HTC Releases Facebook Phone for U.S. Market

Star Chang, Apr 5, 2013 8:59 AM, 236 views, Got something to say ?,

[UPDATE: Specs of HTC First] Facebook unveiled a software suite which stakes out a “home” on Android smartphones as it steps up its challenge to Apple and Google in the booming mobile market. The new software weaves into the home screen to focus experiences on social network. Home will be available through Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC, which will launch its Facebook home-screen smartphone called HTC First, to be available through US carrier AT&T at a price of US$100. HTC chief Peter Chou said it is the only phone that has Facebook Home pre-loaded and optimized. Facebook is convinced that people will want a phone designed around people rather than apps. Some no doubt will. But previous attempts to produce “Facebook phones”, including the ChaCha from HTC, which allowed people to post photos directly to Facebook with the press of a physical button, have hardly been wildly successful …

Read More >>

You Can Get a New HTC One Knockoff With 8-megapixel Camera For Only US$160

Randy Cheung, Apr 4, 2013 8:57 PM, 2,408 views, 1 Comment »,

The new HTC One has just released last week in Taiwan and there is already a clone device selling in China. The knockoff phone is calling itself the “HDC One”, the body is made of plastic instead of aluminum, it provides an accurate copy of the original, forgone are the Qualcomm CPU, 1080p display and Ultrapixel camera. The counterfeiter has returned us the most common 8-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor. The “HDC One” (model name: Huaxin 9299A) comes with a quad-core 1.2GHz MediaTek processor, 1GB of RAM and 720 HD display (4.7-inch, IPS), system running Android 4.2.1. There is not much of battery power on board, a 1,600mAh cell is there to provide a decent usage time. It only supports 3G WCDMA 850/2100 MHz radio network, no 4G. The phone is now taking pre-order in “HDC” online store, priced at 988 yuan (US$158), it has already sold 3,700 units. More pictures after the jump …

Read More >>

HTC One Lands in Taiwan, Unboxing and Hands-on, Flaws Spotted

Randy Cheung, Mar 30, 2013 7:37 AM, 3,865 views, Got something to say ?,

Taiwanese smartphone vendor HTC yesterday launched its new flagship smartphone in its home ground market as the company adopts new marketing strategies to regain the share of the market it has lost to rivals. Taiwan is the first Asian country in which HTC launched the new model, the company plans to introduce the new smartphone to Europe, North America and most of Asia-Pacific (including Beijing) before the end of the April. The new phone will be the company’s only flagship product launched this year, as it aims to focus on quality rather than quantity in the fiercely competitive global smartphone market. Under a two-year contract, Taiwan users can own the phone at no cost by paying a minimum monthly subscription fee of between NT$2,199 and NT$2,540 (US$74-85) to local telecom carriers …

Read More >>

The Rise of Chinese OEM, BYD is Making HP Slate 7

Star Chang, Mar 23, 2013 1:00 PM, 460 views, 1 Comment »,

HP has chosen China’s BYD Electronic Company to be its original equipment manufacturer for producing its new Slate 7 tablet. BYD, the well-known Chinese manufacturer for automobiles and rechargeable batteries, is one of the Chinese supplier for Apple too. The aluminum back shell of first-gen iPad was made by BYD. The company also produces handset components including microelectronics, keypad, shell and module. In recent years, electronics manufacturers from Taiwan such as Hon Hai (Foxconn) and Quanta Computer have secured the majority of OEM orders for global tablet brands. HP move is a sign of leveling the playing field between Taiwan and China’s OEM manufacturers …

Read More >>

Major Chinese Smartphone Makers Face Production Difficulty Due to Components Shortage

Randy Cheung, Mar 21, 2013 6:08 AM, 502 views, 2 Comments »,

Chinese handset vendor Yulong, better known as Coolpad, is worried that the company will be unable to meet the heavy demand for its products because its suppliers will not be able to produce enough components. Coolpad may be a virtual unknown in the west, but in China here, it’s a major smartphone maker besting Apple’s iPhone and Nokia in 2012. The problem stems from the unexpectedly strong sales of smartphones in Chinese market. Many domestic phone makers have begun seeking a 5-inch hi-definition (1080p) screen for their phones, after Samsung’s Note2, which uses such a screen, became a hit worldwide. But screen makers could not expand their production lines overnight, which has resulted in the serious shortage. Other shortage includes 12-magepixel camera module and 16GB ROM chips. OPPO and Xiaomi, two of the rising Chinese smartphone makers, are also concerning the slow expand of component production couldn’t catch up the market demand. HTC, whose Butterfly phone exceeded Apple’s iPhone in sales in Japan in the first week after its debut, could not meet the demand too for its product because of the scarcity of components. Last week, HTC confirmed that its flagship One phone will be shipping late. Look like every manufactures are having the same difficulty in securing adequate phone components while competing with Apple and Samsung.

