After a report detailed some of the specs of HTC’s One (M8) successor, so far referred to as the HTC One (M9), a leaker who posted accurate information about unreleased HTC devices in the past has now shared more details about what looks like a new monster Android handset coming from the Taiwanese handset maker in the next few months.
If you're reading this article on a computer, there's a pretty good chance that you have Facebook pulled up on another tab. If not, you probably just closed it. There's something about Facebook that keeps us coming back for more, no matter how crowded and frustrating our news feeds have become. So why can't we break away?
Things haven't been going great for Samsung lately, but things surely can't be this bad for the company... can they? SamMobile points us to a new report in The Korea Herald that claims Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is meeting with Samsung executives in Seoul this week to discuss whether Samsung is interested in building the next "Facebook Phone."
Late last month, Microsoft threw everyone for a loop with the announcement of Windows 10. We still haven't gotten a satisfactory answer as to why the company skipped a version, but looks like the gimmick was a success — Microsoft announced via the Windows Blog on Monday that over 1 million users have signed up for the Windows Insider Program.
By far the strangest story to pop up this week has been the surprise bankruptcy filing of GT Advanced Technologies, which had been Apple's top supplier of sapphire for displays of the Apple Watch and other devices. The Wall Street Journal now reports that GT Advanced is looking to get out of the sapphire business all together "after a failed effort to produce material for Apple’s smartphone screens."
A room full of technology bloggers and journalists laughed when HTC’s associate vice president of industrial design Claude Zellweger uttered the above phrase while introducing HTC’s latest smartphone during a full day of closed-door meetings earlier this week.
“Plastic is nothing to be ashamed of.”
And it is funny, in a bizarre way. During its meteoric rise to the top of the smartphone industry, Samsung has managed to give plastic a bad name. The company’s phones, while durable, feel cheap. All of them. Even Samsung’s first phone to feature metal edges still looks and feels cheap compared to rival devices .
But plastic doesn’t have to look or feel cheap. And HTC’s latest smartphone, the Desire Eye, is a great reminder of that simple truth. It’s plastic and it’s proud.
HTC has made plenty of accessories in the past, but it has never really been an "accessory maker.” Similarly, the Taiwan-based smartphone maker has a long and storied history of building terrific software experiences, but it has never been a “software company.” Now, things are changing.
On the heels of the release of its most beautiful and capable smartphone in the company’s history, HTC reported second-quarter revenue that continued to decline. The company’s high-end Desire phones have also been selling well, but HTC’s return to profitability is thanks largely to its cost-cutting efforts over the past few quarters.
Something has to change.
HTC continues to focus mainly on refining its smartphone lineup, but phones will no longer be the only business that matters at HTC. The company is now starting to dabble outside of phones, and is working on some unique apps — including its first stand-alone iOS app, Zoe, which will launch this fall after the Android version exits beta on Wednesday.
On the hardware side of things, the new RE is HTC’s first attempt at a truly unique and useful accessory that will draw new eyes to the HTC brand.
Welcome to the new HTC. This company might look like the HTC we’ve known for years, but 2014 marks the start of a major shift for the company that stems from more than just its recent struggles. The smartphone market is changing, and it’s happening faster than anyone expected. New entrants are consuming the low end, Apple and Samsung’s stranglehold on the high end is tightening, and the middle is getting squeezed on both sides.
Amid diminishing revenue and widely publicized cost-cutting efforts, HTC must react.
While Android is usually the mobile platform of choice for hackers, new research that’s about to be presented at the USENIX Security Symposium in San Diego shows that it’s actually possible to use a newly discovered trick to steal data from an unsuspecting smartphone users' apps, whether they're running Android, iOS or Windows Phone, Phys.org reports.
The United States Department of Transportation has plans to pursue a ban on in-flight phone calls, reports The Wall Street Journal . In a speech last week at the International Aviation Club, general counsel of the Department Kathryn Thompson suggested restrictions were in the works, and a DOT spokesperson later confirmed the plans.A spokeswoman confirmed that the DOT is developing "a notice of proposed rulemaking" for publication in December. "At this point, there is no final determination" as to what the notice or the final rule will say, said another spokeswoman.
"Airlines aren't clamoring to allow mobile-phone use during flight, and some have already said they'd prohibit it on their own flights," said Jeffrey Shane, general counsel for the International Air Transport Association, and a former senior Transportation Department policy maker. But Mr. Shane said some carriers may want to explore passenger-friendly ways to introduce calls, such as in-flight phone booths or quiet zones.
Following a previous accidental mention on Tuesday of an updated iMac Mini on Apple’s website, the company has apparently spilled the proverbial beans on another upcoming product that should have been kept under wraps. French site ConsoMac has discovered a mid-2014 iMac mention on Apple’s site in a chart detailing what kind of Windows versions Apple’s iMacs support, just as was the case with the 2014 iMac mini refresh.
Apple today issued a press release announcing that Susan Wagner, founding partner and director of BlackRock has joined its board of directors. BlackRock, which owns 2.82 percent of Apple, is a well-known investment management corporation, co-founded by Wagner in 1988."Sue is a pioneer in the financial industry and we are excited to welcome her to Apple's board of directors," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "We believe her strong experience, especially in M&A and building a global business across both developed and emerging markets, will be extremely valuable as Apple continues to grow around the world."
The 'HTC Hima' is a monster Android smartphone launching early next year -- WE CAN'T WAIT!