XML File Confirms HTC Mondrian and Mozart Running Windows Phone 7 OS

Conflipper, the man known for his ROMs has come across some interesting information regarding HTC phones and Windows Phone 7. He has come across links to HTC's official MMS specs page for both the HTC Mondrian and HTC Mozart, both confirmed to be running Windows Phone 7 by the browser ID which can be found listed as "Microsoft Internet Explorer Mobile 7." The HTC Mondrian's XML can be found here and the HTC Mozart's XML can be found here. The MMS info doesn't reveal too much, except that both devices will have WVGA screens and both are slates without keyboards. the XML also refers to supported Bluetooth profiles, A2DP, Object push, and of course various hands-free profiles. Unlike the iPhone, Windows Phone 7 is said to support A2DP and MMS at launch. Although Windows Mobile is the main aspect of these handset releases, there should be at least 6 handsets minimum released by the end of the year running Windows Phone 7, so stay tuned for more info by following us on Twitter and/or subscribing to our RSS feeds.

HTC "Gold" With Windows Phone 7 Rumored To Release In November

An online phone comparison site Omio, said they got the scoop on some key UK handsets that are set to debut in the second half of 2010. Supposedly the news is a fresh leak from an unspecified UK retiler, the roadmap contains info on phones such as the HTC Vision, being released next to the previously unheard of HTC Ace all arriving alongside the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 in October, while November will be the month HTC's first Windows Phone 7 device will be released together with the QWERTY-blessed Nokia E7 and Samsung i8700 Cetus.

Other informtion released included the Nokia E7 which is probably the QWERTY equipped Symbian^3 smartphone that we have been hearing of and that has been labeled the N9 or the N8-001/N8-002 by some. This phone has an aluminum body, like the N8 does, together with a tilting AMOLED touchscreen. Slotting into the Eseries line-up would have made far more sense given Nokia's move away from Symbian^3 in their Nseries devices.

As for the Windows Phone 7 HTC phone, the device is tipped off to be the HTC gold. Although there are no details as to specs at this point many people are excited. The HTC Vision is the phone whose info was leaked earlier this week and nobody seems to know what the HTC Ace is. Finally, Samsung's i8700 Cetus is similarly mysterious but te name suggests that it runs the company's wave-themed bada OS.

Omio says they are 100 percent sure of the source and time will definitely help confirm that pretty soon. It is already July as of right now so the first of the handsets should already be on route to be released soon. More information can be found including the Nokia E5-00, Nokia X6 8GB, Samsung i5500, Sony Ericsson W20, BlackBerry Curve 9300, Nokia X2, Sony Ericsson Hazel and Yendo, and the Nokia N8 at Omio's blog. Are you excited about any of the new phones that are said to be coming out?

Share your thoughts an comments below. As usual stay tuned for more info by following us on Twitter and/or subscribing to our RSS feeds.

Flash Expected On 250,000 Smartphones By End of 2012

While in the middle of fixing a large security deficit on its desktop software, Adobe has been talking about its future in the mobile industry. According to Adobe, Flash Player will be featured in a quarter billion handsets by the end fo 2012, including 53 percent of all the smartphones shipped that year. Those are pretty confident words for a company that has yet to ship Flash Player 10.1 in even one of the many new handsets out in the market at the moment, but we are reminded that Android 2.2's leading position will be quickly followed by BlackBerry OS, Symbian, webOS, and Windows Phone 7 supporting the full Flash experience. Whether all the platforms wil allow the company to obtain enough momentum to produce an install base of 250 million, we aren't sure. What we do know is that many users and developers want Flash and have been trying to get it in multiple ways, such as Smokescreen and Flash In A Pinch. Lets see how things pan out in the future and whether or not Adobe lives up to its expected quota.

Microsoft Kin Phones Will Eventually Get Apps

Microsoft had told us that the Kin and Windows Phone 7 platforms would grow closer and under the pressure for the Kin’s lack of features, they have said it again. Microsoft’s phone strategy is weird. Before the Kin shipped, Microsoft’s Aaron Woodman hinted to us about Kin and Windows Phone 7’s intertwining futures:

He wouldn't confirm anything, but did say that a few years from now, we shouldn't be surprised to see a point where the two platforms are more interrelated. That may sound like a typical Microsoft "mañana, mañana" promise, but given the rate at which Microsoft cooked up both Windows Phone 7 and Kin, adjustments to either roadmap probably wouldn't be that difficult.

It all sounded vague and less like a promise about the next generation of products than a hope for the generation after that. Today, in an interview with ComputerWorld, after the Kin was pummeled for its lack of apps, maps, and Xbox integration despite its highly monthly price- Microsoft gets more specific:

Over the longer term, we'll be merging [Kin and Windows Phone 7] platforms and having downloadable apps.

So, the Kin will be getting apps, but it still sounds like the Kin that you can buy now may never have apps. He seems to be talking about the “merged” Kin, or next-generation Kin, or a Kin that depends on a software update that is years down the road.

Microsoft and Verizon go on to defend the Kin’s smartphone data pricing, stating that the online Studio feature will prove its worth to the consumers , but this bizarre messaging combined with scathing early reviews is going to start to make people wonder whether the Kin was a mistake.

