Archive for the ‘HTC’ Category
Friday, September 19th, 2008 |
From the outset, all I can say is ‘it’s ugly’! Then again, rather than being an aesthetically pleasing consumer device this UMPC has been designed for industry. According to the Nova Mobility website target sectors include; Healthcare, military, medical services, parking management (don’t we just love them!),fleet management and production management.
The actual device kind of reminds me of the Panasonic CF-U1 although the Side Arm certainly looks trimmer. I’ll drop a link to the Nova site at the end of this post.
The specs are actually pretty impressive:
- 800 x 480 7″ palm rejection touch screen
- Intel Atom 1.1 GHz Z510 with US15W chipset
- 1GB/2GB of RAM
- 4GB disk on module, Micro SD card
- 8GB/16GB/32GB DOM solid state storage optional per slot (2 slots)
- 60/120GB HDD or 32/64GB SSD
- PC express card
- 2 USB 2.0 ports
- SD card slot
- GPS
- 802.11 a/b/g
- Bluetooth V2.0
- Up to 10 hours battery life
There’s also an optional 3G module for endless hours of browsing on the go (that is, if you like using an 800×480 resolution!) Like I said, this has been designed to cater for industrial use so don’t expect the latest and greatest in display technology. A really nice aspect to the Nova Side Arm is battery life - 10 hours according to Nova. Depending on the price, it might be worth buying a Side Arm as a personal device.
Posted in HTC, Lenovo | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 |
If I was launching a new handset to market I definitely wouldn’t choose a name that sounds like a competitors product… unless I had some cunning plan up my sleeve. Ah well! Ok, let’s be frank from the start; a 2.8″ touchscreen! Don’t get me wrong, I love touchscreen technology but in order to view anything on the Touch 3G you’ll being zooming in at every opportunity. Would it really cost too much to build a slightly larger handset? Admittedly, HTC claims that the Touch 3G has four times the resolution of most other phones but you’ll still have to get used to that zoom function in order to “…Browse full-screen pages…”.
Ok, enough of bad points. The Touch 3G is actually a very attractive phone. Don’t take my word for it, check out the link to the images at the end of this post.
The Qualcomm MSM7225 CPU (528 MHz) and 192 Mb RAM should be more than adequate when it comes to running the Windows Mobile 6.1 OS. Just like the iPhone 3G the HTC Touch 3G features GPS and A-GPS - I’ve used these features quite extensively and to be honest I’ve had mixed results. Let’s just say ‘must do better’!
The HTC Touch 3G has plenty of connectivity options which should the most ardent hardware fan happy:
- Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for stereo wireless headsets
- Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 b/g
- HTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
In addition to an attractive handset you’ll get the following features:
- HSDPA internet connectivity (of course!) up to 7.2 MBs
- 2.8-inch touch screen, with four times the resolution of most phones
- Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
- Next generation TouchFLO™ (the HTC touchscreen user interface)
- 3.2 megapixel camera for quality stills and video
- microSD™ slot for expandable storage
Ok, it looks good so far…but so did the iPhone 3G when it was launched!
Before I forget, here’s the link for the images. Enjoy.
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Friday, August 8th, 2008 |
There’s been a lot of hype around the Apple iPhone 3G which is understandable as 1 million devices were sold in 3 days from launch. But we mustn’t forget the competitors.
HTC have announced healthy sales of the Touch Diamond. HTC has sold nearly a million units of the Windows based handset since May. Now that doesn’t really match up to the iPhone but you have to remember that this is on top of sales of other mobiles from HTC.
HTC have plans to sell around 2 million Touch Diamond handsets during 2008, a figure easily achievable now that they have opened a second manufacturing plant.
This new factory, which will build Touch Diamond handsets featuring 2.5G, has been set an output target of 1 million handsets per month. These figures should help HTC hit their 2 million target by the end of 2008.
Now, that’s all well and good but 1 million units per month! That’s a lot of hardware to be pushing out and I don’t know if there will be the market for this volume. You have to consider that many other handset manufacturers are aiming for similar figures - is the market big enough for so many mobiles? I’m fairly sceptical, we’ll just have to wait and see.
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Friday, July 11th, 2008 |
HTC confirmed the UK availability of the Touch Diamond - this is after previous reports suggested that the launch would be delayed.
