Hasta La Gadget!

This morning we had schematics, by lunchtime the HD7 received its first purported image (visible after the break), and now there’s already an even bigger and better picture showing the supposed HTC Hub-enriched Windows Phone 7 interface (see above). Any bets against the phone actually dropping into our laps by dinner time? HTCInside.de has garnished its imagery of the phone with a list of specs, headlined by a 4.3-inch WVGA screen, 1GHz Snapdragon SOC (the same QSD8250 as rumored for the Mozart), a 5 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, 720p video recording, and 8GB of built-in storage. No, we’re not exactly blown away by this hardware inventory either, but WMPoweruser has agreed with everything on the list, excepting a MicroSD expansion slot — its tipster doesn’t think there’ll be any such expandability.

Update: And now we’ve come across even more live imagery, though the handset they’re of is adorned with an HD3 label. Hilariously enough, the title of the Chinese forum thread they’re from reads “HD3 picked up at the bar” (according to our machine translation, anyway). Still, this supposed HD3 looks like an exact match for the earlier drawing of HTC’s jumbo WinPhone, and you’ll want to see it if only for the ingeniously integrated kickstand on the back. All yours after the break. Thanks, Ahmad!

Continue reading HTC HD7 pictured and specced by rumormongers trying to outdo one another (update: even more pics!)

HTC HD7 pictured and specced by rumormongers trying to outdo one another (update: even more pics!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 15:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First thing’s first: there’s no way to verify that the above image is a legitimate HTC doc. The tipster seems reliable, having provided WMPoweruser with the HTC Mozart video yesterday, but until we witness Peter Chou holding the damn thing up in front of an audience struggling to get a WiFi signal, we’ll remain cautious. Anyhow, what we’re looking at above is the claimed first visual of that ephemeral HD7 from HTC, replete with a dedicated camera button and what looks like a dual-LED flash, along with a MicroUSB data/power port and headphone jack at the bottom (identical to the HD2 and Desire HD). It’s reassuring to see much of the glorious HD2 heritage being carried over into this successor atop HTC’s Windows phone line, though if you’re not all that keen on jumping on what looks like yet another superpowered 4.3-inch slate, there’s always the rumored Trophy handset as well.

HTC HD7 schematic illustrates our Windows Phone 7 future originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 03:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s unclear whether the dude was speaking out of turn, but an HTC regional director responsible for North Africa and the Middle East has gone on record with gulfnews saying on no uncertain terms that the company “will be launching Windows Phone 7 handsets next month.” Of course, that lines up nicely with just about everything we’ve been hearing lately — not to mention the torrent of HTC-specific leaks we’ve seen — and if true, it gives Microsoft a pretty generous buffer ahead of its holiday 2010 guidance for the platform’s commercial release. He goes on to say that HTC will be releasing “around five more models by end of the year,” though it’s not clear how that mix will fall between Android, Windows Phone 7, and possibly even Brew MP; the Desire HD and Desire Z seem like a nice way to close out the year on the Android side of things if you ask us, which leaves plenty of room for awesome WinPho hardware. Sliding landscape loudspeakers, anyone?

HTC director confirms Windows Phone 7 phones launching next month originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re getting very used to spotting the as-yet-unannounced Windows Phone 7-powered HD7 embedded in tables of serial numbers and release dates, and while, you know, a picture would be nice, it’s good to see that it still exists in the world of carrier databases. WMPoweruser.com has a leaked O2 Germany lineup courtesy of a tipster, and that chart names an HTC HD7 for the 42nd week of the year, which lines up nicely with that original October 18 rumor we heard for O2 in the UK. What’s more, this chart names a price, with €79 on a two year €20 monthly contract, and a hefty €559 tag if you’d like to go contract free. We suppose that sort of decision making is best left for after we’ve seen the handset, but we won’t judge if you’d rather just rush in headlong — with the HD series pedigree, we doubt you’ll be disappointed.

Another HTC HD7 leak: mid-October looks like a go, price is €559 without contract originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 10:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, damn — Verizon told us earlier that it wouldn’t be carrying Windows Phone 7 devices until 2011, and now Microsoft’s twisting the knife by confirming that its new platform will be GSM-only until the first half of 2011. So much for our dreams of a 4G Windows Phone 7 device on Sprint, we suppose. Product manager Greg Sullivan told CNET that trade-offs had to be made in order to meet the schedule and GSM was prioritized since it’s used worldwide, but that CDMA devices would be available early next year. Of course, we’ve also heard that the failed Kin project soured the Verizon / Microsoft relationship and that’s why AT&T is the “premier carrier” for WP7, but either way, it’s down to Ma Bell and T-Mobile to get this thing off the ground now — and we’ll say right now that launching CDMA devices with the current Windows Phone 7 spec list later into 2011 isn’t going to do anyone any favors.

Microsoft: Windows Phone 7 to be GSM-only until first half of 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 21:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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