HTC Mazaa shows off next-gen potential, performance that makes us drool

One very special student developer won quite the treat from Microsoft: an HTC Mazaa! There she is, and ain't she a beaut? Of course it's identical to the HTC Trophy, but it's the inside that counts and Mazaa certainly delivers there. XDA user Cpitt, the recipient of the phone, compared the WP Bench results of the HD7 to the Mazaa and the most obvious difference is the GPU. The Mazaa's 50 FPS more than doubled the HD7's performance of 23 FPS. Even more impressive was the Internet Explorer 9 performance, with the Mazaa clocking in 47 FPS with the Fishtank test compared to the HD7's 30. Very impressive stuff and if this is just the minimum we can expect to see from future hardware, sign us up!

Via: WPCentral
Source: XDA-Developers

HTC announces Beats partnership for high quality mobile audio, "Still D.R.E." never sounded better

Earlier today HTC sent out a last minute invite to the tech press about a "major announcement" for tomorrow morning. There were a myriad of predictions including new smartphones, a new tablet, or an announcement to strike up a patent deal with Apple. Oddly it looks like HTC themselves have let the cat out of the bag early and  even more bizarre is that it wasn't anything anyone could have predicted.

It turns out the company that brought you the sound-lovin' Surround is about to be accompanied by some Beats. HTC has announced they're in the process of purchasing 51% of Beats Electronics, the company headed by legendary rap and hip-hop producer Dr. Dre and known for its high-quality sound design (and obnoxiously-priced premium headphones). The deal is set to complete before the year ends.

The $300 million deal will result in the smartphone exclusive of Beats audio technology for HTC devices, while HP still has the exclusive on laptops and tablets. Obviously HTC's acquisition of Beats means we can look forward to new phones that include the brand, but we'll see just how high quality audio these next-generation devices can pump out over those cheap packed-in headphones worth fifty-cents (pun most certainly intended). Press release just after the break.

HTC and Beats by Dr. Dre Set to Introduce New Era in Mobile Audio

Strategic HTC investment to result in Beats-integrated HTC phones this fall

TAOYUAN, Taiwan and SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- HTC Corp., a global designer of mobile devices, today announced a strategic partnership and investment with Beats™ Electronics LLC., the company redefining the audio market with its iconic Beats by Dr. Dre™ audio experience. The two fast-growing brands will focus on bringing high performance sound to HTC phones.

"The HTC and Beats by Dr. Dre partnership is an opportunity for two world-class companies to redefine the smartphone industry and define the future," said Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Beats by Dr. Dre and chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, which is a division of Universal Music Group and a stakeholder in Beats. "For Beats by Dr. Dre, this represents a critical step in our continued mission to clean up the destruction of audio caused by the digital revolution and reengineer how sound is delivered, so the consumer feels the music the way that the artist intended."

HTC and Beats have been working together to create superior mobile audio experiences for consumers, which will result in a line of HTC devices integrated with Beats sound innovations, available this fall.

"Beats has found a unique way to harness popular culture in a manner that is unlike any other brand today," said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corp. "It's an exciting brand that has been built around providing something very special, and we believe our strategic partnership will provide customers with unbeatable sound on HTC phones. We obsess over every detail of a consumer's mobile experience, and audio is a critical part of that experience."

HTC is known for unifying content, services and devices into unique mobile experiences. And Beats is known for its unique consumer brand appeal and ability to reproduce the full spectrum of sound captured in professional recording studios, allowing consumers to hear music the way the artist intended. Bringing these two great brands together will create superior mobile music and sound experiences while accelerating HTC's entry into the youth and accessories markets globally.

Beats Electronics will continue to operate autonomously - with Iovine as chairman and Luke Wood as president and chief operating officer - with its current business partnerships, including Monster Cable Products Inc., HP and Chrysler Group LLC. Iovine also will continue serving as chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records.

"Our customers have clearly responded to Beats and HTC, and Best Buy is proud to feature their products in our stores," said Brian J. Dunn, CEO, Best Buy. "We are committed to offering innovative and entertaining technologies that help consumers enhance their lives. Our customers expect that from us. The unique HTC Sense experience and the great sound of Beats provide prime examples of that focus."

Debunked Further: HTC Ruby definitely an Android handset

We've gone from 'might be', to 'most likely not', and now to 'definitely not'. PocketNow has been hunting to uncover the platform mysteries behind the HTC Ruby ferociously over the past few weeks, and now we can finally have closure. What you see above is claimed to be the Ruby and, unless Microsoft is planning to trick consumers into buying their phones by changing their button strategy, it is certainly not a Windows Phone. It is a little peculiar that HTC would re-use the same codename once meant for Sprint's Arrive for a mid-range T-Mobile Android handset, but whatever. There's plenty more HTC Windows Phones to look forward to on the horizon.

