Hasta La Gadget!

It’s about time we had another suggestion for a Facebook phone – it’s been about 2 months since we last spoke about the concept and we’ve only had a couple of years between the first HTC Facebook phone in the ChaCha and now. So what’s this newest concept all about? It’s all about reviving the relative failure that was the HTC Salsa for a whole new generation – but why? Why would HTC and Facebook do such a thing?

With a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 (MSM8960) processor inside, this so-called HTC Myst #UL (a code name) will be popping up with the same processing power as the AT&T-bound original HTC One X. Here this leaked phone – courtesy of @evleaks is said to be the HTC Opera resurgent. But what’s the point of revealing a Facebook phone here, now, after denying the need for one several times and only being able to release said phone with mid-tier specifications?

This device is being suggested as coming with a 4.3-inch display thats 720p in resolution – that equalling out to be 320PPI. Inside you’ll find 1GB of RAM, 16GB internal storage with no microSD for expansion, and a couple of cameras. Up front you’ll find a 1.6-megapixel shooter while the back-facing camera is 5-megapixels strong.

According to the same set of leaked information, this device will be popping up (finally) with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and will be available with 4G LTE or HSPA connectivity. This means it’ll be available on AT&T, at least. it’s been suggested that this device may work with “Ultrapixel” technology in its camera, but we’re going to go ahead and doubt it – HTC wouldn’t trump their HTC One hero device with a Facebook phone this close to launch with the same camera and a much, much weaker display onboard.

Expect this fully mid-range device to be appearing with a big silly Facebook button some time near the start of Spring, 2013. Expect a big launch courtesy of Facebook itself, and a quick flop soon thereafter. UNLESS, of course, they find a way to offer the phone for a price that’s so extremely appealing that the public just can’t say no. We shall see!

Facebook Phone strikes again: HTC Myst leaked is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s just not getting any easier to be an HTC investor these days as their monthly report of earnings numbers shows their lowest sales since January of 2010. This is not new news, so to speak, as HTC has been taking some rather public downward tumbles over the past few years – but there is one shining, gleaming hope. That hope is embodied in the HTC One – the company’s newest and perhaps brightest shining star in their entire smartphone-making history.

Today’s report has HTC showing a year-on-year downward fall of nearly 44%, coming in at NT$20.29 billion back one year ago this month with just 11.37 billion coming up this month. That’s Taiwan currency, mind you, the conversion for this month this year coming up closer to $384 million if you’re counting USD cash.

Last year at this time we saw a bit of an upturn for HTC from month to month, with a two-month total (January and February) equalling out to be a lovely NT$36.9 billion. This year we’re working with a slightly more focused, shall we say, NT$26.9 billion. Year over year that’s a change of negative 27.1% – none too encouraging.

But here’s the plus side of all this mess – HTC has revealed the HTC One and it’s not on sale yet. We saw HTC displaying the HTC One exclusively – with no other devices to dampen the greatness – at Mobile World Congress 2013. There we saw HTC win the award for “Best Mobile Device” of the show with the HTC One, too. They put on an impressive show without even having a keynote!

So now we wait – the HTC One is the company’s next big hope for a turnaround, and if any smartphone can do it single-handedly, the HTC One is going to be the one to do it. Have a peek at our hands-on with the HTC One in several parts in the timeline below, and let us know what you think!

[via HTC Investor Relations]

HTC bets the farm on HTC One: company hits 3 year low is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It looks like a couple of the HTC One’s flagship features will also be finding their way to HTC’s future mid-ranged devices. Phil Roberson, the head of HTC UK and Ireland, stated that HTC’s Blinkfeed and Ultrapixel services will be available for as many of its devices as possible. He says, “Wherever the technology is possible, we’re looking to take as much of the technology and enrich all of our customers.”

This is great news for consumers who love the new features of the HTC One, but do not have the money to opt for such a high-end device. This also follows last week’s good news when HTC announced that owners of the HTC One X+, HTC One X, HTC One S, and the HTC Butterfly (HTC DROID DNA on Verizon Wireless) will be upgraded to Sense 5 in the future. HTC is doing a great job at making all of its customers feel included.

Blinkfeed, a beautiful RSS news feed available right from the screen of your phone, is most likely to be available for most HTC smartphones because its all software based. Getting Ultrapixel, HTC’s own branded camera technology, into mid-ranged devices may be a bit trickier however. Roberson stated, “There will be certain technical challenges, but the tech does support the other elements of it which we can take to other parts of the portfolio.”

The HTC One is HTC’s last shot at launching itself out of the financial hole that its currently in. It features impressive specs, like a 4.7-inch HD display and a quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor. It’s flagship features like Blinkfeed, Ultrapixel, and Sense 5 should also help make it stand out in the market. It’s also good to know that even though it’ll be focusing all of its marketing efforts on the HTC One, HTC won’t be neglecting its future mid-tier devices.

[via Android Community]

HTC mid-ranged phones will have Blinkfeed and Ultrapixels too is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s no secret that we’re big fans of the HTC One here at Engadget — we’ve already written at length about the handset’s hardware design, software features and imaging chops. At MWC, we were lucky to spend some time with Scott Croyle, VP of design, to discuss the company’s latest superphone. We talked about the handset’s delightful zero-gap aluminum and plastic unibody and how HTC wanted to “break down that last barrier” of integrating antennae in a metal casing without making compromises. He explained that the One’s design was inspired by high-end watches, and it turns out that the zero-gap machining process was developed in-house specifically for this device. Some of the antennae (such as WiFi and GPS) are actually machined as part of the unibody and coexist on the same aluminum panel.

We then chatted about the gorgeous 4.7-inch 1080p display which was supplied by the same manufacturer which provided the screen for the Droid DNA and One X, and the daring Ultrapixel camera, which packs four million large (2µm) pixels and OIS. Mr. Croyle mentioned that while the business side is incredibly important, the decision to use Ultrapixels was focused on the needs of consumers. We asked if limiting the number of pixels was in any way driven by the software — the desire to implement Zoe and perhaps curtail the massive amounts of data gathered and processed by the feature. It turns out that the development of the sensor and optics started a long time before the software. As for Zoe, “nobody’s redefined what a photograph could mean” and HTC was eager to try something new. Our full video interview is yours to watch after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC

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HTC announced its new One device last week along with Sense 5, which is a completely-redesigned user interface that will only be available on the HTC One. Or will it? Confirmed by HTC’s Facebook marketing department, Sense 5 will be making its way to older HTC devices, including “global variants” of the One X, One X+, One S, and the Butterfly.

HTC says that they’ll be “offering upgrades to some of its existing devices in the next few months,” so it looks like we may see older HTC devices running the new software before summer hits, although HTC mentions “global variants” of its devices, which could be a little confusing since HTC has international versions of its phones, and then there are US versions. It could end up that US gets the shaft with Sense 5 upgrades.

Then again, we’ll just have to wait and see what HTC ends up doing. Overall, this is certainly good news for HTC device owners, including those with the newer One series devices. However, Sense 5 may not come to every One series handset, so don’t get your hopes up if you’re rocking a mid-ranger like the One VX — HTC may not be focusing on lower-tier devices. The company also notes that some software features of the HTC One definitely won’t be making their way to older HTC devices.

HTC’s newest handset, the One, comes with a 4.7-inch full HD 1080p display with a 4MP “UltraPixel” camera. The device also packs an impressive 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor with 2GB of RAM and either 32GB or 64GB of storage space. The phone will be making its way to the market sometime next month, so save up your pennies if you’re eligible for an upgrade.

HTC Sense 5 coming to older devices is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.