Simon Dingle » HTC

New HTC models to hit SA on 12 April

Simon — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:38:10 +0000

New smartphones from HTC, including the Legend and Desire are schedule for launch in South Africa on 12 April 2010. These and a range of other new models from the Taiwanese manufacturer were announced at the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2010 in Barcelona in February.

The Desire is comparable to the Nexus One, which is manufactured by HTC and sold by Google. There are still no plans to launch the Nexus One in SA, but the Desire is a practically identical phone with the same 3.7″ AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera and, most importantly, Android 2.1 operating system that you’ll find on the Nexus One.

The only real difference between the two is that the Nexus One is a quad-band device that supports WCDMA and associated American network frequencies, while the Desire is a dual-band GSM (with HSDPA) handset. The Desire also beats the Nexus One for battery life, apparently.

The Legend is a smaller smartphone with a slower processor (600MHz compared to 1GHz on the Desire). It also runs Android 2.1 and HTC’s Sense user interface.

It is uncertain at this stage what the new HTC devices will cost in South Africa or which networks will carry them – but since Vodafone carries both the Desire and Legend in the UK I think it’s safe to say that Vodacom will have both available on contract.

HTC faces legal charges from rival Apple who has accused the former of patent-infringement. Analysts have predicted that HTC will have to place new products on the back-burner until the dispute is settled. The Desire and Legend are firm competitors for Apple’s iPhone, which continues to dominate the touchscreen smartphone market.

HTC Hero launches in SA

Simon — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 07:54:12 +0000

Distributor of HTC handsets in South Africa, Leaf International Communications has announced availability of the much-anticipated HTC Hero. The Android-powered ‘Google phone’ is the third of its kind from HTC, following the Dream and Magic models.

According to Leaf the phone will only be available to contract customers on the Vodacom network and via Altech Autopage Cellular, but it can be purchased at retail for an estimated price of R6700.

The Hero has all of the features one would expect from a modern smartphone including a 5 megapixel camera, 7 customisable home-screens, a 3.5mm audio jack, WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G HSPA.

The Android market is hotting up and it is expected that there will be over 20 devices running the operating system available before Christmas 09. The Hero is the most fully-featured Android phone to date.

Incoming Android

Simon — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:02:04 +0000

The first smartphone based on Google’s Android mobile operating system is being launched on September 23 2008, on the same day as the Apple iPhone media launch in South Africa. Available on the T-Mobile network internationally, the HTC Dream G1 should soon be available on local cellular networks.

The device is designed and marketed by Taiwanese company HTC. According to the HTC Dream website, the phone sports the following features:

Large touchscreen with haptic feedback.
Full QWERTY keypad.
Keypad that either slides or swivels for easy typing/texting.

Other features listed by HTC include HSDPA connectivity and a built in compass for use with Google Streetview. The device also has a 3.1 megapixel camera and was submitted for FCC testing in the USA for WiFi and Bluetooth. It does not appear to have a GPS chip however – but the compass approach combined with Google Maps is intriguing. Unfortunately Google Maps coverage of South African roads is currently very poor and this will initially limit the device’s use for navigation in the country.

The launch of the dream G1, which has been designed as a direct competitor to the Apple iPhone, has analysts buzzing around the mobile space.

“The G1 is the first device coming to market supporting Google’s operating system Android. Although this will give us a taste of what the platform will be able to do, we are expecting some limitations given this is the first device,” said Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner. “There will be more to come in 2009 when manufacturers such as Samsung and LG will deliver their devices. Android has the potential to become the de facto operating system for Linux and we expect sales to reach around 10 percent of the smartphone market in 2011.”

Stafford Masie, country manager for Google South Africa, says that Google’s intention is to drive smartphone adoption.

“What we’re trying to do with Android is bring iPhone-type functionality to the masses at prices they can afford,” he says, speaking on a recent episode of the ZA Tech Show podcast.

Android is an open source operating system for mobile devices and is based on Linux. It is developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance – a consortium of 34 hardware, software, and telecommunications companies working to advance open standards for mobile devices.

The smartphone arena has been screaming for openness in a market where walled platforms, such as the iPhone, rule the roost. It will be interesting to see where Android goes over the coming months, given the ease with which third party developers are able to provide applications for the platform. The HTC Dream G1 is the first of a series of Android devices from a number of vendors that are slated for launch over the coming months and reaffirms Google’s commitment and drive to mobile.

Look out for my article in the October issue of Net.Work where I explore the mobile space, and smartphones in particular.