Mobile Phones News Blog

Update: We have finally managed to get hold of a final production model of the One X, so check out the updated video and see the italicised text below for our thoughts after spending a bit more time with the HTC flagship.

Rumours of a quad-core handset from HTC have been circulating for some time, with numerous reports offering varying details of possible specs and design cues. Initially codenamed Edge and then Endeavour, the handset has finally received an official launch as the HTC One X at Mobile World Congress.

We were fortunate enough to be offered an exclusive preview of the flagship handset at HTC headquarters in Slough ahead of the MWC launch, and this meant we could get our hands on a prototype device and take a look to see if the hype surrounding it was  justified.

Key Features

• 1.5GHz quad-core processor
• 1GB of RAM
• 8 MP camera with ImageSense
• Beats Audio Technology
• Wireless HDMI
• 32GB of internal storage
• 25GB of free cloud storage via Dropbox
• 4.7-inch SuperLCD 720p HD touchscreen
• 1080p and 720p video recording
• Fill Wi-Fi and DLNA connectivity
• Wireless HDMI (via HTC Medialink HD)
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• microUSB port
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Accelerometer, proximity sensor and auto-brightness sensor

Initial impressions of the One X are definitely positive, and its glossy white plastic shell and slight curvature in the chassis offer a gentle evolution on the well known HTC unibody design. The 4.7-inch 720p display has excellent clarity and brightness and features curved edges slightly reminiscent of Nokia’s recent Lumia 800.

Extended use of the handset led to us being even more impressed with the screen and overall design than after our initial hands-on. The phone is stunning in the hand and the display is perfect in virtually all situations.

Aside from the aforementioned quad-core CPU, the handset contains 1GB of RAM with 32GB of onboard storage. Although there is no SD card slot for memory expansion, the One X does come with 25GB of free cloud storage from Dropbox, so space is not an issue here.

The operating system of choice is Android Ice Cream Sandwich and the ever intuitive HTC Sense has undergone an overhaul in order to maximise the capabilities of the Android platform. All the usual Google and HTC software is preloaded but thanks to the quad-core CPU, menu scrolling and handset navigation is an effortless, lag-free experience.

The One X really is lightning fast in everyday use. Despite attempts to slow down the processor through heavy multitasking, the device remained consistently responsive throughout.

Video recording is equally impressive on the handset and one very exciting innovation is the ability to shoot an image whilst recording HD video footage thanks to the on screen dual-capture buttons which sit directly next to each other within the camera app. It’s even possible to capture a frame from the footage whilst watching it back, so if you missed your ideal shot when filming you can go back and grab it later on.

The camera really is a highlight of the handset, with both still image capture and video recording being of the very best quality.

Beats Audio technology has been rolled out across all audio outputs on the HTC One X, which means that the sound enhancement technology can be engaged whether listening to music or even when watching movies or Youtube videos.

Connectivity is another strong point, particularly when looking at wireless options. Of course, the standard Wi-FI and Bluetooth 3.0 are present but also available are NFC3, DLNA and wireless HDMI which, when twinned the HTC Wireless HDMI Unit, means pushing your multimedia content to TV is just a three finger swipe away.

Our time with the HTC One X was extremely limited, but we came away feeling suitably impressed with the device and particularly excited by the capabilities of the on board camera. We will, of course, reserve final judgement until we can get hold of a final production model, following which you can expect a full in depth review.

After more time with the One X we were still totally convinced with its flagship device credentials. Aside from some minor gripes such as limited battery life and the not-quite seamless integration of ICS and HTC Sense, we can honestly say that the One X is undoubtedly one of the most impressive handsets currently available.

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According to a source speaking to N4BB.com, Research in Motion is on track for releasing its first BlackBerry 10 device this October, following an official announcement sometime in August. Previously thought to be released around September, this can be seen as a positive step for the troubled manufacturer.

As per previous rumours, the first phone will most likely be an all-touch device, and could be similar in design to the leaked BlackBerry London. It’ll be followed by a more traditional QWERTY BlackBerry 10 phone in early 2013.

The BlackBerry 10 operating system is an important release for RIM, as it needs to bring some sparkle back to the brand, and be marketable in the modern, cutthroat mobile industry. Initially known as BBX, the firm hit some legal problems over the name, and were forced to change it.

Several other phones said to run the operating system have been rumoured, but then reportedly cancelled in favour of the London. One of these phones, the Colt, could be presented as a BlackBerry 10 test mule to developers attending BlackBerry World next week.

We’re also hoping RIM will give us a preview of the operating system too, as aside from a few screenshots, we’ve yet to see it in operation. BlackBerry World will take place between 1-3 May in Orlando, Florida.

