Mobility Watch

Vodafone and HTC launched a new Android set named the Magic today

As many of you might already know, the first Google Android-based handset, dubbed G1, was launched on the market last year on T-Mobile. The device, which was supposed to go against Apple’s iPhone, has failed to do so, although it registered great success with the public. The smartphone market remains under the Apple and Research in Motion’s dominance.

“The HTC Magic embodies the compact style and sophistication for which HTC has come to be known, with the powerful and intuitive internet experience for which the Android platform was designed,” Peter Chou, president and CEO, HTC Corporation, adds. “We are proud of our partnership with Vodafone and excited about making the Android-powered HTC Magic available to Vodafone customers in Europe.”

The new Android handset includes a 3.2-megapixel camera, HSPA, WiFi connectivity, as well as a built-in GPS receiver, support for Google Mail, POP3, IMAP, and Google Talk for instant messaging. The HTC Dream (G1) is the only mobile phone running under the Google platform to have made it to the market until now, although other handset manufacturers like Nokia, LG and Samsung, have also announced plans to unveil such devices.

The new device will come exclusively to Vodafone in the UK, Spain, Germany and France (SFR) and will also be available on a non-exclusive basis in Italy. Those interested in the device will have to register their interest on their local Vodafone website starting from today. The handset will become available for purchase in spring.

How? Easy: T-Mobile’s G1 is being repurposed as the HTC Dream down under — one of the phone’s rumored names prior to its original release, you might recall — featuring 2100MHz HSDPA, WiFi, and everything else you’ve come to know and love / hate about the world’s first retail Android device. It’ll launch February 16 on plans starting at $59 Australian (about $38) per month, so it’ll be pretty accessible.

CNET Australia has this to say about the rumored release:

There will be four Optus plans. The cheapest option will be the “yes” $59 internet cap with $350 included calls and texts as well as 500MB data. There is an additional handset charge of $51 per month for a 12-month contract and $15 per month for a 24-month contract.

The next step up is the “yes” $79 internet cap with $550 included calls and unlimited texts as well as 700MB data. The handset fees for 12- and 24-month contracts are $49 and $13 per month respectively.

The $99 “timeless” plan only includes unlimited calls and texts. Users need to pay $14.95 per month for a mobile internet pack of 1.5GB. Handset fees for 12- and 24-month contracts come out at $45 and $9 per month respectively.

The most premium plan for the Android phone is the $129 “timeless” internet plan with unlimited calls and texts and 3GB mobile data included. The additional cost for the handset for 12- and 24-month contracts are $39 and $3 per month respectively.

Customers won’t be able to buy the phone from Optus and migrate it to other networks, unless they are willing to enter a contract to do so. “We won’t be selling the phone outright being first in the market,” Optus acting MD consumer Michael Smith told gathered journalists. The phone will, however, not be locked to Optus once obtained on the contract.

If any of my Australian readers knows any details, please feel free to share in the comments.

A new HTC Footprints app for integrating that location data with photos and notes.

For the HTC fans out there, there’s a new snazzy looking HTC Touch Cruise!

It has a bundle of goodies for even the most jaded out there. The Touch Cruise can be used as a GPS location device, Navagation system (complete with car cradle) and geotagging. HTC Footprints takes geotagging a step further, allowing to to take notes and audio clips and embed them in a “postcard” of sorts, all still tied to that GPS location data — the cards are even auto-named by their location. Footprints also works outdoors and indoors.

Key HTC Touch Cruise Specifications

Size: 102 x 53.5 x 14.5mm
Weight: 103 grams
Connectivity: WCDMA/HSPA: 900/2100MHz. HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
Operating system: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
Display: 2.8-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with QVGA resolution
Control panel: HTC TouchFLOâ„¢, 4-Way navigation wheel with Enter and HTC Footprintsâ„¢ buttons
Camera: 3.2 MP, with fixed focus
Internal memory: 512 MB flash ROM, 256 MB RAM
Expansion Slot: microSDâ„¢ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
Bluetooth: 2.0 with EDR
Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
GPS: GPS/A-GPS
Interface: HTC ExtUSB (mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
Battery: 1100 mAh
Talk time: GSM: up to 400 minutes
Standby time: GSM: up to two weeks
Chipset: Qualcomm® MSM7225™, 528 MHz

There’s a world-friendly WCDMA / HSPA 900 / 2100MHz version, of course, but us North Americans will be getting the 850 / 1900MHz flavor as a unlocked handset for $500 to $600 in Q2.

