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T-Mobile, Motorola respond to Senator Franken's Carrier IQ questions

Brad Molen — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:37:00 EST

The deadline has passed for T-Mobile and Motorola to respond to Senator Al Franken's Carrier IQ questionnaire, and both companies' reports are in. We'll first tackle T-Mobile's letter: the carrier stated that it began installing CIQ last August, and nearly 450,000 Android and BlackBerry devices are infested with the IQ Agent software, which is used for individual troubleshooting cases and marketing purposes. This is a more moderate use than Sprint or AT&T, which both mentioned that it was actively pinging their CIQ-enabled phones to collect data on service and wireless performance on their networks. Nine T-Mobile devices in total contain the IQ Agent: the HTC Amaze 4G, Samsung Galaxy S II and Exhibit II 4G, LG MyTouch and MyTouchQ, LG DoublePlay and the BlackBerry 9900, 9810 and 9360. Motorola, meanwhile, admitted that CIQ is installed on four of its devices: the Admiral, Titanium, Bravo and Atrix 2. While this rounds up all of the companies that were asked by Senator Franken to respond, we're still anxious to see what kind of effect this will have. We've already witnessed one major change, as Sprint's agreed to disable the software on its phones, but who's next? Where do we go from here?

T-Mobile, Motorola respond to Senator Franken's Carrier IQ questions originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Desire review

Richard Lai — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:34:00 EST

Following the Legend, HTC continues its Android 2.1 lineup with the Desire -- a gorgeous cousin of the renowned Nexus One. We can trace our drool all the way back to the Desire's leak in December, but there have been some changes since then that made it slightly less desirable -- DivX support and 720p video capture never made it to the final build, but it's not like the company laid down any official promise on them, right? Anyhow, there's still plenty to be loved here, namely the speedy 1GHz Snapdragon, the large AMOLED screen, and HTC's latest revision of Sense UI that we've already seen on the Legend. Now, there are probably two questions floating in the minds of our readers: is the Desire worth the extra moola over the Legend? And is it any better than the Nexus One? Let's all find out together.

Update: commenter NigelL pointed out that HTC will push out DivX support in a future update. Thanks!

Gallery: HTC Desire review

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HTC Desire review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Bravo spotted again, looking as real as ever

Chris Ziegler — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:51:00 EST

Now that we're being blessed with our second in-the-wild shot of the alleged HTC Bravo, we're just going to go ahead and call it: this Nexus One-alike is almost certainly real. Of course, there are a couple key differences against its Google-sponsored cousin -- first you've got the optical pad (or so it seems) in place of a trackball, and perhaps more importantly, Sense makes its Android 2.1 debut. Apart from a quickly-retracted remark from 3 Sweden that we'd see this in March, we don't really have any intel on when (or where) this'll drop, but hey, it's looking pretty production-ready to us.

[Thanks, Carl]

HTC Bravo spotted again, looking as real as ever originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Bravo gettin' overexposed in the wild?

Chris Ziegler — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:39:00 EST

As breathtakingly bad as the picture is, what we're looking at here could very well be the first shot of HTC's upcoming Bravo in the wild -- the industrial design lines up nicely with what we've seen in the company's leaked roadmap, anyway, and that funky little optical pad in the center perfectly matches the component that you can clearly see on the Legend render. It's said to be "near identical" to the Nexus One -- which makes sense considering that we thought the Nexus One was the Bravo for a while -- so the big draws here would have to be the removal of the trackball (we're not complaining) and the Sense UI covering up Android 2.1's default look. If 3 Sweden knew what it was talking about, this thing could be on shelves this quarter... so watch your back, MOTOROI.

HTC Bravo gettin' overexposed in the wild? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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3 Sweden says it's getting HTC Bravo in March

Chris Ziegler — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:46:00 EST

If you were hoping for a little more Sense with your Nexus One, you might want to keep your sights set on the late part of the first quarter or the early part of the second. That leaked roadmap from a while back had the so-called Bravo pegged for April, a phone that would ultimately form the basis of the Nexus One -- at least in hardware specification -- but 3 Sweden's official Facebook page made mention this week of a March launch. The combination of Snapdragon, a 3.7-inch AMOLED display, a 5 megapixel camera, and a full Android 2.1-based implementation of HTC's Sense UI is a juicy thought indeed, and we can't imagine that such a beast would only launch on 3. Since T-Mobile USA's taking a pass on offering the Nexus One in stores, perhaps this is the version they've been waiting for?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

3 Sweden says it's getting HTC Bravo in March originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Phone / Nexus One makes first Twitter appearance? (update: new pics!)

Thomas Ricker — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 11:18:00 EST

Look familiar? For a story that broke on Twitter it's only fitting that the first reported picture of the mythical, magical "Google Phone" (AKA, Nexus One) would appear there as well. The tweeted image above appears courtesy of one Cory O'Brien, an account manager at a San Francisco Bay Area marketing agency that does not list Google as a client. That note of caution aside, the image above is an exact match to that leaked HTC Passion / Bravo image from October, only this time lacking the HTC logo on the top-side bezel. Besides the pic, O'Brien tweets that the "Google Phone = iPhone + a little extra screen and a scroll wheel. Great touch screen, and Android." Granted, none of this is confirmed yet, but with Google releasing so many of the devices as part of its "mobile lab" concept, well, we expect to see plenty more sightings in the run up to the rumored January launch.

