Rumours

HTC Bravo: Europe’s Nexus One?

There have been a few stories on the news wire today about a newly anticipated Android powered device from HTC. I’m talking about the HTC Bravo, which is thought go on sale throughout Europe within the next few months.

The HTC Bravo

If you think that the HTC Bravo looks a lot like the Nexus One then there’s a good reason for that. HTC made the Nexus One for Google and it is believed that the Nexus One was based upon the designs that HTC already had for the HTC Bravo and not the other way around. Does it matter which of these handsets you buy? Well I doubt HTC will care which!

So if the HTC Bravo goes on sale throughout Europe where will that leave the Nexus One? Will we see some carriers taking the HTC unit where others might opt for the Google branded model? Or does this mean no Nexus One in Europe at all? My guess would be that both will be sold.

The HTC Bravo features the same 3.7 inch AMOLED, the same 1Ghz Snapdragon mobile processor, 512MB RAM and 512MB ROM. The HTC Bravo also features a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and will run on the Android 2.1 operating system just the same as the Nexus One.

I’m reviewing the Google Nexus One at the moment so please do have a look at my Nexus One unboxing and demo video and also let me know if I can answer any of your questions!

Posted by: Matt

Sony Ericsson Faith

Dailyiphoneblog.com have published some photos of a new Sony Ericsson device this week.

Sony Ericsson Faith

The Sony Ericsson Faith is clearly a Windows Phone but what is interesting is that the version shown in the above picture is 6.5.3

While this is a good thing that Microsoft are improving the OS it makes me wonder how far away the official launch of Windows Mobile 7 will be. Hopefully we will get some further information at Mobile World Congress next month where I will be hanging out for a few days.

The Faith is reported to to have a 2.4 inch touch screen, 3.2-megapixel camera, assisted GPS and microSD card support on board.

If we get confirmation on this device we will be sure to let you know.

Posted by: James

Windows Mobile 7 coming to HTC HD2

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

Nexus One Enterprise?

There has been so much ‘News’ surrounding the Nexus One over the past week, many of the mainstream media outlets have even give it some coverage.

One story that seems to still be making the headlines is that Google is apparently ‘Awash’ with complaints about the Nexus one and is poor, patchy or in some cases, non-existent 3G coverage. The support forum for the Nexus One has literally hundreds of complaints about the 3G issue, many being passed backwards and forwards between T-mobile and Google’s own support team.

With all the excitement and news comes even more rumour and speculation so we’ve heard something this morning that is interesting, and somewhat more positive than 3G problems.

Rumours have just started to surface that there will soon be another version of the Google handset, ‘Nexus One Enterprise‘. If the rumours are to be believed the new handset will have a sliding hardware QWERTY keyboard.

It does seem like a logical progression and I for one would love to see a QWERTY version of the device. Thoughts?

Lets just hope that these 3G issues can be ironed out soon!

Posted by: Matt

[ Post Tags: Google, Nexus One, Android, tracyandmatt.co.uk ]

5 new Apple products?

I just had an email tip from one of our readers. He works for a major UK retailer (John Lewis??) and apparently they have just added 5 new Apple products to their stock list. Each item is priced at £2000 but he goes on to say that this price is likely to come down a lot to hide item speculation and that it is common for new launch products to appear in their stock file so that they are able to start provisionally allocating stock, writing product info etc.

What could these new products be? We wonder if perhaps this maybe the Apple iSlate tablet being added to their stock list in time for its launch? Maybe it’ll come in 5 colours or perhaps 5 varying specifications?

Let the speculation begin! Comments anyone?

We’ll bring you more news as we get it. Thanks for the tip. If you have any tips for us please let us know via our contact page and don’t forget to include your name and email address and whether or not you want us to include your name.

Posted by: Matt

Nexus One on T-Mobile and Three in UK?

When the Nexus One was launched earlier this week it was originally reported that the device would be a Vodafone exclusive here in the UK.

The Google Nexus One

There has, however, been some speculation over the past few days as to whether the Nexus One would make it to any other UK carrier and if, indeed, it would be available SIM-free. Early indications are that it will be a carrier only handset and will not be sold SIM-free through regular distribution channels but according to several UK sites T-Mobile and Three are in advanced talks with Google. “We can confirm that we are in talks with Google on the Nexus One,” a spokesman for 3 stated recently, according to paidContent:UK. “We are in talks with Google and hope to have something to announce soon,” a T-Mobile spokesman added, cited by Total Telecom.

