HTC’s new Sense 7 Avatar Maker leaks out
A new leak from reliable source Upleaks has revealed HTC’s upcoming Avatar Maker software. Interestingly, this software isn’t said to be available until the Sense 7 UI is made official, which could be in a couple of months from now. Needless to say, this is a pretty massive leak and could give us an idea of what Sense 7 could have in store for customers.
As is the norm for any new version of Sense, it will break cover with the year’s HTC flagship. And since the Hima or the One M9 is the next HTC flagship, we might have a good three months of waiting to do before getting to see this in action.
HTC has always rolled out user friendly features like these in the past, but an avatar maker is in a completely different league altogether. We only have a couple of screenshots to look at, so not much can be ascertained from them. But the name itself is pretty self explanatory, so we don’t really need much details on what it brings to the table.
Source: Upleaks
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HTC’s Jeff Gordon promises the “best ever” product lineup for 2015, lots of surprises
With 2014 just behind us and CE just days away, it’s no small claim to say that the tech world is waiting for the event with eager eyes. HTC is no stranger to making headlines, and if Jeff Gordon, the company’s Senior Global Online Communication Manager has anything to say (which he does), the year-at-large might be something special.
In a series of Tweets today, Gordon minced no words in claiming that 2015 will see the best product line-up in the company’s history, using such phrases as “blow your mind” and promising “some huge surprises.” Take a look:
HTC's 2015 roadmap will be our best ever–with some huge surprises that will blow you away.
— Jeff Gordon (@urbanstrata) December 31, 2014
It’s important to note that Mr. Gordon didn’t confirm anything specific for CES 2015, though he did make reference to it by noting many companies make product announcements on the 5th, even though the show doesn’t actually open until the 6th.
There have been many rumors and purported leaks circulating around the Internet recently, including continuous mentioning of the HTC Hima, which is largely believed to be the follow-up to last year’s One M8, a device that not only turned heads, but actually made the jump over to Windows Phone as well, perhaps a first for the mobile market.
HTC is also stated to release a sequel to its RE handheld recording device, though it’s unknown if the 2015 variant will feature the same periscope-esque inspiration. In the tablet world, there has been talk of the Taiwanese company offering a non-Nexus “Nexus 9″, which could mean a similar speced piece of hardware with HTC’s signature premium build quality.
The most solid piece of evidence about something interesting coming from HTC next week is this teaser for an upcoming Desire phone.
As Gordon also reminded his followers that HTC is back in (the) black, this year will be a very important one to determine how long the balance sheet remains so. What kind of surprises would you like to see from HTC this year?
HTC promising stellar 2015, huge surprises to “blow you away”
HTC’s Senior Global Online Communications Manager, Jeff Gordon, took to Twitter today to make the claim that HTC is launching a roadmap for 2015 that will be their “best ever”. He further went on to say that there will be some huge surprises that will blow consumers away.
From what we know already about HTC’s 2015 plans, we are expecting its newest flagship successor to the HTC One (M8) to be unveiled sometime in the first quarter, but it will not likely be at CES 2015; however, HTC is almost certain to be unveiling a selfie smartphone in their Desire-line of devices during the electronics show, which may feature a 4MP UltraPixel camera.
Specs on the HTC One (M8) successor, code-named HTC Hima, haven’t fluctuated much in the rumor mill. As has been discussed since nearly the beginning, Hima will likely come with a Snapdragon 810 under the hood, 3GB of RAM and a 5-inch 1080p display. HTC’s Sense 7 will, no doubt, make its debut.
Source: Jeff Gordon, Twitter Link 1 & Link 2
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Android hardware profits estimated to have halved in 2014
2014 has certainly been an interesting year for Android, but hardware manufacturers have been having a tougher time over the past twelve months, especially when it comes to turning a profit.
According to analyst Chetan Sharma, global profits within the Android hardware market are estimated to have dropped by approximately 50 percent compared to 2013. Despite the continued growth in Android’s market share and record smartphone shipments, a worse than expected year for some of Android’s largest manufacturers and the growth in nibble low-cost competitors has eaten into manufacturing profit margins.
