The HTC-built DROID ERIS will go on sale tomorrow at Verizon stores for $99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and two-year contract agreement. Equipped with HTC’s “Sense” user interface, the ERIS “offers customers the opportunity to customize a seven-panel wide home screen with a wide variety of widgets designed to bring the most important information to the surface.” On sale tomorrow at Verizon’s retail stores and website.

Here’s the full press release:

Bring an Android Device Home for the Holidays with DROID ERIS by HTC, Exclusively from Verizon Wireless

DROID ERIS by HTC Debuts with Verizon Wireless with HTC Sense Experience and an Ultra-Attractive $99.99 Price

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and BELLEVUE, Wash., Nov. 5 /PRNewswire/ — Beginning Nov. 6, DROID ERIS(TM) by HTC will invade Verizon Wireless Communications Stores across the United States, bringing the power of the Android(TM) platform and the Verizon Wireless network together. DROID ERIS by HTC combines the popular Android platform with HTC Sense(TM), a user experience from HTC that makes it easy for customers to stay close to one another and create an individualized mobile experience tailored specifically to their needs.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091105/NY05661)

DROID ERIS by HTC offers customers the opportunity to customize a seven-panel wide home screen with a wide variety of widgets designed to bring the most important information to the surface. DROID ERIS by HTC also includes the innovative "Scenes" feature, which allows customers to create multiple home screens, each with different widgets and shortcuts, to transform DROID ERIS by HTC from a "work" phone to a "play" phone with just a touch of a finger.

DROID ERIS by HTC also organizes interactions by person, which makes it possible to access text messages, e-mails, phone calls and even Flickr streams and Facebook updates from a single contact card.

The unique HTC Sense experience found on DROID ERIS by HTC is supported by an array of the latest mobile features, including:

• 3.2 inch capacitive touch screen and trackball interface
• 5.0 megapixel auto focus camera
• Expandable memory with pre-installed 8 GB microSD(TM) card (up to 16 GB supported)
• Supports USB mass storage
• Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi and 3.5 mm headset connectivity
• Integrated GPS and a digital compass with a sensor that enables the phone to know what direction it is facing
• Smart dialer for simplified dialing by name, number or initials
• Full HTML browser with Flash Lite capabilities
• Seamless compatibility with Google(TM) services like Google Maps(TM), Gmail(TM), Google Search(TM) and more

DROID ERIS by HTC will be available in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.comon Friday, Nov. 6, for $99.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement on a voice plan with an e-mail feature or e-mail plan. Customers will receive the mail-in rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted.

For more information about Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

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Apparently, the Taiwanese mobile handset maker is about to launch a multi-million dollar advertising campaign over the next 6 months with the aim of becoming a household name in the United States. The company’s Executive Director of Marketing, Steven Seto, formerly head of Starbucks’ global brand strategy, tells mocoNews that the campaign is designed to put the HTC brand will be in front of 95 percent of adult cellphone owners in the U.S.

Since there’s a good chance that includes you, here’s an early look at the two commercials that have been put up on HTC’s YouTube channel:

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Here’s the lowdown.

So there you go. Total BS? Only time will tell.

[via Engadget]

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It comes as no surprise, then, that HTC has decided to update its company catchphrase from the old ‘ HTC Innovation’ to a new, better representation of its quick rise to the top: HTC Quietly Brilliant. That’s right folks. HTC. Quietly. Brilliant. Bam.

HTC has already put the new logo/phrase on its website (in green!) and has submitted a trademark application to the USPTO to make things legit.

[via WMPoweruser]

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What do you get when you mix HTC, Android, and Qualcomm’s powerful Snapdragon mobile processor together? No, it’s not the amazing (recycled from an old Snapdragon post) image above…but it’s close. According to the rumor mill, this mythical combination will yield…the HTC Dragon.

Based on the tip / leaked screenshots (below) over at DroidDog, all we know so far about this fantasy device is that it’s ‘model number’ is HTC Dragon. Supposedly, this work-in-progress could include a mighty 1Ghz Snapdragon processor, run Android 2.0 with HTC Sense, have a 480×800 capacitive touch screen display, and is expected to be a “GAME CHANGER” for HTC (and presumably Android as well).

Just imagine an incredibly thin device with a giant 4.3″ capacitive touch screen display (like the HD2) and all of the benefits of Android 2.0 and a powerful 1Ghz processor. Throw in solid battery life and multiple carrier options, and there is no question that the Dragon would be a force to reckon with. You got this, HTC. Bring the Dragon to life!

[via PhoneArena and Phandroid]

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We’ve seen a few different Android devices that seem to be VZW-bound over the last few weeks, but Verizon hasn’t said anything about the handsets or platform until now. The company has a webcast scheduled for later today but released a preemptive press release that outlines the basics.

Verizon and Google have formed a strategic partnership that will “leverage the Verizon Wireless network and the best of the Android open platform to deliver leading-edge mobile applications, services and devices.” Apparently the new dream team has plans that involve co-developing several Android-based devices that will come pre-loaded with innovative applications from not only Verizon, but also 3rd-party developers.

These devices are set to come from multiple manufacturers according to the press release, which is kind of in line with has been leaking out lately. First there is the slider Motorola Tao/Sholes, which is rumored to drop on December 1st. We’ve already seen a bunch of spy shots a even a leaked list of specs that seem to indicate that this might be a killer Android device. And then there is the HTC Desire that was recently approved by the FCC and Wi-Fi Alliance but Verizon hasn’t made either one of these phones official just yet.

