Gareth, James, Matt and Tracy are all aboard for another chat about the Mobile World in the UK. This week covering the HTC ChaCha and Salsa, Orange have announced the Barcelona and there is also a debate about HD Voice potential.
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The title says it all, folks. For the thousands upon thousands of HTC Desire owners, the dream of 2.3 Gingerbread hitting their phone will have to continue to be just that. The HTC Desire was one of the most popular phones for HTC, and played an important role in really driving Android devices into the hands of general consumers. Not even 18 months old, HTC are already closing production of the Desire hardware. Now, software development has ceased too; Desires will have to stay on Froyo. Unless you want to explore the unofficial channels and flash a custom rom. Here is HTC’s excuse official statement:
Our engineering teams have been working hard for the past few months to find a way to bring Gingerbread to the HTC Desire without compromising the HTC Sense experience you’ve come to expect from our phones. However, we’re sorry to announce that we’ve been forced to accept there isn’t enough memory to allow us both to bring Gingerbread and keep the HTC Sense experience on the HTC Desire. We’re sincerely sorry for the disappointment that this news may bring to some of you.
Whether I believe them is questionable – after all, the Wildfire S for example, gets along with a slower processor, same amount of ROM, and less RAM, yet plenty of Gingerbread. Either way, at least HTC tried and perhaps it’s time to retire that Desire for something HTC thinks is a bit more sensational.
Post by: Vince
Hundreds of thousands of High Definition voice calls are now being made across the Three network every month, the operator has revealed.
The service is the first step-change in voice quality to hit mobile users since the introduction of 3G.
Customers who call another customer on the Three network, with a HD voice-enabled phone, will automatically get the service without extra cost.
As well as clearer voice calls, the technology also helps filter out background sounds making it easier to hear the person on the other end.
Logitech have today announced the latest addition to their successful webcam range. This camera has been specifically designed for easy video calling and HD recording on the go – whether you’re at a birthday party or on a business trip, on a PC or a Mac. The webcam’s fold-and-go design, autofocus and 360-degree swivel rotation, expands the possibilities of what you can capture in full HD video anytime, anywhere.
Key features:
This product will be available from www.logitech.com and selected retailers from September for an RRP of £69.99.
With the release of HP’s TouchPad looming they have kindly released a selection of demo videos on their YouTube channel. The 9.7 inch tablet looks certain to be a real powerhouse and I can see webOS working seamlessly on HP/Palms tablet.
In the released videos you can see the following things demoed:
You can see the videos by clicking here.
Posted by: James
The UK’s leading communications company, Everything Everywhere, today announced that it plans to launch 30 new stores in the UK this year.
The company, which was created by the successful merger of Orange and T-Mobile and already has over 720 stores, is looking to expand its retail presence as the demand for new communications services grows among British consumers.
The 30 new stores, which will see new jobs added on the high street, will be branded Everything Everywhere and will offer Orange and T-Mobile products and services, giving consumers access to more choice and the best range of products and services available in a direct-retail environment.
Everything Everywhere stores are designed to give customers an enticing, visual and interactive experience in order to “inspire, excite and educate”. The stores showcase new apps, smartphones and tablets from the biggest names in the industry, and put the focus on service rather than just sales. Store staff receive extensive training, with a focus on helping customers discover more from their mobile devices.
With the huge success last year that Orange had with the San Francisco (ZTE Blade) could they be set to do it again? On the ‘coming soon’ page of the Orange site is the Orange Barcelona, a front facing QWERTY Android device. Running 2.2, supporting HD voice and with a touch screen this one could be another huge hit for Orange. No word on pricing yet but I would imagine it would be very competitive.
Orange say:
Brighten up your life with the Barcelona from Orange. Equipped with the powerful Android 2.2 operating system and a 2.6-inch TFT touch screen, this phone makes communication easy and fun. And it really looks the part with its sleek, ergonomic design. With a 3.2-megapixel camera to play with, you’ll always be able to capture life’s moments as well as listening to your favourite music using the FM radio.
You can see the specs below:
As planned Toshiba have put their Thrive up for pre-order. Prices starting at $429.99 and it seems that the US is first on the list to get this. There is little indication as to when we can expect to see it here in the UK. Here is what Toshiba had to say.
Introducing the Thrive Tablet by Toshiba. Powered by Android 3.1, Honeycomb, this tablet delivers a better way to browse the Web, enjoy e-books and HD videos, play games, listen to music and more. Complete, convenient and customizable, it’s everything a tablet can and should be, with a gorgeous 10.1″ diagonal high-res multi-touch LED backlit display, features you can personalize, and speedy performance so you can multitask your way through your digital life (and favourite entertainment) with ease.
Posted by Gareth
Seems that Android powered smartphones are coming down in price on an almost daily basis and this Vodafone 858 Smart is the cheapest one we’ve looked at yet. Vodafone call it the Smart but it’s made by Huawei as the U8160. It may not have a wonderful specification but it’s currently selling for just £60 here in the UK on Vodafone Pay-as-you-go.
It may be entry level but when you consider the cost the spec isn’t terrible. It has GPS, WiFi, 2.8″ Capacitive touchscreen and runs Android 2.2 the CPU and camera may be a bit limited but what do you expect for £60!?
We’ll be looking at Vodafone Smart over the next week or so from the perspective of it being a first Android phone of a second ‘spare’ handset. You can check out the video below too.
Following on from the HTC Salsa video we had last week, this week we have the HTC ChaCha to unbox and review for you. I’m not sure what HTC’s fascination with dance names is but I believe that the names of these devices came from the internal codenames used for them which just stuck.
The HTC ChaCha is somewhat different to your average Android powered device, first of all it’s one of only a couple of Androids to have the fixed foward-facing QWERTY keyboard. On top of that there is a landscape mounted display (hopefully it is a 480×320 screen and not a side fitted 320×480) and then there’s the Facebook integration.
Check out the video below to find out a little more while we crack on with the full review.
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