Monday, January 24, 2011

HTC Introduces New 4G Phones

At CES, I always make it a point to visit the HTC booth on my first day to see what they are up to because I have long considered this company to be the leader in smartphone innovation. I have several old HTC phones that were way ahead of their time. I can remember when they used to make nothing but unlocked phones when they were in search of a carrier. Now I imagine they can pick and choose whatever carrier they wish for HTC has more than proven itself to be on the cutting edge of handset quality and innovation.

HTC has already launched the first 4G phone in 2008 and the first Android 4G phone in 2010. At CES, HTC announced the introduction of 3 more 4G phones.

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The Thunderbolt with Verizon is will spearhead Verizon’s venture into the 4G market. It will have Skype connectivity so the users may connect through voice and video taking advantage of its large 4.3 inch screen and front and rear cameras. The Qualcomm chipset will allow seamless switching between 3G and 4G networks. Thunderbolt will also have built-in GPS, digital compass, G-sensor, proximity sensor, and light sensor. It features a pull out stand, which is a handy feature I appreciate.

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HTC has also partnered with AT&T to offer its Inspire 4G with the HSPA+ network. The phone will take advantage of THC’s Sense enabling users to find lost phones and wipe out data if necessary. It will have an 8 MPX camera with Dolby and SRA surround sound, active noise cancellation. The classy body design is machined from a single block of aluminum. This will also be an Android 2.2 phone. It will have a single 8 MPX autofocus camera with a dual LED flash. DLNA will be built-n for home networking. The screen size is 3.6 inches. The HTC Inspire 4G will be available in the first quarter of 2011.

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The new HTC Freesyle is built on a seek aluminum unibody with a 3.2 inch capacitive touchscreen and HTC onboard. It offers a FriendStream social network interface, FM radio, proximity sensor, and GPS. This phone runs on the Brew OS. I do not have any experience with the Brew system yet, so reserve comment other than to muse whether we need yet another operating system.

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The HTC EVO Shift 4G is another Android phone with HTC sense and a slideout QWERTY keyboard. Used as a modem, the phone will connect up to 8 other devices in a network. It has a 3.6 inch WVGA touch screen display with digital compass, g-sensor, proximity sensor, light sensor, and GPS. There is a 5 MPX camera with flash. It is sponsored by Sprint.

There are two other HTC 4G phones available. One is myTouch 4G running on Android 2.2 with a 5 MPX camera and a popout QWERTY keyboard. The other is the T-Mobile G2 Android phone with a front and rear camera for video chat.

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The first 4G phone on the market was the HTC EVO 4G, which is still available running on Android 2.2 with HTC Sense, HD video capture and a 8 MPX camera. It features a built in kickstand for hands free viewing.

Clearly, HTC leads the way in mobile phone technology and has more 4G phones than any other manufacturer, most of which are in the Android platform. If I were forced to pick a favorite with a gun to my head, I would quickly select the Thunderbolt with Verizon because of its rich set of features, not the least of which is the front and rear camera arrangement for video chats.

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