We would love to see even one more Android handset launch within the coming months on Verizon. The Internet has long seem to agree that everyone loves the vast Verizon 3G network, but it doesn’t have any must-have devices like the iPhone, Palm Pre, or any Android phone and therefore is less desirable. Verizon seems set to change that real soon and we’ll likely find out more details later today at the webcast.

GROUNDBREAKING AGREEMENT BETWEEN VERIZON WIRELESS AND GOOGLE TO LEVERAGE HIGH-SPEED NETWORK AND OPEN ANDROID PLATFORM FOR WIRELESS INNOVATION

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Verizon Wireless and Google™ today announced a strategic partnership that will leverage the Verizon Wireless network and the best of the Android™ open platform to deliver leading-edge mobile applications, services and devices. Both companies view this agreement as an opportunity to offer consumers an array of products that combine the speed of the nation’s largest and most reliable 3G network with the flexibility of the Android mobile platform.

Integral to this agreement is a commitment by the companies to devote substantial resources to accelerate delivery of leading-edge innovation that will put unique applications in the hands of consumers quickly. The two industry leaders will create, market and distribute products and services, with Verizon Wireless also contributing the breadth of its nationwide distribution channels. Consumers will be able to purchase products resulting from the collaboration in Verizon Wireless retail and online stores.

Verizon Wireless and Google plan to co-develop several Android-based devices that will be pre-loaded with innovative applications from both parties as well as third-party developers. The family of Android phones on the Verizon Wireless network will come from leading handset manufacturers.

“The nation’s best wireless broadband network is a perfect complement to the innovation of Android-powered services and devices,” said Lowell McAdam, chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless. “Together, we’ll work to deliver a compelling new experience to our customers.”

“The Android platform allows Verizon Wireless customers to experience faster and easier access to the web from any location,” said Eric Schmidt, chairman and chief executive officer for Google. “Through this partnership, we hope to deliver greater innovation in the mobile space to consumers across the U.S.”

The agreement will come to fruition within the next few weeks as Verizon Wireless introduces Android-based handsets.

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Phandroid just found a mention on the Sprint Android Dev Network for the HTC Hero, everyone’s favorite Android phone. Don’t get that excited just yet. The phone won’t be officially on the network until late October and probably won’t be for sale until December.

Announcing the HTC Hero, which will be the first Android device running on the Sprint network.
By the end of September, the Sprint developer program will deploy an Android development section that will highlight some resources, value added services applicable to all android developers. FYI, you start developing now by downloading the Android 1.5 SDK
Register to attend our upcoming 2009 Open Developer Conference, where Sprint and our ecosystem partners including HTC will be talking Android:
- Technical overview sessions on Oct 26
- Android hands on coding labs the evening of Oct 26
Oh, BTW we have some BIG announcements coming by the end of the month that will be of great interest to all android developers…we promise it won’t disappoint.

The Conference will be held in late October which means we can expect the Hero to drop some time near the Holidays. It’s not quite an early Christmas present – it’s still on Sprint so GSM fiends will revolt – but it’s still nice to see the big boy racking up some nice smartphones.

This news has been percolating for a while and there is some belief that the CDMA version will be chinless, a blow to those who like chins.

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I do believe this is a first: not only has someone at Vietnamese mobile site Tinh Té managed to get their hands on an HTC Click before it’s even official, but it looks like they’ve had it for long enough to laser etch a bunch of crazy crap onto the back. Fortunately, they’re not just sitting around basking in the exclusive warmth of their unreleased phone – they were nice enough to give the Click a 5-minute video rundown.

As expected, it continues to look as if the HTC Click won’t do too much damage to your wallet. The LCD appears to be a good amount smaller than the 3.2″ screen found on the G1 and the myTouch. We’re not too sure about the rest of the specs, though; while the absence of HTC’s fairly resource intensive Sense UI leads us to believe it may be a bit lacking in the CPU/Memory department, the fact that it’s running the “Donut” build of Android (while rumors as of late indicate that the G1 is stuck at the previous build, “Cupcake”, due to memory limitations) plays with our head a bit.

Oh, and another first: Pretty sure this is the first time we’ve ever seen a hands-on video performed by someone with an extra thumb.

[Via SlashGear]

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Last time we saw the HTC Hero grace the labs of the FCC with its presence, it was swimming chin deep in GSM 850/1900Mhz territory – otherwise known as AT&T’s turf. Things got interesting when, just a few weeks later, a product page for a Sprint-branded HTC Hero popped up. Sprint and AT&T use two totally different radio technologies; where was this one’s FCC entry?

Just lagging behind a bit, it seems. EngadgetMobile just spotted the Hero floating around the labs for a second time, this time with mentions of CDMA plastered all over it. It’s absolutely undeniable now: be on the look out for a Sprint HTC Hero – and soon, we hope.

See the FCC entry here.

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We love the HTC Hero to pieces around these parts. Really. Even after spending a few days tearing it apart for our review, the only bad thing we could find to say about it was that the sporadic lag on the homescreen harshed our buzz.

Well, now HTC has gone and fixed that. Paul of MoDaCo managed to get his hands on a pre-release copy of an upcoming Hero ROM update, and sure enough: the lag is gone. Paul jumps from homescreen to homescreen, breezing around the interface like he was ice skating on frozen butter. We’re still not sure when this thing is coming to a stateside carrier (though signs point at October 11th on Sprint) – but when it does, expect the interface to be damn near perfection.

[Via SlashGear]

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I like my G1, but don’t think I wasn’t tempted by the Magic’s increased internal storage and sleeker form factor. I just love me some physical keyboard, okay? By the way — if you’re one of the million people with a myTouch/Magic, you might consider rooting it to get the most out of it.

[via Electronista]

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This means that only die-hard Windows Mobile fans will use the quality phone. No matter how good the hardware is on the Touch Pro 2, there isn’t any reason why someone should spend an extra $150 on it over the Android-power myTouch 3G. Hopefully Verizon doesn’t make the same mistake when the Touch Pro 2 launches in a few weeks on its network.

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What do we have here? The new hotness? mhmm. The HTC Touch Pro 2 is still a while away from being launched but somehow it was placed in front of a camera lens. Overall, it looks great with a clever eatching of the world on the backplate, a 3.5mm jack on the bottom, and a sleek design when it’s closed. Hopefully the keyboard works as well as it looks. According to the tipster, Verizon will probably have the phone sometime in early September.

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Huzzah! Verizon knows what’s up. The prices of its smartphones have been slashed, cut, and discounted down to iPhone 3G levels. Every single smartphone – expect for the new BlackBerry Tour and Samsung Saga – can be had for $99 or less on-contract. This means that the HTC Touch Diamond, HTC Touch Pro, and Samsung Omnia are now only $99 straight up. It’s like Verizon is talking right to those feed up with AT&T’s shenanigans.

There was one question that constantly popped up after Apple dropped the price of the iPhone 3G down to $99: Why would anyone buy a different phone? The answer of course has to do with the monthly service plan and that AT&T is notoriously a terrible wireless provider, but the question is sort of valid. The iPhone 3G is a heck of a phone for $99.

Before this price cut, the iPhone 3G ruled the $99 price point and it may still, but at least it now has competition. Both of the HTC smartphones from VZW are solid Winmo devices. The Samsung Omnia has a killer display and a 5.0MP camera. To be honest, the BlackBerry Storm isn’t half bad after the latest update. (I use one daily)

Hopefully the $99 price point isn’t just for these somewhat older phones and VZW introduces new smartphones at the same price.

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To recap it’s a WinMo 6.1 phon with WiFi, 3.6-inch touchscreen, and 3.2-megapixel camera. It will, as rumored, be available in mocha.

T-Mobile USA Debuts HTC Touch Pro2 in the U.S.
New Tilting Touchscreen Device Available to T-Mobile Customers in mid-August

Bellevue, Wash. — July 29, 2009 — T-Mobile USA, Inc., and HTC Corp. today announced the upcoming availability of the HTC Touch Pro2™, a powerful, stylish device with an intuitive touch screen and user interface that enables customers to simplify their communication and mobile Internet experience while staying connected, informed and in control of work and life. The device will be available in a mocha finish to T-Mobile customers beginning Aug. 12.

Enabled for T-Mobile’s expanding high-speed 3G network and Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g), the HTC Touch Pro2 offers fast data delivery and an enhanced Web-browsing experience along with popular features such as built-in GPS and location-based services. Featuring a 3.6-inch color WVGA touchscreen that slides back and tilts up to reveal a full-QWERTY keyboard, the screen is perfectly positioned for reading and creating e-mail, browsing the Web, using applications, and playing videos and games. A 3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus also provides customers with an easy way to capture and share high-quality images and video as well as view that content on the crisp display.

The HTC Touch Pro2 also offers an efficient way for customers to manage their daily lives, whether at work or play. A single contact view displays the individual conversation history regardless of whether voice, text or e-mail was used. The HTC Touch Pro2 also includes Straight Talk technology, an integrated e-mail, voice and speakerphone experience that provides a simple way to respond to e-mail via a call, allows organizing conference calls from group e-mail, and makes it easy to turn any location into a conference room. Straight Talk delivers a high-fidelity voice and sound experience enhanced by asymmetric speakers and advanced noise suppression with full-duplex acoustics.

HTC’s latest TouchFLO 3D interface is deeply integrated into a customized version of Windows Mobile 6.1 to deliver maximum consistency throughout Windows Mobile applications and menus. This makes it easy for customers to view, edit and update Microsoft documents, conveniently access calendars and manage to-do lists. Access to Microsoft Voice Command also simplifies locating contacts in the address book, making phone calls, getting calendar information, playing music and starting programs. The HTC Touch Pro2 is also stereo Bluetooth® capable.

“This summer, many people are balancing summer vacations and time away from the office with the pressures of the workplace,” said Travis Warren, director, product marketing, T-Mobile USA. “We are pleased to announce the HTC Touch Pro2, a uniquely designed device that will help customers manage their day-to-day activities, whether they are in the office or working from an airport, the local playground or the car.”

“The HTC Touch Pro2 offers the most powerful productivity experience available on a mobile phone, while also delivering unparalleled elegance in both its exterior and user interface design,” said Jason Mackenzie, vice president of HTC America. “HTC and T-Mobile have a history of introducing groundbreaking products, and this collaboration continues with the debut of this highly anticipated device to the U.S. market.”
The new HTC Touch Pro2 is expected to be available nationwide in mid-August at T-Mobile retail stores, select authorized dealers and online at http://www.T-Mobile.com.

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It’s been nine months since I first dabbled in the world of Android. It wasn’t a pretty picture then, but a lot has changed in those short nine months. The platform has grown and become more stable. The Market is filled with useful and enjoyable apps. Cupcake has had the biggest impact thus far but we eagerly await what Donut has to offer.

Changes to the OS have been well publicized and covered at length, but we’ve been stuck with one piece of hardware, the G1. Despite its many inadequacies, it’s managed to carry the platform until now. Enter the myTouch 3G with Google from T-Mobile. It’s a rapid departure from what we’ve grown accustomed to with the G1. It lacks a physical keyboard, but has a boost in RAM ROM and one key software enhancement that many have been longing for. It also falls in line with the rest of HTC’s gorgeous hardware lineup. Many will have to wait until August 5 to pick up the latest Android device, but we’ve had one for a little over 48 hours and we can’t put it down.

Let’s start with the operating system. Just like the G1, the myTouch runs a flavor of Cupcake (1.5), COC10, that doesn’t seem to differ from the CRC1 build that was pushed out over the weekend for the G1. HTC really rained on T-Mobile’s parade by introducing the Sense UI on the Hero because it makes the generic Android UI even uglier, but it’s much snappier than the Hero’s Sense UI.

Despite its lack of a physical QWERTY keyboard, the myTouch’s virtual QWERTY works just fine. Those with bear claws will need to resort to using the landscape keyboard because the 3.2-inch screen leaves very little room to comfortably type on the portrait keyboard. This happens to be the one area where I’m tempted to make a direct comparison to the iPhone. The 0.3-inch advantage makes a huge difference.

Enabling haptic feedback makes the experience marginally better but it’s still difficult to walk down the street and compose emails or text messages one handed in portrait mode. You’re forced to constantly look down and make sure you’re tapping out what you want.

The one software advantage the myTouch has over the G1 is Exchange support. G1 owners will not be receiving this update so keep this in mind if your company doesn’t issue BlackBerrys or Windows Mobile devices.

Battery life seems to be marginally better than the G1, but only by a hair. Alas, all 3G devices packed with Wi-Fi, GPS and a decent browser will suffer from horrendous battery life. The myTouch 3G is no different.

And for whatever reason, I still have issues with the GPS on HTC’s Android devices. Maybe it’s the area of Manhattan I live in, but I can never get a GPS lock when I’m indoors. Comparatively, the iPhone 3G and BlackBerry Curve 8900 have no trouble whatsoever in the same location. When I’m out and about, however, the myTouch locks on quickly. You might wonder why I care about getting a GPS lock indoors and you’re not alone. Doug thinks I’m crazy, but when you enter a building on 3rd Avenue, for example, that doesn’t mean you’ll be facing 3rd Avenue. It’s weird, I know, but I like to know where I am in the building. But the GPS works just fine the way it’s meant to work. I’m just being nitpicky.

Jumping from the G1 to the myTouch can be a little awkward for the first few hours. The button layout is obviously different since the myTouch sports seven physical buttons to the G1’s six. The buttons are tiny, but they’re spaced out accordingly so you won’t be hitting the wrong button. The trackball is much bigger and has a soft coating finish that makes it feel silky smooth.

HTC’s hardware has a come a long way — the myTouch is a sexy little device. It feels good in the hand with a polished plastic case. The chin isn’t as pronounced as it is on the G1 or Hero. Additionally, HTC rounded off the top of the device in an almost chin-like manner, making the bottom seem smaller as a result.

HTC isn’t known for producing great camera phones. You know it. Hell, they know it. I’ve heard them talk about it. So it should come as no surprise that the myTouch’s 3.2-megapixel autofocus camera is so-so. Without a physical camera button, you’ll want to make a shortcut on your home screen for the camera. Picture quality is decent enough to send to friends via MMS or upload to Facebook. Same deal with video.

Overall performance (when it comes to apps) on the myTouch is the same as it is on the G1. However, the myTouch fires up in about 52 seconds with the G1 following up around the one minute mark. Certain apps open quicker on the myTouch than the G1, but it goes both ways. There’s roughly 280MB of onboard storage and that’s nearly not enough if you’re downloading tons of apps. Unfortunately, the myTouch doesn’t play well with 16GB microSD cards. In fact, it completely chorks on them.

Conclusion

So, with all of that being said, should current G1 owners upgrade to the myTouch 3G? If you don’t mind a cramped virtual keyboard (portrait only, landscope is fine) and you’re in dire need of Exchange support, then go for it. If I was new to the whole T-Mobile/Android scene, I’d go with the myTouch. It’s smaller, sexier, and way better looking than the G1. You’ll miss the QWERTY keyboard at first, but you’ll adapt. It’s not as bad as you’d expect.

The T-Mobile myTouch 3G with Google will be available on August 5 for $200 at T-Mobile, Best Buy, Walmart, Costco and Sam’s Club.

If there’s something we missed that you would like to know about then please leave a comment and we’ll do our best to check it out for you.

Note: As we promised we would when we declared our dislike for non-3.5mm headset jacks back in May, we must point out that the myTouch uses the HTC extUSB port for audio. To use your own headphones, you’ll need an adaptor, and that just plain sucks. However – HTC has since told us that they’ll be going with 3.5mm jacks on as many future handsets as possible, so we’ll cut them some slack.

