Hasta La Gadget!

If you own a Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play edition, you can now put down your pitchfork and stop dripping with envy. Apparently, Android KitKat is also gracing not only the Sense-less version of HTC’s One today, but also the non-TouchWiz device. When the phone getting Android 4.4 in its purest form, you can look forward to all the features the updated platform promises, including a better camera app and longer battery life. The update should soon be available for download via Settings — if it’s yet to arrive, that is — those who own a version of the Galaxy S4 with all of Samsung’s software tweaks will have to sit tight a while longer.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, Google

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Source: Android (Google+)

HTC promised that One owners would get Android 4.4 KitKat within 90 days of the OS’ announcement, and it’s now detailing when specific countries will get their turn. The company’s North American and UK branches both say that they will start upgrading Ones to KitKat by late January, or right at the tail end of the 90-day window. There isn’t any word regarding the upgrade schedules in other large countries. However, Droid DNA fans won’t be left — HTC says they should get KitKat by the end of first quarter, or no later than March.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC

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Source: HTC UK (Twitter), HTC USA (Twitter 1), (2)

Poor HTC. As if it didn’t already have enough to deal with, the troubled manufacturer now has to meddle with the original design of the One and other smartphones in order to avoid infringing on a couple of Nokia patents. According to the Wall Street Journal, HTC is currently working with Qualcomm to find a different method of improving reception and transmission within its radio components, following a successful patent suit by Nokia in the US a week ago. If these tweaks don’t happen, and if the ITC upholds Nokia’s victory when it considers the matter in January, a number of models could potentially be subject to import bans. This has happened before, however, when HTC unwittingly infringed on a Nokia microphone patent and quickly managed to find a workaround, so by now it has become adept at this sort of fire-fighting and says it already has a plan to avoid “business disruption.”

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC, Nokia

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Source: Wall Street Journal

We’re usually quite skeptical when it comes to leaked phone parts, especially those that just show a new color, but this one seems fairly reliable. Courtesy of the same Sina Weibo user who previously showed us a blue HTC One (which has since been announced along with its mini counterpart), we’re now looking at what appears to be the front-half of a gold-colored One. Call it impeccable timing, but given the August 12th date stamp on the part, chances are HTC also had this planned some time ago. In fact, a 24-Carat gold One already exists.

In addition to the leakster’s track record, the hand-written marks on the parts lend credence to their authenticity. The One series’ designer Justin Huang (who’s sadly in a bit of trouble right now) previously told us that the letters grade the form of the front-side frame, in order to help pick matching parts. It’s also worth pointing out that we’ve yet to come across any fake custom HTC One parts in the Huaqiangbei market, which is likely because of the difficult manufacturing and disassembly process. That said, the phone’s relatively lower demand than, say, the iPhones and Samsung devices may be a bigger deterrent for those part makers. Let’s see if this new color option will change HTC’s course.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC

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Source: Sina Weibo

The latest development on the recent HTC saga reveals that Thomas Chien, the arrested ex-VP of Product Design, was possibly lured by the Chengdu municipal government to set up a phone company in China. According to Taiwan’s Next Magazine (pictured above by sister publication Apple Daily), Chien flew to Chengdu several times in the first half of this year, which got HTC suspicious since it doesn’t have any direct business there.

The alleged offer was that if Chien left HTC with some of the technology plus some money, then the municipal government would — through another company it set up — take care of the remaining costs for opening the factory, production and marketing. Previous reports say while still at HTC, the ex-exec had e-mailed some confidential Sense 6.0 files to external contacts, but there’s no confirmation on whether those people are linked to the Chengdu government.

Filed under: Misc, Mobile, HTC

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Via: Reuters

Source: Apple Daily (Chinese), UDN (Chinese), ET Today (Chinese)