April 6, 2010

Verizon Wants iPhone on the Network, But Apple is Mum


Verizon’s CEO Ivan Seidenberg said before Council of Foreign Relations that the company has told Apple it wants to carry the iPhone. He further added he has no information if Apple is working on such a device now. He decline to comment if and when the popular smartphone will be available for Verizon customers.
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Apple A4 Chip Outperformances Qualcomm Snapdragon; iPad Teardown Reveals Hardware Very Similar to iPhone


AnandTech ran comparative benchmarks on iPad, iPhone 3GS and Nexus One to see how Apple’s new A4 SoC stacks up against the Samsung chip in iPhone and Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 chip in Nexus One. The Snapdragon will also be used in many tablets coming later this year, so this comparison should give an idea of what we can expect performance-wise from those tablets. AnandTech ran two tests, in the first test they recorded load time for various websites and in the second test they used WebKit SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark tool.
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HP Slate Video Highlights Features Lacking on iPad


For Apple, iPad was yet another successful product launch, as the device sold more than 300,000 units in first 15 hours. This prompted HP to release video of their upcoming iPad like tablet called HP Slate. The video highlights features of Slate that are missing from the iPad, like webcam, USB port and SD card slot. HP shows Skype running on the tablet, a photo gallery application, iTunes, multitouch and video recording.
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April 5, 2010

Apple Invites Press for iPhone OS 4 Event on April 8th


Just two days after iPad launch, Apple today sent out invitations to media outlets for an iPhone OS 4 event that will be held on April 8th. The invitation shows the shadow of number ‘4’ and says “Get a sneak peek into the future of iPhone OS.” No other information is provided on the invitation about the event.
It is rumored that iPhone OS 4 will bring multitasking for third party apps, better notification system and unified mailbox. We should find out more on April 8th. We will be doing live coverage of the iPhone OS 4 event. Please join us on April 8th at 10 AM PST/ 1 PM EST on live.techztalk.com.

Apple Sells Over 300,000 iPads First Day


Apple today announced that it sold over 300,000 iPads in the US as of midnight Saturday, April 3. These sales included deliveries of pre-ordered iPads to customers, deliveries to channel partners and sales at Apple Retail Stores. Apple also announced that iPad users downloaded over one million apps from Apple’s App Store and over 250,000 ebooks from its iBookstore during the first day.
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April 4, 2010

OS on Apple iPad Reveal Upcoming iPhone, iPod and Second iPad Model


BGR is reporting that iPad OS has some interesting references to upcoming Apple productions. The devices section in the filesystem shows new model references including iPhone3,2, iPhone3,3, iPod4,1 and iProd2,1. The current model number for iPhone 3GS is 3,1, for iPod touch is 3,1 and for iPad (aka iProd) is 1,1.
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April 3, 2010

Long Lines Welcome Apple iPad


Apple iPad went on sale today and hundreds of people waited in line outside Apple stores throughout the country to get their hands on the new device. As always Apple store at 5th Avenue in New York saw the biggest crowd. Some estimates say that there were more than 1000 people waiting in line at the time of launch at the 5th Avenue store. Analysts predict that Apple will sell around 250,000 iPads on the launch weekend. And if the lines are any indications that number can prove to be very conservative. We have added a video of iPad launch at 5th Avenue Apple Store in New York below. Check it out.

April 2, 2010

iPad News: Sold Out by Early Afternoon on Launch Day; Netbook Growth Slows in Anticipation; and Sales Prediction of 7M in 2010


Apple’s new iPad will hit the stores on Saturday at 9 AM. And Envisioneering Group’s analyst Richard Doherty is already predicting that iPad will be sold out by early afternoon on Saturday. He expects long lines at Apple Store on launch day, as buyers get help setting up e-mail and adding software apps for the first time on their new iPad.
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Sharp Develops 3D Touchscreen for Mobile Devices


Sharp has developed a 3D touchscreen LCD featuring the industry’s highest brightness that can switch between 2D and 3D modes. Users can view 3D images without the need to wear special glasses, making this LCD ideal for mobile devices such as digital cameras, mobile phones, and smartphones.
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April 1, 2010

