Author Archive: Gareth

The Nokia Lumia 1020 arrives

Today the Nokia Lumia 1020 was announced in New York notable for Nokia’s massive 41-megapixel sensor and optical image stabilisation (OIS) the likes of which we saw on the Nokia Pureview 808 last year. The Lumia 1020 is said to combine unmatched picture detail and quality with an effortless capture, edit and sharing features. Nokia Pro Camera takes over as the default camera app on the Lumia 1020.

A truly impressive addition to the Windows Phone 8 line, this could really be the device to make some noise. Have a read at some of the specs and take a gander at the video below. he 1020 will launch in the US first on 26 July. It will launch in Europe shortly after on an undisclosed date.

Mobile Tech Addicts Podcast 205: MEGA

Gareth, Matt and Dan are here with another UK update on the mobile front. HTC suffer, Samsung enlarge, Three rule, Nokia release and HP update.

Featuring Gareth, Dan and Matt

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Huawei doing a new tablet this a confused identity

It looks like Huawei didn’t want Sony, LG and Samung to be the only brands to carry a supersized, crazy phablet category device. On the same day that Sony announced their new Xperia Z Ultra 6.44-inch phablet, Huawei just announced a 7-inch phone called the MediaPad 7 Vogue. We will simply share the press release (with specs bolded).

Some will call it a phablet and others a straight up tablet, but lets not forget that 7″ tablets do frequently come with a 3G modem, an ear speaker at the top, a microphone at the bottom alongside the ability of make calls. This doesn’t enter the tablet into the phone arena.

Who is the highest paid person at HTC? Iron Man of course!

It looks like shareholders of HTC took the decline of the company last year very seriously. According to a report at the Wall Street Journal, HTC Execs including the CEO Peter Chou all had pay reductions last year that amounted to a 50% drop. Here’s a quote with more of the details,

The embattled Taiwanese smartphone maker paid 31 executives a combined 660.5 million New Taiwan dollars (US$22 million) in salary, retirement pay, bonus and profit sharing last year, down 51% from NT$1.36 billion in 2011, according to the report.

The belt-tightening comes after a slide in HTC’s market share and earnings over the past two years amid product delays, unsuccessful marketing campaigns and growing competition from Samsung Electronics Co. and low-cost Chinese smartphone makers.

HTC Chief Executive Peter Chou and President of Engineering and Operations Fred Liu made less than NT$100 million each in total compensation last year for the first time in two years, while other high-level executives also moved to lower compensation brackets.

~ WSJ Meanwhile, it looks like the executives aren’t just banking on the HTC One to save them, they are trying to enlist the aid of Iron Man too! Seriously, HTC just signed Robert Downey Jr. to a $12 Million USD marketing agreement, in which he will assist them with a variety of television, print, and billboard advertising. There’s no word on if he will actually be in "Iron Man mode", but that seems unlikely. HTC would have to secure IP rights from Marvel to make that happen, so he will probably have to leave his repulsor beams at home.
Still, they are probably banking on the fact that people associate him with the character. In the long run, it could be a real adrenaline shot in the arm to HTC at a time when they need to keep the forward momentum going with the success of their HTC One.

Sauce: Phandroid

Posted by: Gareth