April 6th, 2012

HTC’s Rough Q1: Profits Down 70% Over Last Year, Revenue Dips 35%

htc-slipping

HTC released their unaudited Q1 2012 earnings earlier this morning, and the results aren’t pretty [PDF]. The Taiwanese company managed to pull down NT$67.8 billion ($2.3 billion) this past quarter, a nearly 35% dip year-over-year.

What’s more, HTC took an even bigger hit when it came to net income after taxes — in Q1, they only raked in NT$4.4 billion ($149 million), compared to the NT$14.8 billion ($501 million) in profits earned this time last year.

Ouch. Just… ouch. → Read More

April 4th, 2012

HTC And Sprint Officially Unveil The New EVO 4G LTE

evo_views

It’s hardly a surprise anymore (as is usually the case) but here it is anyway — Sprint CEO Dan Hesse and HTC President Jason Mackenzie have just taken the stage at their collaboration event in New York, and just officially unveiled the new EVO 4G LTE.

For all my moaning about design (more on that later), my mother always taught me that it’s what’s on the inside that counts, and that’s where the EVO shines. → Read More

April 3rd, 2012

Please Don’t Let This Be What The EVO One Looks Like

evoone

Well, I suppose it was bound to happen. Just one day before HTC and Sprint kick off their so-called collaboration event in New York City, the team at PocketNow has gotten their hands on what they claim is the first press shot of the device to be unveiled: the EVO One.

The device’s supposed internals sure seem to be a treat, at least according to a tip that Android Central received a few days ago. The ICS-powered EVO One is expected to sport a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, a 4.7-inch 720p AMOLED display (which The Verge rightly notes is a slight letdown compared to the One X’s Super LCD 2 panel), an LTE radio, 16GB of onboard storage, and Beats Audio support. → Read More

March 27th, 2012

Change Is Good: HTC Axes HTCSense.com Cloud Service, But Its Successor Could Be Huge

htcsesne

Good night, sweet prince. Whether you knew about it or not (my money being on the latter), HTC’s HTCSense.com has provided users with online backup and device location services since October 2010. In an effort to “improve” their customers’ experience though, HTC has recently announced that they will officially shutter the HTCSense.com backup service so they can focus on revamping their cloud offerings.

Worry not, you HTC loyalists, you’ll be able to download all of your digital effluvia (contacts, messages, and the like) in a handy .zip file before April 30. But this whole thing raises a hefty question — what is HTC planning to do next? → Read More

March 26th, 2012

HTC Signs Patent Deal With Intertrust, Takes 20% In SyncTV Subsidiary For Streaming Services

htc-logo

Another development in the evolving mobile patent game: HTC today becomes the latest Android handset maker to join forces with Intertrust Technologies Corporation to license the company’s patents, largely around digital rights management. Others that have agreements with Intertrust include Samsung, Motorola and Huawei.

At the same time, HTC has taken a 20 percent stake in SyncTV, a subsidiary of Intertrust, for an undisclosed value. SyncTV is a cloud-based video service that works on a number of platforms, including Android, Windows Phone, Xbox, iOS and Internet-enabled televisions. → Read More

March 22nd, 2012

Don’t Have An HTC Vivid? These AT&T Devices Are Getting ICS In “Coming Months”

android_ice_cream_sandwich

Those of you dutifully carrying around your HTC Vivids have probably already heard AT&T has officially started pushing out the handset’s Ice Cream Sandwich update. For all you other AT&T customers, fear not — the nation’s second largest wireless carrier has also announced which of their other Android handsets will be getting the Ice Cream Sandwich treatment.

There aren’t many surprises on the list (which can be found below if you’d rather not wait), but a few fairly recent devices have been don’t seem to have made the cut yet. → Read More

March 20th, 2012

Sprint And HTC Announce “Collaboration Event” In NYC On April 4th

fixedinvite

Oh you guuuuys. Rather than just call it what it is (a press conference) Sprint and HTC have just sent out invitations to what they’re calling a “collaboration event” taking place in New York City on April 4. The invitation (as always) is delightfully vague, leaving the rest of us to speculate endlessly in the days leading up to the event.

If the ever-churning rumor mill is to be believed though, this little confab could feature an official announcement of a Sprint-bound HTC One X, the handful of a device that wowed the tech press at this year’s Mobile World Congress. → Read More

htceco
March 20th, 2012

HTC,WhereInnovationIsBought(AndThat’sAGoodThing)

HTC’s is the Cinderella story of the mobile market — they’ve gone from low-key provider of Windows Mobile hardware to Android-powered smartphone titan within the span of just a few years.

Impressive as that is, HTC has done much more than just push out smartphones. In the past year alone, HTC has inked big deals with Beats Audio, Dropbox, and LogMeIn, with rumors of a potentially final MOG acquisition swirling around to boot. It’s pretty clear what HTC is trying to do here: they’re trying to buy an entire ecosystem for their devices, and frankly, good on them for it. → Read More

March 15th, 2012

Hey HTC Vivid Owners, Go Download Your Ice Cream Sandwich Update

htcvivid2

Despite launching last October, the Ice Cream Sandwich club is still a pretty exclusive one, and even moreso in the United States. Let’s see, there’s the Galaxy Nexus… and, yeah, that’s really it.

Surprisingly though, while HTC mentioned earlier this week that the Vivid would be among the devices to get the Ice Cream Sandwich update, the new software is already available to anyone who knows how to push the right buttons. Literally. → Read More

March 14th, 2012

Here Are The HTC Phones Invited To The Ice Cream Sandwich Social

icecreamsandwich

Though it’s far and away the best iteration of Android to date, 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich has only made its way to a very small percentage of the Android population. I mean, we’re talking less than five percent, and that’s generous.