Mobile operators Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile have all received stock ready for distribution. Customers purchasing a £35 per month should get the HTC Touch Diamond free with their contract. We don’t have any price for lower tariffs of pay-as-you-go.
O2 customers should be able to get hold of the HTC Touch Diamond around mid-August. Dates for the other operators have not been confirmed yet.
Info courtesy of pocket-lint.co.uk
Decisions, decisions - iPhone or Touch Diamond?
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Friday, June 27th, 2008 |
Let me start by saying that I’m a big fan of the iPhone. I know there are some minor bugs but Apple seem to be the only company that have managed to nail the touchscreen features. I know there are a number of devices out there that have the same functionality but for me the iPhone ‘just works’.
HTC have been working hard to topple the iPhone for some time now and the HTC Touch Diamond represents the fourth crack of the whip in the attempts to knock Apple off of the top spot. So, is this ‘The One’ for HTC? Let’s have a look and see what the Touch Diamond has to offer.
Design
The HTC Touch Diamond is a stunning handset. Simplicity and beauty combined. The smooth lines and slightly recessed directional pad make the Touch Diamond comfortable and easy to use. On the plus side, HTC didn’t create an out and out copy of the iPhone controls. The round directional pad shows some original thinking on HTC’s part.
Something I found slightly annoying is the screen size which, at 2.8″, is a little small. There’s plenty of room for a 3″ touchscreen which makes a huge difference when using touch activated features on the Touch Diamond. Talking of being responsive, the HTC Touch Diamond still suffers from ‘Sunday afternoon driving’ syndrome - the UI can be quite sluggish which is very surprising considering the 528Mhz CPU and 192Mb RAM!
Another nice addition to the Touch Diamond is the inclusion of AGPS which allows you to use the device with applications such as Tom Tom or Google Maps.
Depending on your view of Operating Systems the next point will make you love the HTC Touch Diamond or hate it: Windows Mobile Professional 6.1. A disappointment for the armies of Linux fans but you have to remember that HTC are aiming for general consumers as well as businesses which, in most cases, means a Microsoft Windows infrastructure. The usual features for Windows apply:
- MS Office docs support
- Internet Explorer
- Windows Media Player
In addition, there is a nice little weather forecasting application that can be set to your locale. Very helpful apart from the animated windscreen wiper that back and forth across the screen if rain is forecast!
The HTC Touch Diamond is certainly not trailing in the area of connectivity. The handset supports 3.5G, WiFi, EDGE and GPRS - the 3.5G alone is enough to make me want to buy this handset. The Touch Diamond also comes with USB and BlueTooth connections so there’s no problems transferring data back and forth.
A major issue for me is the battery. At only 900 mAh you’re only going to get about 4 hours talk time on GSM and 2.5 hours on 3G. Pretty poor for a modern handset.
The USB audio connector means you lumbered with buying proprietary cables for the Touch Diamond - this usually means greater expense.
Conclusion
I like the HTC Touch Diamond. Small, light and very attractive. I know HTC have copied the iPhone to a degree but sometimes that’s what it takes to break into a market. There are some irritations but that certainly wouldn’t stop me buying one an HTC Touch Diamond.
Specifications
Windows Mobile Professional 6.1
Qualcomm MSM 7201A 528MHz CPU
192MB RAM
2.8″ Touchscreen (480 x 640 pixels)
GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900 + UMTS 900 / 2100
GPRS, EDGE, UMTS (3G), HSDPA, HSUPA and WiFi
AGPS
3.2 Mpxs camera
Downside
The HTC Touch Diamond can be a little slow to respond at times and the TouchFLO interface looks like a copy of the iPhone UI. Battery life is limited - 2.5 hours on 3G, very poor. The real kicker for this handset is the price - £400 which is not cheap.
Posted in HTC | 1 Comment »
Monday, June 23rd, 2008 |
Usually, when a new piece of kit hits the market it arrives in the US first and we get it later. Here’s a twist; the HTC Touch has arrived in Europe but Americans are snapping up the devices on the grey-market (yours for only $750!).
But there are some ‘gotcha’s’.
The tri-band GSM phone does not support 3G frequencies - no 3G wireless networking in America for the HTC Touch Diamond. Voice and 2.5G data services are still available. The HTC Touch Diamond will be officially released in the United States later this year. The official US version will offer full support for the wireless frequencies used in North America.