And so it seems like the newest (and much hyped) iPhone is going to take on a contender as early as now. There is a new mobile phone out in the market which is going to take on the battle for a larger market share. This new mobile phone comes as the new HTC mobile phone from Taiwan which also is a device carrying a touch screen.

The phone has already been launched in Australia and it seems like it is going to have an advantage in that market. After all, the iPhone just docked at the mentioned continent in this week.

Of course, the HTC mobile phone, dubbed as Touch, has received some unkind words from consumers. One of the most popular that they have heard is that the new HTC Touch is a copycat of the iPhone. However, the CEO for HTC did deny such an allegation.

Now this is one very interesting battle to look out for.

[Via The Sydney Morning Herald]
[Image from Guardian Unlimited]

In just a couple of days, the Apple iPhone is soon going to hit the market. However, the spotlight may not be forever directed on that mobile phone for there is a new unit which is going to compete with it.

The new phone is the HTC Touch and it was just launched a couple of days back. Like the iPhone, it comes with a touch screen. And looking at how the mobile phone was perceived, you can find some reviews online.

Gizmodo describes the phone saying that the gadget “can tell whether you’re using your stylus or your finger, and if you’re using your finger, you can activate a ‘three-dimensional interface’�. Also, Ryan Kim of the San Francisco Chronicle states that this phone is “more aimed at consumers who want more oomph from their phones.�

I wonder what Apple is thinking of right now with such a competition ready to make it big in the market.

[Via seattlepi.com]

Those brand-extending maniacs at Google have been plotting further inroads into mobile technology.  It’s not enough to optimize Google’s search engine and email services for existing phones.  They’ve been hatching a scheme to develop a branded Googlephone with integrated features like GPS that would not only tell you where you are, but also Google the neighborhood and let you know where to eat, buy gas, etc. in your vicinity.  While there’s nothing new about this kind of functionality, Google would love to have its name plastered on the devices just to take ownership of the whole concept.

A report out of London in the Guardian indicates there have been meetings with the French wireless provider Orange, and that handset maker HTC may get involved as well. 

 But just because there will might be a Googlephone in a couple of years doesn’t mean that Google won’t continue to offer its products and services via other handsets.  If Google wants to rival Microsoft in its ambitions to dominate the world, it can’t afford to leave anyone out. 

And although a Googlephone doesn’t seem to be aimed at competing with Apple’s upcoming music + wireless phone nicknamed iPhone, we shouldn’t be surprised if Apple’s project had something to do with inspiring the Google family to move in this direction. 

Google, Orange, iPhone, Googlephone, Apple

[via GigaOm]

Users of the T-Mobile MDA and its near-twin Cingular 8125 have had one complaint.  As large as the device is, somehow the manufacturer (HTC) couldn’t find room to fit an ordinary number keypad on the outside of the phone.  You have to use the touchscreen to enter phone numbers you want to call.  Not very handy.

The problem looks to be solved with HTC’s newest smartphone, nicknamed Vox.  They’ve shrunk the overall size of the device and its screen, put a decent keypad on the front, and kept the slideout QWERTY keyboard underneath.

It could also be one of the first Windows Mobile devices to use Microsoft’s latest version of the software, nicknamed “Crossbow”.  (No more nicknames in this post, I promise.)

Otherwise the new Vox tracks the feature set of its aforementioned predecessors:  GSM quadband, EDGE, Bluetooth, WiFi, microSD card slot.  Nothing about 3G data support - and no word which U.S. GSM carriers, if any, will pick this one up.  We understand HTC plans to roll it out in Q1 2007. 

HTC, Vox, MDA, T-Mobile, Cingular 8125

[via SlashPhone]