Yesterday, HTC Uk officially announced that 8 devices will be getting the Android 4.0 update come early 2012. These includes:

• HTC Sensation
• HTC Sensation XL
• HTC Sensation XE
• HTC Rezound*
• HTC EVO 3D
•  HTC EVO Design 4G*
• HTC Amaze 4G*

Official statement from HTC:

HTC knows how excited our fans are to get their hands on Google’s latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, so we’re thrilled today to announce the first wave of HTC phones that will receive upgrades.

According to the release, more HTC Android devices may likely get the ICS update soon:

We’re continuing to assess our product portfolio, so stay tuned for more updates on device upgrades, timing and other details about HTC and Ice Cream Sandwich.

Source

In what I regard as a solid move to further differentiate their Android lineup of smartphones, HTC have struck a deal with Dropbox to bundle 5GB of cloud storage with their new smartphones running Sense 3.5 forward.

Users of the newest Android handsets will get a bonus 3GB of storage in addition to the standard 2GB of free storage offered by Dropbox to all users.

Dropbox is a cloud storage service that lets users sync files across PCs and mobile devices.

For now, the only smartphone running HTC Sense 3.5 is the recently announced Rhyme. WindowsPhone devices from HTC will not be getting this service, as Microsoft’s cloud service, SkyDrive, is already embedded into the OS.

I had a brief playtime with the HTC ChaCha Android smartphone last week, and thought I’d post some vital statistics about the device and pictures that I took.

Some quick specifications:

• Released June 2011
• 2.6 inch, 480 x 320 pixel, TFT capacitive touchscreen, with Gorilla Glass
• Android OS, v2.3 (Gingerbread)
• 800 MHz processor
• HTC Sense 2.1 UI
• 512 MB RAM
• QWERTY keyboard
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
• 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash

In hand, the ChaCha gives the impression of a well-built device. It felt really sturdy. The QWERTY keyboard is very usable with large keys and good tactile feedback. I do think that the placement of the Facebook button is off though.

I also loved the user interface – lots of white space in a clean, elegant way.

Typical of HTC devices, audio reproduction was tinny. I did a comparison with the N8 for a few people present and the difference was as clear as night and day. If HTC’s reputation is anything to go by, I wouldn’t bet on the camera shining either. HTC has never stood out in the multimedia space. If interested in multimedia, you are better off with a Nokia, Apple, Sony Ericsson or Samsung device.

I enjoyed the short time that I spent with the ChaCha. It is a lovely QWERTY device. Here are some pictures:

The ChaCha is in the same price range and class as the Nokia E6, another QWERTY candybar. Audio music quality apart, I’d take this one over the E6.

The fallouts of Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility are already being seen – as expected. This is all the more pertinent since Google has made it clear that the purchase was not just about Motorola’s patents.

Samsung are investing more in their own OS, BadaOS. Not to be left out, HTC are also considering buying their own OS, though no concrete steps have been taken in that direction.

As I suspected, all those public statements of solidarity were just PR. The game has changed, and individual manufacturers must adjust.

HTC Desire HD

• Android OS 2.2.
• 4.3-inch capacitive display.
• 1 GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 200 GPU, Qualcomm QSD8250 Snapdragon chipset
• 1.5 GB internal memory
• 768 MB RAM
• 8 megapixel camera with Dual LED Flash

---

HTC 7 Mozart

• Windowsphone 7.
• 3.7-inch capacitive display.
• 1 GHz processor
• 8 GB internal storage, 576 MB RAM
• 8 megapixel camera with Xenon Flash

Reserve Price
Reserve price for each device is N69,900.00.

Both devices are brand new and in perfect working condition, but the sales boxes are open.

You can submit your bid by posting in the comments section. Please include your GSM number, so that we can contact you if necesarry.

The highest bid for each device wins. If there is only one bidder on a device, that individual wins.

Bidding is open to individuals based anywhere within the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

• Preferred bidders must pay for and collect the specific phone from our office in Ojodu (not Ogudu), Lagos within 48 hours of announcement of a winner.
• Alternatively, a successful bidder resident outside Lagos can pay by bank deposit into a designated bank account and also arrange for the phone to be sent to him by courier at his own cost and bearing all risks associated with delivery.
• If a preferred bidder fails to meet the deadline, the next highest bidder will be contacted to pick up the particular phone.

