained through the deal to fight off assailants like Apple and Microsoft.
Read

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Google grabs Motorola Mobility for $12.5B

Google has tried its hand at making first party smartphones in the past with mixed results. The problem was in part that Google was more a software company than a hardware firm meaning that it had to farm the design and making of the phones out to other firms. The days of Google not having the smartphone design prowess it needs and wants are over with Google announcing that it has agreed to purchase Motorola Mobility.

Motorola is one of the biggest names in the Android realm when it comes to handsets. The deal is a whopper too. Google is buying Motorola Mobility for $40 per share working out to $12.5 billion. That is a premium of 63% over the closing price of the stock on Friday. The deal already has the approval of the boards from both companies. Motorola Mobility will be run as a separate business.
Google notes that the purchase of Motorola Mobility will not change its commitment to run Android as an open platform. The transaction is subject to the normal closing conditions that go with massive purchases like this. The deal has to get regulatory approval in the US, EU, and in other countries. The deal also needs the approval of Motorola Mobility stockholders. Google hopes to finish the deal by the end of 2011 or early in 2012.
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