Tracy and Matt

HTC's press conference has just started at MWC in Barcelona and I can tell you that they are to announce three new handsets, two Android 2.1 handsets and a Windows Mobile 6.5.3 handset.

They are the HTC Legend, the HTC Desire and the HTC HD Mini.

We'll cover each device in it's own post that will shortly follow this one but in summary:

The HTC Legend looks like an updated version of the HTC Hero and has an all aluminium construction. Android 2.1 powered also has the latest version of HTC's Sense UI. It will have a 3.2" HVGA display, 600Mhz CPU, optical trackpad and 5 megapixel camera and flash. This device also introduces the concept of 'Hidden Power' which we'll talk about in detail in a later post.

The HTC Desire is the device that we previously knew as the HTC Bravo (which at the same time pretty much proves that the HTC Bravo on Orange images were fake!) In essence the Desire will be virtually the same in terms of hardware specification as the Nexus One. The key changes being the optical trackpad, a few physical buttons and no active noise cancellation. As with the Legend HTC have included their latest version of Sense UI and have also added their own browser complete with Flash Lite 4.0

The HTC HD Mini, codenamed HTC Photo, will be the only Windows Mobile device HTC are going to announce at MWC and will be WinMo 6.5.3. A 3.2" HVGA capacitive touchscreen that supports multitouch. Like the Legend it'll have the same 600MHz 7227 CPU and the Windows Mobile version of Sense UI. I was pretty close with my predictions of the HD Mini last week! :)

James and I got a chance to play with these handset last week and I can tell you they are pretty cool, I really like what HTC have done with Sense and I cant wait to get my hands on these for a proper review!

Check out the individual device posts that follow for each one in greater detail. We should have some official press releases later too.

Posted by: Matt

On Thursday last week Matt mentioned that he had heard rumours of the HTC HD Mini and wondered if we'd see it launched by HTC at MWC. Now it would seem that there are a shed load more rumours about the device we expect to be the HD Mini and we expect that it may well be the device we knew as codenamed HTC Photon.

We first 'saw' the HTC Photon in the HTC 2010 roadmap leak back in December last year. In fact it was one of the few Windows Mobile handsets to be mentioned on the roadmap.

Check out the spec of the HTC Photon and possibly the HD Mini after the jump:

READ MORE

Good news for those of you still experiencing SMS issues on your new(-ish) HTC HD2 handsets for today HTC have made another SMS update available.

The "Update for HTC HD2 - New SMS Function Update" can be downloaded from the HTC support site and promises to help rectify issues regarding SMS.

This update for HTC HD2 messaging lets you reach out to your friends and family with instant notifications. Keeping in touch has always been very important, and this update delivers just that: fast and reliable SMS messaging.

The update does appear to be some kind of hot-fix not requiring a hard reset of the device but as with any of these updates it's probably a good idea to make sure that you do have a backup of any important data just in case!

If you are an HD2 owner and you've been having SMS issues we'd love to hear from you both before and after this update!

Posted by: Matt

[ Post Tags: HTC HD2, Windows Mobile 6.5, tracyandmatt.co.uk, sms update ]

As yet none of the current Windows Phones are going to eligible for an upgrade to Windows Mobile 7 but many of us are hoping that the HTC HD2 will be! With its capacitive touch screen, multitouch support and a 1Ghz Snapdragon processor the HD2 really should be more than capable, in my opinion, of running the new OS but will Microsoft or HTC officially announce it?

HTC HD2

Well we may be a step closer. As reported last week on MSMobilenews, Microsoft marketing dude Greg Sullivan recently made the following statement:

"Our fragmentation issue is primarily around screen resolutions and assuming a minimum CPU and storage. So it has been a little bit challenging, because that choice, that flexibility, that freedom that people have to build any kind of device and use any kind of device: touch, non-touch, keyboard, soft key, has required a little bit extra effort in some cases for developers to target apps that run across a wide array of devices," Sullivan said.

But the (HTC) HD2 is a great early example of our new approach.We've got capacitive and multi-touch support in a Windows Phone, and that's because we did the platform work while working very closely with HTC to do the hardware/software integration."