Samsung’s substantial market presence and poor financial year is one of the largest factors in this decline in averaged profitability. In Q3 2014, Samsung’s IT & Mobile Communications division saw a 74 percent decline in profitability compared with the previous year and has averaged a 35 percent quarterly decline in mobile profits this year.http://embed.chartblocks.com/1.0/?c=546b614dc9a61d340d999f8a&t=8d5a273b4d8afcfHTC and Sony are two other big smartphone brands that have seen profits squeezed lately. LG’s slightly lower cost hardware has seen its smartphone shipments improve, but profits are still hard to come by. The real winners this year have been low cost Chinese manufacturers, which have managed to substantially undercut the big brands with considerably cheaper, high-end hardware. Xiaomi has risen to become one of the global market’s largest players in a very short space of time due to its competitively priced hardware. This business model is proving profitable and has begun to spread to other Android manufacturers, but lower retail prices are resulting in smaller profits.
It is important for Google that the ecosystem stays healthy and balanced. Without profitability, some of these players will eventually disappear and it will primarily become a Samsung + Chinese OEMs ecosystem. – Chetan Sharma
Cheaper prices for the same hardware is clearly beneficial to consumers, at least in the short term, but Google will no doubt be keeping a close eye on the profitability of its essential partners. The risk is that the rise of cheaper Chinese OEMs will start hurting Google’s own profit margins, as these companies tend to ship their own customized versions of Android and often don’t include Google’s own services with their devices.
Others have a slightly less pessimistic view of this power shift in the Android ecosystem, seeing the rise of cheaper OEMs as a market efficiency. Samsung’s decline in profitability is no accident, other OEMs in the Android space may simply be doing a better job at providing the hardware consumers want at a price they are more willing to pay. Many have said that low cost manufacturers can’t sustain profits in the long term, but they are the fastest growing Android OEMs at the moment.
Android momentum in the broader startup ecosystem continues despite some of the near term profitability questions of the manufacturers, – Rich Wong, Accel Partners
The next twelve months will reveal whether or not this shift towards lower cost manufacturers will result in a changing of the guard, or if some of the traditional brands can rejuvenate their profits with superior products.
Deal: HTC is once again offering 50% off all accessories
A few weeks before Christmas, HTC released their weekly Hot Deal that gave 50% off all accessories on the company’s site. That deal is back, and only lasts until midnight tonight (December 30th), so you better act fast if you want to snag some savings.
The Hot Deal includes every accessory listed on the site. That includes all cases, chargers, car kits, external batteries, speakers, and even the HTC Fetch. While it’s not on the main accessory page, the deal also extends to Nexus 9 accessories, including the Magic Cover. All colors are available except for the Coral Amethyst variant, but that still leaves you with Mint Indigo, Indigo Black and Lime Stone options. Unfortunately, the Nexus 9 Keyboard Folio is out of stock, so you’ll still have to pay full price for it through Google Play.
The 50% off discount will apply to your order when you go to checkout, so don’t be alarmed at the high prices you see when browsing through the site. What’s more, HTC is also offering free shipping for U.S.A. residents, making this a tough deal to pass up. Additionally, the company is still offering 20% off select smartphones until January 2nd, so you may be able to save quite a bit more than you imagined.
Head to the link below to grab some new accessories. Is anyone planning on picking anything up? Let us know what you get!
HTC Hima appears in AnTuTu with Snapdragon 810, 3GB RAM, & 1080p display
Rumors are abound about the status of HTC’s next flagship, the HTC Hima, also known as the M9.
According to Digital Trends, Upleaks stated the Hima may arrive on the four major carriers in March 2015. It also claimed the announcement of the device would not occur at Mobile World Congress that same month. Potentially, HTC may hold its own independent event for the smartphone.
On the other hand, Nowhereelse.fr writer Steve Hemmerstoffer tweeted a leaked press release showing the HTC Hima would arrive instead at CES 2015 in January.
There is no confirmation yet on the authenticity of the rumors or the press release.
There is also a bit of speculation that the HTC Hima and M9 are actually separate devices. Between the two, the Hima would be the flagship with a slightly larger screen and marginally better specs.
Still, the device is likely to have at least a 5.0-inch 1080p display, 3GB of RAM, a Snapdragon 805 or 810 processor (the latter matching an AnTuTu benchmark supposedly of the device), and a 3,500mAh battery. Of course, BoomSound speakers and a uni-body, metal casing are expected.