The bidding is now on.

What has a 4.3-inch display, runs Windowsphone 7 and is in our office at MobilityNigeria right now?

Yes; it is the HTC HD7 monster.

The first thing that will arrest your attention with the HD7 is the size. This is huge. Next up is the display – 4.3 inches of capacitive goodness is irresistible. You sort of love the phone immediately. That is until you find out that it is actually best defined more by what it cannot do than what it can. Take a look at the long list of wantings:

1. No copy/paste
2. No multitasking
3. No Bluetooth file transfers
4. No USB mass storage mode
5. No internet tethering
6. No Flash support in the browser
7. No video calls
8. No DivX/XviD video support

The list of missing features almost gives me a headache, and I actually developed one when I really started using the device. It is almost unbelievable. Leaving an app means that it is closed, so forget about multitasking.

Still, the HD7 is impressive in lots of other ways. Take a look at the specifications:

• Windows Phone 7 operating system
• 1GHz Snapdragon Processor
• 576MB RAM
• 4.3″ capacitive LCD touchscreen of WVGA resolution (480 x 800 pixels)
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• Dual-band 3G with HSDPA (7.2 Mbps) and HSUPA (2Mbps)
• 8GB Built-in storage
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Standard microUSB port (charging only)
• 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with dual-LED flash
• 720p video recording
• Dolby Mobile and SRS sound enhancement
• Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 2.1 + A2DP
• Accelerometer for screen auto rotation
• Office document editor
• Facebook integration
• Built-in A-GPS receiver
• Stereo FM Radio with RDS
• Kickstand

First Impressions

Getting my mails, contacts and calendar onto the device was a joy. I simply set up my Google-based email account and the HD7 synced everything flawlessly.

Getting anything else – music, videos, et al – onto the device has been a royal pain in the butts. You see, there’s no USB mass storage mode. There’s no Bluetooth file transfer. I am yet to download the Zune software that enables PC synchronisation. But why do I have to do that in this day and age?

I like some parts of this device, and I am absolutely stumped by others. The user interface is nice, but so limited that it feels like a hybrid monster to me. Also, that display is a fingerprint mega magnet – and the fingerprints hinder your viewing pleasure, especially in sunlight.

But I am so, so tempted by that email app and the web browser. More detailed reviews coming in after I have used the HD7 more extensively.

Microsoft’s new Windowsphone 7 OS got off with a flying start today with the announcement of a deluge of devices, many of which will be in the market in weeks.

HTC
HTC took the spotlight with five (5) devices announced. They include:

1. HTC 7 Surround: 3.8″ display. Features a Dolby Mobile system with SRS WOW HD sound. Exclusive to AT&T in the US
2. HTC 7 Mozart: 3.7″ display. 8 megapixel camera. Built from a single piece of aluminum.
3. HTC 7 Trophy: a 3.8″ display
4. HTC HD7: 4.3″ display. T-Mobile.
5. HTC 7 Pro: slide-out QWERTY keyboard. For Sprint

Samsung
Samsung have two devices in their WP7 lineup:

1. Samsung i8700 Omnia 7 – 4″ Super AMOLED screen
2. Samsung Focus for AT&T – 4″ Super AMOLED screen. Has microSD slot.

LG
LG also has two (2) devices announced:

1. Optimus 7 – 3.8″ display
2. Optimus 7Q – 3.5″ with QWERTY keyboard

Dell
Surprise, surprise! Dell throws in the Dell Venue Pro, a vertical slider with a QWERTY keyboard, 4.1″ AMOLED display with scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass.

This is quite a show of force for Windowsphone 7 at launch. It is certainly a more spectacular launch compared to Android’s launch with just the T-mobile G1. Can WP7 wip up the frenzy required to push it into contention in the mobile smartphone market?

I am hoping so, if only for the sake of competition.

Back in May, I published my review of the N900′s battery life.