Dell’s Flash, Lightning, Smoke, and Thunder SmartPhones Leaked

Dell might not currently be putting its best efforts when it comes to smartphones, but it looks like that is all about to change with its plans for Windows Phone 7 and Android. Engadget was sent some slides of Dell's Lightning, Flash, Smoke and Thunder phones, which are being worked on currently for a future release. Lightning is a phone which plans to run Windows Phone 7, has a vertical QWERTY slider with a 4.1WVGA AMOLED display, a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, 802.11b/g/n, 8GB microSD card, 1GB ROM / 512MB RAM and 1GHz processor. The Lightning will be able to run on both AT&T and T-Mobile's 3G networks with download speeds of upto 7.2 MBps, although you're going to have to choose one or the other. Thunder is equipped with Android 2.1 Eclair and Dell's social media friendly Stage� UI overlay. The specs are similar to that of the Lightning except it also has a full-QWERTY keyboard and an 8-megapixel camera instead of 5. It's also said to have Flash 10.1 support and a Hulu app, making it seem like the competition winner amongst several smartphones. Dell's Flash is said to feature Android 2.2 Froyo� with a Sage UI, and is positioned as a mid-range smartphone. It has a 3.5 WVGA touchscreen display, a feature packed 5 megapixel camera, support for microSD cards up to 64GB, WiFi, TV-out, Bluetooth 3.0, 512MB ROM / RAM, AT&T friendly tri-band HSPA that peaks at 14.4MBps down all powered by an 800MHz processor. Finally, there's Dell's Smoke, which is another Froyo device and the most affordable of the bunch, which has a 2.8� QVGA display, QWERTY keypad, 800MHz processor, 5 megapixel camera, WiFI, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, 14.4MBps HSDPA and sports dual microphones. You can see all the pics here.

Windows Phone 7 Update Strategy And Specs Leaked

Although much of Microsoft’s strategy for Windows Phone 7 was discussed at MIX last month, the company left a handful of key details hazy – portions of the hardware specifications and software update strategy were included amongst those. Much of this seems to be revealed due to a leaked “architecture guide” slide deck where we see that retail devices will be required to feature cameras (that could be a problem for corporate environments), FM radio tuners, compasses, and proximity sensors, among other obvious features like a capacitive touchscreen display. Of course, these are all requirements for the initial volley of launch devices at the end of 2010, it’s probably reasonable to assume that future iterations will be tweaked.

Moving on to software, the deck confirms that a Windows Live ID will be required to set up the handset, much like the same way that Android strongly encourages the use of a Google account. Application purchases will also be tied to this ID. The update mechanism, which has all but failed Microsoft in Windows Mobile thus far, looks to be well controlled this time around. For example, the Kin will release small updates over the air, while larger updates will require tethering and management through the Zune software on the PC. Microsoft will manage the process, not the manufacturer or carrier, though device or carrier specific customizations can be pushed through the same mechanism. Speaking of OEM customizations, the deck emphasizes just how tightly Redmond will be controlling them, IE’s default search engine can be changed, but everything else on the phone will go through Bing, for example. OEMs can add no more than six (or 60MB) worth of custom apps, and while custom home screen tiles can be added, none of the standard Microsoft ones can be changed or removed. It’s pretty old-fashioned, but considering how desperately these guys are in need of a fresh, different mobile strategy, it’s probably a good thing.

Microsoft’s Kin One and Two Announced: Social Media Friendly Phones

Earlier today, Microsoft Pink, the product of Redmond’s acquisition of Danger, has just unveiled as a pair of handsets sourced from Sharp (which made most of Danger’s Sidekicks) known as the Kin One and Kin Two. Both devices are being marketed as Windows Phones, and while they’re ultimately based on most of the same underpinnings as Windows Phone 7, it’s a completely different experience since the entire user interface is custom to Kin with a heavy social media slant, a custom browser (supposedly based on the Zune browser), and surprisingly no support for third-party apps. The displays do have multitouch (pinching and zooming) but there’s no support for in-browser Flash or Silverlight.

The Kin One is a phone rumored as “Turtle”, basically a curved square slider with a QVGA display, 4GB of internal storage, a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, and a full QWERTY keyboard. The Kin Two, meanwhile is the phone leaked as the “Pure,” upping the ante with a HVGA display and a more traditional landscape QWERTY slide form factor. It also has an 8 megapixel cam and 8GB of internal storage, but other than that the experience is roughly the same compared to what you get on the One; both phones have WiFi and Bluetooth in addition to 3G cellular radios. For what it’s worth, Microsoft is emphasizing that internal storage really isn’t a big deal with the Kin phones, because your entire photo and video collection that you capture using the onboard camera is synced with online storage, and you can access the entire collection from your phone at any time by browsing thumbnails, and if you want the full content, you can download it. The Kin comes bundled with a desktop web experience that’s entirely based on Silverlight for viewing and sorting just about all the major stuff you can see on your phone such as contacts, social network status updates, images, and so on.

The big focus for Microsoft with Kin is the totally new, different, crazy UI, which is based on blocky, simple text, monochromatic elements, and zoomed-in stylized pictures. The big two features unique to Kin are being called “Sport” and “Loop.” Loop is sort of the of the Kin’s home screen, aggregating social content from your friends from sites such as Facebook and Twitter roughly based on order of priority by how you sort your contents, so you don’t see as many updates from people you don’t follow too closely. Spot, is an ever-present green dot at the bottom of the screen where you can drag content, just about anything like maps, images, status updates, videos, and share it with contacts. It’s similar to an “attach” button for your messaging client.

Both phones will have full support for the Zune music and video experience (not Zune gaming though) and it looks like the Zune HD UI we’re accustomed to, just as it does on Windows Phone 7. To loop into the Mac community, Microsoft will offer a Mac-compatible music side-loader, it won’t be a native client so you won’t be able to shop for music, but it’ll happily connect to iTunes and sync your non-DRM collection. Both phones also have support for over-the-air firmware updates, so you don’t need to tether for that. Data tethering on the other hand is NOT supported.

Verizon was chosen to be the carrier of the Kin One and Kin Two and will be releasing the phones in May, while Vodafone has signed on as the European partner for a Fall launch.

Stay tuned for more info on Microsoft's Kin. You can follow us by staying tuned to MyGadgetNews, following us on Twitter, and subscribing to our RSS feed.