So how are we having our cake and eating it too? We're going to continue the horizontal market, but work very closely with our hardware partners to provide more guidance on the platform so we don't have nine different display sizes that independent software vendors have to target.maybe just two.

We're going to continue investing in the user experience, and the legacy pocket PC 1999 UI that still kind of shows up if you drill down pretty deep? that's another thing that's changed."

With Mobile World Congress taking place next month I am hoping we may get some official announcements regarding Windows Mobile 7 and the good news is that i will be there to cover any breaking stories.

Posted by: James

HTC have just released another official update for their new flagship HD2 handset, this time addressing SMS related issues.

This update comes immediately on the back of a camera/imaging related update that was made available last week.

It has been reported elsewhere that this messaging update addresses some issues (complaints?) from customers saying that they could not hear or see when they received an incoming text message. However, we wonder if this update may also have something to do with some SMS issues that were reported just after the launch of the HD2 where many complained that text messages sent from their new HD2's were being delayed and and some cases not being delivered until 24 hours later despite the handset reporting a successful send.

We'd love to hear from any of you that actually apply this update!

So you can grab a download of this messaging update from the HTC site.

This update for HTC HD2 messaging lets you reach out to your friends and family with instant notifications. Keeping in touch has always been very important, and this update delivers just that: fast and reliable SMS messaging.
Installation Instructions:

Note: This update is only applicable to ROM version is equal to 1.49.XX.X, or lower.

Now this update looks to be a pretty straightforward hot-fix but may be worth backing up your important files before applying!

Posted by: Matt

If you follow the site regularly you will have seen our posts on the camera problem the HTC HD2 seems to have, the dreaded pink blur.

HTC HD2

The good news is that if you have an unlocked/sim free HD2, HTC have released an update to enhance the camera.

HTC say: "This update for HTC HD2 delivers clear digital picture quality like never before. Living up to the name of "HD" this phone and its twin LED flash will take beautiful pictures for you to cherish your memories. Displayed in brilliant vibrant colours on its 4.3 inch screen, HTC HD2 camera will delight you".

We are expecting another HTC HD2 for us to play with next week so we will be sure to install this update and put it too the test.

If you want the update now please click here.

Posted By: James

Matt posted earlier today on this subject but devicewire.com have just sent us the full details and prices.

devicewire.com

Although neither product is available at this moment you can pre-order now.

Order extended battery here.

Order capacitive stylus here.

If we get any further information we will be sure to let you know.

Posted by: James

Yesterday we told you about the extended battery, car kit and the capacitive stylus for the HTC HD2. Well today the first images of the stylus surface on the web.

Russian site YouHTC seem to have been the first to get their hands on photos but other sites also have the photos now. We'll post more photos as we get them.

According to WMPoweruser the stylus will cost £17.25. Apparently the end of the stylus is transparent so you can see though it but with a red dot to indicate where it is being pressed. It's also curved at the bottom.

Posted by: Matt

[Source]

You may have seen on a few other sites that HTC will make a capacitive stylus available for the HTC HD2, presumably for the Asian markets where handwriting recognition is more popular than in Europe or the USA, this sounds quite plausible as we have seen styli for the iPhone on sale in the US recently.

We've heard that there will also be a dedicated car kit available for the HD2 which we assume will nicely make use of the car kit option in the settings menu on the HD2.

Another point that you may have also heard elsewhere is that there will be an official extended battery for the HTC HD2 and what you may not have heard elsewhere is that said battery, and larger battery cover will include a 'kick-stand' that will allow you to stand the HD2 on a desk or table in landscape mode which is a really cool idea. However, we've been told that the HD2 will not fit in the official car kit with the extended battery which is a bit of a shame, but I guess if you have a car kit you will have the HD2 on charge more often than not.

We're trying to get official confirmation from HTC and get some pictures of these accessories and we'll share them with you as soon as we get them!

Don't forget to have a look at our full HTC HD2 review.

Posted by: Matt

The HTC HD2 has been a bit hard to get since its initial launch but the good news is that its back.

HTC HD2

devicewire.com gave us the good news this afternoon so if you are after the HD2 now is the time to snap one up.

From devicewire.com its £499.00 delivered, which sounds a bargain if you ask me. If you do get one please follow the HD2 on our forum and let us know your thoughts.

Posted by: James