Samsung has formally announced the new quad-core Exynos family processor that will be used in its next Galaxy S III smartphone. Based on the ARM Cortex A9 architecture, Samsung has manufactured the quad-core Exynos processor using 32nm silicon fabrication process. Samsung is now ready to compete with Nvidia Tegra 3 mobile processor.

The next Galaxy smartphone will come with the new quad-core Exynos 4 Quad mobile processor clocked at 1.4 GHz clockspeed. Samsung claims that the new Exynos 4 Quad (quad-core) family processor enables twice the processor power at 20 per cent lower power consumption compared to the Exynos 4 Dual (Dual-core).

The new Galaxy S III smartphone will come with 1.4 GHz Exynos 4 Quad processor coupled with the quad-core Mali-400MP graphics chip. That means the smartphone or tablets will have twice the computing and graphics muscle than the previous generation Exynos processors based models. As of now the model number of this new quad-core mobile processor has not confirmed.

It would be interesting to see whether the Android 4.0.x Ice Cream Sandwich can unleash the true potential of the hardware.

Interesting part is that the recent AnTuTu Android Benchmark list mentioned Samsung Galaxy S III running dual-core 1.4 GHz Exynos 4212 mobile processor. Most likely this may be one of the prototype units Samsung must have worked on.

With the next Galaxy S III featuring quad-core Exynos 4 Quad chip, we can expect the next generation Galaxy tablets to feature the same processor. Most likely the Galaxy Note 10.1 which has been delayed might be launched with this new Exynos 4 Quad processor.

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We’re already well into 2012, so it’s about time we had a new rumour concerning the mythical Facebook Phone, a device which has apparently been ‘in development’ for some time judging by the numerous leaks over the last year.

This time it’s DigiTimes who’re talking about the device, and they say HTC is hard at work on a ‘customised smartphone’ that’s being developed with the help of Facebook. The phone will probably use a heavily altered version of Android, and contain all the major Facebook services and features.

Back in November last year, talk of a project known as Buffy leaked out, which tied HTC with a Facebook phone then too. So is this further proof that such a project exists and is being actively worked on? AllThingsD, who broke the Buffy story, certainly thinks so, and calls it Facebook’s ‘most serious effort to extend its desktop platform on mobile devices.’

Aside from the knowledge that the project is being worked on, there’s little to get excited about just yet, as we’ve no information on the hardware or software, and there’s little chance it’ll go on sale before the very end of 2012.

While such as device is important to Facebook, it’s also important for HTC, as the manufacturer has been struggling to find favour in the Android community recently, especially as Google has repeatedly chosen Samsung to produce its flagship Nexus phones. Making the official Facebook phone will see the company get plenty of attention, and should the software be as radical as we hope, could claw back some of that hardcore Android fan credibility it has lost.

Facebook is also expected to complete its IPO during May or June this year.

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Tethering looks set to be coming to Nokia’s Lumia range with the next Windows Phone update.

Microsoft is yet to officially announce a launch date for a new iteration of its smartphone OS, but Nokia Power User report that Windows Phone Tango has begun rolling out in a few countries already. The Nokia-themed blog suggests that, at the time of writing, the update has become available to users in China, Vietnam and Belgium.

The new software is said to enable internet tethering for several low-end devices in Nokia’s Lumia range. Users of the Lumia 710 and 800 will be able to utilise the feature to turn their handset into a Wi-Fi hotspot and  connect other devices to the internet via it.

Those who update their Nokia Windows Phone handset to the new software will also get extra features such as the Nokia News and Creative Studio apps.

Although tethering hasn’t previously been available on high-end Nokia Windows Phone devices, he feature is enabled on the Lumia 900 straight out of the box.

The Windows Phone Tango update is expected to be officially released in June, with reports suggesting that it has already been sent out to networks for testing.

Google’s cloud storage service, called as Drive, has been spotted on a mobile phone of an employee of Google. A video on YouTube showed the icon of Google Drive on the Galaxy Nexus smartphone of the employee.

From that, we can infer that the Google Drive won’t be a stand-alone closed app but would be integrated in every possible corner of the Android OS. For instance, users can directly upload files right from the Gallery, Videos and Documents folders to the Google Drive storage.

Google is expected to release the cloud storage next week or first week for May.

Google Drive is expected to arrive for Windows, Mac and also for mobile platforms in the form of an app for Android and iOS to start with.

Of course, the Android App will be released for the Google Drive that brings 5 GB worth free storage by default. Now we are anxious to see what the rival companies like Dropbox, Box, Apple iCloud, Microsoft SkyDrive and couple of others.