Source: Digital Trends
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HTC teases a new Desire smartphone for CES 2015
HTC took to its official Weibo account earlier today to confirm it will definitely be making an appearance at CES in January together with ASUS, LG and Sony. According to the teaser image posted with the announcement, the Taiwanese company is set to unveil the latest handset in its Desire range of smartphones.
It’s unclear at present if the new Desire device will feature similar specifications to HTC’s long-rumored Hima flagship, but renowned leaker @Upleaks firmly believes that the handset, dubbed the A52, will be marketed as the company’s second-generation “selfie phone”, boasting a 13-megapixel front-facing camera on a 16GB model and a whopping 4-ultrapixel front shooter on a 32GB variant.
HTC will be holding its launch event between 5:00pm and 7:00pm on Monday, January 5.
We will be reporting live with news and first-hand experiences during the conference – so stay tuned to Talk Android for more coverage on what the Taiwanese company has in store for us.
Source: Weibo
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HTC teases a Desire smartphone for CES 2015
CES 2015 is shaping up to be an interesting event, with ASUS, LG, and Sony all teasing devices for a January unveiling. HTC is now also confirmed to be making an appearance at the show, where it will be launching the latest smartphone in its Desire range, according to a teaser poster listed on the company’s Weibo account.
HTC will be holding its launch event between 5:00pm and 7:00pm on the 5th of January (local US time), but the poster gives little else away. It is unclear if the new Desire smartphone will feature specifications rumored for HTC’s anticipated Hima flagship. @Upleaks speculates that the handset, nicknamed the HTC A52, will be marketed as a “selfie phone” and will come with a 13 megapixel front facing camera in a 16GB model and a 4 Ultrapixel front camera will be available with a 32GB of memory variant. This matches the camera specifications recently rumored regarding the Hima.
A dual SIM option is also rumored for selected regions, but availability could be strictly limited to the Asian market, as the Chinese teaser poster heavily implies. Then again, HTC may have something different planned altogether.
Be sure to tune in on the 5th, or early in the morning on the 6th in Europe, when we will be covering HTC’s CES announcement.
Fancy joining in on the speculation?
HTC offering 50% off accessories in latest Hot Deals promotion
Need to stock up on some accessories for your HTC smartphone or tablet? You’re in luck! HTC is offering 50% off accessories through its website today as part of its weekly Hot Deals promotion.
If you’re considering grabbing any of these you’ll want to act fast. The first two promotions went over like crazy and HTC was quick to sell through the allotted product. These, too, are limited to a set quantity but we don’t know how many are available. But, this is the real deal from HTC and not a third party knockoff.
Some of these would even make great stocking stuffers, regardless of which smartphone your friend or family member owns!
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HTC Desire Eye review: The selfie lover dream phone
There is no question that we live in a self-indulged generation that is in love with capturing pictures of themselves and sharing them online. We have seen a number of manufacturers try to capitalize on that trend this year, but HTC’s Desire Eye might be the best attempt. By offering a 13 megapixel front-facing camera with dual LED flash, it has to be a selfie lover’s dream. It’s not all about selfies however. Even the most narcissistic person has to do something else with their phone at some point right? In other words, is the Desire Eye good for only one thing or is it that perfect all around phone that selfie lovers have been craving?
Design
The Desire series is generally earmarked for low to mid-range devices, so you can’t expect flagship materials such as metal. However, even before HTC was using metal, they always had great quality with their plastics. The One X from 2012 was one of the finest devices at its time, and there was no metal on it. The Desire Eye reminds me a lot of that phone. It’s all plastic, but it fees very solid and far from cheap. I know that’s a cliche, but it’s true.
By adding a two tone look with the sides being red or blue, it adds a fashionable look to it. Ever since the One X, HTC has been making phones that cause people to say, “What phone is that?” The Desire Eye doesn’t scream Rolex like the One (M7) and One (M8) do, but it’s bold and has a classy look.
BoomSound also gets a change in that the speakers are finally lower profile and don’t take up as much space. The speakers are barely noticeable, sitting at the top and bottom of the display. Because of this, the lower bezel is much smaller than the One (M8), but unfortunately that didn’t translate into the top bezel, which is actually larger than the One (M8). I presume it has to do with the higher quality camera and LED dual flash.