Review Roundup: Apple iPad


Apple introduced the new iPad, a tablet like device in January and will start shipping the device on April 3rd. Since Apple announced the iPad, opinions about the device have been polar opposite. Some are calling it revolutionary and future of computing, while others are calling it just a big iPod touch, even though most of them haven’t touched the iPad.
We have added links to few of the best iPad reviews available online:
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March 31, 2010

Intel and AMD Reignite High End Server War


In past few days both Intel and AMD have introduced new top-of-the-line server processors. AMD added world’s first 8- and 12-core x86 processors to their Opteron lineup on Monday. Intel followed AMD’s announcement by introducing Xeon 7500 processor series that is based on Nehalem architecture and comes with up to eight cores.
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iTunes 9.1 and iPhoto 8.1.2 Updates Bring iPad Support


Apple today updated the iTunes and iPhoto software. The update brings iPad syncing capabilities in both the software along with minor new features. iTunes 9.1 comes with several new features and improvements including:
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March 30, 2010

Application and Content Tsunami Coming for iPad Platform


Apple’s upcoming iPad can already support more than 150,000 applications that are designed for iPhone. But that’s not stopping thousands of developers, publication houses and media companies from developing exclusive content and applications for the iPad. Redesign of applications for iPad is important because it offers four times more screen real estate when compared to iPhone, allowing developers to put more information on the same page.
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Next Gen iPhone Rumors: Coming to Verizon, Higher Resolution Screen with A4 Chip


Now that iPad launch is nearly here, iPhone rumors are taking the front stage. The Wall Street Journal today reported that Apple is developing two versions of next generation iPhone, one GSM based (for AT&T) and one CDMA based (for Verizon). Both versions will be thinner and faster than present iPhone 3GS. The GSM version will follow the yearly update cycle and will be launched this summer. Whereas the production of CDMA version will start in September and it will ship later this year.
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March 29, 2010

Apple: iPad Arrives This Saturday


Apple’s new iPad will be available in all 221 US Apple retail stores and most Best Buy stores this Saturday, April 3, beginning at 9 a.m. Starting at just $499, iPad lets users browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch user interface. iPad is just 0.5 inches thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds—thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook—and delivers up to 10 hours of battery life.
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March 25, 2010

Samsung Introduces First LTE Handset SCH-r900


Samsung has introduced first commercially available LTE network infrastructures and LTE-enabled, multi-mode, CDMA, 4G handset, the Samsung SCH-r900. Samsung and MetroPCS Communications have formed a partnership to launch LTE network and devices for LTE network in US. Samsung Mobile’s network infrastructure supports a wide portfolio of enhanced node B (eNB) products, including rack types, remote radio heads, picocells and distributed antenna system (DAS) hosts.
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Analyst: Apple to Sell 1.2 Million iPads in Q2 and New iPhone Form Factor Coming


Barclays Capital’s analyst Ben Reitzes believes that Apple will sell more than 1.2 million iPads in first three months. Apple will start shipping the iPad on April 3rd and according to The Wall Street Journal the company already has pre-orders for hundreds of thousands of units.
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March 24, 2010

Robotic Test Reaffirms iPhone’s Touchscreen Superiority Over Other Smartphones


Few months back, Moto labs posted results of a simple test – which basically consists of using a basic drawing application and a finger to slowly trace straight lines on the touchscreen of each smartphone. The test clearly showed that iPhone’s touchscreen offered higher degree of sensor accuracy compared to devices like HTC Droid Eris, Motorola Droid and Google Nexus One.
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HTC EVO World’s First 3G/4G Android Smartphone


HTC and Sprint have announced world’s first 3G/4G Android handset, HTC EVO 4G that supports Sprint’s 4G WiMAX network for up to 10 times faster download speeds than 3G network. The Android 2.1 handset features 4.3-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 8-megapixel camera, forward facing 1.3-megapixel camera, 1GB RAM, 720p video recording, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, HDMI video-out and microSD card slot.
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Samsung Introduces Galaxy S Android Smartphone with 4-inch Super AMOLED Touchscreen


