Samsung Galaxy S4 vs. HTC One and Nexus 4: Which should you get?
Decisions, decisions, decisions.
No question about it: We're entering one of the busiest times of the year for new Android arrivals. And with options like Samsung's Galaxy S4, HTC's One, and Google's LG-made Nexus 4 now competing for your attention, it can get a little tricky to figure out which device is the right one for you.
So where to begin? This step-by-step guide should help you figure it out. Think carefully about the following prompts, then put your answers together and see what you get.
(You can also check out a side-by-side view of the devices' key specs by clicking the chart below; that's good information to have, but remember that numbers only tell half the story.) Read more...
HTC One: Hands-on impressions of an impressive handset
Each year, a few Android phones manage to break out from the pack and emerge as the cream of the crop -- the devices worthy of a "best of the best" designation. Make no mistake about it: The HTC One is one of those phones.
I've been using the U.S. version of the HTC One -- on sale next Friday from AT&T and Sprint and later this spring from T-Mobile -- in place of my own personal device for several days. I'm not going to write a full review of the phone just yet; from hardware to software, the One has a lot of significant elements to consider, and I want to spend more time living with it and getting a meaningful feel for how its features work in the real world before reaching any final conclusions. Read more...
Did Ballmer pick HTC over Nokia as his fav for Windows Phone 8?
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gave a ringing endorsement to two new HTC smartphones running Windows Phone 8 on Wednesday, raising questions about the status of the much-heralded Microsoft-Nokia partnership.
Just days after appearing with Nokia officials to launch the Lumia 920 on Windows Phone 8, Ballmer appeared in New York City today with HTC CEO Peter Chou to launch the two Windows Phone 8 devices.
Both men touted the new 4.3-in. Windows Phone 8X HTC and the smaller 4-in. Windows Phone 8S HTC. Both will be sold by AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA starting in November, officials said, although no pricing was announced. HTC is prepping to launch the devices on 150 carriers globally. Read more...
HTC files counterclaims against Apple with two acquired patents
HTC has filed a counterclaim before a court in Florida stating that Apple has infringed on two of its patents, originally assigned to Hewlett-Packard and Electronic Data Systems, a company that HP acquired in 2008.
The Taiwanese phone maker is being sued for patent infringement by Apple in the court along with Motorola Mobility.
HTC claimed in a filing on Tuesday to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida it has been assigned all rights, title and interest of U.S. Patent No. 7,571,221 (the '221 patent) entitled "Installation of network services in an embedded network server," which was assigned to HP. Read more...
HTC to develop its own processors, mimicking Apple and Samsung, in deal with ST-Ericsson: Report
In an attempt to reduce its reliance on third-party processor makers, HTC has reportedly signed a memorandum of cooperation with ST-Ericsson to develop its own mobile chips, following the same route as its rivals Apple and Samsung.
According to a report by the China Times, HTC will develop a dedicated application processor that will be incorporated into its low-end smartphones when production starts next year.
Facing increased competition in the smartphone market as of late, HTC has been forced to overhaul its device strategies, focusing on ‘hero’ devices that started with the launch of the HTC One range of Android smartphones that fused impressive hardware specifications with a tighter software experience that built upon Google’s Android operating system. Read more...
Apple Loses One vs Samsung Down Under
The Patent Wars continue unabated. This round is an uneven legal result for Apple; it just won a patent infringement case against handset maker HTC but may lose an appeal by Samsung in Australia.
In the former case, the U.S. International Trade Commission found that Apple did not violate S3 Graphics’ (a subsidiary of HTC) image compression technology. In that special poetry only found in legal notices, the ITC delivered its verdict with the document title, “Notice of final commission determination of no violation and termination of the investigation.” Read more...
HTC’s Mango phones, Titan and Radar, out next month
HTC launched two smartphones on Thursday running Microsoft's latest update of its mobile operating system, called Mango, as Microsoft struggles to gain market share from Apple and Android smartphones.
HTC said the two devices, the Radar and the higher-specification Titan, will be available next month first in Europe and Asia. An HTC official said that the Titan will cost ¬599 (US$855) and the Radar will cost ¬399 without subsidies.
HTC is the second company to launch devices running Windows Mango, known as Windows Phone 7.5, after Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile Communications announced in July the IS12T, which will only be available in Japan.
Microsoft faces an uphill battle in the rapidly changing smartphone market, highlighted by Google's acquisition last month of Motorola Mobility for US$12.5 billion. Microsoft held just 2.7 percent of the smartphone OS market for the first quarter of this year, according to analyst firm IDC, losing ground from a year before despite a complete rework of its mobile operating system. Read more...
Microsoft’s mobile software gets HTC, ZTE lift
Microsoft's new Windows Phone platform won instant support from major manufacturers on Wednesday when China's ZTE and Taiwan's HTC Corp pledged to launch smartphones running the software.
The software giant had stepped up its push into the cellphone market a day earlier with the launch of the new Windows Phone software, code-named Mango. It hopes a host of new features will help it close the gap on smartphone leaders Google Inc and Apple Inc.
Microsoft has struggled for years to gain support from mobile phone manufacturers. All vendors in total sold just 1.6 million Windows Phones last quarter, giving it a market share of below 2 percent. Google and Apple together control more than 50 percent of the smartphone market. Read more...