Another nice touch is the dedicated shutter button for the camera. You can still use the on screen display, but the shutter button does give you the feeling you are using a real point and shoot.
My only complaint is the phone is a little slippery, which is a big pet peeve of mine. It’s not so overly slippery that I couldn’t live with it, but it’s noticeable. Also slightly different is the placement of the power button. They chose to place it on the side, as opposed to the top on their One (M7) and One (M8) flagships. Not a big deal, but it’s below the volume rocker, which generally isn’t the norm. I find myself tapping on the volume button a lot when trying to turn it on. However, you can always double knock the display to wake the phone, but I just can’t get into the habit of doing that.
Hardware
The Desire Eye features a 5.2-inch 1080p (1920 x 1080) IPS LCD display at 424 ppi, a 2.3 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, Adreno 330 GPU, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage, microSD slot for an extra 128 GB of additional storage, 13 MP BSI rear camera with aperture of f/2.0, 28 mm lens, and dual LED flash, 13 MP front-facing camera with aperture of f/2.2, 22 mm lens and dual LED flash, BoomSound stereo speakers, IPX7 certified (dust proof and water resistant up to 1 meter and 30 minutes), nano SIM, and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n dual band.
Radios
2G Network: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 – all versions
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 – Asia, HSDPA 850 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 – AT&T, HSDPA 850 / 900 / 2100 – EMEA, TD-SCDMA 1900 / 2100 – Asia
4G Network LTE 700 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600 (Bands 1, 3, 7, 8, 28), TD-LTE 1900 / 2300 / 2500 / 2600 (Bands 38, 39, 40, 41), LTE 700 / 850 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100, (Bands 2, 4, 5, 17, 29) – AT&T, LTE 800 / 900 / 1800 / 2600, (Bands 3, 7, 8, 20) – EMEA
Performance
It’s hard to believe that packing a Snapdragon 801 and 2 GB of RAM is considered mid-range these days, but the Desire Eye doesn’t feel mid-range. It’s pretty smooth out of the box and if the upcoming Lollipop update is everything it’s cracked up to be, this is more than enough phone for most people.
The display sports the same 1080p resolution as the One (M8), but it’s also a little bigger, 5.2-inches vs 5-inches. However, it doesn’t appear that it’s using the same Super LCD 3 display found on the One (M8). An obvious move to keep costs down. I found it to be adequate with decent colors and viewing angles.
As I mentioned earlier, the BoomSound speakers are barely noticeable. So much that I remember people at the launch event saying, “No BoomSound?” You may not realize they are there by looking at the device, but trust me, you will when you your start playing music or a video. In case you’re aren’t familiar with BoomSound, it’s HTC’s marketing term for their front-facing stereo speakers. HTC was ahead of the curve when they added them a couple of years ago, and we love this newer lower profile implementation. The sound is simply stunning.
Battery
Although a bigger phone, the Desire Eye’s battery is a little smaller than the One (M8)’s, 2400 mAh vs 2600 mAh. Powering a larger display could make a dramatic difference, but my results didn’t show that. In my video rundown test in which I loop continuous video while the display is set to 2/3′s brightness and the phone is connected to 4G LTE, I was able to get 10 hours and 54 minutes. The One (M8) yielded 11 hours and 40 minutes in the same exact test. So as you can see, it’s not that far off. Now you won’t be running video all the time, so how about a typical day? With moderate use, you should have no problem getting through the entire day without having to charge it. If you’re a heavy user, you might find it a little more difficult.
Software
The majority of the software is the same as what is on the One (M8) so I won’t go into too much detail. What you essentially have is Sense 6 on top of Android 4.4. Sense is probably my favorite version of the Android skins, but it’s still far from stock Android.
