The iPhone gets HD radio.
(Credit: RadioShack)Staying competitive in an iPod-ruled marketplace is a challenge, and not just because of the player's built-in virtues (or Apple's massive marketing budget). The reigning king of the MP3 players has an advantage simply because it resides at the top of the heap, and that advantage comes in the form of feature-adding third-party accessories. Case in point: the Gigaware In-Line Remote with HD Radio, an $80 add-on for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
That's right, kids...that would be the iPod addressing a major selling point and advantage of the Zune HD. Please don't act surprised. You knew this day was coming. And yes, the Gigaware remote does allow display of track information on the iPod screen as well as song tagging, which let's you find songs easily for later purchase.
So let's recap: 32GB Zune HD costs $289; 32GB iPod Touch with HD radio addition costs $379. Not exactly apples to apples, but which one do you find more attractive? Does HD radio even matter? Discuss.
HTC Touch Diamond
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)On Monday, HTC, the manufacturer of many of today's popular smartphones, announced its acquisition of San Francisco-based design firm One & Company Design, Inc (One & Co). A design company? Weird, right? Actually, not really.
If you've followed HTC over the years, you may have noticed its smartphones taking on a new look recently. The company has gone from the traditional Pocket PC-phone form factor of the HTC Mogul and the smaller but still bulky HTC SMT5800 to the sleeker HTC Touch Diamond and sexier HTC Touch Pro, and this is in large part due to One & Co, whose client list includes Adidas, Sony, K2 Snowboards, Coca-Cola, Kodak, and the North Face. (One & Co will continue to serve its current clients in addition to the consultancy work for HTC.)
The two companies started working together in 2006 to develop the Touch Diamond, and have since collaborated on the HTC S740, Touch Pro, and Touch HD. Now, with the acquisition, One & Co's 17 employees will work with HTC's design teams in Taiwan and Seattle to create future devices, including the 2009 portfolio.
"One & Co is excited to bring our lifestyle, user focused approach to HTC and we look forward to creating iconic, compelling products together," said Scott Croyle, partner of One & Co. "Knowing about HTC's cutting edge technology and proven track record of innovation, we are excited to collaborate with HTC as a global lifestyle brand."
Was it wise of HTC to invest in a design firm? Well, it makes sense when you consider that a lot of smartphones these days offer a lot of the same features and functionality and in those cases, design becomes the differentiating factor. Plus, people want a cool-looking device with wow factor. I met with HTC and One & Co on Monday, and both parties said they are committed to developing smartphones to fit people's different lifestyles and are willing to take risks with design. Sounds dangerous, but we're looking forward to seeing what the team comes up with in the new year.
(Credit:
HTC)
We hate to be the bearer of bad news, and you may have already heard or received the official HTC tweet, but the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer has decided not to bring the HTC Touch HD to the United States.
The tweet reads:
"sad news, US. we looked into it- by the time we could bring Touch HD to the states, it would be old news. we do have other cool stuff coming."
Hoping that it was some kind of hoax or miscommunication (or maybe it was just denial), we double-checked with our HTC contact, who confirmed the story. I suppose there is some consolation that there's "other cool stuff coming," but it's hard to forget the Touch HD's spacious 3.8-inch, VGA touch screen. Better dish soon, HTC, because you've whet our appetite and we're hungry.
(Sources: WMExperts, Engadget Mobile)
Nokia E71
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)Q: I've been looking into getting the Nokia E71, but can't justify the price. Have you heard anything on it becoming available with a U.S. carrier. Also, a whole other box of worms, if you purchase an unlocked E71, are you mandated to a contract? --James via e-mail
A: James, you are not alone. I get quite a few number e-mails about the Nokia E71 and it's really no surprise why. It's a great smartphone that's loaded with features for the mobile professional, and it's packaged in a sleek little frame. Unfortunately, I haven't heard anything official from Nokia or any of the U.S.-based carriers but the rumor is that the E71 will make its way to AT&T. And frankly, this wouldn't surprise me. AT&T offered the E71's predecessor, the Nokia E61i, for a while so the rumor isn't completely off base. Again, all just speculation at this point though.
If you do buy it unlocked, you won't be tied down to a contract, which is the beauty of unlocked phones. The E71 is a quad-band handset, which means you'll be able to use with either AT&T or T-Mobile. Just be aware that the E71 only supports the 850/1900 HSDPA bands, which operates on AT&T's 3G network and not T-Mobile's.
Q: In your opinion, do you think the HTC Touch HD will be carried by Sprint if and if ever it comes to the U.S.? The reason I ask is because Sprint already has two HTC Touch phones. --Emilio via e-mail
A: THAT is a really good question, Emilio and to be honest, I have no idea. Usually, there's some sort of speculation about which U.S. provider might pick it up, but nothing so far. As it is, the Touch HD is a quad-band GSM phone, so by those specs, it could go to AT&T or T-Mobile if they so decided. However, the original HTC Touch was also released as a GSM handset overseas, and then was eventually picked up by two CDMA carriers here in the States, Sprint and Verizon Wireless.
You make a good point, though. Sprint already offers three HTC Touch models--the HTC Touch, (which is nearing the end of its life cycle), the HTC Touch Diamond, and upcoming HTC Touch Pro--so I'm not sure how eager they would be pick up another at this point, even though the Touch HD looks pretty darn cool. I could see Verizon Wireless possibly adding it to its lineup replace the Verizon Wireless XV6900.
HTC Touch HD
(Credit: HTC )The poor HTC Touch Diamond and HTC Touch Pro; the two smartphones just made their CTIA Fall 2008 debuts, and we've already moved onto the next big thing. But can you blame us? On Monday, HTC introduced its newest Touch model, the HTC Touch HD, and it's a stunner.
The Touch HD features a 3.8-inch (diagonal) VGA touch screen, which is the largest display on a smartphone that I can remember to date. Given the spacious screen, it's no surprise the company designed the Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone for heavy Web and multimedia usage, hoping to replicate what you might get on your desktop.
The quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) handset does offer HSDPA speeds for a faster browsing experience, but currently only works on the European 900/2100MHz bands. We imagine U.S. support will be added when and if brought to the States. The smartphone also comes equipped with a 3.5mm headphone jack and a 5-megapixel camera.
Like the other Touch series models, the Touch HD will feature the TouchFlo 3D interface and has integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, and GPS. There's 512MB of flash memory and 288MB of RAM with a microSD card slot for expansion capabilities. According HTC, the Touch HD will be available through major European carriers in Q4, while other markets should follow shortly. No word yet on pricing.
On Sale Now: $569.99 - $574.99
View the latest prices for HTC Touch HD (Unlocked)
- prev
- 1
- next