Microsoft To Hold It’s Own Secret Event On April 12th

Earlier today Microsoft had sent out a "snail mail" invitation to select reporters for an upcoming event being held on Monday, April 12th in San Francisco. The notice itself doesn't mention much more than that the tag line "it's time to share," but speculation ran rampant as to what exactly Microsoft had in store.

Rumors aired that Microsoft's Courier may be shown off in an effort to steal some of Apple's tablet thunder. Another theory was - that the previous leaks have had two Project Pink phones, the Pure and the Turtle, shipping April 20th for Verizon -- which would line up nicely with an introduction the week before. The phones are rumored to be labeled as "Sharp+Microsoft," and have touch screens and slide-out QWERTY keyboards but none of that is official.

For now the rumors have been put to rest - Windows expert Paul Thurrott says definitively that this will not be a Courier event, rather it will be entirely focused on Pink phones, and so does CNET).

Meanwhile, Apple has its own event planned for this Thursday, where it is expected to introduce the next version of the iPhone OS.

Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

T-Mobile Offering iPhone Trade-In Promotion for HTC HD2

HTC's HD2 is the hottest WinMo device at the moment, and ever since it got an ok for an (unofficial) update to Windows Phone 7 it's been looking more attractive. Since the release

And, now T-Mobile is making it affordable too -- if you happen to have an iPhone you're willing to give up. T-Mobile appears to be running a promotion at certain locations through May 19 that would give between $100 and $350 off of a new HD2 for anyone trading in a working handset.

We highly doubt that the dedicated Apple fanatics will be taking this opportunity to hop onto the Windows Mobile train and give up their iPhones. But, it's still not a bad deal if you have an old generation iPhone laying around you can snag one of the hottest cell phones out for a fraction of the price. Thanks T-Mobile!

T Mobile’s HD2 Already Sold Out In Two Weeks

Now that the iPad craze is over lets get back to the other hot device out right now, the HTC HD2. T-Mobile is in big trouble but in a very profitable way, the wireless cell phone company can't seem to keep the HTC's HD2 on its shelves long enough so that all of its costumers can get hold of one. Selling out again for a second week, customers can't seem to get enough of this smartphone. With up to up to 21,000 HD2 phones sold in a single day T-Mobile is having tons of fun despite the fact it cannot reach the customers demands.

T-Mobile doesn't know when they will have more HD2's in stock and does not know if they can keep it in stock when they do have them available. They have announced that they will inform customers when more phones are available. A T-Mobile rep was asked if the HTC HD2 "Can be upgraded to the new Windows Mobile when it comes out?" He said he wasn't sure but thought it could be sad to say but it won't be upgradable.

Though we have heard rumors of HTC HD2 getting Windows Mobile 7 upgrade. Let's see how this unveils, we hope it happens, or else our friends with HD2 will be quite disappointed.

Are you an HTC HD2 owner? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

CTIA 2010 - Event Roundup

Well the CTIA 2010 Wireless event is over but for those of you who missed out on any info, our round-up should provide you with what you may want to know. Several big industry-changing announcements were made during the event, including the introduction of 4G technology and the announcement of the HTC Evo, which is one of the most powerful smartphones announced to this date. The U.S wireless carriers all brought some news to the table as to what their future plans are and several companies released their new phones to try and build up some hype.

4G Technology and Where U.S Wireless Carriers Currently Stand

Sprint's announcement of 4G technology was definitely industry-changing and all of the U.S wireless carriers started to drop news and information on what direction they are headed in to provide consumers in the U.S up-t0-date speeds on wireless devices. Smartphones have been increasing traffic exponentially and the consumption of bandwidth on the current wireless technologies is heavily increasing. Check out more information on how each network is planning on providing a better experience to U.S consumers in our scoop.

AT&T To Begin Nationwide Rollout of 3G Microcell

AT&T announced that next month it will begin a nationwide rollout of its 3G MicroCell service. The 3G service will allow wireless subscribers to utilize their home Internet connection for enhanced voice and data coverage. The service will cost up to $19.99 per month for unlimited minutes. In addition to the monthly cost, the 3G MicroCell device will cost $150. Selecting a plan at purchase will get you a $100 mail-in rebate, dropping the long-term price of the unit to $50. Even though AT&T is the last of the big 4 U.S. carriers to offer such a device to its customers, user with poor services at home or business will greatly benefit from it.

HTC HD2 Released & Sells Out Quick

HTC released it's first Windows Phone 7 compatible hardware device on March 24th by T-Mobile. But, Walmart got first dibs at it,and folks were able to get their hands on it a few days early before the official release of March 24th. And, then Amazon jumped on the offer as well along with some other stores and defeated T-Mobile sales and sold the SmartPhone withing 4 hours of its release. The cell phone was discounted down to a mere $100.00. This was great, despite the fact that this cell phone was released yesterday. Amazon has out done itself by offering the HTC HD2 for $99.99 with a two years contract. HD2 initially shipped with Windows Mobile 6.5, but an upgrade is now possible, even though Microsoft originally announced that an upgrade from OS 6.5 to OS7 will not be possible. According to a tweet posted this morning on a Russian twitter account, it looks like HTC HD2 has been confirmed to get Windows Mobile 7 upgrade when it is released in Q3/Q4 of 2010. Though we are sure the OS will be leaked prior to it's official release.

Samsung's New Phone: Galaxy S

Samsung announced their new phone as well, known as the Galaxy S. The phone on a quick note can be described as astounding. Everything is bright and crisp, text legible, and the colors are jaw-droppingly beautiful. The touchscreen performance is a standout on this Android 2.1 device and coupled with Samsung’s 1GHz Application Processor, not only is the phone very responsive but the UI is smooth and fast. The Galaxy S can shoot HD video at 720p also, with its 5 megapixel cam and it plays back beautifully on its display. The spec sheet lists this as a triple-band HSPA device living in the 900 / 1800 / 1900 realm and while US availability was announced for this year, no word on the carrier has been made. For more info on the Galaxy S, head over to our overview article about the new phone.

