Tech News Updates

We had to exercise our neglected patience muscle with this one, but at long last we’ve gotten ahold of a real live HD Mini and put it through its paces. Equipped with the same processor, screen size and resolution as HTC’s Legend , but running the HD2 ’s Windows Mobile 6.5.3 under a WinMo-specific Sense skin, the Mini is in many ways an amalgamation of its two better known cousins. You’ll no doubt be aware that we weren’t too displeased by either of those handsets, so what you must be wondering now is whether or not splicing them into one eminently pocketable package delivers an equally compelling device. Read on to find out. Gallery: HTC HD Mini review Continue reading HTC HD Mini review HTC HD Mini review originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Jun 2010 14:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

What can you do when no one’s got a phone to jam with you ? Why, you can be a geeky one-man band, of course! Web developer Steffest (just one name, like Sting or Madonna) managed to do just that by strapping a couple of Android devices (possibly an Archos 5 and a HTC Desire), a couple of WinMo handhelds (looks like a HP iPAQ h1940 and a HTC Touch Diamond), and an iPod touch on top of a portable speaker. All this just for a forthcoming presentation on mobile cross development — Steffest had to painstakingly write the same audio program “in Java for Android, in C# for Windows Mobile and in Objective-C for iPhone.” Oh, and it doesn’t just end there — turns out this dude can also pluck tap away a good Neil Diamond classic on this five-way nerd-o-strummer. Get on board and check out the video after the break. Continue reading Phone guitar: iPhone OS, Windows Mobile and Android got all night to set the world right Phone guitar: iPhone OS, Windows Mobile and Android got all night to set the world right originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 May 2010 04:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

If you’re going to rip off one of the more memorable Windows Mobile devices ever made, you’d think you’d want to at least clone its most notable feature — but seriously, what do we know about the KIRF business? Yeah, well, this little number manufactured by a firm doing business as “iHTC” (no relation to HTC, we’re sure) looks an awful lot like the HD2 , but lacks that all-important 4.3-inch display, instead trading down for a more pedestrian 3.6-inch unit. On the upside, it’s still WVGA and packs the latest and greatest Windows Mobile 6.5.3 (if “latest and greatest” really applies there) plus a 5 megapixel autofocus cam — not bad specs for a device that eats copyrights for breakfast. Seems you can hunt one of these puppies down for about 1,580 yuan ($231), so start saving and packing for your Chinese adventure — and in the meantime, follow the break for a comprehensive video demo of the finest technology iHTC has to offer. Continue reading Keepin’ it real fake: HTC HD, too Keepin’ it real fake: HTC HD, too originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 May 2010 00:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

So, hear us out: this isn’t a slam dunk by any stretch of the imagination, but we’ve good reason to believe that we’re looking at the FCC ID label of the HTC HD mini variant designed to support North American 3G bands. The most obvious reason is the fact that the label is screaming yellow — a perfect match for the chartreuse internals of the device that HTC was excited to show off at its MWC introduction a couple months back. What’s more, this approval comes a few weeks after approval of the Euro-spec PB92100 with a similarly-designed label, which would’ve been the right time frame for a phone that’s due to ship across Europe any day now. Of course, the approval of this phone doesn’t really say anything about carrier availability — sure, it could ship on AT&T, but it could also come to Rogers, Bell, Telus, or be sold unlocked and unbranded, a tactic that HTC has occasionally employed stateside in the past. Regardless, though — considering WinMo 6.5.3’s rapidly-waning relevance, they’d better ship it on the double. HTC HD mini with North American 3G gets FCC approval? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Our colleagues at Engadget Chinese are on the ground at China Sourcing Fair 2010 in Hong Kong, and as you can imagine, they’re finding a great many devices that exhibit “a really heavy cottage flavor” (or, as we say in the states, “really, really KIRFy”). The BestPower X200, which we first saw in an FCC filing in February, doesn’t borrow its form factor from any current iPhone iteration — oh, no, that would be too simple. This one looks back five years or so, when ” iPod phones ” were little more than a beautiful fanboy’s dream. And if you are a time traveler from back in the day, when Lost was in its first season (and was almost enjoyable), this thing will surely inspire some gadget lust: dual SIM cards, quad-band GSM, 2.4-inch (1.3 million pixel) display, Bluetooth, FM Radio, MiniUSB, MicroSD, and a media player — what’s not to love? And all this can be yours this August for a mere $1,500 HKD (that’s about $193 US dollars). Video after the break. Gallery: Keepin’ it real fake: BestPower X200 Continue reading Keepin’ it real fake: iPod classic phone reminds us why we prefer touchscreens Keepin’ it real fake: iPod classic phone reminds us why we prefer touchscreens originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Apr 2010 11:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Microsoft’s not going to allow HTC to cover Windows Phone 7 Series with its Sense UI overlay (which is going to be an interesting thing to watch in and of itself), but there’s no question that the homegrown user interface has made a-many Windows Mobile phones look and feel a whole lot better than stock. Sense is also gaining traction in the Android realm, a sector where it’s far more likely to either make a huge impact or be overlooked entirely. So, the question we’re posing here today is this: if you were granted an HTC badge for a day, how would you change Sense? Are you satisfied with the quickness? Does anything simply get in the way? Any quirks that you just can’t figure out? Any tweaks that you’d love to see made? We aren’t always serious when we say that these companies are listening to you, but trust us when we say that design folks from HTC might just give your comments a once over. Here’s your chance. Don’t screw it up. How would you change HTC’s Sense? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Even if your handset of choice won’t be eligible for upgrade to Windows Phone 7, there’s no reason you can’t enjoy the look and feel of Microsoft’s latest and greatest with a well-executed skin, right? Looks like Jaxbot’s Windows Phone 7 Series Theme is available in passable beta form — great news for any and all of you jealous WinMo 6.5 users who might be reading this — and it can be had right now (as in now! ) at the XDA Developers forum. Want to see it do its thing? Peep the video after the break. Continue reading Jaxbot’s Windows Phone 7 Series Theme now available in beta (video) Jaxbot’s Windows Phone 7 Series Theme now available in beta (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