While an awesome device, the N900 has been somewhat crippled by the smaller capacity battery (1320 mAh) that Nokia fitted it with. It is passable, but somewhere along the line, it will get to you.

In my extreme test, the N900 shut down after two hours.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to see how well the HTC Touch Pro2 with its 1500 mAh would do. I left home at 6.45a.m. with a 95% battery charge, and kept a Bluetooth headset connection active all the way on a 2-hour journey to Ilaro. The Bluetooth connection was also active on the return journey of another 2 hours.

Meanwhile, the TP2 was connecting to my email server every 5 minutes. I managed three calls and a handful of SMSs. At Ilaro, I also took 18 pictures.

On return to Lagos, I headed straight to church and then to my sister’s place. I didn’t get home till after 5p.m., and I had 30% battery power left. Running the N900 with 5-minute email connections alone would have killed the battery hours before this time. To get through the day, I had to make do with setting the N900 to connect every at intervals of 15, 30 or 60 minutes, depending on the circumstances.

This morning, I gave the TP2 an extreme test – with 5-minute email connections over a 3G network, 10 SMSes, two calls running into 10 minutes, plus watching a 1 hour 37 minute movie, Unthinkable, on the TP2.

Well, after all that, I still had 40% power left. Thereafter I had to dash out. Certainly, the TP2 battery life is looking very good compared to the N900′s. Not bad for a device with a 3.6-inch display and very loud speakers.

I just got my hands on a HTC Touch Pro2, a device that is very much like the Nokia N900. Of course, the logical thing was to do a face-off between the two mobile computers.

Feature	N900	Touch Pro2
Platform	Maemo 1.2	Windows mobile 6.5
Dimensions	110×59.8x18mm	116x59x17mm
Weight	181 gm	179 gm
Display	3.5″ resistive, 800 x 480 pixels	3.6″ resistive, 480 x 800 pixels
Camera	5mp, Dual LED light, autofocus	3.2mp
Web Browser	MicroB	Opera Mobile 9.5
CPU	600 MHz	528 MHz
Internal Disk	32GB	300MB
RAM	256 MB	288 MB
Office Editing	X	Full Editing Suite
QWERTY Keyboard	3-row	5-row
Battery	1320 mAh	1500 mAh

Summary
Right off the bat -

1. N900 has the better camera
2. N900 has better built-in web browser – MicroB (also has the best 3rd party browser – Firefox Mobile)
3. N900 has better internal memory – 32GB
4. N900 has a 3.5mm audio jack
5. N900 has more vibrant display

On the other hand –

1. TP2 has the better keyboard
2. TP2 has the better battery life
3. TP2 has better and louder stereo speakers
4. TP2 has built-in full Office editing suite
5. TP2 has a slightly larger display
6. TP2 is slightly more compact and lighter

Your Choice?
If you were presented with an opportunity to own either of the devices, looking at the table and summary of advantages above, which of them will be your choice?

Say hello to the HTC EVO 4G, a monster device with monster specifications.

According to Sprint (yes; its a CDMA device, so GSM people may pine all they like), the device delivers 4G speeds, that is ten times faster than 3G speeds. In addition, the HTC Evo will work as a hotspot for up to eight devices.

Sounds impressive.

Specifications:
Size: 122 x 66 x 13 mm
Display: 4.3-inch, 480 x 800 pixels, TFT Capacitive
Processor: 1GHz Snapdragon
Network: CDMA / 1xEV-DO rev.A; 4G WiMAX; 802.16e: 2500MMz
Integrated 4G radio with hotspot capability to share with up to eight devices
OS: Android 2.1 with New HTC Sense user interface
Camera: 8 megapixel Dual LED Autofocus camera with Digital zoom
Video Capture: 1280×720 (720p HD)
Navigation: A-GPS
3.5mm audio jack

The in-thing now seems to be monster-sized smartphones. A few years back, everyone was trying to miniaturise phones, but the touchscreen craze seems to have reversed that trend. Now, it seems, the bigger and meaner-looking, the better.

Thanks to the heads-up from Johnny.

