HTC

The front and back of the HTC Holiday shown on the left, and the back of the HTC Vigor shown on the right

Engadget has leaked exclusive images of the HTC Holiday, a device reportedly heading to AT&T this fall with 4G bands. The device looks to pack a beautiful 4.5-inch qHD display, 1.2 GHz processor, 8-megapixel shooter, 1.3-megapixel front facing camera, and yes, 4G LTE.

DroidLife has also leaked the first pictures of the HTC Vigor, a device that packs a 1.5 GHz processor heading to Verizon this fall with 4G bands. Overall specs for the device are impressive: a front facing camera, shooter on the back, 4.3-inch HD screen, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal space.

These devices paired with the Galaxy S II and Droid Bionic, and what ever else carriers have down their sleeve, will make Android to have a sure shot against the iPhone 5 — which is slated for a mid-October launch.
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It’s official, we’re running out of names for mobile devices…We told you back in July that HTC was planning on dropping a shiny new tablet dubbed “Puccini” in report accompanied by what we believed to be a couple high quality images (viaBGR) of the device. Now, a new report from BGR claims AT&T and HTC are preparing to launch the 10.1-inch Honeycomb-powered tablet as the “HTC Jetstream”.

Some of the rumoured specs for the Jetstream include an eight-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, microphone and stereo speakers, 1.5GHz processor, and a reported 4G LTE modem.  Oh, and a stylus…which is definitely one feature its competition lacks…

HTC’s Winston Yung pretty much confirmed the device was slated for a late third or early fourth quarter release, which translates to September or October. However, that timeframe seems a little unrealistic to us if the Jetstream is in fact a 4G LTE device and still expected to run on AT&T. This is considering AT&T’s 4G LTE network is just being rolled out this summer with plans to roll out to just 15 markets by the end of the year, as pointed out by BGR. This makes it highly unlikely that their 4G network will be ready to support the launch of a new tablet by October. Either way, we’re hoping to get a better look at the Jetstream at HTC’s “see what’s next” event in September. 

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Handset maker HTC issued an intriguing invitation to its followers on Facebook, inviting them to attend a public event due September 1 in London, just in time for the IFA trade show where giants like Samsung are expected to make major product announcements. The invite simply reads, “Join us to see what’s next” and promises “a few phone treats for you to enjoy”.

HTC will almost certainly pull a series of product updates and announcements at the public event and we expect some new phones to be revealed. First and foremost, we’re keeping our fingers crossed for more information about the Ruby, which is rumored to sport impressive specs and hopefully run Ice Cream Sandwich. The company may also play the safe card with new Windows Phone ‘Mango’ phones, like Samsung, and we’re certainly looking to put our hands on the forthcoming Puccini tablet, which is apparently scheduled to hit the market later that month. Full text of the invitation below the fold.

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The web is abuzz with the news that Google is snapping up Motorola Mobility in a deal valued at $12.5 billion. And while there are concerns that Google is pursuing the deal purely for the patents, CEO Larry Page said in a blog post that the agreement will let them “supercharge the Android ecosystem” by fending off patent threats from Apple, Microsoft and other companies. In addition, he dropped hints of “wonderful user experiences” in a nod at tightly integrated devices that Apple famously builds.

Now, conventional wisdom has it that the transaction will put other Android backers in an uneasy position as they get to compete with Motorola on an uneven playing field. Not to worry, Boy Genius Report has reactions from major Android backers that appear to be upbeat about the deal. For example, J.K. Shin, president of Samsung’s Mobile Communications division says:

We welcome today’s news, which demonstrates Google’s deep commitment to defending Android, its partners, and the ecosystem.

The publication quoted similar statements by executives from HTC, LG and Sony Ericsson that Google published on their site. On the other hand, as noted by Business Insider, Android backers cannot be satisfied with the outcome of this time, regardless of their voice of support. TIMN wonders what this deal means for the future of Motorola products and the level of Google’s involvement in product development. So far, this is about intellectual property. Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha revealed in a conference call discussing the Google deal that his company controls a rich patent portfolio of 17,000 issued patents and 7,500 patent applications filed, indicating that Google will use this patent war chest as a powerful leverage against legal pressure from rivals Apple and Microsoft.