Luckily, HTC is doing its part to bring the cold creamy goodness of Roboto, facial unlock and a brand new UI to its handsets. → Read More

March 1st, 2012

HTC Fans Aren’t The Only Ones With Beats Audio

Screen shot 2012-03-01 at 10.25.33 AM

HTC has been making a big push with their Beats Audio integration. It first appeared on the HTC Rezound, and has since been present on all of HTC’s new devices, including the freshly announced One series.

But as you likely already know, it has nothing to do with hardware — it’s simply an advanced audio equalizer. That said, XDA forum member fuss132 has found a way to port the Beats equalizer onto all Gingerbread devices. → Read More

February 27th, 2012

John Wang, HTC: ‘We Have Not Given Up On Windows Phones’

tony wang

In Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress, Taiwanese handset maker HTC yesterday gave us a glimpse of its new, lean-and-mean smartphone strategy, HTC One — a unified set of Android devices complete with features and services that it hopes will help bring it back into the thick of things.

One thing that was very absent, though, was the M word. → Read More

February 26th, 2012

TC@MWC: Hands-On With The HTC One X

Ah yes, the One X. It’s been shrouded by rumors and half-truths for so long now that it’s quite a thrill to get one in my hands.

While I like the One S’s build quality quite a bit, I found myself taking a shine to the One X’s industrial design almost immediately. It’s 9.7mm waistline is remarkably thin considering all that HTC managed to jam into it (Tegra 3 chipset, 1GB of RAM, killer camera, etc.), and the use of multiple materials adds a welcome bit of sensory contrast. The device’s back is made of a solid polycarbonate shell that becomes glossier along the device’s edges, while a glass plate stretches nearly from edge to edge on the One X’s face.

Though I’m sure many more will enjoy the One S’s slim metallic frame, there’s just something very alluring about the way the One X has been put together. Strange as it sounds, it’s a sort of visceral feeling that I haven’t felt since I first laid eyes on the iPhone 4. Kudos to HTC’s design team for this one. → Read More

February 26th, 2012

TC@MWC: Hands-On With The HTC One S

The HTC One X is clearly the device everyone wants to see, which is why I decided to give its little brother a bit of spotlight first.

The One S is sort of a puzzle to me. Though it’s meant to be more of a mid-range device than the powerhouse that is the HTC One X, the One S sports an arguably handsomer exterior. Unlike its polycarbonate-clad counterpart, the One S sports a frame made from single piece of aluminum, which imbues it with a more robust, premium feel despite its light weight and slim (7.9mm!) frame. Much as I like the One X, I think there’s a very real chance that the One S will ultimately be the real leader of the pack when it comes to popularity. → Read More

February 26th, 2012

HTC One Lineup Revealed: The One X, One S, And One V

image008 copy

The rumors were true, everyone. After months of anticipation and speculation, the device once known as the HTC Edge (or Endeavor) has been officially revealed here at MWC as the HTC One X. The One X (called a “multimedia livewire” in the press release) has an 8-megapixel camera, 4.7-inc LCD display, and 1080p video recorder. The new One X runs Android with the HTC Sense 4 UI overlay. → Read More

February 26th, 2012

HTC’s Answer To iCloud: A New Deal With Dropbox

IMG_5800

Slotted in the middle of HTC’s Android phone announcements tonight in Barcelona, the CEO of HTC, Peter Chou, revealed a new development that is the handset maker’s answer to Apple’s iCloud: a deal with Dropbox, currently the big name in cloud storage.

HTC says that those who buy an HTC One, the company’s new flagship device, will get 25 gigabytes of storage free for two years — a huge deal, considering that currently it costs $9.99 per month for 50 gigabytes of storage (two gigabytes is the only free service offered). → Read More

February 26th, 2012

It’s Official: HTC Unites New Android Smartphones Under “One” Brand

htcone

The rumor mill has been hard at work these past few months circulating information about HTC’s latest line of smartphones, but now HTC CEO Peter Chou has announced that the company’s new line of smartphones will indeed sport the “One” brand

Chou hasn’t yet jumped into details about specific phones yet, but expect that to come shortly. → Read More

February 17th, 2012

Rumor Roundup: What To Expect From HTC At Mobile World Congress

htc-logo

With the end of February nearly in sight, the tech community is all abuzz with talk about Mobile World Congress, the huge mobile conference set to take place in beautiful Barcelona in just over a week. All the big players will be there (though some will be less conspicuous than before), and of course among them will be Taiwan-based phone giant HTC.

→ Read More

February 10th, 2012

Verizon’s Latest LTE Smartphone Leaked: Is This The HTC Incredible 3?

10

With MWC drawing ever closer, new handset leaks are hitting the wires hard and fast. Today alone we’ve seen the Galaxy Mini 2 break cover and new images of the LG Miracle Windows Phone emerge, and now HTC’s latest LTE-friendly Android phone has been caught on film.

As PhoneArena notes, this mysterious handset sports the same sort of curvaceous back that gave devices like Verizon’s HTC Incredible and Rezound a bit of extra visual flair. That, coupled with the appearance of Verizon’s own 4G LTE logo and what looks like the Verizon Wave wallpaper means that we could be looking at an early version of a Big Red-bound Incredible 3. → Read More

February 9th, 2012

HTC: Ice Cream Sandwich Will Start Hitting Our Handsets In March

sensations

At long last, HTC fans can finally stop holding their collective breath. After months of relative quiet, the Taiwanese company has taken to their Facebook page to spread the word: the Ice Cream Sandwich is coming, and it’s coming soon. For owners of certain HTC devices, the long-awaited Android 4.0 update will begin hitting handsets next month.
→ Read More

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