Sprint's Groundbreaking New Device - HTC Evo & 4G Technology

Sprint released an announcement of unveiling a "groundbreaking new device" the day before the CTIA event and the company was spot on. On the first day of the event, they announced the HTC Evo and announced 4G technology incoming to their network. The company went from having a middle of the line phone line-up and average service to gaining a substantial lead in the industry. More news can be read about their announcements on our scoop of their announcements and more information on the HTC Evo can be found here.

T-Mobile's HSPA+ Network Announcement and Dell Mini Netbook

T-Mobile while not working towards 4G technology announced information of their acceptance and advancement on an HSPA+ network which they are planning on focusing on. Although they didn't give specific numbers, T-Mobile has mentioned that their HSPA+ network should work three to five times faster than their 3G network. Alongside with the announcement of their HSPA+ network, they also announced the release of a Dell Mini Netbook which will also have access to their HSPA+ network. For more information on netbook and the network, check our article here.

Some of the Other Announcements

Dell Announced It's First US Android Phone: Dell Aero

On March 22nd, AT&T announced that it will carry Dell's first Android smartphone in the U.S market, the Aero. The Aero offers a 5 megapixel camera, a 3.4-inch nHD display, GPS, WiFi support, and integrated access to social media sites such as Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter. The phone also sports Dell's custom Android user interface. One thing that made this phone stand out was how the company boasted that is the lightest phone out but never released full weight specifications, which was a bit off. Full list of features can be found below:

2G Network : GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900

3G Network : HSDPA 850 / 1900

Display Type : TFT capacitive touchscreen, 256K colors

Size : 360 x 640 pixels, 3.5 inches

- Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate

- Multi-touch input method

- Proximity sensor for auto turn-off

Sound Alert types : Vibration; MP3 ringtones

Speakerphone : Yes

Memory Phonebook : Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall

Call records : Practically unlimited

Card slot : microSD (TransFlash) up to 32GB

Data GPRS : Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 – 48 kbps

EDGE : Class 12

3G : HSDPA 3.6 Mbps

WLAN : Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g

Bluetooth : Yes v2.1 with A2DP

Infrared port : No

USB : Yes, miniUSB v2.0

Camera : Primary 3.15 MP, 2048×1536 pixels, autofocus

Features : Geo-tagging

Video : Yes

Secondary : No

Features OS : Android OS

Messaging : SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, IM

Browser : HTML

Games : Yes

Colors : Black

GPS : Yes, with A-GPS support

Java : Via third party application

- MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV player

- MP3/e-AAC+/WMA player

- Google Search, Maps, Gmail,

- YouTube, Google Talk

- Document viewer

- Photo viewer/editor

- Organizer

- Voice memo

- T9

Battery : Standard battery, Li-Ion 1000 mAh

LG Unveiled Two New Eco-Friendly Phones: LG Cosmos for Verizon Wireless and LG Remarq for Sprint

At CTIA 2010, LG unveiled two slide-out QWERTY phones for the mass-market, the LG Cosmos for Verizon Wireless and the LG Remarq for Sprint.

The LG Cosmos will provide access to Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and other social networking sites, and it's 1.3 megapixel camera can share pictures directly to online albums and Facebook. The phone also supports Bluetooth 2.1, and sports a price tag of $30 / $80 and was already released on March 25, 2010.

The LG Remarq is said to be the most eco-friendly of the two, and even comes with a pre-loaded Eco Calculator application that allows users to calculate the CO2 reduction savings by walking or cycling as opposed to driving their car. The phone will be joining Sprint's new line of Eco-QWERTY phones in May. LG promised that users will be able to stay stay connected to friends and post their latest pics with easy access to Facebook and Photobucket. In addition to having a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, the LG Remarq features a 1.3 megapixel camera, and MP3 player with a microSD slot, Stereo Bluetooth, and instant messaging. The phone will come in two colors, dark silver or turquoise and sport a $20 / $70 price tag with a release dat of May 9, 2010.

Motorola Announces i1

The Motorola i1 is a business-oriented smartphone heading for Sprint and it will be the first Android OS smartphone to offer Push To Talk (PTT) service. It will be capable of getting email from a wide range of business and consumer sources, including Microsoft Exchange. The Motorola model even meets military specifications for protection against dust, shock, vibration, and blowing rain but despite all that it isn't going to be huge or be a heavy lump. The i1 will have a ruggedized tablet shape with a 3.1 inch HVGA touchscreen and a wide array of third-party software available from the Android Marketplace. Users will be able to browse the Web with the Opera Mini 5 browser over an iDEN or Wi-Fi connection, but the standard Android browser will work only over Wi-Fi. This is to compensate for iDEN's rather slow data transfer speed. Check out some of the pics below for the phone, which is set to be released this summer:

Engadget had an excellent video tour of the phone which you can check out below:

OpenPeak Partners Up With AT&T For New Tablet

OpenPeak devices have been heard of for years but the company is finally getting behind its recently announced OpenTablet 7 in a big way, recently announcing a partnership with AT&T for data plans in the US. Neither party will confirm exact plan pricing, but it will probably be similar to iPad data pricing. The device itself is surprisingly well built and the software is rather mature as well. OpenPeak claims to have "thousands of apps" for its platform that stretches across devices including phones, frames, and now a tablet, with a Linux-based platform with a Flash layer on top.

The tablet has a smooth UI and seems pretty far along, though we're promised even more polish as things near the market released. The touchscreen keyboard could use some work btu for home automation and/or video conferencing (the device packs a 1080p front-facing camera and a 5 megapixel shooter around back), it seems like the OpenPeak can carve a niche for itself on the market. The 1.9GHz Moorestown chip under the hood, which offers huge power savings over Atom is an excellent step in the right direction. It helps with UI elements and vide, and even runs cool to the touch. The tablet comes packed with a docking station offers charging and port replication, but theres also an HDMI plug built right into the bottom of the tablet, along with a removable microSD up top. There is no word on an exact release date or price but it'll be rebranded with AT&T.