Update: It appears the myTouch doesn’t take kindly to rough petting of the trackball. When quickly scrolling through emails via trackball the myTouch likes to open up random emails and bring up “Labels”. What’s up with that?

[PSGallery=31gyq410i5e]

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Now that Android’s first growing pains are over, people can start stuffing it into less-than-stellar handsets and selling it to the unwashed masses.

The mystery HTC handset, supposedly called the HTC Click, will be an entry-level handset that will compete directly with featurephones and cheaper touchscreen units. Good, good, it builds the Android community, but you’ll have to excuse me for being a handset snob and avoiding these ugly things if possible.

[via Gizmodo]

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Here it is, folks. The T-Mobile myTouch 3G, the second Android device to hit US shores from HTC. John already reviewed the Hero, which is more or less the same device under the hood aside from the Sense UI. The only noticeable difference I can see on the myTouch 3G is the build of Cupcake it carries, COC10. Packaging is quite nice and comes with a set of earbuds, USB to 3.5mm adapter, carrying pouch, 4GB microSD card, screen protector and a fancy charger shaped exactly like the myTouch 3G. We’ll have a review in the next few days.

[PSGallery=2v2p6v9fac]

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This brings us to the HTC Hero, HTC’s first Android phone to use the company’s new Sense UI. In one sense the Hero is “just another Android phone”; in another sense, it’s an entirely new direction for HTC and the platform.

The Hero is a great phone. It is on par – and ultimately better – than the Palm Pre and, some would say, the iPhone on many points. It also turns those lumbering Windows Mobile and Symbian into something that you will fondly remember from your youth, a set of dinosaur technologies now extinct.

Furthermore, we can easily extend the metaphor above to say that the Hero is John Candy lacquering the deck while Apple and Palm are the rich, stuck-up yacht club members laughing at the upstart. I’m here to tell you that these yacht club members should ignore this upstart at their peril.

The Phone

The HTC Hero is quite slim. It is, except for the chin (which we’ll talk shortly) about as big as the iPhone. It’s slightly thicker and slightly shorter, but it’s just about the same size.

The model we tested was clad in soft touch rubber in black and brown. The white Hero is the only one covered in the smudgeproof Teflon. The 3.2-inch screen itself stays surprisingly clean under daily use thanks to an oleophobic screen. The phone is featureless except for six front buttons (Call, Home, Menu, Hang up in a line above the chin and Search and Back on the lower right side.) There is also a small glowing trackball on the front. There are small LEDs above the top speaker and there is a 5-megapixel camera – no flash – on the back. There is a full-sized headphone jack on top and Mini-USB on the bottom. Two unmarked buttons on the side control volume.

The phone also has the G1’s “chin.” This is a small protuberance under the screen that is bent out at a 30 degree angle. HTC explained that this was more a design choice than a functional choice. The chin defines HTC’s android line in the same way the home button defines the iPhone: it’s a deliberate grace note to a minimalist design. I don’t think this design gets in the way of portability or usability and you don’t notice it in your pocket.

On the whole the Hero is amazingly small and quite attractive. It is a well-designed phone with no rough edges, a la the Pre, and none of the iPhone fragility. You could feasibly drop this without much thought, something you’d want to rethink with the iPhone.

Call quality was fine in both handset and speaker phone mode. I have a T-Mobile SIM in the phone and I found the reception to be quite poor in general. This is a function of T-Mobile’s coverage in the area, however, so I can’t make an ultimate assessment on reception at this time. The phone runs on HSPA/WCDMA 900/2100MHz and supports Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE. 3G does not work in the US under T-Mobile or AT&T in this model. The device also supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi b/g.

The camera is about standard with 5-megapixel resolution and autofocus. I uploaded some photos straight to Facebook. The middle two photos are of the same scene, taken from about five feet from the subject. The first is zoomed all the way in and the second is zoomed out.

[PSGallery=2ux6hxcjoa]

Here is sample video:

The battery lasts about a day on one charge with everything, including Wi-Fi and GPS, turned on.

The OS

Android is messy. It is like a good Linux distribution – visually impressive some of the time and technically impressive all the time. But, like a good Linux distro, it is unfamiliar to the lay user and this could cause it to be considered an exotic. I believe that Android will, in the end, replace Windows Mobile and Symbian as the OS of choice for most smartphones. However, it is still a work in progress.

It’s been a little over nine months since I encountered the first Android device, the T-Mobile G1. If you weren’t around to read Peter Ha’s review then I’ll summarize it for you here: the G1 and Android sucked back then. With the passing of two seasons, we’ve found that it’s a much more robust and useful OS than we initially thought.

The Android Market is no match for Apple’s App Store, but it doesn’t need to be. In fact, it’s better than the App Store. You see, the majority of apps cluttering the App Store are full of entertainment value and nothing else. That’s fine if you’re into entertaining yourself, but if you take a look at the Android Market you’ll notice it’s much, much different.

There are many more apps than there really needs to be simply because the Market is open and free. While this makes for some dumb apps, it allows the really good apps to shine. As you browse through the Market you find odd apps everywhere: What’s this ToggleWifi app? Oh, it let’s me toggle Wi-Fi on/off without having to dig through the menu? Can the iPhone do that? Nope. Google Voice? It’s there and it’s free. Find My iPhone? Sure, Android has the same functionality. Thanks to Wheres My Droid I can send a quick text to it and it starts chirping. Need to fuss with Transmission, the bittorrent app, from the phone? You can do that with Transdroid.

