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Just days after it unveiled a second gold One, HTC is releasing another variant of its Android flagship in an attempt to boost sales in the UK. Today, the company announced the availability of the HTC One Dual SIM, which you may already know as HTC One 802w. Just like it's Chinese counterpart, the device comes with a removable back for access to dual SIM slots and, more importantly, a microSD slot. That means you can switch between SIMs to receive calls and also fall back on up to 64GB of external storage, should you max-out the One's 32GB of internal storage. The dual-SIM functionality does come at a price, however, as the latest One variant does not support LTE -- otherwise the specs remain unchanged. If you can overlook that, the One Dual SIM is up for pre-order on HTC's official store for £495 ($809), with it likely to head to a "number of networks and retailers" in the near future.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC
Official HTC Store
As the leaves turn to gold and flutter from the trees, the Engadget team digs out their scarves and mittens to get ready for the mad rush of phone launches that take place ahead of the holiday season. We've seen big devices (both large and high-profile ones) enter the world over the last few months, including new heavyweights from Apple and Google. Then there's Samsung, Nokia and HTC, which are all following the philosophy that bigger is better.
But it's not just on the hardware side that things are getting exciting. T-Mobile's eliminated roaming charges and Verizon is doubling its LTE speeds to a whopping 80 Mbps. AT&T is offering customers a $5 daily pass for internet and is making mobile share plans the standard rather than the exception. Of course, if you'd prefer unlimited data, Sprint is promising that its Spark LTE will beat the field -- but it's currently only available in NYC, LA, Chicago, Tampa and Miami. Whether you're looking for a smartphone right now, or if you're contract is about to expire, this is your guide to the best ones on the market.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Samsung, HTC, Nokia, Google, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, LG, Blackberry, T-Mobile
It seems a limited edition 18 carat gold One just isn't enough for HTC. Today, the Taiwanese smartphone maker unveiled another golden variant of its Android flagship, swapping the soft and expensive exterior of its MOBO-themed One for a familiar aluminum chassis. We first saw the front half of HTC's latest variant in September, suggesting the company would make a fifth color available alongside its silver, black, blue and red designs. As for specs, there's no change internally, which means it's still powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 600 processor and features the same 4-megapixel UltraPixel sensor. The latest variant does come late to the game, with Apple's gold iPhone 5s enjoying huge demand and Samsung launching the Galaxy S 4 gold edition, albeit in limited markets. HTC says the device will be available across Europe with a number of partners -- when we hear more, we'll let you know.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Remember the allegation that Samsung cheats at benchmarks? Despite the manufacturer's semi-denials, there's growing evidence to suggest that not only Samsung, but also a number of other Android phone makers engage in some level of chicanery. Usually, it involves programming a device to temporarily ramp up its performance if it detects the launch of a benchmark test, regardless of the consequences for battery life or processor temperature. This results in a higher score on the artificial test, but one that is unrepresentative of what the device could actually achieve if it had to pace itself for a real-world task that lasted for a longer period of time -- such as a 20-minute bout of gaming.
So far, so bad. However, a startup called GameBench reckons there's another way. Its founders, who previously worked at chip companies like ARM and MediaTek, claim to have developed an "uncheatable" performance test that can be used to corroborate (or refute) the scores from traditional benchmarking apps, and which can help to rank Android phones and devices according to their true gaming capabilities. Although GameBench's app is still in beta and likely won't be released until the first quarter of next year, it has already collected scores for two devices, the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S 4. Ironically, as you're about to see, Samsung may actually have less to fear from this cheat-free test than some of its rivals.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, HTC
The HTC One has been a pleasant phone to own, ever since I upgraded from my iPhone. But I have to say that I’ve never considered adding on a pair of 3D-printed speakers that cost thousands of dollars. These speakers look interesting, but they’ll cost you quite a bit of cash.
The Gramohorn II speakers are designed to amplify the sound of your HTC phone. They were based on a commission by HTC UK from Justin Wolter. They are supposed to be able to boost the HTC’s included speakers’ volume by 50%.
Gramohorn II works with the HTC One family of phones, from the HTC One, the HTC One Mini and the HTC One Max, thanks to a changeable cradle. The plaster resin version will cost you approximately $1,610(USD) while the milled stainless steel version will fetch a whopping $8,030.
[via Ubergizmo]
Owners of the unlocked HTC One have already received the update to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, but now it's time for the smartphone's US carrier variants to get the goods. HTC USA took to Twitter today to announce that the 4.3 rollout is starting for Sprint customers now, with AT&T and T-Mobile set to get the update later in mid-October and Verizon by the end of the month. The latest version of Jelly Bean, for those who need a refresher, brings improved low-light camera performance, a battery charging percentage indicator and the usual bug fixes. Have an HTC One on Sprint? Let us know if you've received the latest software -- and what you think -- in the comments.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, HTC, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile
Via: Android Beat
Source: HTC USA (Twitter)