Palm Pixi Plus and Pre Plus Headed to AT&T "in the coming months"

Palm who had recent misfortunes of almost going out of business announced that their two popular phones are headed towards the AT&T network. The Pre Plus and Pixi Plus will be available for $149.99 and a deep-discount of $49.99 (with a $100 mail-in rebate and a two-year contract), respectively. Both phones will be equipped similarly to their Verizon counterparts except AT*T will be offering a variation with a blue back plate. Both UMTS / HSDPA devices will support AT&T's new Address Book service as a Synergy sync option, and will have free auto-connect access to the carrier's WiFi +20,000 hotspots. We don't know exactly when during the "coming months" the phone will be available, lets just hope its soon.

Windows Phone 7 Ported To HTC HD2; Rumored To Release Soon

Recently rumors emerged about the possibility of HTC HD2 getting Windows Mobile 7 upgrade. But now according to a tweet posted on a Russian twitter account, it looks like HTC HD2 has been confirmed to get Windows Mobile 7 upgrade when it is released in Q3/Q4 of 2010. Translated version of the tweet is as follows.

@ StalkerZoner for Diamond 2 firmware is not planned.Of the existing communicators on the market, only HD2 firmware to get Windows Mobile 7.

 

With Windows Phone 7 Series dev tools now out in the open the pent up demand for that elusive HD2 upgrade was bound to be a priority for some well-meaning developers. Now we've got what looks to be the first screenies of the WP7S OS running on an HD2. Better yet, htcpedia claims that almost everything is working including WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth. This makes sense because HD2 is the first phone which meets all the hardware chassis requirements laid out by Microsoft for a phone which will be powered by Windows Mobile 7, including support for multi-touch through its massive 4.3’’ capacitive display.

For those of you who don’t know, HTC HD2 is powered by Windows Mobile 6.5 and is the first Windows phone to feature multi-touch support through HTC Sense (aka HTC TouchFLO 3D 2.5). Hardware wise, HD2 is by far the most powerful phone available in the market with Qualcomm’s new 1Ghz Snapdragon mobile processor which delivers enough power for a great responsive and smoother end-user experience.

So if you are holding off from buying this powerful handset just because it runs on Windows Mobile 6.5, Now you don’t have to since HTC has now confirmed that the said handset will be upgradable to Windows Mobile 7 for free when it comes out next year.

We have no doubts that the OS will be leaked at sites like xda-developers before the official release for all you Enthusiasts’.

T-Mobile's HTC HD2 Unboxed Early [Video]

Although T-Mobile is not officially seling it's new HTC phone (the HD2) until this Wednesday, some of you might be lucky enough to grab it at a nearby Walmart which for some reason decided to sell HTC's new device a few days early. JDMiPhoner managed to score one from his local Walmart and was kind enough to unbox it, boot it up, and give everyone a few impressions via video. Check out some of his videos below:

For those of you who don't know too much about the HTC HD2, it has been a very hyped phone which is being released by T-Mobile that supports very updated system specifications but has been a controversial release nonetheless. The reason it is a controversial release is due to it running the Windows Mobile 6.5 while Windows Phone 7 Series is just a few months away and as you might already know, you can't upgrade to Windows Phone 7, at least the traditional way. The HTC HD2 comes packed with the following specifications:

CPU Processing Speed: 1 GHz Snapdragon™ processor
Memory: ROM: 512 MB, RAM: 448 MB
Display: 4,3″ with Capacitive touch screen and 480 X 800 WVGA resolution
Size: 67×120,5×11 mm
Weight: 157 grams (5.54 ounces) with battery
Expansion slot: microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
Talk time: WCDMA: Up to 320 mins, GSM: Up to 380 mins
Standby time: WCDMA: Up to 390 hours, GSM: Up to 490 hours
Camera: 5 megapixel color camera with Auto focus and Dual LED flashlight
Battery type: Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery with 1230 mAh capacity
Connectors: 3.5 mm stereo audio jack and Standard Micro-USB (5-pin micro-USB 2.0)
Sensors: G-Sensor, Proximity sensor and Ambient light sensor
Network speeds:

3G Up to 7.2 Mbps download speed and up to 2 Mbps upload speed

GPRS: Up to 114 kbps download speed

EDGE: Up to 560 kbps download speed

Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 B/G

Connectivity (Europe): HSPA/WCDMA: 900/2100 MHz and GSM: 850/950/1800/1900 MHz
Connectivity (Asia Pacific): HSPA/WCDMA: 900/2100 MHz and GSM: 850/950/1800/1900 MHz
Bluetooth: Bluetooth® 2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate
Tethering: Internet Sharing through USB or Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Router
Location-based aids: Internal GPS antenna and Digital Compass

Do you think it’s worth shelling out money over HTC’s new phone or are you one of the many who thinks it is a waste to spend money on it? Share your thoughts and comments below.

Windows Phone 7 Series; The Week's Roundup

This past week has resulted in several announcements of Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 Series at the MIX10 event. If you haven't caught up with news of all the features, here is a quick list of what was announced:

• Cross-platform gaming
• Free Developer Tools
• Microsoft Notification Service
• Microsoft Location Service
• Silverlight

Alongside with the new features, Microsoft revealed information on it's Windows Phone Marketplace (much like the iTunes and Android's Marketplace.) Microsoft's new marketplace included the following features:

• Hub View
• Purchase Options
• App Trials
• Zune Client

The list of launch party developers and some information on apps was also released. The list of first round app partners included the following:

AWS Convergence Technologies ? WeatherBug, Citrix Systems Inc., Clarity Consulting Inc., Cypress Consulting, EA Mobile, Fandango Inc., Foursquare Labs Inc., frog design inc., Glu Mobile Inc., Graphic.ly, Hudson Entertainment Inc., IdentityMine Inc., IMDb.com Inc., Larva Labs, Match.com LLC, Matchbox Mobile Ltd., Microsoft Game Studios, Namco Networks America Inc., Oberon Media Inc., Pageonce Inc., Pandora Media Inc., Photobucket Inc., PopCap Games Inc., Seesmic, Shazam Entertainment Ltd., Sling Media, SPB Software Inc., stimulant, TeleCommunications Systems Inc., Touchality LLC and Vertigo Software Inc

You can read further into the information provided above in our Windows Phone 7 Series: Compilation of Information posted earlier this week which provides pictures and videos of some of the clips from MIX10's announcement that day.