I think you can see where I’m going with this. You might consider the Android Market homebrew, but what’s wrong with that? That’s the great thing about being an open platform. Android, on the whole, is a great platform.

The UI

Separating out the UI from the OS is difficult, but let me try to comment on the HTC’s homebrew Sense UI while trying to avoid all of the limitations placed upon it by Android.

On the whole the Sense UI is as impressive as the Palm Pre’s and, from a purely functional standpoint, better than the default interface for the iPhone. The Pre, for example, has pages, just like the Hero, but the pages in this case are actually “widget containers” that can hold multiple data points and controls on one page. For example, you can dedicate one of the seven pages to entertainment apps while other pages can be dedicated to email accounts.

The device also has Scenes, an important addition to the UI. Scenes are “themes” defined for set activities. For example, the Work theme has stock information and a world time clock while the Social scene has a prominent calendar and social networking features up front. This is a great feature and works around some of the widget and page limitations imposed by the OS.

The HTC widgets, which differ from the standard Android widgets in that they’re offered exclusively by HTC, are beautiful. The clocks, for example, are quite attractive. Watch lovers willy be happy to know that some are an homage to Bell & Ross’ aviator-style watches.

The Sense UI also adds social network awareness to your contacts. This means you can watch your friends in real time, picking up tweets, updates, and Flickr images without thinking about it. The Contacts app, for example, has an “Updates” tab that allows you to connect your contacts with their Facebook profile. It also keeps track of all the exchanges you had with that person, including text messages and emails. Finally, it shows that person’s current Flickr stream. This system isn’t foolproof but it works better than the Palm Pre’s.

The search system is quite nice inside apps but outside of any app it defaults to a Google Search. Not so good.

The notifications bar at the top of the screen slides down to show recent activities including emails, tweets, and alerts. It’s great to see all of these in one place and very useful. All of the settings are quite easy to control straight from pages including Wi-Fi on and off as well as Bluetooth controls.

To further extend the Summer Rental metaphor, Sense is WebOS built on a platform with an already vibrant developer community. While Palm was working on that blasted “ribbon” thing and drinking martinis, the scrappy kids at HTC were building a simple overlay that mimics everything that is good about the Palm Pre.

The browser, for example, expands on the standard Webkit installation by adding smart reformatting and zooming. Rather than making the page generally bigger the browser zooms in by making the font bigger and the images wrap quite nicely. Interestingly, Flash also works in this build. I was able to browse to the Flash welcome page and load the small bit of code there after a long wait. This is Flash, verily, but it isn’t quite fast enough yet.

The onscreen keyboard is also very usable, once you get the hang of it. The keyboard auto-completes most English words and to pick out special characters and numbers you hold down the alphabet keys until alternate keys appear. Most of the time there is only one alternate key – a colon, perhaps, or a plus sign – but for most letters you find almost all of the international symbols needed for casual correspondence.

Email set-up was simple – you just pick your provider or input POP/IMAP settings. It can support multiple accounts. It also supports Flickr, Facebook, and Google App content natively.

Google Maps works as expected. It can pinpoint your location and get you from point to point without fuss.

In general the Sense UI is a triumph. It’s that good. They’ve made Android amazingly usable and that’s quite exciting.

The Bad

Now for the bad news: the Hero widget engine is very slow. It runs a 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7200A chip with 256MB RAM compared to a 600MHz with 256MB RAM for the iPhone 3GS. There is no reason, then, that this device should be so slow to update the widgets. Sliding from page to page is fast enough, but once you’re there you’ll notice a definite lag. For example, when you slide to the email page, it’ll take about 5 seconds to see the latest email. Then when you go back to the default clock page you’ll notice the clock is stuck at a previous time – say ten minutes before – and updates a few seconds later. It’s frustrating to see this lag front and center on the device. Once you dig deeper, however, you find all the rest of the apps are more or less speedy enough. It’s only this one sticking point and could frustrate potential users.

The Bottom Line

At the end of Summer Rental the heros win against the evil yacht club people and everyone hugs it out. I don’t know if the way is as clear here, in this case, but I think the HTC Hero is the dawn of a new era of Android usability. Windows Mobile and Symbian should be shaking right now and Palm execs had better be planning a built-in vibrator/teleportation device combo in the next WebOS phone because anything they can do, it has been shown, HTC can do better. The iPhone is still #1 in my book but this is #2, supplanting my long-held love for the Sidekick LX.

The Hero is well-designed, usable, and powerful. The OS and UI combo is almost perfect and the future is bright for the phones running Sense. My official recommendation – if anyone is listening – is for HTC to abandon Windows Mobile development and to dedicate their team to Android development. They already pretty much own the space, with other manufacturers just hopping on the bandwagon now; with the proper resources allotted, they could lead the way for years to come.

I’ve always been on the fence about HTC. I thought their smartphones were derivative and, when not derivative, too “fancy” for their own good. Now, however, they’ve creating a perfectly balanced smartphone with some of the best software on the market.

As I recall, Summer Rental ends with Candy’s ragtag crew winning the race and sailing off into the sunset. It won’t be as easy for HTC to win this race but they’re definitely ahead of the pack. Other manufacturers are just hopping on to the Android bandwagon now; with the proper resources allotted, HTC could dominate this area for years to come. This proves Androids value in the mobile ecosystem.