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Thursday, June 12th, 2008 |
Even though the HTC Touch Diamond isn’t officially available in the UK, Expansys are claiming they can supply the handset to buyers. There was one major flaw in this cunning plan; when you bought the HTC Diamond at Expansys it came with no warranty.
HTC have signed an exclusive contract with BrightPoint to supply the HTC Touch Diamond to the UK market but the handset is not expected to launch here until late June 08.
I know many of you looking of pick up an HTC Touch Diamond may not be overly concerned about a warranty but those that are, good news. HTC has issued a statement in which they pledged to allow consumers to access support from the HTC network. Good news. Now you just have to find the £495 if you want to go down the Expansys route.
Or, you could always wait for the iPhone 3G!
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Monday, June 9th, 2008 |
HTC have been promising a UMPC for quite some time now. The Shift X9500 was initially unveiled last October but only became available as of March 2008. Was it worth the wait? We think so.
Traditionally, UMPC’s uptake has been hampered by aspects such as keyboard size, battery life and performance. Fortunately, manufacturers such as Samsung have listened to consumers and worked hard give us what we want. Have HTC?
Design
On first inspection, the Shift X9500 looks good. It’s not the lightest or smallest of the UMPC’s (size 207 x 129 x 25mm, weight 790g) but the Shift X9500 has many things in its favour. The keyboard is fairly large and the 7″ screen makes for easy use. It looks like HTC got this part right. The Shift X9500 fits nicely in your palm with the trackpad and mouse buttons being mounted in a position that allows you to easily navigate with your thumbs. The only downside was that the trackpad was a little jerky when trying to do precision work. A slightly larger trackpad wouldn’t go amiss.
The hardware keyboard folds away under the screen. When you need to type simply fold out the keyboard and it locks into position at a 45 degree angle to the screen.
The 7″ screen features a native resolution of 800 x 480. Not great for a device running Windows Vista. But don’t panic; a button the side of the screen will switch to a resolution of 1024 x 600. Still not the best we’ve seen but better than the default.
They keyboard is about the same size as the Asus Eee PC but we found that typing was not as easy on the HTC Shift X9500. That said, the Shift X9500 keyboard has a nice feel when typing. A nice touch by HTC is the ability to attach a full sized keyboard and mouse to the Shift X9500 when working at a desk as the device ships with a mini USB hub.
The HTC Shift X9500 is powered by an Intel A110 CPU. We’ve spoken about this before in other reviews. Unfortunately the Intel Atom wasn’t available when the HTC Shift X9500 was being built so you’re stuck with the A110 for now (rumours are circulating that the next version will feature an Intel Atom processor). Performance isn’t great. The CPU is just good enough to run the installed Windows Vista Business Edition.
Disk space was adequate. The HTC Shift X9500 features a 40Gb platter disk which should be more than enough space for your documents and media.
Connectivity is good. The HTC Shift X9500 features:
- 3G modem
- 802.11b/g
- Bluetooth
- Gigabit Ethernet
- 1 x USB 2.0
- VGA
No complaints there.
Battery life was an issue. We managed about two hours thirty minutes on normal usage. Cranking up some additional applications (WiFi, media player etc) and CPU time pushed this down to just over one hour thirty minutes. Not great if you intend to do some heavy duty video playback sessions. HTC know that battery life is an issue. To counter this they have included SnapVUE. This stripped down version Windows Mobile allowing you to check on Outlook emails and send/receive text messages. Using SnapVUE only on the HTC Shift X9500 will massively increase your battery life but reduces productivity associated with UMPC’s. It’s an approach but I’m not sure it will catch on unless SnapVUE is opened up to allow more third party apps.
Conclusion
The HTC Shift X9500 is one the the best UMPC’s we’ve seen. If HTC can improve SnapVUE then they may well have a real winner on their hands (if you don’t mind the price tag of around £900). I look forward to seeing the Shift X9500 with an Intel Atom CPU and enhanced SnapVUE capabilities.
Specifications
Intel A110 (800GHz)
1Gb RAM
Graphics Intel GMA 950 (integrated)
Hard disk 40Gb
Display 7″ touchscreen (800 x 480 default)
Other Fingerprint reader, webcam
Downside
Battery life could be better by far. SnapVUE is a very nice feature but needs more applications. Finally, it would be a real plus if HTC could release the next version with the Intel Atom processor.
Posted in HTC | No Comments »