Related News:
From Gizmodo
From PhoneArena

I thought it would be both fun and informative to do an article on my smartphone of the year 2009. It was unfortunate that we didn’t get good participation for the MobilityNigeria 2009 Phone Awards. Thanks to all those who did drop their nominations.

Anyway, in this article, I will list all the smartphones I used in 2009 and do a sort of countdown to my top smartphone for the year just gone by. Here goes!

The contenders, in the order that I came in touch with them:

1. Nokia E90 communicator (October 2008) **
2. T-mobile G1 (May 2009)
3. Nokia E75 (June 2009)
4. Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 (August 2009)
5. Samsung B7320 (December 2009)

While I got the E90 in 2008, I did use it for several months in 2009, so it qualifies.

Number 5

At number 5 is the Android-powered G1.

I loved the keyboard on this device, being one of the most functional I have used, but the choice of colour of the keyboard area made reading in daylight difficult.

The Android user interface got me hooked too. Download, installing and updating applications from the Android Market was a joy. But while the G1 had USB charging, its battery life was one of the most appalling I had experienced on a smartphone. With the G1, my eye was constantly on the battery indicator. On an average day, I had it plugged to the mains more than not.

Email management was flawless on the G1, and web browsing was good, though the browser wasn’t as capable as Opera Mobile or S60 Web.

Again, the G1 could not be tethered without the use of a 3rd party app (or having to root the phone), had no Bluetooth file transfer, and – the straw that finally broke the camel’s back – no built-in office viewer/editor. The available 3rd party viewers were plainly underwhelming.

I love Android and look forward to its maturing. Then, you can be sure that I am game.

Number 4

At number 4 is the Symbian-powered Nokia E75.

The E75 was a good piece of hardware and felt solid to hold and to look at. The keyboard was good, but in my experience did not match those of the G1 or the E90.

While it had a 3.2 megapixel camera specified same as that on the E90, the camera did not perform as good. Whenever I needed good pictures or video recording, I kept going back to the E90.

Web browsing was standard S60 Web, but for some reason, Nokia had still not sorted out the issues with its messaging/email client. The E75 let me down at critical times in the area of email management. In my line of work, that is unforgivable.

Number 3

The Windowsphone X1 from Sony Ericsson is my Number 3.

The X1 had a good camera. Being Sony Ericsson, I wasn’t expecting less. The keyboard was not as tactile as on the E90, E75 and G1, but it worked.

Email management on the X1 was flawless and I had no issues with web browsing. As a matter of fact, there was little to dislike about the X1. But those few include a not-so-loud loudspeaker and the lack of a built-in task manager,which was annoying.

Being Windows Mobile powered, the X1 allowed for customisation by way of custom ROMs from XDA Developers.

Number 2

By now, many of you are guessing that the number one spot is surely going to the Nokia E90. Unfortunately, if that was your thought, you thought wrong.

At number 2 is the venerable Nokia E90.

Ah! A 3-year old smartphone that still rocks. Excellent 5-row keyboard with several shortcuts, glamorous huge display, very loud speaker, and a really good camera, it is hard not to like the E90.

With a keyboard like that, a huge screen and oodles of RAM, web browsing was a joy on the E90.

Also, the E90 feels as sturdy as a tank. Holding one in a corporate setting is good massage for the ego. It simply feels good in the hand.

Unfortunately, the email client was again plagued with issues. For some reason, setting up Gmail on the E90 simply brought the mail client into a comatose state.

To compensate (and because the E90 was really hard for me to part with), I used Gmail’s mobile app to handle my personal mails and notifications. Of course, having to do that was a kludge. I had to manually check for mails at intervals.

Note that I also tried out Nokia Messaging, and it worked well for a while before the same issues popped up.

I love the E90, but I found a new love.

Number 1

My smartphone of the year 2009 is nothing short of a miracle. It is testimony that good things are not necesarilly big or expensive.

The Samsung B7320 OmniaPro is a Windowsphone. it runs version 6.1 and is upgradeable to 6.5. So far, I have found only two major things to complain about:

1. Older version of pocket internet explorer
2. No flash with the 3.2 mega-pixel camera

Just two, and those two are not quite earth-shattering problems. There are other smaller niggles, of course, but certainly nothing that 3rd party apps didn’t fix. The B7320′s key strengths are:

1. Very good battery life
2. Very good loudspeaker
3. One-handed use and interface
4. Highly functional QWERTY keyboard with preset & customisable shortcuts

Before you go on about Windows Mobile not being user-friendly, note that there are two versions of Windows Mobile – Standard (non-touchscreen devices) and Professional (touchscreen devices). The B7320 runs Windows Mobile Standard and has no touchscreen. I found it surprisingly intuitive to use, different from the Professional edition that.

The screen is large, though much smaller than the E90′s, and the keyboard packs a wallop – very tactile and usable, and with several preset shortcuts. You can also set your own extra shortcuts for your favourite applications.

On the negative side, I am disappointed at Pocket Internet Explorer. No multiple tabs here and rendering is not as good as what obtains on Opera Mobile or S60 web. But it gets the job done for most of what I need to do. Where it is restrictive, I use a 3rd party browser.

Email management is flawless. Both my corporate mail and Gmail work flawlessly, with audio notifications as mails arrive.

The camera is good, but performs badly in low-light situations because of the absence of a flash. Forgivable. The speaker is also quite loud.

Oh, and since there is an ongoing discussion about one other particular manufacturer skimping on RAM, the OmniaPro comes with 256mb RAM in all, and has about 175mb RAM free after booting. I run between 7 and 10 apps on the OmniaPro at a time and still have about 120mb free.

I’ve never gotten one of those out-of-memory messages yet. I’ll try running 30 apps and see

Lastly, and very important, this is one smartphone that I have not had to worry one bit about the battery life. The battery simply goes on for days, even with an always-on 3G connection for email and web browsing. Even the E90′s battery life pales in significance.

The B7320 has 90-95% of the E90′s functionality packed into a small, handy and lightweight device – and at less than half the price. That’s a pretty good deal. Guess who’s happy?

Moving On…

I am looking forward to trying out a couple of new devices this year. Hopefully, Palm will release the GSM versions of their Pre and Pixi this year. I really want to try out the Pixi. Perhaps also the Motorola Milestone. 2010 is promising to be a year of the Droid, so maybe other manufacturers will give us a candybar Android with QWERTY?

I am waiting for Windows Mobile 7 and trying not to fret while at it. The guys at Redmond need to hurry! As for Symbian, perhaps we will see something really good from the old guard too, though I am not so excited at prospects from that direction (for reasons I have already stated on this site). Some announcements have been made at CES 2010 already, and I expect more when Mobile World Congress 2010 holds.

What is your smartphone of the year 2009? And which smartphones do you have your eyes set on this year?

Windows Mobile has been long acknowledged as a powerful mobile operating system. Unfortunately, it does not seem that the guys at Microsoft realized early enough that raw power is not all there is to a mobileOS. Apple’s Mac OSx, Google’s Android, and more recently Palm’s Web OS, with the acclaim that they have consistently received, show that beyond just power, the end-user wants a sleek and user-friendly interface.

Fact: WinMo as it has been for years is far from user-friendly. Microsoft have made a lame attempt at improving the WinMo UI with version 6.5. But it does not seem to cut the mustard. And it isn’t available on any devices yet. So, WinMo followers have no choice but to hope (and probably pray too) that WinMo 7 will be really different.

However, there seems to be an easy and logical path for transforming WinMo into the delight of users.

HTC’s home-grown solution to making their WinMo products user-friendly has been a toast of WinMo users and reviewers alike. Dubbed TouchFlo 3D, it is sleek, touch-optimised, and gets the job done.

Would Microsoft consider the option of paying HTC to completely integrate TouchFlo 3D into the WinMo OS? That shouldn’t be difficult, seeing how far HTC have gone in implementing this icing on the WinMo cake.

For many current WinMo users, TouchFlo 3D is one of the key reasons why their mobile experience is much easier. And fun.

Whether or not Microsoft takes the path I have recommended, one thing is certain, whatever interface it is that Microsoft implements for WinMo will always be judged by how well it performs against TouchFlo 3D.