Source: PocketNow

First Custom ROM crashes the scene, allows HD7 to upgrade to Mango Beta seamlessly (Update: Now Available!)

Exciting news Windows Phone fanatics! DFT's hard work to create the RSPL/HSPL tools for custom ROMs on HTC Windows Phones appears to have finally paid off. ansar.ath.gr over at XDA-Developers says he's created his (and possibly the) first custom ROM for the HTC HD7. It's not just a useless 'proof of' thing either, as Ansar has promised his ROM will allow the HD7 to upgrade to Mango Beta 2 directly through Zune! Also the ROM jailbreaks the HD7 to allow sideloading of apps (presumably for NoDo only unless you follow steps to preserve it). Very cool stuff.

Here's the full message from the thread:

Dear forum members,


YES!!!


I successfully created my 1st custom ROM for the HD7 Windows Phone with the new HSPL by cotulla

I used as a base this ROM:

RUU_Schubert_HTC_Europe_1.69.401.01_Radio_5.54.09. 21_22.33b.50.10_NoDo_by_ansar

The custom build is has the ability to be unlocked and to upgrade to MangoB2 thru zune

In my next build i will try to include mango and dfrouter for those not sync to zune

Thanks to my giant friends ervious, mamaic, bepe and cotulla

I hope to upload it today and some day to create an hspl too!!


Till next version enjoy!!

Regards, ansar

As you can tell, he's just as excited as you are to share this incredible milestone with the world. So where is the ROM? Ansar has promised to upload it and release it later today so we'll be watching for that download link. Stay tuned!

Update: It's available now! Click on the source link to go get it! Also just a note, the 'unlocking' of the device means it is jailbroken, not that the SIM is unlocked. Sorry about the confusion and we've corrected the article.

Source: XDA-Developers Forum

HTC launching 8 smartphones in Q3 2011, five are possibly Windows Phones

The stars are aligning and Microsoft's aim to unleash its next wave of Windows Phone devices in the Fall is nearly in its reach. Mango just RTM'd, the Fujitsu IS12T is already official, and leaks of new hardware are slowly trickling out each week. Now we hear from CENS that HTC is reportedly planning to release 8 new smartphone models in Q3 alone. That's not a crazy number for a company with as strong of a market share as HTC, but the number is suspiciously higher than normal compared to the typically high forecast for Q4 (i.e. the holiday season).

So what gives? Windows Phone. Remember that we've already heard about five alleged new devices, four with their accompanying specs. There's the earliest leak, the HTC Bresson, which is in the works for T-Mobile. Then there's the HTC Eternity (seen above) which rocks a 1.5 GHz CPU and a behemoth 4.7-inch display. Finally there's the HTC Omega which we believe is a new Mozart-type model with the same high-end 1.5 GHz processor as the Eternity but with a more finger-friendly 3.8-inch display. Then there's the pair of low-end devices, the Ignite & Prime, which both offer 800 MHz processors and different form factors.

If all of these devices are real and heading to the market this Fall, HTC is certainly going to bolster their standings among the Windows Phone manufacturer and Microsoft will get five devices out of the deal. That leaves about three HTC models for Android, which is the usual amount of devices they debut in their Fall lineup anyway. See? Counting is useful, kids!

Via: The Next Web
Source: CENS

Vodaphone HTC 7 Trophy receiving firmware update, right on cue

Microsoft promised the world another Update-pocalypse and today we're seeing the first move toward that. Vodafone's HTC 7 Trophy is receiving its own super special update as we speak according to WMPowerUser. We have no idea what's in the update, but since this is allegedly  Vodafone-specific it could be related to network configuration and performance. If you just so happen to receive this update or any other one for that matter, feel free to drop a comment here or tip us with whatever you find.

Source: WMPowerUser

HTC Ignite & Prime reemerge on Dutch site, "coming soon"?

One of the most important and still hazy things about this upcoming Mango update is Microsoft's mid-range and low-end strategy for its Windows Phones. With hardware rumors we've been able to paint a decent picture of waht to expect about two HTC devices rocking 1.5 GHz CPUs (high-end), the Fujitsu IS12T is the first confirmed Mango device and people are assuming it has a 1.0 GHz CPU (mid-range), and we previously heard of another pair of HTC devices running at 800 MHz (low-end).