This is a phone for the masses, yet it still has the power and geek chic of Android. To paraphrase Candy’s character in the movie, the Hero is fun for the whole family.

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The exploit uses the Bluetooth OBEX FTP service to crack into your filesystem and traverse directories, allowing your copy of BubbleBreaker fall into the wrong hands.

You can prevent this by buying a real smartphone and throwing your WinMo phone into the toilet.

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Personally I’m not that offended; the Hero was made to take advantage of the Sense UI, and I think you would get a sub-optimal experience on the G1 or Magic. Sure, I would have liked to give it a shot, but not so much that I’m going to take it to the streets.

It’s unclear which other, unreleased Android-running phones will be able and allowed to run Sense, but I wouldn’t hope too hard. You can always try to hack together a version for your phone, which will be easier once the Sense source gets leaked (very likely) but you’ll have to be patient.

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Sure, Verizon does have BlackBerrys on the cheap, but those are old models. The HTC Ozone brings the goods on a new model. Don’t worry about the Winmo interface as HTC has its quality skin loaded on top. This is also one of the only phones that Verizon sells that has Wi-Fi and doesn’t have its GPS locked onto VZ Navigrator, which makes it even more a steal.

The HTC Ozone will be online beginning June 29 and in-stores July 13.

HTC OZONE BRINGS VERIZON WIRELESS’ SMARTPHONE LINEUP TO NEW HEIGHTS

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and BELLEVUE, Wash. – Verizon Wireless and HTC today introduce the Verizon Wireless HTC Ozone™. This easy-to-use smartphone combines a simple design with a host of connectivity options that include the nation’s largest wireless 3G network, global roaming and Wi-Fi, making it a smart option and, at $49.99*, a great value for first-time smartphone users or savvy business professionals.

Available color: Black

Key features:
· Ergonomically-designed QWERTY keyboard for fast and easy typing
· Flexible connectivity options with Verizon Wireless’ 3G network, global roaming capabilities and support for Wi-Fi
· 1500 mAh battery delivers extended operating time
· Includes international charging adapters to stay powered up while abroad

Lifestyle features:
· VZ NavigatorSM – get audible turn-by-turn directions to more than 15 million points of interest and share the directions with others
· Visual Voice Mail – view, delete, reply, listen to and forward voice mail messages without having to listen to prior messages or voice instructions
· Mobile IM – connect with friends on AOL® Instant Messenger, Windows® Messenger and Yahoo!® Messenger
· Mobile Email – access to popular e-mail services such as Yahoo!®, Hotmail®, AOL® and Windows® Live Seamless Microsoft® Exchange synchronization with Microsoft® Office Mobile for maximum productivity
· Access to most frequently used features with a simplified “sliding panel” user interface
· One-touch messaging key for quick connection to friends and family

* Price and availability:
· The HTC Ozone will be $49.99 after a $70 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. Customers will receive the rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted.
· VZ Navigator is available for $9.99 monthly access, and Visual Voice Mail is available for $2.99 monthly access.
· Customers can purchase the HTC Ozone beginning June 29 online at www.verizonwireless.com, by calling 1-800-2 JOIN IN, or through business sales channels. It will be in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores on July 13. For additional information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Media can access high-resolution images of the HTC Ozone in the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.)

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s most reliable and largest wireless voice and data network, serving more than 86.6 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 86,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

About HTC
Founded in 1997, HTC Corporation (HTC) is a global leader in mobile phone innovation and design. Since its establishment, HTC has developed strong R&D capabilities, pioneered many new designs and product innovations and launched state-of-the-art mobile phones for mobile operators and distributors in Europe, the US, Asia and around the world. HTC is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile device market. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.

HTC Ozone from Verizon Wireless

The HTC Ozone™ from Verizon Wireless has everything customers need to take care of business – whether out of the office or out of the country. This easy-to-use smartphone offers the power of Windows Mobile® 6.1 Standard, access to the nation’s largest wireless 3G network, global roaming and Wi-Fi, making it a great option for first-time smartphone users and savvy business professionals alike.

Customers can purchase the HTC Ozone on June 29 online at www.verizonwireless.com, by calling 1-800-2 JOIN IN, and through business sales channels, or in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores on July 13. The HTC Ozone is available for $49.99 after a $70 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. Customers receive the rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted.

Features
· Supports Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard
· Supports Microsoft® Office Mobile that allows customers to view and edit Excel® and Word® documents; view PowerPoint® presentations; and create notes with OneNote® Mobile
· Supports Adobe® Reader® LE PDF viewer
· Browser: Internet Explorer Mobile
· Windows Media® Player Mobile
· Bluetooth® (version 2.0) capabilities include A2DP for stereo support
· 2.4” display: 320 x 240 pixels; QVGA resolution; 64K color support LCD
· Full-QWERTY with five-way navigation keypad
· 2.0 megapixel camera with auto-focus and video capture
· microSD™ memory slot with support of up to 16 GB (microSD card sold separately)
· Voice command, voice notes/recorder capabilities
· Speakerphone
· Security locking features
· Text, picture and video messaging
· Instant Messaging capabilities: AIM, WL Messenger, Yahoo!® Messenger
· ActiveSync®-capable (version 4.5) and Windows Mobile Device Center®