Google’s chief legal officer David Drummond said this in the call:

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HTC has just hit the live switch on their HTC Developer website. The website provides developers with HTC’s OpenSense SDK, tools to unlock the bootloader on a few select phones (showing coming soon), and kernel source code.

The tools to unlock the bootloader seems to be the big gem here, but the OpenSense SDK features the S3D SDK for HTC’s 3D stereoscopic interface and a nifty pen SDK for the Scribe feature found in many of their devices. Let us know if you find anything! (via Engadget)

Fresh off its patent-related acquisition of S3 Graphics for $300 million, HTC this morning announced a new acquisition. This time they’re snapping up Dashwire, the maker of the Dashworks platform that lets users setup, personalize and access their content across a myriad of mobile devices. Dashwire will become a wholly owned subsidiary of HTC.

The company confirmed plans to tap Dashwire’s cloud-sync technology and device set up products “to extend the HTCSense.com cloud services it launched last year”. Here’s from HTC’s president of engineering and operations Fred Liu:

Cloud services are key to delivering the promise of connected services to our customers. People want access to all of their important content wherever they are on any device. The addition of Dashwire’s cutting-edge sync services and deep mobile cloud experience strengthens our ability to deliver these services in a more powerful way.

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HTC reported second-quarter earnings today and just briefly glancing at numbers was enough to realize why they’re the #2 smartphone vendor in the US. Per their statement, HTC grew its revenues by 104 percent from the year-ago quarter and shipped 12.1 million phones during the June quarter. The company reported revenues of  NT$12.4 billion, or approximately $4.3 billion, a 19 percent sequential increase. Net income for the quarter topped NT$17.52, more than double from NT$60.96 billion in the year-ago quarter (and an 18 percent sequential jump).

The 12.1 million phones shipped include devices powered by Microsoft’s and Google’s software and amount to a 25 percent and 24 percent sequential and annual jump in terms of units, respectively. Looking at the third quarter, HTC is modeling for a 10 percent quarterly increase and a 90 percent annual jump based on shipments of an estimated 13.5 million phones.

New phone shipped in the quarter include the HTC Sensation, EVO 3D, Wildfire S, ChaCha, Salsa and Flyer. The average selling price dropped from $359 in the previous quarter down to $349 because they brought new inexpensive handsets to the market. Much of HTC’s growth came from Europe, Asia and the United States, where Nielsen ranks them as the second-largest smartphone maker. The achievement is even more impressive taking into account that Apple is now the world’s leading smartphone maker and controls two-thirds of total operating profits in the handset business.

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Anticipating Android backers will face legal hurdles as Apple now has the upper hand in its case against HTC (here and here), Google has stepped up and bought more than a thousand IBM patents for an undisclosed sum. The news was first reported by the blog SEO by the Sea and picked up by The Wall Street Journal. The search company might use IBM inventions as a leverage against pending lawsuits that indirectly involve its Android software.

Google failed to outbid the Apple-led consortium which paid $4.5 billion for Nortel’s treasure chest of more than 6,000 patents covering wireless technologies, among them crucial inventions related to fourth-generation cellular networks. The new patent deal is in line with Google’s focus on snapping up patent portfolios left and right in creating a “disincentive for others to sue Google”, as noted on their official blog back in April. The 1,030 granted patents Google bought from IBM cover varied technologies, including…

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Research firm Nielsen chimed in today with a survey that puts Apple as the leading handset maker in the United States whilst Android is portrayed as the top mobile operating system in the country. Those findings follow a recent analysis which had Apple overtaking Nokia to become the world’s leading smartphone vendor in July, also corroborated  by IDC figures. According to Nielsen’s June data, Google’s Android remains the nation’s top phone platform with a 39 percent of the country’s consumer smartphone market. Apple’s iOS follows with 28 percent and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion continues to bleed share, down to 20 percent in the second quarter of 2011. Windows Mobile and Windows Phone combined grabbed nine percent, webOS and Palm OS were barely a blip with two percent, as was Nokia’s dying Symbian OS.

Apple on the other hand is the top smartphone maker in the United States that controls 28 percent of the market (excluding iPods and iPads). That’s partly “because Apple is the only company manufacturing smartphones with the iOS operating system”, Nielsen argues. HTC shares second spot with Research In Motion with a fourteen percent share of Android devices and six percent of Windows Phones for a total of 20 percent share of the whole market, same as the BlackBerry maker. HTC is also the nation’s leading Android and Windows Phone vendor with 14 percent and six percent share, respectively. No wonder Apple is suing HTC and seeking to ban import of their phones into the US…

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Boy Genius Report publishes a pair of crisp images of what appears to be HTC’s allegedly upcoming tablet dubbed the Puccini. It may strike you as remarkably similar to Microsoft’s Courier project, but that’s due to the case shown on the image. The Puccini rocks a single 10.1-inch display and apparently a stylus. The leaked shots include AT&T branding, just so you know where to buy this thing when it hits the market.

Not a whole lots more to conclude from the images so the publication throws in a couple goodies they heard from sources, like an eight-megapixel camera on the back with dual-LED flash plus stereo speakers and a microphone. The tablet should run a 1.5GHz processor, a 4G LTE modem and HTC’s Sense interface on top of Honeycomb software, if the sources are to be trusted.

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An iFixit teardown of HTC’s Evo 4G reveals a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. HTC denied jumping ship to adopt Samsung-manufactured chips.

Recently, there has been talk of Taiwanese handset maker HTC adopting mobile processors from Samsung in an effort to reduce manufacturing costs and royalty fees, the move that would be called a major blow to HTC’s current chip supplier, Qualcomm. Responding to the rumors, HTC denied the reporting, Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes reports.

Having procured memory products and display panels from Samsung, HTC is unlikely to add procurement of mobile processors to heavily rely on Samsung, the sources analyzed. In addition, adoption of Samsung’s mobile processors would not help decrease royalty payments because HTC still has to pay royalty to owners of patents concerned, such as Qualcomm, Nokia and Microsoft, the sources pointed out.

The source also noted that HTC “has adopted ST-Ericsson’s U8500 platform for entry- to mid-level smartphone models to be launched in the first half of 2012”. HTC is paying an estimated $5 per each Android handset sold as part of their patent protection agreement with Microsoft. Obviously, the company knows better than to become trapped with a sole supplier like Samsung…

Look at what happened to Apple, Samsung’s biggest buyer of various components, including custom-designed A4/A5 processors for iPhones, iPods and iPads and NAND flash chips for computers and mobile gadgets. Following increased competition from Samsung’s Galaxy Tab tablet and Galaxy S smartphone families, Apple and Samsung become frenemies. The California gadget maker is now suing “copyist” Samsung and reportedly taking its billions of dollars in orders elsewhere, including next-generation A6 processor manufacturing to TSMC.

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Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt has gone on the offensive and bashed Apple over patent infringement claims the company had filed against high-profile Android backers such HTC and Samsung. In what could be viewed as an effort to sway the public perception, he launched a nasty attack speaking at Google’s Mobile Revolution conference in Tokyo. To Schmidt, Apple’s taking rivals to court sends a strong signal, that of the lack of innovation and jealousy:

The big news in the past year has been the explosion of Google Android handsets and this means our competitors are responding. Because they are not responding with innovation, they’re responding with lawsuits. We have not done anything wrong and these lawsuits are just inspired by our success.

Schmidt re-iterated sales of 135 million Android phones since 2008 and highlighted more than 550,000 daily activations that exclude tablets and non-smartphone devices, which is up from 400,000 a day in May. He said Google will support HTC’s legal battle against Apple’s copyright accusations, but wouldn’t elaborate.

Whether or not Apple’s legal pressure stems from jealousy is up for debate, of course. Cynics might argue Schmidt’s comment draws from nervousness on Google’s part because Android backers are increasingly discovering hidden costs as Microsoft and Apple emerge as holders of patents crucial to Google’s mobile operating system. Apple’s victory over HTC may set what RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky painted as a high royalty precedent for Android devices that could further shrink the already slim margins on Android phones.