Samsung introduced their new Android based handset Galaxy S that will come with 1GHz Snapdragon processor and new 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen at CTIA Wireless 2010. The new 4-inch Super AMOLED display has 800 x 480 resolution with less reflection, free viewing angles and supper-fast touch response. The screen is 20 percent brighter than regular OLED screens, has 80 percent less sunlight reflection and increases battery life by 20 percent.
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March 23, 2010

Nintendo to Launch 3D Capable Nintendo 3DS


Nintendo announced today that the company will launch “Nintendo 3DS” during fiscal year ending March 2011, on which games can be enjoyed with 3D effects without the need for any special glasses.
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March 22, 2010

QuantumFilm to Bring Four Times Sharper Image to Mobile Phone Camera


InVisage Technologies unveiled QuantumFilm that uses a new kind of custom designed material called a quantum dot, which can replace a typical CMOS sensor on a mobile phone camera. QuantumFilm uses a silicon chip as its base, but it has an extra layer of quantum dot material that is better at absorbing light than silicon. The quantum dot can capture about 90-95 percent of the light that hits the surface compared to 25 percent captured by silicon surface.
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March 20, 2010

Samsung to Supply LCD Display for iPad


It has been reported previously that LG Display and Apple have struck an $800 million deal to supply 10 million LCD panels for the iPads in next one year. However, it looks like Apple is preparing itself for higher demand as Apple has also ordered Samsung Electronics to supply 3 million LCD panels for the iPad, according to Korea Times. The deal is estimated at about $240 million and Samsung should start shipping the displays very soon.
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March 19, 2010

Price and Specifications of Upcoming NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 and 470 Graphics Cards Revealed


NVIDIA will officially launch the new GeForce GTX 480 and 470 graphics cards based on Fermi architecture on 26th March. But VR-Zone has already posted detailed specifications and pricing for both the graphics cards.
The top-of-the-line GeForce GTX 480 will feature 480 CUDA cores, and offer 700Mhz core clock speed, 1401MHz shader clock speed and 1848MHz memory clock speed.
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Marvell Introduces $99 ‘Moby’ Tablet Platform


Marvell has announced a new education initiative to deliver a high performance tablet codenamed Moby based on Armada chipset. For $99, Moby tablet prototype promises to offer an always on, high performance multimedia tablet featuring live, real-time content, 1080p full-HD and 3D media, and full Flash support. According to Marvell, Moby tablet could in future eliminate the need for students to buy and carry textbooks.
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Hundreds of Thousands of iPad Pre-ordered; Apple Striving to Strike Content Deals


Apple iPad release is just two weeks way and Apple is working hard to secure content deals before the iPad launch. But nailing down the content deals is proving difficult for Apple according The Wall Street Journal. Yukari Iwatani Kane wrote on the journal:
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March 18, 2010

Windows Phone 7 Series Will Get Copy & Paste in Future


News that Windows Phone 7 Series won’t support copy & paste functionality created quite a stir around the blogosphere yesterday. But Long Zheng is now reporting that a person close to Microsoft “explained that copy & paste is definitely a scenario and feature that the team is putting a lot of thought about and hope to bring to the platform soon after initial release.”
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Google Jumping Into TV Business


NY Times is reporting that Google has teamed up with Intel and Sony to develop new Google TV platform to bring the web into the living room of consumers via next generation of televisions and set-top boxes. Google TV will make it as easy for TV users to navigate Web applications like Twitter and Picasa, as it is to change channel. The platform will be based on Android operating system and Google intends to open the Google TV platform once it is launched.
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March 17, 2010

Apple Adds Several Enhancements to iWork.com for Use with Mobile Devices


Apple announced today that they have made several enhancements to iWork.com, which will improve document sharing and access of the online service from iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. MacRumors has listed the major enhancements to the iWork that include:
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Microsoft Previews Internet Explorer 9 at MIX10


Microsoft previewed Internet Explorer 9 the next version of Internet Explorer web browser at MIX10 in Las Vegas. Microsoft also announced the Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview for developers, which is simply a preview of the platform subsystems code that is “under the hood” of the browser.
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March 16, 2010