With the apparent popularity of the Nexus One already, many people having already purchased the handset direct through Google’s online ordering page (google.com/phone), I would be surprised if the other carriers are not going all-out to have the Nexus One in their portfolio.

It will definitely be interesting to see what the next few weeks and months have in store for the Nexus One. Incidentally I could have my Nexus one here in the next few days so please do feel free to start asking your questions ready for the unbox and review!

Posted by: Matt

[ Post Tags: Google, Nexus One, Android, tracyandmatt.co.uk ]

Only 220 Palm Pre’s sold in Ireland?

The Palm Pre was another device discussed at length during our podcast with Mobiletech Addicts earlier this week. The panel (ok Gareth, Andy, James and I) were all in agreement that the Palm Pre could have been something special but the promising Web OS has been sadly let down by poor hardware.

I just read a short article from our friend Ewan over at Mobile Industry Review. Ewan has gathered some information about the Palm Pre’s sales in Ireland and I have to say the news, if correct, isn’t good. According to the source, just 220 units sold since launch some 12 weeks ago!

Read the full story over at Mobile Industry Review.

Posted by: Matt

Google Phone coming in January!

With Android growing so rapidly we have today had some good news. The word on the street is that Google’s first phone, the Nexus One will be available in January 2010.

Google Nexus One

I do believe that this will be the first device sporting Android version 2.1 which should guarantee a huge number or early sales. Although this device has been manufactured by HTC it is believed that there will be no branding on the handset itself, allowing for a total “Google” experience.

The screen on the Nexus One is rumoured to be a 3.5 inch capacitive OLED display with a resolution of 480 x 800, the same resolution as the Motorola Droid, but will be lighter in weight due to having an onscreen keyboard as opposed to a slide out QWERTY keyboard.

Although the specs have not be confirmed yet we are expecting a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. Lets hope so, as if we have guessed right this device could be a serious competitor to the much larger HTC HD2.

Whatever happens, this is a great move by Google and we will be sure to bring you any confirmed news as soon as we get it.

Posted by: James

Motorola Enzo or is it Backflip?

Rob over at phandroid.com just got himself a nice scoop on the new Motorola (we will call it) Backflip, so we thought we would share it with our community too.

The “going straight to AT&T” Moto Backflip is another Android based handset but the first one for the AT&T network.

Moto Enzo / Backflip

Apart from the name what else can we tell you? Well the handset model number is MB300 and it will come with an older revision of the Android O/S which is the 1.5 Cupcake release. Apart from that info here is the specifications that are rumoured.

Motorola Backflip Rumoured Specifications:

• Yahoo Search (Weird?)
• AT&T Nav
• AT&T Music
• AT&T Mobile App store
• Google Maps
• Android Market
• 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM7201A
• 512 MB ROM
• 256 MB RAM
• 3.1 inch display 320 x 480 (HVGA)
• 5 megapixel camera with LED flash
• WiFi / Bluetooth 2.0 / GPS
• OS Android 1.5 with Motoblur
• GSM 850/900/1800/1900 W-CDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100
• Reverse flip keyboard
• Rear directional touchpad

I’m not sure if I like the idea of the camera being on the QWERTY keyboard and not on the front of the phone but hey, what do I know? The other point to note is that the backflip will always have a visible QWERTY as its at the back of the phone which means the screen flips out to join it (bizarre if you ask me).

I have to admit though that the spec list does look ok and that it would be interesting to have a “wee shot” of it.

Posted by: John

Google Nexus One Specification Leaked

Where would we be without the ROM hackers of this world?

The techy intelligent folk over at These Are The Droids have managed to break down the 2.1 rom system files only to find some of these features:

• Proximity Sensor
• Ambient Light Sensor
• Accelerometer
• Magnetic Compass
• WiFi
• Stereo FM Speaker
• Noise Cancelation Chipset
• OpenGL ES 2.0-capable graphics
• Auto-focus camera with LED flash (which shows that I was right on the money)
• Possible Snapdragon Processor
• 802.11n wireless chipset

If the phone really has the features above then we can be certain that the phone will top speeds of 1GHz for processing and gaming fans now have an i-Phone similar device  as far as graphics go.

On another note, if you have not yet seen the start-up video that has been floating around then here it is.

Posted by: John