As if that wasn’t enough, Microsoft is already taking money from five Android vendors for patent protection, including HTC which is said to pay five bucks each time it ships an Android handset and General Dynamics Itronix. Microsoft is also understood to have targeted Samsung, seeking royalties in excess of hundreds of millions of dollars annually. The Cupertino, California-headquartered gadget giant quoted Steve Jobs in a statement announcing the HTC lawsuit March last year:

Then Google CEO Eric Schmidt shares the stage with Steve Jobs at the January 2007 iPhone unveiling. The times of happiness would abruptly come to an end amid Android whispers, culminating with Apple announcing Schmidt’s resignation from its board August 3, 2009.

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Shares of the Taiwanese Android phone maker HTC fell 6.5 percent this morning following the ruling by the International Trade Commission (ITC) that the company violated two patents held by Apple. The company’s shares have been pretty much free-falling throughout last week. The agency’s commissioners still have to support the ruling, but investors are already panicking over fears that the ruling will favor the California-based gadget maker. This, in turn, would open doors to ITC’s ban on imports of HTC’s phones into the United States. In response to the crisis, HTC announced a share buy back program worth up to $760 million in an attempt to stabilize its share price and restore investor confidence, reports Financial Times:

The attempt to prop up HTC’s share price appeared to have little effect as the stock fell below HTC’s minimum purchase price of T$900 to close down 3.9 per cent at T$871. The sell-off highlights investor fears that the legal battle could have wider implications for the competitive balance between Apple and Google Android-based phonemakers like HTC, Samsung and Motorola.

HTC is thought to have recently acquired S3 Graphics for $300 million in a bid to secure a stronger ground in its legal dealings with Apple, which filed its patent infringement complaint against the Taiwanese company back in March 2010. Apple accused HTC of violating up to twenty patents related to the iPhone’s hardware, software and its user interface. ITC recently ruled in favor of S3 Graphics, deciding the iPhone maker infringed on two patents held by S3 Graphics. They also acquired a portfolio of 82 patents from US-based ADC Communications for $75 million and signed an Android protection pact with Microsoft. HTC is expected to use all of this in the hope of relieving some of the pressure from Apple’s legal sharks. If ITC decides to ban import of HTC phones into the US and the company does not reach a timely settlement with Apple, its stock price could free-fall further.

Cross-posted on 9to5Mac.com

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AT&T announced today that the HTC Status, or “Facebook Phone”, is going to be available July 17th for $49, on a 2 year contract (minimum $15 data plan). For those who can’t get enough of Facebook, the Status is available for pre-order today. The phone packs a designated Facebook button, QWERTY keyboard, 5-megapixel camera, and runs Android 2.3. Best Buy will be running a special promotion, offering an exclusive mauve color. For the younger crowd who can’t get enough of Facebook, this could be a great phone — and especially for the price tag. Hit up the press release after the break.

via BGR

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HTC announced via Facebook that they will be unlocking the bootloader on the global HTC Sensation at first, and then the HTC Sensation 4G on T-mobile and HTC EVO 3D on Sprint shortly after. An update will go out in August to prepare the three devices for the unlocking, but another update will go out in September to unlock the bootloader completely. HTC says more phones will come soon after. Check out HTC’s, and its CEO’s, comments below:

We’re thrilled to announce today that software updates to support bootloader unlocking will begin rolling out in August for the global HTC Sensation, followed by the HTC Sensation 4G on T-Mobile USA and the HTC EVO 3D on Sprint. We’re in the testing phase for the unlocking capability now, and we expect it to be fully operational by early September for devices that have received the software updates. We’ll continue rolling out the unlocking capability over time to other devices as part of maintenance releases and new shipments.

