HTC to Reveal its 2012 Smartphone Line Up Ahead of Mobile World Congress
A few international tech media and blogs have received a “Save the Date” notice from HTC for an event happening on February 26, just one day ahead of the Mobile World Congress that starts on February 27 to March 1.
The Mobile World Congress is the world’s largest annual mobile industry exhibition and conference representing mobile operators, device manufacturers, technology providers, vendors and content owners from all over the world.
We’re definitely looking forward to see what HTC has in store for 2012. The company started strong in 2011 but seemed to have lost a lot of its strong momentum towards the second half of the year. It’s definitely about time for HTC to rekindle a lot of the excitement that consumers had for its products once again with a strong showing of wonderfully designed devices packed with innovation and features. That’s our hope at least.
What will HTC reveal come February 26? Information we’re getting currently are all rumours at best but the rumours certainly sound interesting with a quad-core Tegra 3 powered HTC superphone being mentioned amongst a refreshed line-up of Android and Windows Phone powered devices.
In any case, we’re pretty certain that more information of what HTC will reveal will start trickling in as we get closer to February 26. We’ll update you once we get more info. Stay tuned.
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UNOFFICIAL: ASUS Releases OTA Update for Transformer Prime. Fixes GPS Bugs
While we have not experienced it ourselves, many users have complained about the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime having GPS signal issues. Apparently ASUS has released an update that fixes this. Several XDA forumers have reported significantly improved GPS performance on their TF201 Transformer Prime with some users saying that they are able to lock on up to 10 satellites indoors!
There’s no official word from ASUS on this, so let us know if you’ve been asked to update the firmware in your Transformer Prime recently. The updated GPS software and build versions are 6.9.13 and IML74K.US_epad-9.4.2.11-20120117 respectively. See if your TF201 carry the same build and version numbers and let us know.
Good luck and thanks!
Samsung Releases Update for Galaxy Note. Makes One-Handed Operation Easy
Samsung is currently rolling out a firmware update of the Galaxy Note and it’s a considerable one as well making the hefty device easier to operate with one hand.
The OTA update brings changes to the lock screen, keyboard and dialer keypad to name a few enhancements. Unfortunately, this update does not include Android 4.0.
The lock screen gets a “swipe to unlock” message at the bottom. In addition, the distance you have to swipe to unlock the screen has also been reduced considerably to make is easier for you to unlock the device with one hand.
The keyboard has also been updated to include a new row of keys for numbers as well. You also get the option to customize your keyboard for one handed use and also the option to oriented the keyboard for left- or right-handed use. The dialer keypad also gets the same features making it easier for the Galaxy Note to be operated with one hand.
The update is available now and is being rolled out to all open market devices. That means Malaysian units should be getting the update right about now, no KIES required. The update is 70 MB so have your Galaxy Note connected to WiFi before you begin the update process.
Hands-On Video: Nokia Lumia 710 and Lumia 800
Almost a year after Nokia announced that it will align with Microsoft and use the software giant’s Windows Phone platform on its future mobile devices, we see the arrival of the Nokia Lumia 710 and Lumia 800 to Malaysia.
Still a few weeks away from the local launch, Nokia has invited us for a sneak preview of the device. While we finish up our review of the Lumia twins – as we would like to call them – take a look at our hands-on video giving you an overview both the Lumia 710 and Lumia 800.
Nokia is still tight-lipped on a launch date but have mentioned that it will happen after the Chinese New Year holidays. We have a hunch that the launch is going to happen within the first half of February. No word on operator tie-up but Nokia says it is possible.
Pricing for the two devices is a big secret as well at the moment but if Singapore’s pricing – where both devices are already on sale – can be used as an indication, we’re looking at the premium Lumia 800 to be priced around RM1,900 to RM1,700 and the Lumia 710 to be selling for below the RM1,000 mark. Of course these are our estimates at the moment, we’ll have to wait for a few weeks more to know how much the two devices will cost.
So what are our thoughts on Nokia’s first attempts at making Windows Phone devices? In one word – positive. We will go into more detail in our review but it appears that Nokia and Microsoft have the right mix to bring Nokia back as a desirable brand for the masses in Malaysia. At the same time Nokia’s hardware expertise combined with the fresh innovation of Windows Phone give the relatively unknown mobile OS a much needed awareness boost in the country. Definitely worth a look.
Bonus: In the video, we also talk about the possibility of the Nokia Lumia 900 coming to Malaysia as well.