News

Vodafone and HTC unveil Android-powered HTC Magic

Yet more news coming in from MWC, Jonathan from Clove Technology is keeping busy! 🙂

This time we have news about the latest Android-powered device from HTC, the HTC Magic. The HTC Magic will be exclusive to Vodafone in the UK, France, Spain and Germany.

Vodafone and HTC Corporation today announced the HTC Magic smartphone, Vodafone’s first Android-powered mobile, which will be available in the spring.

The stylish new handset is exclusive to Vodafone in the UK, Spain, Germany and France (SFR) and available on a non-exclusive basis in Italy. Customers can ensure that they are the first to receive information about the HTC Magic’s availability, pricing and pre-ordering by registering their interest via their local Vodafone website from today.

The introduction of the HTC Magic is the result of a successful relationship between Vodafone and HTC, and Vodafone’s joining, late last year, of the Open Handset Alliance.

A tablet-style device, with a sleek design and unprecedented compactness for a smartphone featuring the Android platform, the HTC Magic enables a superior mobile internet experience, providing broad flexibility for personalisation via the application-rich Android Market. Available in white in the UK, Spain and France, black in Germany and in both colours in Italy, the HTC Magic will be for sale in several other Vodafone markets over the next few months.

“Delivering an unbeatable mobile internet experience for our customers is a priority for Vodafone, so we are very excited to be introducing our first Android-powered smartphone in the spring,” says Patrick Chomet, Global Director of Terminals, Vodafone Group. “Following our joining of the Open Handset Alliance, we have worked very closely with HTC to bring this cool new phone to the market. Our customers want to access a wide range of the most attractive mobile devices to help them make the most of their time – the HTC Magic helps meet that need.”

“The HTC Magic embodies the compact style and sophistication for which HTC has come to be known, with the powerful and intuitive internet experience for which the Android platform was designed,” says Peter Chou, president and CEO, HTC Corporation. “We are proud of our partnership with Vodafone and excited about making the Android-powered HTC Magic available to Vodafone customers in Europe.”

“The announcement of the HTC Magic is an important step for Android and the Open Handset Alliance,” says Andy Rubin, Senior Director of Mobile Platforms at Google. “With it, Vodafone is opening up the mobile web for consumers across Europe and giving more third-party developers a platform on which they can build the next wave of killer applications.”

Available from free on various price plans, the HTC Magic has a 3.2” QVGA touch screen display and features a trackball and navigational buttons for quick, easy access. The HTC Magic includes a variety of email options such as Google Mail™, POP3 and IMAP as well as Google Talk™ for instant messaging.

The HTC Magic has a variety of powerful mobile internet capabilities beginning with an Android-optimised Webkit browser. It also features the popular Google™ applications, Google Maps™ and Google Search™ as well as favourites like YouTube™. In addition, Android Market allows for quick and easy downloading of games and applications utilising Vodafone’s fast and reliable network.

Full details of availability and pricing will be available in the future in local Vodafone markets.

More details as we get them.

Posted by: Matt

LG to have 50 new Windows Mobile based handsets by 2012?

MWC today has been full of surprises, first of all we find out that Samsung has officially dropped Windows Mobile in favour of Symbian on its new Omnia HD handset (and possible dropped all together) and then in a completely opposite direction we hear from LG that they have ‘Deepened their Alliance with Microsoft’ and are making Windows their ‘Primary Smartphone Platform’.

Yong Nam, LG’s vice chairman and chief executive officer, went further to say that LG plan to bring up to 26 new Windows Phones to market in 2012 alone and, with a new agreement with Microsoft in place, this could result in more than 50 new LG Windows Phones!

A good day for Windows Phones and Windows Phone fans! 🙂

Take a look at the full press release below:

LG Electronics (LG) and Microsoft Corp. today announced an expanded alliance to dramatically increase the number of LG phones running Windows. As part of the agreement, LG will make Windows its primary operating system for its smartphones and will increase both the number of Windows® phones in its portfolio and the total volume of Windows® phones it distributes. This will create a tenfold increase in the volume of Windows® phones available from LG in 2009 and bring up to 26 new Windows® phones to market in 2012 alone. Overall, the agreement can result in more than 50 new LG Windows® phones.