Peter Chou, HTC CEO:
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In case you didn’t notice, tech headlines recently are all about patents. Be it the ongoing case of patent troll Lodsys which is now suing The New York Times Company and five other firms that previously sued Lodsys (bringing the number of defendants to 33) or Microsoft going after Samsung and signing Android patent protection pacts with five more vendors or the Apple led-consortium winning a crucial $4.5 billion bid for Nortel’s patent trove – you name it, the blogosphere is all over it.

HTC is now joining the craze with the news that they will snap up graphics vendor S3 Graphics from Via Technologies. The transaction valued at $300 million is about – you guessed right – patents. A total of 235 patents and pending applications will change hands once regulators approve the deal (VIA’s and HTC’s boards of directors already have). The patent agreement should help HTC protect themselves from future patent litigation from rivals. There’s also this:

On July 1, a U.S. International Trade Commission judge ruled that Apple infringed on some of the claims contained in two S3 Graphics patents. Judge E. James Gildea found that Apple infringed on U.S. Patent No. 6,658,146 directed to systems and methods for compressing images and U.S. Patent No. 6,683,978 directed to image data formats, both of which belong to S3 Graphics.

HTC has been trying to escape Apple’s lawsuits since March of last year, when Apple took the Taiwanese handset maker to court over an alleged breach of twenty patents pertaining to the iPhone hardware, software and user interface. With this acquisition, HTC may be out of trouble as both firms now have what the others want – intellectual property – even with HTC bringing a lot less to the negotiating table…

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Our European readers will be delighted to learn that HTC’s Evo 3D “will be broadly available in Europe from July”. We reviewed the handset on the Sprint network in the US and walked away pretty impressed with its glasses-free 3D display and 3D cameras which, however, compromise battery life, among other things. You may also like the big camera shutter button, a 4.3-inch display with a 540-by-960 pixel resolution and two five megapixel cameras with auto focus on the back for snapping 3D shots. The device is powered by a decent 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon chip and runs the latest Android 2.3 Gibgerbread release for smartphones. Full release below.

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This is my next reports HTC has changed its mind and will bring Android 2.3 Gingerbread to the Desire after all. HTC’s UK office posted on their Facebook page two hours ago:

Contrary to what we said earlier, we are going to bring Gingerbread to HTC Desire

Just a day ago, HTC argued via Facebook that the Desire wouldn’t be getting Gingerbread because they “can’t shovel Sense on it as well” due to constrained RAM. Interesting how they fixed that limitation just 24 hours later. HTC also announced last month it would unlock all of its phones’ bootloaders.

HTC London Meetup in April of 2011: You know, Apple fans aren’t the only ones lining up for product launches

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Before it got pulled, TechHog showed off a picture of what they said was a Nexus 3 device that was to be made by HTC.  HTC obviously was the maker of the original Nexus One and has a pretty strong relationship with Google, even if it pays Microsoft patent fees for every Android device it ships.

Interestingly, the device above doesn’t have any permanent front facing buttons, much like the Honeycomb tablets that are being produced right now.

It stands to reason that software-only buttons will make their way down to phones in the next version of Android, called Ice Cream Sandwich, which will combine the Honeycomb tablet versions of the Tablet OS and the Gingerbread phone versions.  Ice Cream sandwich is due later this year and Andy Rubin claimed that a Ice Cream Sandwich reference device was in the works before Christmas.

Is this it?

Techhog says the images were pulled at the request of an outside petitioner, though it isn’t clear who it is.  Google and HTC are obvious suspects.
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A report from Citi analyst Walter Pritchard made headlines this morning with claims that HTC agreed to paying five bucks per every Android handset sold. The basis for this is Microsoft’s patent settlement with the Taiwanese handset maker over intellectual property infringement, the analyst has found out. The fact that HTC makes Windows Phones obviously didn’t help dodge that patent hit.

Microsoft’s boss Steve Ballmer argued last October that Android wasn’t free just because it’s open-sourced. Some watchers are calling the Android platform a patent bomb waiting to explode. HTC is also being sued by Apple over alleged breach of iPhone patents and Oracle is suing Google over use of Java in Android. Pritchard warns other Android vendors can expect to pay royalties to Microsoft between $7.50 to $12.50 per device, which is troubling and here’s why.

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