Microsoft Showcases Windows Phone 7 Series SDK and Applications at MIX10


Microsoft provided the first in-depth look into Windows Phone 7 Series application development at MIX10 in Las Vegas. The platform combines Silverlight features for rich application development and the XNA Framework for games. Windows Phone 7 Series will allow developers and designers to build visually stunning and immersive application and games, according to Microsoft.
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Intel Launches 32nm Xeon Processor 5600 Series with Up To Six Cores


Intel today launched the Intel Xeon Processor 5600 series. The new processors deliver two new security features – Intel Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions (Intel AES-NI) and Intel Trusted Execution Technology (Intel TXT) – that enable faster encryption and decryption performance for more secure transactions and virtualized environments, providing data centers with a stronger foundation for cloud security.
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March 15, 2010

Sony PlayStation Move Motion Controller Coming in Fall 2010; First Hands-on Experience


Last week, Sony officially announced PlayStation Move motion controller and PlayStation Move sub-controller for PS3. The Move controller will ship in fall 2010 and should be priced under $100 as a starter kit that will include PlayStation Eye camera, both the motion controllers and a game. The combination of the PS3 system and PlayStation Eye camera detects the precise movement, angle and absolute position in 3D space of PlayStation Move controller, allowing users to intuitively play the game as if they themselves are within the game.
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New Details About Various iPad Features Revealed After Start of Pre-orders


Apple has posted new information about iWork, iBook, 3G service and hardware features of iPad after they started taking pre-orders for the new tablet. The iWork for iPad will be available for download from App Store starting on April 3, priced $9.99 for each application. Apple will release completely reworked version of Keynote, Pages and Numbers for iPad that will support Multitouch.
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March 12, 2010

Apple Hit with Overwhelming iPad Pre-orders


Apple started taking pre-orders for new iPad today morning and reports are coming in that Apple has been hit by overwhelming iPad demand. Andrew Erlichson CEO of Phanfare wrote on his blog that Apple is currently selling 20,000 iPads per hour. He posted:
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Panasonic Introduces LUMIX DMC-G2 and DMC-G10 Micros Four Thirds Digital Cameras


Panasonic has announced the LUMIX DMC-G2, the world’s first digital interchangeable lens system camera with a movable LCD that allows for touch-control. The intuitive touch-control shooting elevates the camera's operability, letting the user adjust auto focus (AF) simply by touching the subject on the large 3.0-inch 460,000-dot high-resolution LCD. The LUMIX G2, also shoots 720p High Definition video using the AVCHD Lite format, and joins the LUMIX G10, also introduced today, as the latest models in the LUMIX G Micro System.
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Intel Previews Core i7 980X Extreme Edition Processor; Mac Pro Based on New Processor Coming Tuesday


Intel is previewing its latest PC platform the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor, codenamed “Gulftown” the first 32nm, six-core processor with 12 computing threads. The 3.33GHz processor will have 12MB of L3 cache, and 130W TDP. According to Intel, the processor will offer 30-50 percent performance gain over previous top-of-the-line quad core desktop processors.
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March 5, 2010

iPad Ships on April 3 in US, Pre-order Starts on March 12


Apple today announced iPad will be available in US on Saturday, April 3 for WiFi models and in late April for WiFi + 3G models. In addition, all models of iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK in late April.
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March 2, 2010

NVIDIA Ion 2 Now Official, Offers 1080p Blu-ray Playback


NVIDIA today introduced next generation NVIDIA Ion graphics processor that delivers 10x faster graphics and up to 10 hours of battery life for Intel Atom netbooks. NVIDIA achieves combination of longer battery life and higher performance by using their new Optimus technology, which automatically selects the best graphics processor for running any given application – seamlessly routing the workload to either an NVIDIA discrete GPU or Intel integrated graphics.
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March 1, 2010

Sony Publishes Details About New Exmor R CMOS Sensors


Sony released cameras based on their new Exmor R back-illuminated CMOS sensor last month. According to Sony, the new sensor will allow better low-light photography, high-speed image processing, decreased power consumption and better HD video recording. The company has now published a paper highlighting the technological advancements made in designing the new image sensor.
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Apple’s A4 Chip Based on ARM Cortex-A8 and not Cortex-A9


