Posts in Handhelds
No new TouchFLO for HTC Touch with 64MB RAM
John Chan | Nov 19, 2008
HTC used a new version of its TouchFLO interface in the Touch 3G and offered it as a downloadable upgrade for those using the older Touch. In our earlier report, we contemplated if this could possibly be too taxing for the very first Touch handheld, which came with just 64MB of RAM.
That question was answered by a reader who alerted us that this upgrade is not meant for the 64MB version. Signing in to the HTC support page as a registered user of the first-generation Touch, there was no option to update the firmware to one that includes the new TouchFLO. We contacted the company and it confirmed that the update is meant only for the second-generation HTC Touch which comes with 128MB RAM.
Additionally, if a user is not happy with the new TouchFLO, it is possible to download and restore to an earlier version which makes use of the original interface. Head on over to the HTC Asia site to download the update if you are a second-generation HTC Touch user.
Thanks, Alvin
800MHz ASUS P565 is now official
John Chan | Nov 17, 2008
Our sister site, CNET Taiwan, first broke news of ASUS' upcoming 800MHz handheld a couple of months back and now the Taiwanese company has finally made it official. Not only does the P565 have the fastest processor we've seen on a handheld, it also comes with a VGA (480 x 640) display. As a phone, it has a UMTS radio with HSDPA connectivity up to 3.6Mbps and tri-band GSM. Other common features such as Wi-Fi and GPS are also found in this PDA-phone.
Like the P552w, the P565 will come with the manufacturer's own Glide interface. We found this customization reasonably useful in our review of the P552w but not as polished as HTC's TouchFLO. It will be interesting to see if ASUS has made any improvements to it in the upcoming device. We have contacted the company for availability and pricing information in Asia and are awaiting a reply.
Via Engadget
Report: G1 costs 10 percent less to make than iPhone
Matt Hickey | Nov 13, 2008
HTC G1
When it comes to the next-gen phone wars, two handsets immediately come to mind: Apple's iPhone and the G1 from HTC and T-Mobile, the first commercially available phone to run Google's Android OS.
The G1 retails to new customers for US$399, while the basic-model iPhone goes for for US$199. Despite those numbers, DowJones, CNN, and iSuppli have discovered, via a virtual teardown, that the G1 is actually 10 percent cheaper per unit to manufacture than Apple's offering, something smug iPhone users are sure to love.
It costs HTC US$144 to make a single G1, whereas the iPhone costs US$160 each. What's not explained is why the G1 sells for twice the cost of the popular iPhone. It could be the 3-megapixel camera or hardware keypad, but the general lack of internal memory (the G1 has 1GB removable, the iPhone has 16GB internal) counters that. Keep in mind that the costs mentioned previously don't factor in things like marketing and R&D.
While this information probably won't change anybody's buying decision, it's still interesting to see exactly how much of your purchase is subsidized by the carrier and how much is just pure profit.
Via CNET Crave
HTC announces first WiMAX handset
John Chan | Nov 13, 2008
Pictured is the new HTC Max 4G. It may look like the Touch HD, but there is a huge difference--instead of HSDPA, it comes with WiMAX instead. Also known as IEEE 802.16e, this wireless standard is touted to be a fourth-generation (4G) wireless technology. Because of its relative infancy (compared to 3.5G), it still has not been deployed in many countries.
Russia is one of the countries adopting the standard and that's where the HTC Max 4G is headed. Yota will be the operator selling it and it has the device's list of specifications up on its Web site. Aside from looking a bit more angular, another key difference from the Touch HD is that it doesn't appear to have a dedicated 3.5mm audio jack. Some of its other features include a 3.8-inch WVGA display, 8GB of built-in memory, GPS and runs Windows Mobile 6.1 OS.
Will it be coming to Asia? That really depends on your country's adoption of WiMAX. So for most of us, the answer is no, for now.
Click for more images
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Via ZDNet | Image credit: Yota
Missing Map Search TouchFLO tab?
John Chan | Nov 13, 2008
(Credit: HTC)
Update: According to HTC, the Map Search tab is based on Google Maps. HTC is not allowed to pre-install the search giant's free map application in this region, which is why the tab doesn't appear in the unit we reviewed.
We recently reviewed the HTC Touch 3G and found its new TouchFLO interface a joy to use because of the improved speed. Functionally, you can get to most of your phone features right from the Home screen including creating messages, changing basic settings and accessing your bookmarked browser shortcuts quickly.
Strangely, one tab was missing on our Touch 3G review unit--Map Search. We noticed this in a Flash intro of the handheld on the HTC Web site. The image you see above is a screen grab of the original animated header.
There's no mention of this new tab in the initial Touch 3G press release or in its official list of features. We suspect it's probably a text box where you can type in an address and the default GPS application will load to show you where that is on a map. If that's correct, it would be a useful tab to have. We have contacted HTC to check what the tab is supposed to do and why it's not in the final version, and will update this blogpost once we find out more.
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