How do you know you’ve reached status as an internationally-recognized icon? When someone decides to make a Lego representation of you, that’s when — so our hats go off to you, BlackBerry Tour , for this distinguished accomplishment. Well-traveled Lego artist Nathan Sawaya was recently tapped to turn RIM’s global CDMA traveler into a life-sized monolith of plastic bricks, though with an unusual twist: his unnamed patron wanted a working video display, too, which required some “trial and error” to integrate. It might not fit in a pocket, but we reckon you could still find a belt holster that could swallow this thing. Follow the break for video! Continue reading Lego-borne BlackBerry Tour probably still lacks WiFi Lego-borne BlackBerry Tour probably still lacks WiFi originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Well, we’d already had a pretty clear indication that the HTC HD2 would be launching on T-Mobile on March 24th (or possibly the 23rd), and Laptop Magazine is now reporting that a ” very close T-Mobile source” has confirmed that the 24th is indeed the date, and that the phone will run $199 on a two-year contract (or $449 off-contract). The March 23rd date that recently cropped up is apparently just the day the MobiTV software will go live. Just as notably, Laptop also says that it has confirmed that the phone won’t be upgradeable to Windows Phone 7 Series — although, at this point, we’ll have to hear that first-hand to truly put an end to the speculation. Thankfully, that should happen in just a few days . HTC HD2 said to be launching March 24th for $199, no Windows Phone 7 support originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Microsoft took a dramatic step with Windows Phone 7 Series this morning at MWC in Barcelona, and obviously we’ve been talking about it all day here at Engadget HQ. Just like with the iPad and the Droid , opinions on the staff are all over the map — it’s not every day that a company reboots an entire OS — so we’re going to let everyone speak for themselves, starting with the people who’ve handled Windows Phone 7 Series in person: Josh, Chris, Thomas, and Sean. Josh: The most astonishing thing about Windows Phone 7 Series is how completely it’s managed to obliterate its Windows Mobile roots. Let’s just be crystal clear about it: this is unlike anything the company has ever done, both in distancing itself from its past, and in the clarity of its vision. From the floor to ceiling, 7 Series is just a very new operating system with very new ideas about how users should be involved with their devices. What people should recognize is that the Windows Mobile team has made a huge gamble that upending its ailing OS was the only solution… and from the looks of things, that’s going to be the case. But this isn’t a battle already won — it’s a battle yet to be fought. There’s still much we don’t know about this OS, and plenty to be concerned about when it comes to turning what looks nice in a demo into a daily use smartphone. There are still huge questions to be answered. How are notifications handled? What kind of SDK will be made available to developers? How rigid will the user experience guidelines be? What is the real story on multitasking? Will the phone support third party browsers, email clients, or messaging applications? Can hardware manufacturers differentiate their products enough? Will the basic phone experience be useful to enterprise users or others looking for a workhorse and not just a pretty face? Honestly, those are just a few of the questions I have — but I also continue to be impressed with Microsoft’s fierceness of conviction on this platform. If the company can hew close enough to its promises and deliver on the tall order it’s set out for itself, then hope for Windows in the mobile space is far from dead. It’s about to be reborn. Continue reading Editorial: Engadget on Windows Phone 7 Series Editorial: Engadget on Windows Phone 7 Series originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink