The Nexus 9 is one of the first devices featuring the latest Android 5.0 Lillipop. This new OS version breathes new life in to Android and unusually for HTC, the Nexus 9 has no HTC Sense overlay so there is a nice clean feel to the UI.

It has been quite some time since HTC produced a tablet and we have high hopes for the Nexus 9. In the video below we start with a short unboxing and then go hands-on with the hardware and a look at the OS and UI.

The HTC Nexus 9 is available now from Currys. Our thanks to them for the for the review device!

HTC Nexus 9 specification:

2G Network: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network: HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
4G Network: LTE
Dimensions: 228.2 x 153.7 x 7.9 mm (8.98 x 6.05 x 0.31 in)
Weight: 425 g (Wi-Fi) / 436 g (3G/LTE) (14.99 oz)
Display: IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 1536 x 2048 pixels, 8.9 inches (~281 ppi pixel density)
Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Stereo loud speakers
3.5mm jack
Internal memory: 16/32 GB, 2 GB RAM
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth v4.1, A2DP, apt-X
NFC
microUSB v2.0
Primary camera: 8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, 1080p@30fps, stereo sound rec.
Secondary camera: 1.6 MP, 720p
Android OS, v5.0 (Lollipop)
Chipset Nvidia Tegra K1
CPU Dual-core 2.3 GHz Denver
GPU Kepler DX1
Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
Battery: Non-removable Li-Po 6700 mAh battery

HTC Confirms Android 5.0 for M7, M8

Written by Matt on November 6, 2014 in News, Phones with 0 Comments

Great news for owners of HTC’s flagship devices, the HTC One M8 and last year’s HTC One M7. In a tweet HTC USA have confirmed that:

We have the Android Lollipop code. We’ll be updating the HTC One (M8) & (M7) within 90 days from today. #HTCAdvantage

Which means that we’ll see Lollipop on the M7 and M8 by the beginning of February 2015. This will be deployed as an over the air update starting with SIM free devices first. No precise details on the deployment to various carriers and how long we’ll have to wait here in the UK as yet but it’s certainly a step in the right direction!

HTC Desire 816 hands-on

Written by Matt on June 14, 2014 in Phones, Reviews, Videos/Unboxings with 0 Comments

Earlier this year, at MWC, HTC made a fairly queit announcement about two new devices that they were launching. They were the HTC Desire 816 and the HTC Desire 610.

Here we are taking a look at the Desire 816, this new smartphone offers a larger screen, that’s reaching phablet proportions, decent performance and features at at mid-range price.

With a design that certainly demonstrates that it’s from the same stable as the ever popular HTC One, the Desire 816 has top and bottom stereo speakers with built in amplifier, 13MP camera and 5MP front-facing selfie camera.

Check out the video below to see more of what the HTC Desire 816 has to offer:

HTC Desire 816 specification:

Nano SIM/Optional Dual SIM
Dimensions: 156.6 x 78.7 x 8 mm (6.17 x 3.10 x 0.31 in)
Weight: 165 g (5.82 oz)
Display: Super LCD2 capacitive touchscreen, 16M colours, 720 x 1280 pixels, 5.5 inches (~267 ppi pixel density)
HTC Sense UI v6
3.5mm jack
microSD, up to 128 GB
Internal Memory: 8 GB, 1.5 GB RAM
HSDPA, 42 Mbps, HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP
NFC
microUSB v2.0
Primary Camera: 13 MP, 4160 x 3120 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, 1080p
Secondary Camera: 5 MP, 1080p
Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat)
Qualcomm MSM8928 Snapdragon 400
Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A7
Adreno 305
Accelerometer, proximity, compass
FM radio
GPS with A-GPS support and GLONASS
Battery:Non-removable Li-Po 2600 mAh battery

A photo lover’s dream. 13 megapixel main camera and a 5 megapixel front-facing camera ensure high-resolution pics from either side. Capture moving HD images with built-in editing and sharing tools, and combine results for multiple-angle views. Incredible design, massive 5.5” HD display, dual front-facing stereo speakers, customised real-time info feeds and a quad- core processor all make this one of the best value smartphones ever.

HTC One mini 2 hands-on video

Written by Matt on May 17, 2014 in Phones, Videos/Unboxings with 0 Comments

Just a few days ago HTC offcially announced the HTC One mini 2, successor to last year’s HTC One mini and little-brother to the HTC One (M8) released a couple of months ago.

As always, there had been a lot of leaks, speculation and rumours surrounding the mini 2 so much of the specification and design was alread ‘known’ but the full and official specification can be found below.

I’ve managed to get hold of an HTC One mini 2 and I’ve recorded an initial unboxing and hands-on video for you below. Covering the specification, hardware, side-by-side with the HTC One (M8) and a look at the user interface this is just a quick video for now, futher in-depth details and a review are to follow.