Despite all the hype about the new windows mobile OS, there were some hiccups that quickly arouse and sparked the attention of many. Amongst those was a lack of copy/paste feature and lack of multitasking (which seemed to be an issue for many on the iPhone as well.) Today, Microsoft released another official statement about the copying/pasting. Here is what they had to say:

Windows Phone 7 Series will not initially offer copy and paste; instead, we try to solve the most common uses for copy and paste via single-tap action. For example, people often want to take an address and view it on a map, highlight a term in the browser and do a search or copy a phone number to make a call. Instead of the user manually doing a copy and paste in these scenarios, we recognize those situations automatically and make them happen with just one touch. In our early testing people have been pleased with this approach, but we're always listening to feedback and will continue to improve our feature set over time based on what we hear.

You can read our full featured article on the lack of copy/paste and lack of multitasking for detailed information on the topic and what Microsoft has decided to do about each. Each article written also has an audio clip of Microsoft's Todd Brix so you can listen in on what Microsoft had to say about each as well. Although they don't provide each feature as one would expect, they haven't completely left the space blank and instead have features that work similarly to each which is a sign of relief. Rumor has it that multitasking will eventually be included down the road with an update that will include third-party apps as well (not just first-party apps) and the feature they substituted with copy/paste although isn't very convincing can turn out to be pretty good. Time will tell how this plays out as the Windows Phone 7 Series is still currently in development.

More news spilled today as well about an unlocked emulator which was hacked earlier today by using the develop tool kit. Microsoft released a statement about the unlocked emulator earlier today and here is what they had to say:

We are extremely pleased with the level of excitement we're seeing for Windows Phone Developer Tools. When we decided to provide a Windows Phone 7 Series Emulator as part of the tools, we anticipated that people would attempt to unlock and explore the code. We have been very clear that the emulator is based on early code and is not reflective of the final user experience. Windows Phone 7 Series is still under development. The UI has been disabled to avoid confusion and allow developers to focus on testing applications on the underlying platform. We continue to recommend that developers use the emulator as provided to avoid any issues and unpredictability that may be introduced by an unlocked version.

You can also read and see a video about the unlocked emulator by reading our article, which was written earlier today.

Not only was the unlocked emulator revealed today but so was Microsoft's Office Suite, which gave us a glimpse of how writing documents on a Windows Phone 7 Series based phone might be like. Although it isn't a finalized version you can get a general idea of what it will be like. One of the more interesting things about the suite is that it gets it's own hub in the Windows Phone 7 Series theme so it will definitely be considered handy and useful for businesses and enterprise solutions as well as students. Microsoft seems to be aiming for a wider range of consumers who would find solutions they are seeking in a phone in their Windows Phone 7 Series.

Those covered all of this week's Microsoft Windows Phone 7 Series announcements and whether you wanted to read about something in specific or get filled in on everything you should be covered! We'd like to hear your thoughts and comments about the whole event and the unveiling of Microsoft's new mobile OS, so share your thoughts and comments below!

Windows Phone 7 Office Suite Revealed [Video]

With the release of the Windows Phone 7 Series, there was no mention of the Office apps, but now that Microsoft's emulator has been hacked and unlocked, we've got a glimpse of what creating a Word doc in OneNote looks like. As per Microsoft most people just want to make minor edits and leave large edits for Office suite while on the go, and not use copy and paste, so we'd expect to see track changes in the final version, but we are guessing that the main interface isn't going to look much different than this.

Check out the video below:

Windows Phone 7 Emulator Reveals New Info [Video]

Since Microsoft released the Software Development Kit (SDK) on Monday, Windows Phone 7 has been the center of attraction amongst smartphones. Having been hacked in the early hours of this morning, the Windows Phone 7 emulator secrets have been emerging.

One of the features revealed is a comprehensive looking file explorer and a task manager, something a bit questionable given the OS's effective lack of multi-tasking. The unlock code was discovered and initially distributed by engineer Dan Ardelean, but he has since recanted and pulled the required file. Of course , it has been mirrored in numerous places, links to which can be found at the xda-developer forum if you'd like to try this yourself. Just keep in mind that this is a far from final version of the OS, so don't be too disappointed if it doesn't quite pop like you expected it to.

Check out the video below:

[video byTechAU.tv]

The Scoop On Multitasking on The Windows Phone 7 Series

While the Microsoft press conference this week has had its fair share of news about the Windows Phone 7 Series, one of the hazy portraits that was painted included multitasking on the new OS. Since the OS isn't ready, no one has final hardware for it, and the emulator seems to behave differently than actual devices, and Microsoft's descriptions, the whole feature has been rather confusing. So we can set the story straight about it by stating, multitasking is NOT going to happen, atleast not the way you would expect it to. The way the multitasking feature works on the Windows Phone 7 OS is the fact that it allows first-party apps like the Zune player and IE to run in the background, but third-party apps are left running in a suspended state which Microsoft calls "dehydrated." The third-party apps are left in this "dehydrated" state as long as the system doesn't need any resources. If the user wants to go back to the suspended application it is "rehydrated" and works where it left off, but if the user decides to open several others applications which cause the OS to need additional memory, the "dehydrated" app is killed without any warning.

