TechWay » HTC

HTC announces ChaCha, Salsa “social” phones

Sina Hamedian — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 02:45:16 +0000

HTC showed off two new lower end Android phones at Mobile World Congress 2011, the ChaCha and Salsa, equipped with a dedicated Facebook button. According to Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, these are the first of several phones to be released this year that will have this feature. Zuckerberg also denied persistent rumors about a Facebook phone, presumably in lieu of these new devices. Pressing the button leads users to the Facebook mobile page or automatically posts content, depending on how the phone is being used (pressing it while surfing the internet might lead you to share a link, while pressing it after taking a picture uploads the picture to Facebook).

Both new phones run on Android 2.4 skinned with HTC Sense. The ChaCha comes with a full, QWERTY physical keyboard and a 2.6″ screen while the Salsa sports a 3.4″ capacitive touch screen. HTC also claims the phones were developed with cooperation from Facebook. In a press statement today HTC said the phones are “context-aware, gently pulsing with light whenever there is an opportunity to share content or updates through Facebook.”

Press shots of the HTC Salsa (left) and ChaCha (right).

“We have worked closely with HTC for several years on bringing Facebook to their devices and HTC ChaCha and HTC Salsa are the next stage. HTC has brought Facebook to these two new devices in an innovative way enabling people to connect and share easily whenever they want, wherever they are,” said Henri Moissinac, head of mobile business for Facebook.

While HTC did announce that phone would launch in 2Q 2011 (presumably to AT&T), there is no word of the price of either two phones.

The iPhone 4′s 2 year cost vs. other smartphones

Sina Hamedian — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:07:13 +0000

The iPhone 4 was launched today to eager, eager crowds. But how does Apple’s new smartphone compare against other phones that want a piece of the action? BillShrink has taken a look at the total cost and features from each of the current top phones of AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon.

And, as it turns out, the iPhone has the cheapest costs over a two year period.

Although Apple’s iPhone might be the cheapest under contract, it’s important to note that AT&T is the only provider in the chart above the restricts data. All the other providers have an option for unlimited data. AT&T provides 250MB for $19 and 2GB for $25. Want tethering? That’s an additional $20 per month.

[Source: BilShrink]

Wal-Mart selling HTC HD2 early

Sina Hamedian — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 20:10:37 +0000

Early adopters, get ready – Walmart has begun to sell the HTC HD2 on T-Mobile a couple days early. The phone is scheduled to officially launch in the United States on Wednesday for $199 with a two year contract. People not dismayed about Microsoft confirming that there will not be an Windows Phone 7 Serie s upgrade have already posted unboxing videos on YouTube detailing the phone in all its goodness.

Update: More videos! Check them out after break.

Source: JDMiPhoner

HTC HD2 will not get Windows Phone 7 upgrade

Sina Hamedian — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:12:54 +0000

Sad news for anyone who has a HTC HD2 smartphone or plans on picking one up soon: Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore has come right out and confirmed that the Windows Mobile phone will not be getting Windows Phone 7 Series because it is not complaint with hardware specifications required to run the OS. This puts the phone, which has not even yet been released in the US, in shaky grounds. Even more odd enough is that every Microsoft employee at MIX has one with them.

Official Chrome OS tablet concept revealed

Sina Hamedian — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:24:34 +0000

If the Chrome OS tablet had not been canceled, we might have been expecting this tablet, which is an official concept by Google. It seems innovative, and even though is just a web browser, it could jab a hole in iPad’s momentum from rumors after rumors before it’s launch.

The pictures have been posted on the official Chromium site, and even though Chromium is not part of Google, they were designed by Chrome’s UI designer. Also worthwhile to know: there will be more than one Chrome tablet since Chromium OS is open source. Video and gallery below.

Source: Chromium.org