What is different is the Eye Experience software, which is now available on all One (M8) devices and coming to the One (M7). That means the Desire Eye doesn’t offer anything unique in terms of software when compared to the One (M8). If anything, it’s lacking in that it doesn’t offer Zoe, well at least the original version of Zoe that debuted on the One (M7). Zoe always referred to the ability to capture up to 20 burst images and video at the same time, but now Zoe just refers to Video Highlights, which takes all your pictures and videos and puts them together into a short movie. It’s just another example of HTC confusing consumers here. I’m not sure if the original Zoe will still exist in the future, but the Desire Eye cannot capture 20 images and a few seconds of video at the same time like the One (M7) and One (M8) can. Since the Eye has the same processor as the One (M8), it’s obviously more than capable of handling it, so I am thinking they might be dropping the feature since they didn’t include it here.
The Eye Experience does offer a few cool things like the ability to make a Photo Booth collage with your selfies, but unfortunately it’s not available to the rear camera. There’s also the ability to share your screen during Skype or Hangouts video calls. It even tracks your face. The rest of the Eye Experience seems more gimmicky than anything else. For example, you can now capture audio and video utilizing both the front and rear camera, but Samsung has been offering that for a couple of years now. The fact that the Desire Eye front-facer is 13 MP makes it a little better since both lenses can grab 1080p video, but still. Crop Me in is interesting in that you can grab a live image of yourself from the front camera and place it anywhere on the background that the rear camera is shooting. Basically, adding a nice background scene. For whatever reason, HTC hasn’t rolled this feature out yet so I couldn’t test it. If you can add it to existing photos, it makes sense. If not, why not just turn around and take a selfie? Face Fusion is the ability to “fuse” two faces together. I’m not sure why anyone would want to do that. Supposedly it will help couples figure out what their child will look like. Seriously? Leave that stuff to third party apps if people want them.
Camera
Now we get to heart of the Desire Eye. The camera, or shall I say cameras? It seems as through HTC has abandoned UltraPixel since it never proved to offer all that much of an improvement while sacrificing megapixels. The rear camera sports a 13 megapixel BSI sensor with a 28 mm lens and an aperture of f/2.0. The front facer also sports a 13 megapixel BSI sensor, but it gets a 22 mm lens along with an aperture of f/2.2. Both lenses are wide angle and can record at 1080p. Unfortunately HTC chose not to include optical image stabilization (OIS), which is a big red flag.
The actual camera software is just like the One (M8) in that it’s straightforward for the average user that just wants to point and shoot, but it also offers a tremendous amount of customization with the settings. You can also save these settings, making it easier to revert back to them at anytime. The only feature that the Desire Eye is lacking is the Zoe Camera feature, which I already mentioned in the software section.
As far as the quality of photos goes, the Desire Eye performs well in bright light and in action shots, but the lack of optical image stabilization shows in lower light situations. The results are actually quite similar to the DROID Turbo in that color representation on the photos is pretty good, but there is too much noise. The front facer suffers the same issues, but those who take selfies often will love the fact that they can be captured with higher resolution. It’s pretty remarkable when you think that the Desire Eye front-facing camera can capture more megapixels than the One (M8) rear camera. All in all, I think moving away from UltraPixel was the right decision, but not including optical image stabilization alienates those that regard camera quality high on their list. On one hand, HTC offers two very nice cameras with dual LED flash, but then strips it with an important feature in OIS. It doesn’t make sense to me, but I am not the manufacturer.
Here are some examples from both the front facer and rear facer in a variety of situations.
Selfie – Outdoors
Selfie – Low Light
Outdoors
Action
Low Light
Closing
The Desire Eye offers a really nice design and something you won’t find on other smartphones, a 13 MP front-facing camera with dual LED flash. The rest of the device offers nothing more than most other smartphones. If selfies are your thing, you probably won’t find a better phone, but I guess you have to ask yourself if you really need the pixels? I happened to take a family selfie on my vacation with the One (M8) that came out beautiful. I never wished it had more megapixels. Since selfies are more than likely going to be closeup shots, you generally don’t need the extra megapixels to crop. However, I will say that the Desire Eye has inspired my selfie creativity, which I am not sure is a good thing. Plus, it does offer dual LED flash for those that like to use it.
The bottom line is that the Desire Eye is a solid phone for $149. It’s obviously not the best phone on the market, but it’s not trying to be. Yes it caters to the selfie-centric crowd, but you don’t need to be in that crowd to enjoy the benefits.
Come comment on this article: HTC Desire Eye review: The selfie lover dream phone
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