Hasta La Gadget!

HTC has revealed its latest smartphone, the 5.9-inch big-screen sibling of the HTC One flagship device. The new HTC One Max is well into phablet territory at nearly 6 inches, but retains the slick aluminum case design of its smaller predecessor, as well as the somewhat dodgy Ultrapixel camera. But its full 1080p screen packs an impressive 349 ppi, and it has a fingerprint sensor on the back with some interesting tricks up its sleeve.

HTC’s fingerprint scanner is programmable for up to three separate fingers, which can instantly launch up to three separate apps without requiring unlocking or a trip to the home screen. That’s a twist on Apple’s iPhone 5s, which uses its built-in fingerprint scanner in place of a passcode, and for authorizing purchases made through the iTunes and App Stores.

The One Max fingerprint sensor can also unlock the phone, and is located on the back of the device just beneath the camera lens. That seems a somewhat awkward placement for it, judging from my experience with the LG G2′s weird back panel sleep/wake button and volume rocker, but given the HTC phone’s nearly edge-to-edge display and lack of a home button, there was really very few other places it could land.

Another key improvement for the HTC One Max is that it has expandable memory – there’s either 16GB or 32GB built-in, but you can take off the rear cover and put in a micro SD card for up to 64GB more, which is a considerable advantage. Other specs include a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor (same as the One) and an IR blaster. It’s set to launch in Europe and Asia in October, and then it’ll make its way to the U.S. shortly after that, likely in early November.

HTC’s strategy with smartphone releases is evidently to take its core One device and tweak it to suit the tastes of multiple consumers; the One Max offers a big-screen experience, with the flash addition of the fingerprint scanner but with a slightly worse-off camera since it lacks optical image stabilization. The expandable memory is an interesting change, and could reflect an attempt by HTC to iterate based on customer feedback it has received from previous launches, but all told I’d still suspect the One Max has a hard time doing much to reverse HTC’s recent misfortunes.

There has been no shortage of HTC One Max rumors over the past few months. Time and time again we’ve heard that HTC is working on a super sized version of its popular One smartphone. The latest rumor suggests that the fingerprint sensor on HTC One Max, which is expected to be on its back, will allow users to launch apps by just using their fingers. This would be a rather interesting use of the fingerprint sensor, quite different from what Apple lets users do with Touch ID, which is just limited to locking and unlocking the device and authorizing iTunes purchases right now.

Apparently users will be able to assign each of their ten fingers to launch a different app, so when they touch the sensor with that particular finger, the pre-selected app will launch on its own. So users will be able to configure if they want their index finger to launch the music player or the thumb to launch the camera. It is not known for sure if the access will be limited to built-in apps or if users will get the ability to select third party apps as well. One thing is for sure though, this is just one of the rumors in the endless pit of scuttlebutt about HTC’s new phablet, a grain of salt is definitely advised.

HTC One Max Fingerprint Sensor Might Allow Users To Launch Apps original content from Ubergizmo.

Long before the new phablet was officially announced, the internet was abuzz with rumors that the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 will come with a fingerprint scanner. When the phablet was unveiled last month, it become clear that all those rumors weren’t true. Samsung didn’t even mention a fingerprint scanner or hint at the possibility of upcoming devices having it. A new report from Korea’s ETNews claims that Samsung did have plans to put a fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy Note 3, but that particular feature didn’t make the cut because apparently it didn’t pass the quality assurance tests.

The primary function of the sensor would obviously have been easy locking and unlocking of the device, Apple allows users to also make payments on iTunes through Touch ID, the fingerprint scanner it has put into the iPhone 5s. It isn’t exactly clear why the Galaxy Note 3 with fingerprint reading ability didn’t pass quality assurance tests, the report suggests that Samsung had some trouble getting the size of the scanner right. It also suggests that Samsung hasn’t given up on this technology and that we actually might see a Galaxy Note 3 variant which brings the feature. No word as yet on when such a variant will be released though. The next highly anticipated device with a rumored fingerprint sensor is the HTC One Max, which is likely to be unveiled next week.

Apparently Galaxy Note 3 With Fingerprint Scanner Didn’t Pass Samsung Quality Control original content from Ubergizmo.

HTC’s next big smartphone will offer up a fingerprint sensor like the iPhone 5s, the Wall Street Journal is now reporting, and will be unveiled on October 15. Separately, invites have been sent out to journalists from HTC Taiwan, pegging October 18 as the date for a special event in Kaohsiung, which is being promoted with a couple of sentences that hint at a fingerprint sensor and possibly improved BoomSound stereo speakers.

The One Max is said to sport a 5.9-inch display, but otherwise be similar in design and features to the HTC One, the Taiwanese company’s flagship device. The metal-backed Android smartphone has been well-received by reviewers and press, but hasn’t done too much to turn around HTC’s ailing financial picture.

WSJ’s sources couldn’t comment on how the fingerprint sensor in the HTC One Max will be used, so it’s unclear whether it would serve phone unlocking and purchase authorizing purposes like those found on the Apple iPhone 5s. It will actually sit between the Max’s SIM card slot and the smartphone’s camera, according to leaked pictures, which would make it accessible to fingers resting on the back of the device instead of on the front.

We’ve separately heard evidence to suggest that HTC is indeed planning a reveal of a device likely to be the HTC One Max next week, so it’s fairly safe to take that as fact at this point. Can a phablet design for its flagship save the day for HTC? Probably not all on its own, but with metal case components and a fingerprint scanner, the company will be Apple’s closest analog on the Android side of the fence, at least when it comes to hardware.

One starts, then everyone follows. Well, possibly: leaked images of HTC’s rumored new One Max smartphone appear to show a fingerprint scanner nestled amongst its hardware, a la iPhone 5S.

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