GSM Dome - Mobile Phone News |
- Google Currents Review (Video)
- AT&T HTC One X Pre-Orders Hit Radio Shack, Priced at $149
- HTC J Officially Unveiled, Launching this Summer in Japan
- Huawei Ascend G312 (U8680) Reaches the FCC With T-Mobile myTouch Branding
- HTC Discusses Smartphone Design During Frequencies Media Summit in Seattle
- Liquidmetal and Metallic Glass, Materials for the iPhone 5?
- T-Mobile G1 Still Kicks: First Android Phone Spotted on TV Show
| Google Currents Review (Video) Posted: 22 Apr 2012 01:31 PM PDT
We had the HTC One X a week for testing purposes and we also gave the Google Currents app a go in a short review that you can see after the break. The app is a news aggregator that assembles the news from select websites and delivers them in a magazine-style format.
A few days ago the app was updated and on this occasion is was made available internationally, with functions such as offline reading activated. We analyzed version 1.1, that offers 44 languages, instant online sync and instant translation. It also comes with a 7x performance boost, a new layout adapted for phones and tablets and the option of translating the content in a language of your choice. The interface is simple and clean, you can tweak the text to your liking, share the news via social networking and have a tablet of content always ready. You have about 14.000 sources of information and the offline reading function is truly useful, especially if you’re in an area without WiFi or cell signal. You use swiping to the left or right to go between pages of a story and articles on a website. More info in the video below: Related posts:
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| AT&T HTC One X Pre-Orders Hit Radio Shack, Priced at $149 Posted: 22 Apr 2012 10:31 AM PDT
HTC’s famous One X device is finally ready for release in the States, this time on AT&T via Radio Shack. The retailer will sell the product for $149 on a 2 year contract. Originally we heard that the smartphone was supposed to be released on May 6 for $199 with the contract, but now Radio Shack has this cool offer.
With AT&T also selling the Lumia 900 for $99, it’s very hard to choose between the two, unless you want Android 4.0 + HTC Sense 4.0 and a very good CPU. In that case you’ll choose the HTC phone. The low pricing applies to preorders only on Radio Shack. This AT&T flagship phone comes with a dual core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon processor and LTE, unlike the international version, that packs a quad core Tegra 3 CPU and lacks 4G connectivity. There’s also an 8 megapixel camera at the back with advanced processing, courtesy of the ImageSense technology. You can take pics while recording video and even when watching videos on the device. Beats Audio technology is also on board and if you’re one of the guys or girls who want one of these 720p display smartphones from Radio Shack, know that you’ll be able to preorder yours starting on Monday, April 22. Just be sure to perform that first OTA update when you buy it, to avoid camera bugs and battery issues. Related posts:
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| HTC J Officially Unveiled, Launching this Summer in Japan Posted: 22 Apr 2012 05:47 AM PDT
HTC J was leaked just days ago and it looked very interesting, especially because it had both Android 4.0 preinstalled and Beats earbuds bundled. The official HTC Japan website was responsible with the leak days ago and while the product was pulled from the site quickly, now it’s very much official.
The handset has been announced for release during the summer of 2012 on the Japanese market. Sadly, there’s no trace of a launch in other countries right now. Basically, this model looks like a modified version of the HTC One S with a slightly changed design and extra headphones. The phone runs Android 4.0 with HTC Sense 4.0, packs a 4.3 inch qHD OLED screen and uses a 1.5 GHz dual core Snapdragon S4 CPU, just like the HTC One XL model, for example. It also has 1GB of RAM and an 8MP camera at the back, plus 1.3MP front shooter. HTC J provides 4G WiMAX connectivity and is once again a Beats Audio branded unit. Pricing info is not available, but what we do know is that local carrier KDDI will release this model. I guess we’ll just have to be happy with the HTC One XL and One S models for now… Related posts:
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| Huawei Ascend G312 (U8680) Reaches the FCC With T-Mobile myTouch Branding Posted: 22 Apr 2012 04:34 AM PDT
T-Mobile has been preparing the next myTouch model for a while now, working with Huawei. The model, known as the Ascend G312 has just reached the FCC and according to the label location diagrams supports HSPA, UMTS, GPRS, GSM and Edge. We have no idea if this Huawei U8680 (codename) is the QWERTY phone that was spotted at the company’s HQ a while ago.
That leaked Huawei had a 4 inch WVGA display, Android 4.0 ICS, a 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255T SoC, 1GB of RAM and 4GB of on board storage. No idea when T-Mobile will debut the myTouch and last I saw it in a leak, it looked like a device with a cheap case. This is a non QWERTY model that’s supposed to run Android 2.3.6 and it seems to be a midrange handset. Leaks also point towards a 5MP camera with autofocus at the back with LED flash, VGA front camera and support for 850/1700/1900 UMTS bands. Huawei requested a 180 days FCC embargo on the release of the info starting with March 27th, so we’re in for a long wait. The T-Mobile myTouch units right now are the T-Mobile myTouch and the T-Mobile myTouch Q, both made by LG and launched last Fall. Related posts:
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| HTC Discusses Smartphone Design During Frequencies Media Summit in Seattle Posted: 22 Apr 2012 03:32 AM PDT
This week HTC was part of the Frequencies media summit in Seattle, where the Taiwanese company detailed how its smartphones are made. From the rectangular ABS block to the design planning, mockups and studies on the general public, everything was detailed.
HTC has to start working on the phone somewhere between 4 months to a year before reaching the ABS mockup stage. Engineers work during this time frame to find the best components for the device and also weight and ideal size for the palm of the user. In the States HTC talks to carriers and tries to figure out what technologies to use, stuff like chipsets, displays and radios. They also find out what technologies uses want, relying on the studies done by carriers. HTC also conducts its own smartphone deprivation studies to figure out what feature of a phone is most missed when the user is deprived of it. The company also discussed the fact that in the future we’ll see less and less QWERTY-based phones from HTC and that the public actually wants thinner handsets instead of bulkier ones with bigger batteries. Vice President of Phone Strategy Bjorn Killburn says that most customers who enter shops have power consumption lower on the list compared to the thin design. That explains the thin waistline of the HTC One X and One S models, as focus, opposed to the huge battery. Actually, the One X has a decent battery, so both wishes come true for customers. Related posts:
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| Liquidmetal and Metallic Glass, Materials for the iPhone 5? Posted: 22 Apr 2012 02:51 AM PDT
The iPhone 5 is in the news again, since the Samsung Galaxy S III is close to launch and rumors about it will become extinct. We’ve heard a lot of talk about a material called Liquidmetal, that’s supposed to be used on the new iPhone. Apple gained rights to use the technology back in 2010 and it’s a mixture of more materials.
Liquidmetal mixes together nickel, zirconium, titanium and a few other metals, with the result being an alloy that makes it damage resistant. There’s also a term called Metallic Glass, that just like Liquidmetal has been associated to the future iPhone, too. This one actually covers a lot of mixtures, that have this feat: they cool from a liquid to a solid state without crystalizing “in a nearly random” arrangement. Just so you know, Liquidmetal is a subtype of Metallic Glass. Apple is rumored to use Liquidmetal or some other type of Metallic Glass for the casing of the next iPhone, but the problem here is that it’s a difficult material to work with. It costs a lot to break it and Apple will have to spend more to produce than the glass surface that covered the front and back of the last iPhone. Of course, Metallic Glass isn’t good for the face of the iPhone 5, since it’s not transparent, so it will only be used on the back and edges. Related posts:
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| T-Mobile G1 Still Kicks: First Android Phone Spotted on TV Show Posted: 22 Apr 2012 02:08 AM PDT
Remember the T-Mobile G1? Three and a half years ago, the first Android phone was released and it has spawned all the craziness surrounding this OS. It generated dual screen devices, convertible tablets, quad core handsets and tablets and more goodies like these. Well, the G1 is still not dead, as it was recently spotted on the ABC TV show Missing.
We’ve seen many releases of Android till now, like Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich. Soon it will be the turn of Android 5.0 Jelly Bean to shine and I wonder if we’re ready for that… since it’s supposedly an OS crafted more for tablets and netbooks than phones. Anyway, back to the G1, that was a fantastic device, with a very original design and a great keyboard. I’m nostalgic when I see that 17.1mm thick device with QWERTY keyboard, 3.2 inch 320 x 480 pixel display and its pretty trackball and 3.15MP camera. The handset had a 528 MHz ARM11 CPU inside and today we’re playing with quad core 1.5 GHz phones. Can you believe it? Imagine what the world will look like in 10 years… No related posts. |
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