Connectivity
· CDMA 2000 1xRTT/1xEV-DO (Revision A) 800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
· Pre-installed SIM card
· Wi-Fi connectivity (802.11 b/g)

Verizon Wireless Services
· VZ NavigatorSM-capable – customers can get audible turn-by-turn directions to more than 15 million points of interest and share the directions with others
· Visual Voice Mail – delete, reply, listen to, and forward voice mail messages without having to listen to prior messages or voice instructions
· Mobile Broadband Connect-capable – allows customers to use their HTC Ozone as a modem to connect to Verizon Wireless’ high-speed network with a qualifying Nationwide plan
· Wireless Sync-capable – allows customers to send and receive personal or corporate e-mail, calendar, contacts and more

Specifications
· Dimensions: 4.5” (h) x 2.5” (w) x 0.5” (d)
· Weight: 3.7 ounces
· Memory:
o Flash: 256 MB
o RAM: 192 MB
· Standard battery usage times: 1500 mAh
o Usage: 290 minutes
o Standby: 324 hours
· SAR: Head: 1.03 W/Kg
· Hearing Aid Compatibility = M3/T3

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It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything about the upcoming T-Mobile Dash 3G and earlier today TmoNews posted a shot of the device that’s expected to launch on July 1.

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Upon launching the application, Express News brought me to the general headlines display, listing 10 major stories that I would find atop any popular news portal on the web. A ‘get more stories’ button at the bottom grabs 10 more stories, listing them in ascending order from time published. From here, I checked out the article on Toys R Us’s acquisition of FAO Shwartz. It brought the article page at lightening speed (granted, I was connected over Wi-Fi), the story’s imagery intact.

Each story also has a “Share this” button, allowing you to send the link to your compadres via SMS or E-mail. It lacks a “Tweet this” button, which seems quite odd in the midst of the current Twitter-frenzy. If nothing else, it’d be nice if it tied into any of the Android Twitter apps already available.

And, for the sake of folks like me who can’t see 10 feet in front of them: You can change the text size quite easily.

Not only is the readability great, but the navigation setup is brilliant – but it needs a tutorial for first time users. Instead of going back to the main page or any category choice, users can ‘flip’ through articles and topics with a swipe of the finger. It’s a great feature for those who enjoy skim-reading; stories load fast enough that if the headline doesn’t grab you, the picture might. When, however, you do want to change the category of articles, just dropping ‘Express news’ bar at the top will display available categories including politics, general, and U.S. headlines to name a few.

Alas, it’s not all perfect. Our biggest qualm is with the lack of content customization. Though they claim to source from 300 sources, we’d like to be able to use this client for our sources – that is, RSS feeds. As far as we can tell, you’re stuck with what they give you.

The popularity and positive feedback of this quality application is most likely caused by its business model: instead of charging users, Express news is ad-supported. The advertisement is pretty non-intrusive, only seen at the top of the article selection pages. Free is great, but they really ought to figure out how much the average use brings in from ad-clicks in a few months or a year, and offer an ad-less version. Finally, if we can’t have RSS, at least give us localization. It’s a good news application; add local, nation and international news, and it’d be nearly perfect.

For the final price of free, this application is great; If you’re interested in the world around you and aren’t too interested in bringing in your favorite sites, it’s worth checking out. Everyone likes news, everyone likes free things; this app offers quality and no cost to the users.

What we liked:

• Great functionality, with a design fit specifically for the Android platform
• Incredibly performance – As I was playing with this app for an hour or so, I didn’t encounter one performance related issue
• News-paper feel, with flipping of the pages
• Ability to share articles of SMS and E-mail
• We like free things, everyone does

What we didn’t like

• No premium application, you’re forced to look at ads
• Lack of RSS feeds, or at least localization – This is a big minus

[PSGallery=2begjxs20j]

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Please note that before you update manually (This will not ‘root’ your phone, don’t worry about that), that this method is not supported by T-Mobile. We’ve done this countless times as new updates have rolled in, and its worked flawlessly – but if your phone explodes, it’s not our fault.

So, follow these steps exactly and you’re going to have a nice, delicious cupcake too! (not a real cupcake, just a bad-ass update)

• Rename ’signed-kila-ota-xxxx.xxxx.zip’ to ‘update.zip’
• Transfer update.zip to the ROOT of your G1’s MicroSD card. (For some reason, I couldn’t transfer the file directly from my desktop to the phone, I had to manually take the chip out and transfer it that way. The issue was caused by an I/O discrepancy.)
• Make sure your phone is powered off completely
• Hold down the ‘Home’ and ‘Power’ buttons From here it will bring up the bootloader.
• Open your keyboard and press Alt+L to bring up the bootloader command terminal
• From here, press Alt+S to apply the patch and let that sucker install!
• When it’s finished you’ll net to press Home and Back to begin manual reboot (note- not the power-button)

If you see the chip, everything went kosher and the radio is being configured and updated.

So, there you have it, just be patient while it boots up, the first time around it takes anywhere from 2-4 minutes. And I noticed that it was EXTREMELY slow after it became operation, however it completely subsided after 2 minutes or so. After the fact the performance has been nothing short of outstanding. The entire process took about 20 minutes from start to finish, and I’m a proud owner of a newly updated Cupcake. Now, I’m off to make senseless movies about my cat with the new video camera app.

[Via Phandroid and XDA-Developers]

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