Ars Technica speculates that Apple has kept mum about their A4 processor, as there isn’t anything to write home about. Jon Stokes of Ars Technica believes that the A4 processor is based on ARM Cortex-A8 design and not the latest ARM Cortex-A9. He wrote:
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February 26, 2010

Analyst: Lower Cost iPhone Models Coming in June


In a research note by Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty predicted that Apple would introduce lower cost iPhone models with cheaper service plans to decrease total cost of iPhone ownership. According to Katy, the biggest barriers to higher iPhone adoption are cost of the device and service plan cost. And in June Apple will introduce iPhone models that will be more pocket friendly.
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No Front Facing Camera for Video Calls on Next Generation iPhone


Rumors about next generation iPhone featuring front facing camera have been going around the blogosphere for past few days. These rumors were ignited by the news that iPhone SDK 3.2 beta has code supporting Zoom, Flash and Front Camera. Also a patent application by Apple showing handheld device with a forward facing camera added fuel to the fire.
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February 25, 2010

Apple Files Patent Application for iPhone Control via Finger Gestures Over Camera


MacRumors has discovered a patent application filed by Apple that highlights use of finger gesture over camera on iPhone to control features like voicemail playback, pause and rewind, while holding the phone near your ear. Apple also describes use of accelerometer to detect finger tapping for controlling iPhone functions. In the patent application Apple explains:
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PC World: AT&T Delivers Significantly Faster Download and Upload Speeds


Last year, PC World tested 3G services in 13 major cities in US. They concluded that Verizon 3G service was fast and reliable, whereas AT&T 3G service was fast in some cities but reliability was an issue. PC World has again done the same test in 13 cities and now they say that AT&T’s 3G network is now the top performer in 13-city test, with download speeds 67 percent faster than its competitors.
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Will MacBook Pro Update Bring Enhanced Dual Graphics?


It has been rumored since December that Apple will update their MacBook Pro lineup and bring Intel’s new Core i5 and Core i7 processors to the lineup. However, as we reported in January, Apple is not very happy with the integrated graphics chip included in the new processor package, as Apple wants to offer better graphics performance to MacBook Pro customers than Intel’s integrated graphics. Apple has been using NVIDIA 9400M chipset to achieve this in current MacBooks, but Intel Core i5 and i7 processors wouldn’t work with NVIDIA chipsets.
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February 23, 2010

PMA 2010: Samsung Introduces Four new Cameras and Two New Ultra-Compact Camcorders


At PMA 2010, Samsung added two new cameras to their TL-series, two durable cameras in SL and AQ-series and two ultra-compact high-definition budget camcorders to HMX-series. The two TL-series cameras are TL500 and TL350. The top-of-the-line TL500 comes with 10-megapixel high sensitivity CCD sensor, 3x optical zoom, F/1.8 ultra-wide lens, 3-inch swiveling AMOLED screen, 640 x 480 movie mode, dual image stabilization, manual controls A/S/M and RAW support.
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February 17, 2010

Wired Magazine and Safari on Apple iPad


Wired has been developing a digital version of their magazine called Wired Reader (video above) and demoed it at TED conference. The digital version is designed for use on tablet devices like the recently announced Apple iPad. Content for Wired Reader is created in Adobe InDesign, as is normally done for print magazine, but Wired added interactive elements like photo galleries, slideshows, animations and videos.
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February 16, 2010

ARM and Globalfoundries Develop 28nm System-on-a-Chip


ARM and Globalfoundries have released details about their upcoming system-on-a-chip (SoC) platform based on 28nm process technology. The new SoC will combine ARM’s top-of-the-line Cortex-A9 processor with Globalfoundries’ 28nm manufacturing process for improved performance and power efficiency. The new chip will target the smartphones, tablets and smartbooks.
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HTC Introduces HD Mini, Legend and Desire Smartphones


HTC has announced three new smartphones at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2010. The first phone HD Mini is based on Windows Mobile 6.5.3 and is a cheaper and smaller version of HD2. It comes with 3.2-inch HVGA touchscreen, 600MHz processor, WiFi, Bluetooth and microSD card slot. The phone features HTC’s Sense user interface and focuses on Outlook, Twitter and Facebook integration. HD Mini will be available across Europe and Asia in April 2010.
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