If the whole feature sounds familiar, that's because it is, it's basically a single-tasking riff on Android and Windows Mobile 6, both of which end up running multiple running applications similar to this manner just fine. We'll have to see if Windows Phone 7 Series can do a better job once it ships and it most likely will. One of the things that many wonder about is whether Microsoft will extend the multitasking feature to third party apps. As for now, you can say good-bye to running lets say an app like Pandora in the background wile doing other tasks on the 7 Series devices. It was a question specifically asked and the answer is no. Hear what Microsoft's Todd Brix had to say about it:

What do you think of the whole issue? The average consumer probably won't recognize the difference between this form of multitasking and the traditional way. For those of you who do, will it sway your decision to go with Windows Phone 7? Share your thoughts and comments below.

Microsoft’s Lack of Copy/Paste on Windows Phone 7 Series

Microsoft created a hot debate on the Windows Phone 7 Series cut/paste feature by not including it in their new mobile operating system. One of the main reasons it is a problem in the first place is because it didn't line up with what the company had previously said about their new phone series. Microsoft says leaving clipboard operations was a design based on choice based on user research showing that people don't actually use copy and paste very often, and that instead 7 Series features include a systemwide data detection service which recognizes things like phone numbers and addresses so you can decide whether you want it to fill-in or not. Third-party apps can supposedly hook into this service as well but it really doesn't make up for the lack of the cut/paste feature. When Microsoft was questioned about Office and OneNote, they had said that their research shows that people mostly want to view and comment on documents, not edit them. No updates plan on releasing the copy/paste feature down the line either as mentioned by Microsoft. Here's what Microsoft's Todd Brix had to say about the whole situation:

So what do you think of this whole fiasco? It is kinda surprising for Microsoft to remove a feature that was already included in its previous mobile operating systems and also for them to not include it when competing with other companies who do include the feature (Apple.) Do you think it will hurt Microsoft? Be sure to check out our Windows Phone 7 compilation of information guide we posted this past week with all the information on Microsoft's new operating system. Share your thoughts and comments below.

Verizon Prepares For HTC Incredible While Sprint Gets Nexus One

Google is looking at a few solid months ahead with some high profile Android releases coming up. This goes to show that Apple’s lawsuits won’t keep them from progressing in their line of work. Leading the way in the upcoming Android releases is the HTC Incredible, which is confirmed to arrive at Verizon Wireless stores in two weeks. Alongside with this news, Verizon just began a test deployment of Android 2.1 to the Motorola Droid smart phones, the same OS that is going to power the Incredible.

The Android 2.1 was announced a while back and even includes some features that weren't expected. The features include: improved pinch-to-zoom in the browser, better voice-to-text-support, animated wallpapers, and tweaks to Google Maps. The Droid originally launched with Android 2.0 last November and in December received a minor bump to Android 2.0.1 via an over-the-air update.

The Verizon-carried HTC Incredible could really hit it off for the Android market as it brings some of the best stats on an Android handset to this day. The phone will have a 1 GHz Qualcomm QSD 8250 Snapdragon ARM CPU and 512 MB of DRAM, just like the Nexus One. Unlike the Nexus One though, the CPU will be underclocked to 768 MHz. It may seem like a bad thing at first, but it should be enough to handle most apps, while providing longer talk times than the Nexus One. The phone also comes with an 8-megapixel camera with a noticeably larger lens, much better than the Nexus One. The camera on the phone makes it a little thicker than the Nexus one, measuring in at 117.5 x 58.5 x 11.9 mm. It is rumored to come with 6 GB of flash (much more sizeable than the Nexus One’s 512 MB), a microSD expansion slot, and an FM tuner, with a 1300 mAh battery.

Verizon’s decision to carry the new HTC Incredible could lead into the Nexus One being supported by the carrier as well not too far off. Sprint, on the other hand is racing to deploy the Nexus One on its 3G network. It is currently available on the T-Mobile and AT&T networks, direct from Google. Sprint mentioned announce official release dates and pricing in the near future. Fared Adib, the vice president of product development for Sprint has mentioned:

“Nexus One is a powerful device that belongs on a powerful network. This is another step in our continued partnership of innovation with Google. Sprint customers already have the option of two amazing Android devices with Samsung Moment ™ and HTC Hero ™. It is a natural fit for us to add Nexus One to the list of choices available for Sprint customers who want the best value in wireless with the best in Android.”

He added:

“While a pricing plan has not yet been determined for Nexus One, we are confident that it will be consistent with Sprint’s commitment to deliver more value than our competitors and keep pricing simple. Right now, our Sprint Everything Data 450 plan with Any Mobile, Anytime(SM) gives customers unlimited calling with any mobile phone in America, unlimited text and unlimited Web for just $69.99 per month – the same price AT&T and Verizon charge for just unlimited talk. Our Everything Data plans include unlimited GPS Navigation at no extra charge and annual phone upgrades with Sprint Premier.”

It looks like the major U.S networks besides AT&T have largely given up on the Apple iPhone and are aggressively moving towards deploying the new upcoming Android headsets. The Apple’s next iPhone, set to release this summer, could see a substantial challenge from the Android market and the recently announced Windows Phone 7 Series market.

Windows Phone 7 Series: Compilation of Information

Windows Phone 7 Series by Microsoft is finally winding down for release and the company is doing as much as possible to make it successful. First announced last month during the Mobile World Congress, the development process has come a long way. Certain question's arise when discussing Windows Phone 7 though and we are here to answer them. So lets start off -

New Features

When the Windows Phone 7 Series was first announced, we didn't get much information about it but here are some of the OS and dev features that were announced by Microsoft today:

• Microsoft Notification Service: This sounds an awful lot like Apple's push notification system. As you can see above, they pop up in a small tray at the top of the screen, as opposed to the pop-up system that the iPhone uses.