“New LG phones running Windows will take advantage of the excitement in this dynamically growing market,” said Yong Nam, vice chairman and chief executive officer, LG Electronics. “The Windows platform brings flexible and customer-friendly software that ties into the Web and the PC, giving our phones a wide range of new capabilities to address an increasing number of segments and markets.”

“Windows® phones enable people to tap into digital experiences that span their lives so they can connect to the people, information and services they care about most,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft. “Integrating Windows software with LG’s design leadership will bring new experiences to help enrich people’s lives.”

The agreement also includes a commitment by both companies to create joint teams for research and development, to focus on creating phones with powerful features built on tight integration between hardware and software. It also details joint marketing efforts to expand the reach of these phones at a range of prices in markets across the globe.

This agreement follows a memorandum of understanding signed by LG and Microsoft on Nov. 3, 2008, which put in place strategic collaboration on the converged mobile device business.

Complementing the expanded alliance, LG also announced the LG-GM730, which incorporates LG’s signature style with a slim (11.9 mm) and seamless profile and rounded edges. The Windows® phone is user-friendly with features like one-click e-mail setup and easy finger navigation while browsing with the latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer Mobile. Available in the first half of 2009 on Windows Mobile 6.1, LG will add Windows Mobile 6.5 version to their portfolio in the second half of 2009.

Posted by: Matt

Orange to be first in Europe with Watch Phone

Orange have partnered with LG to be the first operator in Europe to offer the world’s first Touch Watch phone (LG910). The wrist watch style phone comes with a blue-tooth headset and features a full touch-screen interface, 3G HSDPA and video-calling capabilities…it even tells the time too! Olaf Swantee, Exec VP of Orange Group, has just announced the partnership with LG just now in his keynote at MWC.

Now, I really want one of those!!

Posted by: Matt

Microsoft confirm Windows Mobile name change

At a press conference held today at MWC Miscrosoft CEO Steve Balmer confirms that the Windows Mobile Phones will undergo a name change and will now be called Windows Phones, dropping mobile from the name.

Steve also introduced the first generation of ‘Windows Phones’ each with updated versions of IE, Backup to Web, Microsoft MyPhone and new tools to help developers build better applications.

Now we’re just waiting to hear all about Windows Mobile 6.5 or will that be Windows 6.5 for mobiles or something else?! 😛

Posted by: Matt

Samsung announces new mobiles with DivX certification

Today at MWC Samsung and DivX Inc. have announced the latest the range of touch phone products to be DivX certified. Among the devices mentioned in the press release below is the Omnia HD (i8910) that we spoke about yesterday and it has been confirmed that the device will be Symbian S60 powered.

The Samsung Omnia HD

DivX, Inc. (NASDAQ:DIVX), a digital media company, and Samsung Electronics Co., LTD, a leading mobile provider, announced today at GSMA Mobile World Congress its newest full touch phone product line with DivX® Mobile certification — Samsung’s Ultra Touch, OMNIA HD, and BEAT DJ. These new cutting-edge DivX Certified® mobile phone devices offer consumers seamless playback of high-quality DivX video on the go and in the living room. DivX technology produces highly compressed video suitable for mobile platforms that require minimal storage for the highest quality experience possible.

“Our customers see mobile devices as an important place to enjoy high-quality video, and adding DivX support ensures that our handsets provide a cutting-edge media experience,” said Younghee Lee, Vice President of Samsung’s Digital Media & Communications business.

Samsung Ultra Touch (S8300) allows consumers to enjoy DivX video on its full touch display with anti-reflection and anti-scratch surface. Other compelling features include an 8-megapixel camera with Dual Power LED, GPS with navigation, TouchWiz UI with Mobile Widget, and Auto Rotation with a 3×4 inch keypad.

Samsung OMNIA HD (i8910) boasts its HD brilliance with 3.7” AMOLED full touch screen. The product enables consumers to play DivX videos from the phone directly on their televisions using the Omnia HD’s TV-Out feature—effectively turning the phone into a powerful portable media player. In addition to DivX video playback, Samsung’s OMNIA HD features generous internal memory (8GB /16GB) with the addition of a 32GB microSD card. Equipped with Symbian S60 5.0, the OMNIA HD offers innovative technology such as an 8-megapixel camera, the fastest network with HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, and advanced features such as geo-tagging and widgets.