Photo Gallery Preview: the 6.1-inch Huawei Ascend Mate

Randy Cheung, Mar 18, 2013 3:54 AM, 628 views, 1 Comment »,

Huawei has unveiled the 6.1-inch Ascend Mate smartphone at this year CES. The phablet features a ginormous 6.1-inch 1280 x 720 touchscreen display, making it the largest smartphone in size on the market today. It is powered by Huawei own quad-core processor K3V2 @1.5Ghz, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of on-board storage and a whopping 4,050mAh battery. Other specification provide a 8-megapixel camera, 1MP front-facing camera, and a microSD card slot for storage expansion. Ascend Mate only supports WCDMA network, sorry folks, no 4G LTE yet. A 6.1-inch phone is pretty gigantic, Huawei just wants us to ditch our tablet in favour of the Ascend Mate, which in its eyes can double as both a slate and a phone, but not every consumers will prefer this philosophy. The Huawei Ascend Mate will make its debut in China this month, price at 3990 yuan (US$639, contract free, stand alone device). The price is not so attractive compared to Asus fonepad. It’s inconceivable to compare the Ascend Mate smartphone to a 7-inch tablet that includes telephony support. The line between smartphone and tablet continues to blur …

Read More >>

Acer Plans to Release Affordable ‘Phablet’ Device at Computex 2013

Star Chang, Mar 15, 2013 1:47 PM, 431 views, Got something to say ?,

Acer plans to unveil its first phone-tablet hybrid handset at this year Computex, hoping to gain traction in the fast-growing smartphone market. The “phablet” category, which is defined by Acer as a mobile device larger than 5 inches that still can be held with a single hand, has become very popular among female and elderly consumers. The new Acer phablet will have special features in terms of size, camera and software. The company’s CEO projected that the global phablet market will grow to about 10 million devices in 2013, up from between 7 million and 8 million devices last year. Pricing for the large-screen handsets will be critical to drive demand, since consumers ideally want to pay about US$299 for such devices, lower than the US$399 to US$499 for which the product currently sells. During 2011, Acer had released the Iconia Smart S300, a handset with 4.8 inch display, 1024 x 480 resolution and run Android 2.3. The screen has a uncommon scale ratio and it only gained limited market popularity. Now all top Chinese PC makers are tapping into phablet segment, we will see how Acer’s new phablet is going to compete with Asus PadFone Infinity and Lenovo K900.

Chinese Tech Site Disassembles the Samsung Galaxy S IV Before it Gets Official Release

Star Chang, Mar 14, 2013 4:32 PM, 6,157 views, 4 Comments »,

The Samsung Galaxy S IV will be announced soon. Thanks to the leak from some Chinese forum, we’ve got a pretty good idea of what to expect. And now before the real official release from the Korean electronic giant, some tech journalist from China just can’t wait for a few more hours, they have to rush for a disassembling of the new phone to see what sort of components build inside. So why some Chinese tech journalist could get an early hands-on and even allow to break down the device ? Thanks to China Unicom again. The Chinese telecoms operator has its own radio version ready in hands, the Galaxy S4 showing here is only supports 3G WCDMA network, no 4G LTE. Judging from the photo, we have a Full HD display, 8 core CPU, 2GB of RAM, 13-megapixel camera with dedicated imaging chip, light and distance motion sensor, lage capacity battery, etc … Look like the Galaxy S IV will be having a home run again !

Read More >>

Samsung Galaxy S4 Early Leak, Thanks to China Unicom

Star Chang, Mar 12, 2013 1:45 PM, 862 views, Got something to say ?,

A hands-on video of Samsung flagship Galaxy S4 has emerged on youtube, the leak is came from a Chinese forum known as 52Samsung.com. Judging from the footage, the phone looks absolutely huge, there’s metal-looking trim round the sides and a nondescript plastic back, which we think is very similar to Meizu MX2, a Chinese smartphone which is quite popular in China right now. We are seeing a WCDMA version from China Unicom, which is the second largest telecom operator in China. The device has two SIM-card slots, Samsung has also provided us a microSD card slot. The video shows the purported S4 running an up to date version of Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface, which it’s plopped on top of Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean. Overall, the S4’s design is truly Note-ish, it has transformed into a thick and big 5-inch phablet. And by the way, we really hate verticle video. Why ? See here. A few more pictures after the jump.

Read More >>

Samsung Beat Nokia to Seize the Top Spot in China’s Smartphone Market

Star Chang, Mar 11, 2013 11:55 PM, 412 views, 1 Comment »,

South Korean electronics giant Samsung took top spot in China’s smartphone market in 2012, after sales of its devices nearly tripled from 10.9 million in 2011 to 30.06 million last year. According to the data by market researcher Strategy Analytics, Samsung held 17.7 percent market share in 2012, which was a jump of 5.3 percent from the year before. This also marked the first time it topped the Chinese smartphone market since entering the market in 2009, thanks to global brand recognition and increased cooperation with Chinese carriers. Samsung’s rise in China was at the expense of rival phonemaker Nokia. The Finnish phonemaker, which was No. 1 in 2011 with 29.9 percent market share, plunged to 3.7 percent last year to take seventh place …

Read More >>