• Microsoft Location Service: This is more of a developer tool than anything else "single point of reference to acquire location information.", it suggest location service's being totally and easily acessible, and not just in terms of raw data. This sounds like Bing everywhere, in both user and developer terms.

• Silverlight: Windows Phone 7 apps are largely developed in Silverlight, which you probably only know as that plugin you had to install that one time to watch the Olympics or for your Netflix fix. It can also create apps that are significantly more complicated than video players.

• Free Dev Tools: Windows Phone 7 development tools for Visual Studio and Microsoft Expression Blend (a UI dev tool) will be free to download.

• Download Dev Tools: The free tools are available at developer.windowsphone.com, as of right now. While developers won't have phones for a while, they'll have the PC emulator, which even allows for touchscreen input. (If you have a touchscreen PC, of course.)

• No Mac Dev Support: And of course, there's no development on Mac.

The Windows Phone Marketplace

The curtain was opened today on Windows Phone Marketplace and here is what was revealed:

• Hub View: Windows Phone 7 is going to be swipey and zoomy and all those things that made Windows Phone 7 interesting looking. As you already know, hubs within hubs within hubs within hubs. Hubs!

• Purchase Options: It'll handle one-time credit card purchases, operator billing, and ad-supported apps.

• App Trials: Microsoft is going to make it optional for developers to allow buyers to trial apps before buying them. You use an app until your dev-defined trial is over, or until you get tired of the missing features, then you buy it, which instantly activates the remaining functionality, no extra download required.

• Zune Client: You can browse the Marketplace from the Zune client, like you can access the App Store from iTunes. This gives Windows Phone 7 a leg up over the likes of Android and webOS, which limit app installation to the handset. But! The Zune software is Windows-only.

This doesn't just mean you won't be able to install apps from your desktop your phone on Windows Phone 7, it means that you won't be able to sync anything with your desktop, whether its music, movies or photos. And there's no USB syncing outside of the Zune software client, so you can't just copy the media onto your phone, mass storage style. In other words, if you don't have a PC, you can't really listen to your music or watch your videos on your Windows Phone 7.

• Multitasking: There will be certain provisions for multitasking—music is the one Microsoft is talking about now, for app like Pandora—but there won't be pure multitasking.

• Resolution Options: Microsoft's only allowing two resolutions —the 800x480 WVGA resolution we've seen on the first hardware already, and later, a 480x320 HVGA resolution—for Windows Phone 7 handsets. Developers will only have to write for two screen sizes, which helps keep developing for the platform relatively simple.

• Windows Mobile 6.x Apps Won't Work: Scott Guthrie confirmed to us that 6.x apps would need to be ported in order to work, and that this may not be a simple process—you could, for example, carry over some interface assets, or some core .NET programming from one platform to the other, but there'll be no simple patch from one platform to the other.

Launch Party Apps

The first round of app partners:

AWS Convergence Technologies ? WeatherBug, Citrix Systems Inc., Clarity Consulting Inc., Cypress Consulting, EA Mobile, Fandango Inc., Foursquare Labs Inc., frog design inc., Glu Mobile Inc., Graphic.ly, Hudson Entertainment Inc., IdentityMine Inc., IMDb.com Inc., Larva Labs, Match.com LLC, Matchbox Mobile Ltd., Microsoft Game Studios, Namco Networks America Inc., Oberon Media Inc., Pageonce Inc., Pandora Media Inc., Photobucket Inc., PopCap Games Inc., Seesmic, Shazam Entertainment Ltd., Sling Media, SPB Software Inc., stimulant, TeleCommunications Systems Inc., Touchality LLC and Vertigo Software Inc

Here are some pictures of some of the apps that were shown to the audience by Microsoft, all of which look visually stunning.

The first set of app previews for the Windows Phone 7 Apps all seem deeply integrated. Many developers write for the iPhone and more recently the Android which has its pros and cons for Microsoft. A pro for Microsoft because the developers love to work on any app parity with other platforms as well for more profit but a con because it shows how much catching up Microsoft will have to do in the market. Microsoft seems to be lunging in face forward into the competition with stunning graphics and a very artistic and visual theme for the whole series:

Microsoft is open to new interfaces, including those that look nothing like Zune or Windows Phone 7.

Since all the Windows Phone 7 apps are developed mostly in Silverlight, you can download and utilize Silverlight libraries that already exist. Basically what this mean sis that some elements such as animations and icons that you have seen in Silverlight app interfaces might turn up in future apps. Other services that depended heavily on Silverlight before may easily be ported to the phone, such as Netflix.

Games have the potential to be great not only because of the minimum requirements required by Windows Phone 7 but also because of the in-depth Xbox Live integration Microsoft has used. Joe Belfiore showed a demo to the audience, in which he earned Xbox Live achievement points, through his phone!

The Rest

Not everything was covered today and you still might be left with some questions. Here are some questions you might be wondering about (if we missed any, leave us a comment):

Can Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 Series multitask? Here's what Microsoft's Joe Belfiore had to say:

"The core operating system is a modern multitasking operating system. If you play music for example, the music will play back as you navigate around the experience...if you're using email, we have great support for push email and that happens in the background.

For third party applications—we'll get into a lot more detail on this in MIX—but we have a few ways we're going to make sure that third parties can bring their value to the user even when the app is not running. Live tiles are an example. Data feeds in the hubs are another example for some apps."

What about the cross-platform game demos?

Microsoft is trying to work on more visually stunning games for their Windows Phone 7 Series and have provided the necessary software tools for it to be done. It is in the hand of the developers to try to create the games to the next level and help implement this feature. Companies such as Namco are amongst the list of launch party app developers so this will most likely be integrated soon enough.

I have a Windows Mobile 6.X phone, can I upgrade to Windows Phone 7 Series?

Sorry, you are out of luck. Looks like it will be a good time to upgrade phones.