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Chinese manufacturer ZTE has announced that it is planning to release two large, touchscreen devices before the end of the year which it hopes will rival Samsung’s Galaxy Note.

Lv Qianhao, ZTE’s Head of Handset Strategy, told Reuters: “We want to come up with the next generation of a Galaxy Note-type product – a combination of handsets and tablets.”

The Shenzhen-based firm clearly has high ambitions too – it has reportedly set itself a target of selling 40 million handsets worldwide this year, up from 11 million in 2011.

Like its Shenzen neighbour Huawei, ZTE has made the move into consumer electronics after the market for the telecommunications infrastructure equipment it produced stagnated. ZTE has fared better than Huawei in terms of sales globally however and is ranked as the world’s number four handset producer.

With figures like that, you would be forgiven for thinking you’ve missed something and might well be wondering if ZTE somehow slipped under your radar. And you’d be right, to an extent.

Phones branded with the ZTE logo are not that familiar to UK customers due to the firm’s strategy here in Britain. Realising that brand recognition is hugely important in the consumer focused market and that the ZTE name doesn’t carry anywhere near the weight of the likes of Samsung, the Chinese firm has followed the strategy of tying its devices in with other brands which are more familiar with UK customers.

Remember the Orange San Francisco, released back in 2010? That was a ZTE handset, the Blade, an Android touchscreen device that was launched with Orange branding to make it more palatable to consumers who may have otherwise been put off by the unfamiliar name. The Blade was also tied-in internationally with other big brand names such as Red Bull (which saw the launch of a version sporting the energy drink’s branding) and has seen worldwide sales of over 8 million.

The same strategy was adopted when ZTE launched its Skate handset, which was released at the same time as the Orange Monte Carlo but featured adaptations to the user interface to suit the network’s branding and identity. Although the device was criticised for its poor build quality and low-power, 800MHz processor its large, 4.2-inch touchscreen was commended.

ZTE’s history clearly shows that it is capable of producing feature–rich handsets features but the company has, until now, been happy to accept that it is relatively unknown as a brand. There have clearly been changes in approach within the company and the Shenzhen firm has its eye on competing with the biggest players in the smartphone market, setting its stall out opposite Samsung.

Exactly what hat the upcoming, Galaxy Note-rivalling devices will offer is unknown at the moment, and all we know about them at present is that they’ll be in the shops before the year is out. With ZTE specifically naming the Note as the device that it wants to compete with wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect any new product to feature a touchscreen that was in the 5 to 7-inch range, sitting in the space between a phone and a tablet as the Note does.

This new form factor hasn’t been without its detractors however, with some commentators claiming that rather than combining the best of both world, these designs are actually good for neither and that making calls with them is especially impractical.

Whether or not ZTE’s efforts will go some way to changing opinion remains to be seen, although the introduction of more phone/tablet hybrids will hopefully, in ZTE’s case at least, engender familiarity and acceptance amongst consumers.

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Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chipset on which more than 150 devices currently available in the market, mostly Android smartphones is in short supply, Qualcomm has informed.

“Demand for S4 chipsets exceeds supply,” said Steve Mollenkopf, president and chief operating officer at Qualcomm, during a conference call to discuss the company’s financial results. More than 370 Snapdragon devices are available in the market, and more than 400 are being developed, of which 150 designs are based on the S4.

Recently launched HTC One X, Sony Xperia S, have already been launched in India, while there are more devices to be launched in next couple of month from Samsung, HTC, Motorola and Sony.

Though Apple also depends on Qualcomm for its chipset is not likely to be impacted, however Android phones which is more popular is likely to take a hit. This supply constraint might also impact the prices of the smartphones across the board (even non Snapdragon smartphone), though this might not be in terms of hike in price, but simply stabilisation of the price which generally follows a downhill trend.

Qualcomm expects supply to be constrained until the December quarter and to become normal by next year. “We’re making the investments needed to improve the supply.” said Paul Jacobs, Qualcomm CEO, on the conference call.

Due to the supply constraint some of the smartphone vendors have decided to use chipsets from Qualcomm’s rivals like the Nvidia, and Texas Instrument.

The chip shortage comes as demand for smartphones and tablets rises, and as the company pours more resources into pushing S4 into tablets and laptops for Windows 8. The company is developing a quad-core S4 chip for thin and light 4G LTE laptops based on Windows 8.

The S4 chips are made using the 28-nanometer process, which is the latest manufacturing technology for ARM chips. Previous Snapdragons were made using the 40-nm process, but the newer, 28-nm S4 chips are faster and more power-efficient.