Well those very same low-end devices from the Taiwan-based manufacturer, the Ignite and Prime, have reemerged on Dutch phone sale site The Phone House and have been given "coming soon" as their expected release dates. That's pretty much it, and we're just as skeptical as you probably are right now. The photos above are exactly the same ones leaked by XDA.cn earlier this year and it's very possible The Phone House just posted these up to cover their bases. However, if they know something we don't and the Ignite & Prime really are "coming soon", color us excited.

Via: Professeur Thibault, WMPU
Source: The Phone House

Nielsen: Microsoft has 9% Smartphone Market Share, HTC Accounts for 6% of it

The Nielsen Research group just released their manufacturer market share analysis for Q2 of 2011 (April to June) and has discovered quite a bit about Microsoft's piece of the pie. Obviously Android is the dominant operating system with iOS, BlackBerry following it and then Microsoft enters the picture at fourth place. Microsoft's combined Windows Mobile/Windows Phone OS market share is at a decent 9%. It looks like Microsoft has at least managed to stay consistent in its market share against the sputtering WebOS and the ailing Symbian.

However, things get a lot more interesting when you take a look at how manufacturers figure into the OS equation. HTC has been doing its thing with Android for a while and as you can see above they've done amazingly well for themselves, but they built their name with Windows. That commitment shows with HTC accounting for a massive 6% of Microsoft's 9% total, which means their devices account for 70% of all of Microsoft's smartphones. With HTC Windows Phones available on every carrier in the U.S. and a large number of HD2's and Touch Diamond's floating around, that's an impressive but hardly surprising number.

The next highest is Samsung at 2%, and the crushing 'Other' 1% to be split up between Dell and LG. Ouch.

Via: WinRumors
Source: Nielsen Research

T-Mobile HD7 receiving software update, just one more away from another Update-pocalypse

Are you HD7 owners on T-Mobile jealous that the Dell Venue Pro is getting its own super special software update today? Feel like your device should get a random update too? Well there's good news for you: the T-Mobile HTC HD7 is getting a software update! So far according to WPCentral's tipster the only real changes so far are the firmware and radio versions. We'll be on the look out for exactly what the HD7 is receiving from this update, and if you've already updated your device and spotted something why don't you tip us so the whole world gets to know?

P.S. If at least one more device gets a software update, we officially declare today as Update-pocalypse Part II: Update-ier.

Source: WPCentral

Rumor: HTC Omega leaked specs reveal 1.5GHz CPU and 8MP camera

It looks like someone noticed the HTC Omega case's appearance yesterday and decided to flesh out the rumors we know so far. Previously we only knew that the Omega would have a 3.8" display, but now things are getting a lot more interesting with Gadgetian claiming to have the full spec sheet for the unreleased device. So what goodies does it reveal? Here's are the highlights:

• Windows Phone Mango
• 1.5 GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 CPU
• Adreno 205 GPU
• 512 MB of RAM
• 3.8-inch SLCD screen
• WVGA (800x480) resolution
• 16 GB internal storage (No slot for microSD)
• 8-megapixel autofocus camera w/LED flash and 720p recording
• Accelerometer, G-Sensor (Gyroscope), 

Yes, this is indeed the second HTC device rumored to be packing the 1.5GHz 8255 processor and does line right up with the new Chassis requirements Microsoft outlined at MIX '11. It's also worth noting that the specs show European 3G frequencies and if you couple that with the 3.8" display and high-end processor, we think it's safe to assume this is the true followup to the HTC Mozart. We're looking to see if any manufacturer can squeeze out a dual-core phone powered by the 8x60 line rumored to support Windows Phone, but we could totally settle for such a powerful single core chipset. Rumors are coming fast and hard, so hold on to your hats people--Mango hardware is just around the corner!

Via: WMPU
Source: Gadgetian

HTC Omega & Eternity cases discovered, phones not included

Remember that rumored HTC Eternity? The one with a 4.7" display, 1.5GHz processor and a body exactly like the Desire HD? Well we didn't buy it at first but now evidence is starting to appear in the rumor's favor. PocketNow received a pair of new photos that reveal cases for the aforementioned beastly superphone as well as it's smaller 3.8 inch display brother, the HTC Omega. We still don't know what the HTC Omega actually looks like so we can't tell if the case above is a match, but that HTC Eternity case looks like it matches up exactly to the leaked pictures we've seen. Just below we've whipped up a quick comparison of the two, so you can see for yourself.

Also judging based on the distance between the camera/flash/speaker section and the bottom of the case, the Eternity really could have a 4.7" display. It appears much longer than a normal Desire HD case (see photo) which is for a 4.3" screen. So let's ask you dear readers: is the HTC Eternity for real?

Source: PocketNow