With support for DivX video, Samsung’s BEAT DJ (M7600) empowers consumers to playback DivX video stored on the phone’s 50MB internal memory or up to 16GB with an external microSD memory card. The BEAT DJ also offers an enhanced music experience including full touch Music Evolution with Spin Wheel Touch and DISC UI—an advanced music play user interface, and BEAT DJ—a DJ’ing music application with music filters, scratching features and DJ mix recording.

“Samsung continues to recognize the value that DivX provides for its customers, and we are pleased to be a key feature in Samsung’s new line of mobile phones,” said Kevin Hell, Chief Executive Officer at DivX, Inc. “The Samsung Ultra Touch, OMNIA HD and BEAT DJ are superior multimedia phones, and now users will be able to watch their favorite videos absolutely anywhere, enjoying the high-quality that DivX video is known for.”

In addition to the three newly DivX Certified mobile phones with Samsung, DivX also announced a new certification profile—DivX Mobile Theater. Now available to DivX IC and OEM licensees, DivX Mobile Theater Profile helps mobile licensees ensure that their phones are certified to support studio requirements for premium DivX video playback, provide true DVD-like quality, and offers an improved user experience.

Products that bear the DivX Certified® logo have undergone a rigorous testing program to ensure a high-quality DivX media experience, including reliable video creation and playback, interoperability with other DivX Certified devices and the visual quality users expect from DivX.

Posted by: Matt

HTC Touch Pro 2 specification

The HTC Touch Pro 2

* HTC TV Out cable needed.

Posted by: Matt

HTC Touch Diamond 2 specification

The HTC Touch Diamond 2

Posted by: Matt

HTC’s MWC press conference

Jonathan from Clove Technology, our eyes and ears at MWC, is sitting in at the HTC press conference at the moment and relaying the news from the event.

• 10:10 – The press conference was due to start at 10:00 GMT but its going to take a little bit longer as people are still arriving.
• 10:13 – WiFi connectivity issues in the conference hall at the moment, what a time to run slow!
• 10:20 – Still not started and now standing room only
• 10:25 – The Touch Pro2 and the Diamond2 now showing on HTC.COM

• 10:30 – Started
• 10:33 – HTC announce the new Touch Pro2 and Diamond2
• 10:36 – HTC’s new Straight Talk technology delivers an integrated email, voice and speakerphone experience. Users can transition seamlessly from email to single or multi-party conference calls and turn any location into a conference room.
• 10:40 – Push INTERNET allows you to set up favourite sites that get auto updated and content delivered as per schedule
• 10:45 – Pro2 to have tilting display and proximity sensor
• 10:50 – lots of waffle
• 10:51 – Both the Touch Pro 2 and Touch Diamond 2 will be available second quarter of 2009!
• 10:55 – HTC Touch Pro 2 Specification

• 10:55 – HTC Touch Diamond 2 specification

• 10:56 – Android will still be part of HTC’s offering going forward.
• 10:58 – It’s all over! 🙂

Press releases due at 10:30 GMT.

Refresh this post regularly as I’ll be updating it with HTC news as we get it!

Posted by: Matt

HTC announce the new Touch Pro 2 and Touch Diamond 2

News directly from MWC:

HTC Corporation, a global designer of mobile phones, today unveiled two new flagship devices, the HTC Touch Diamond2ä and HTC Touch Pro2ä.  Integrating innovative simplicity with unique style and an intuitive interface, the devices balance function, form and cutting-edge technology to personalize the communication and mobile Internet experience.

“The HTC Touch Pro2 and HTC Touch Diamond2 introduce a mobile communication experience that simplifies how we communicate with people in our lives whether through voice, text or email,” said Peter Chou, president and CEO, HTC Corp. “HTC is delivering the latest, cutting-edge sophistication in a broad portfolio of mobile phones that improve how people live, work and communicate.”