HTC One mini 2 specification:

SIZE: 137.43 x 65.04 x 10.6mm

WEIGHT: 137 grams

DISPLAY: 4.5 inch, HD 720p

CPU SPEED

Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 400, 1.2GHz quad-core CPU

PLATFORM

Android™ 4.4 with HTC Sense™ 6
HTC BlinkFeed™

MEMORY

Total storage: 16GB
RAM: 1GB
Expansion card slot supports microSD™ memory card for up to 128GB additional storage (card not included)

NETWORK

2G/2.5G – GSM/GPRS/EDGE:

850/900/1800/1900 MHz

3G – WCDMA:

850/900/1900/2100 MHz with HSPA+ up to 42 Mbps

4G – LTE:

EMEA: Bands 3, 7, 8, 20
Asia: Bands 1, 3, 7, 8, 28

SIM

Nano SIM

SENSORS

Accelerometer
Proximity sensor
Ambient light sensor

CONNECTIVITY

3.5 mm stereo audio jack
NFCⁱⁱ
Bluetooth® 4.0 with aptX™ enabled
Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 & 5 GHz)
DLNA® for wirelessly streaming media from the phone to a compatible TV or computer,
HTC Connect™
micro-USB 2.0 (5-pin) port

SOUND

HTC BoomSound™
Dual frontal stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers
Sense Voice

CaMeRA

Rear camera

13MP, BSI sensor with f/2.2 lens
1080p Full HD video recording

Front camera

5MP, BSI sensor
1080p Full HD video recording

MULTIMEDIA

Audio supported formats:

Playback: .aac, .amr, .ogg, .m4a, .mid, .mp3, .flac, .wav, .wma (Windows Media Audio 10)
Recording: .aac

Video supported formats:

Playback: .3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .mkv, .wmv (Windows Media Video 10), .avi (MP4 ASP and MP3)
Recording: .mp4

Location

Internal GPS antenna + GLONASS
Digital compass

BATTERY

Capacity: 2100 mAh

HTC announce the HTC Desire 816 and HTC Desire 610

Written by Matt on February 24, 2014 in News, Phones with 0 Comments

Whilst we’re all eagerly awaiting news of HTC new HTC M8 aka ‘The All New HTC One’, in a smaller scale announcement today at MWC in Barcelona, HTC have just revealed two new mid-tier smartphones in their Desire range.

The HTC Desire 816 and HTC Desire 610 form part of the 2014 smartphone portfolio and will see their launch in March and May respectively.

HTC has become aware that the latest users of smartphones are content creators, not curators, so these devices have been built to provide consumers the perfect selfie machine for all their SnapChat, WhatsApp and social networking needs.

Two powerful cameras make the HTC Desire 816 ideal for photography lovers. A 13MP rear-facing camera complete with HTC Zoe™ and automatic highlight videos, as well as a 5MP front-facing camera, make it the perfect device for capturing both portraits and stunning landscapes in amazing quality.

The HTC Desire 610 has also been created as a great value, compact entertainment hub. The handset comes packed with a host of features for an incredible mobile audio and visual experience.

Both the 610 and 810 are recognisable HTC phones with front facing BoomSound speakers, beautiful design and similar software features to the leading One range including Zoe, BlinkFeed and Video Highlights.

Full press releases follow…

The uncoming HTC Desire 8 leaked

Written by Gareth on February 13, 2014 in News, Phones with 0 Comments

A new leak seems to point at a possible HTC Desire 8 debut in the coming weeks at Mobile World Congress.

We have recently seen another unreleased HTC smartphone was revealed on Wednesday in a freshly leaked image with isn’t the much anticipated HTC One 2. Engadget managed to find an image of the HTC Desire 8 and this would look to be an upcoming mid-range Android phone from HTC that would likely debut in the coming weeks.

The phone will reportedly include a 5.5-inch display, a 13-megapixel rear camera, an impressive 5-megapixel front-facing camera and those stereo BoomSound speakers everyone loves so much.

As for when it might be unveiled, Engadget states March 18th as a possible launch date. That would make sense for Mobile World Congress as a launch platform.

No KitKat for HTC One X and One X+

Written by Matt on January 14, 2014 in News, Phones with 0 Comments

Just a few weeks ago we brought you news of HTC’s new pages that allowed us to track the progress of OS updates for the HTC One and several other HTC phones.

On that list you’l find the HTC One Mini and One Max and Desire 601. However, there are a couple of devices that HTC have apparently confirmed that will not see Android 4.4 KitKat and these, most significantly perhaps, include phones like the One X and One X+.

Both the HTC One X and One X+ were hugely popular and can still be found on sale in many locations. Whilst it could perhaps be argued that the One X is getting towards end of life, being two years old on February, but the One X+ is far newer, at October 2012 so its a little worrying that HTC will not be continuing to update these ‘older’ devices and we certainly hops this isn’t a taste of things to come in terms of cutbacks.

HTC Desire 500 hands-on in White

Written by Matt on November 20, 2013 in Phones, Videos/Unboxings with 0 Comments

Back in September of this year, HTC launched a new Android smartphone under the much-used Desire name, the HTC Desire 500.

This new phone featured much of the software improvements from the popular HTC One but in a somewhat more affordable package.

When the Desire 500 first went on sale the all-black version was the first to land and we had an early hands-on with that model. Since then two further versions have become available; White with blue-trim and white with red-trim.

These are essentially the same hardware spec but it’s surprising just how different the phone can appear from a simple colour change. We wouldn’t normally return to a device just because of a colour change but as the Desire 500 has just had an Android update and has been so popular on PAYG tariffs we thought it was worth another look.

In the video below, Gareth takes a brief break from his painting-by-numbers to have a closer look at the HTC Desire 500 in white clothing. The phone, not Gareth in white clothing…

Tag: HTC

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