HTC TOUCHFLO 3D INTEGRATED WITH WINDOWS MOBILE
The HTC Touch Diamond2 and HTC Touch Pro2 utilize HTC’s latest TouchFLO 3D interface. TouchFLO 3D has been more deeply integrated into a customized version of Windows Mobile 6.1 to deliver more consistency throughout Windows Mobile applications and menus. Focused on making navigation easier and more intuitive, TouchFLO 3D brings important information to the top-level user interface, including quick access to people, messaging, email, photos, music and weather.  As part of this improved Windows Mobile integration the touch focus areas have been enlarged to be more finger-touch friendly.

BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER
With the HTC Touch Diamond2 and HTC Touch Pro2, HTC is introducing a new people-centric communication approach, providing a single contact view that displays the individual conversation history of contacts regardless of whether voice, text or email were used.  This can be viewed from the contact card or the in-call screen during a phone conversation, ensuring the latest communication contact-by-contact is always at hand.

SIMPLIFYING HOW PEOPLE ACCESS THEIR INFORMATION
Continuing its commitment to making the mobile Internet easier and more enjoyable, the HTC Touch Diamond2 and HTC Touch Pro2 introduce HTC’s Push Internet technology.   HTC Push Internet alleviates slow downloading and rendering of Web pages on a mobile phone. Users can preselect their favorite Websites to get immediate access to them when needed.

The HTC Touch Diamond2

HTC TOUCH DIAMOND2
The HTC Touch Diamond2 is the next step in the evolution of the successful HTC Touch Diamond. Crafted to fit perfectly into the hand, the Touch Diamond2 evolves the compact design and iconic style of the original HTC Touch Diamond. It incorporates a larger 3.2-inch high-resolution wide-screen VGA display for a greater viewing area in a design just 13.7mm thick. The phone also includes a new touch sensitive zoom bar for even faster zooming of Web pages, emails, text messages, photos or documents.
Leveraging HTC’s TouchFLO 3D experience combined with a people-centric communication approach and HTC’s new Push Internet technology The Touch Diamond2 offers an advanced touch experience that is optimized for one-hand use.

With fifty-percent better battery life, a five mega-pixel auto focus camera, expandable memory, gravity sensor and an ambient light sensor, the Touch Diamond2 brings the most sophisticated capabilities to a broad consumer audience looking for the professional benefits of a smartphone without sacrificing size, looks or functionality.

The HTC Touch Pro2

HTC TOUCH PRO2
Designed for business professionals, the HTC Touch Pro2 is architected with distinct style and strength while delivering the most powerful productivity experience available on a mobile phone.  Leveraging HTC’s TouchFLO 3D, people-centric communication and Push Internet technology, the Touch Pro2 features a high-resolution 3.6-inch widescreen VGA display for an expanded viewing area and large finger-friendly QWERTY keyboard. With improved battery life, expandable memory, a touch-sensitive zoom bar as well as gravity, proximity and ambient light sensors, the Touch Pro2 is optimized for touch as well as heavy email use.

INTRODUCING HTC STRAIGHT TALK FOR HTC TOUCH PRO2
The new HTC Touch Pro2 leverages voice in a new way to create one of the most sophisticated communication experiences found on a mobile phone.   HTC’s new Straight Talk technology delivers an integrated email, voice and speakerphone experience. Users can transition seamlessly from email to single or multi-party conference calls and turn any location into a conference room.

In addition to the new simplified calling experience, Straight Talk includes an innovative mechanical and acoustic design that features a sophisticated speakerphone experience similar to those found in corporate boardrooms. Straight Talk delivers a high-fidelity voice and sound experience enhanced by asymmetric speakers and advanced noise suppression with full duplex acoustics. When the Touch Pro2 is flipped over it automatically turns into a conference room speakerphone system.

Availability
The HTC Touch Diamond2 will be available to customers across major European and Asian markets in early Q2 2009 with broader global availability coming later in the year.  The Touch Pro2 will be available across major global markets beginning in early summer.

Posted by: Matt

Follow us on Twitter

We’ve started to use Twitter a bit more lately and as MWC is now in full-swing we are expecting quite a lot of press activity today you can follow us on Twitter to get the latest updates as we post them.

Twitter users can simply follow use by going to http://twitter.com/tracyandmatt If you haven’t already got a Twitter account you sign up for free there too! 🙂

Posted by: Matt