Update: A quick search for "nexus one" on Google's Picasa photo service reveals several pictures taken with a camera pegged as the HTC Nexus One in the EXIF data. The very first of these geotagged 2592×1944 pixel (that's a 5 megapixel sensor folks, hardly "weirdly large" as described by TechCrunch) images were taken by user Bradley (who just happens to be a Picasa friend to Sergey... hint) in the SF Bay Area on November 27th. A few are clearly lit by an onboard flash as well. In fact, many of the pics appear to be taken from within Google's offices and at Google sponsored events. The quality is not exactly spectacular and that won't likely change in the final product because even Google's bound by the laws of physics when it comes to tiny cellphone sensors.

Update 2: The device seems to have been around earlier with an EXIF identifier of "Phone88." Fortunately, Google's own employees have uploaded pics of the device, by the device, for us to marvel at -- so meta. Check the gallery for the images or a quickie close-up posted after the break.

Gallery: Nexus One first sample photographs

[Thanks, Alberto and Aaron C.]

Continue reading Google Phone / Nexus One makes first Twitter appearance? (update: new pics!)

Google Phone / Nexus One makes first Twitter appearance? (update: new pics!) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Dec 2009 11:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google employees given HTC-made Google Phones, January launch imminent?

Joshua Topolsky — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 10:57:00 EST

TechCrunch was certain that rumors of a pending honest-to-goodness Google Phone were the real deal, and now according to the site, Google employees are already tweeting with the devices in hand. If you believe what you see on Twitter, Google drones were given the HTC-designed handsets at an all-hands staff event, and the phone is quite a looker. One tweet reads "ZOMG we had fireworks and we all got the new Google phone. It's beautiful." while another says the phone is "Like an iPhone on beautifying steroids." One other, non-Google user on Twitter who's seen the device says that the device is a bit thinner than the iPhone, has a trackball (a la Hero), and has no physical keyboard... which sounds like the Bravo / Passion we've seen a lot of lately (and we hear is coming to the US soon). Apparently the device is running Android 2.1, is unlocked and AT&T-ready (no word on 3G status, but this could line up with our speculation about this being the carrier's first Android phone), and will be due sometime in January. We're guessing if that last bit is true, it will coincide with a CES announcement, but anything could happen at this point. If the device is out in the wild in such a big way, an end of the year press release wouldn't shock us either; of course, it's entirely possible that this is going to end up becoming the Android Dev Phone 1's true successor or an elaborate prank on Google's part in response to the rumors that have been building steam over the past couple weeks (they're crafty and they have a sense of humor -- it could happen). Anyhow, check out one of the tweet-tears after the break, and stay tuned for more info!

Update: Google all but confirms that devices are floating around on campus in a post on its blog:

We recently came up with the concept of a mobile lab, which is a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities, and we shared this device with Google employees across the globe. This means they get to test out a new technology and help improve it.

Not only that, but TechCrunch has more details on the device, claiming it will be a Google controlled, HTC-built model actually dubbed the "Google Phone," and will feature a "super high resolution OLED display," a Snapdragon CPU, a mic on the back of the phone that helps to eliminate background noise, is "really, really fast," and most importantly, will be sold unlocked. Essentially, TC claims that the phone will function on any GSM network you throw at it -- we assume that means an extremely rare pairing of both T-Mobile and AT&T 3G bands in the radio. Of course right now this is all speculation and hearsay -- until we get some solid facts (and maybe a device or two on camera), don't pull out the credit card just yet.

Update 2: Jon Gruber over at Daring Fireball says that the Google Phone is identifying itself as "Nexus One" (a Blade Runner reference) in its user agent string, though apparently Sony is calling its Android UI "Nexus" as well. Furthermore, a tweet from the man claims that he's heard the phone sports 3G for T-Mobile only, thus seriously dashing hopes that this would play nice all over the US of A. Again, grain of salt everyone.

Continue reading Google employees given HTC-made Google Phones, January launch imminent?

Google employees given HTC-made Google Phones, January launch imminent? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 10:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Bravo pictured more lucidly (Update: coming to US in January as HTC Passion)

Vlad Savov — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:11:00 EST

We realize we might have overfed you a little with that plentiful leak of HTC's 2010 plans, so here's a chance to better ogle and digest HTC's "Performance" flagship to be: the Bravo. Pairing Android with Qualcomm's 1GHz Snapdragon and presenting a 3.7-inch AMOLED facade, this certainly ticks the headline boxes, and the addition of a five megapixel AF cam capable of 720p video capture gives it an extra sheen of 2010 newness. The picture above is accompanied by less solid info indicating a 1,400mAh battery, which will be joined by the mandatory WiFi, Bluetooth and MicroUSB connectivity, plus MicroSD expansion, FM radio tuner, digital compass, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Then again, the source is the same bunch of heroes responsible for our extra early -- and accurate -- info on the HD2, so those specs may be considered pretty reliable. Oh, if you're wondering about the touchscreen, it's capacitive, like it should be.

Update: If you were wondering about the difference between the Bravo and the recently leaked Passion, there is none other than the branding apparently. We're also hearing that the above handset will be available in the US in January, a cool three months ahead of the expected European release.

HTC Bravo pictured more lucidly (Update: coming to US in January as HTC Passion) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC's 2010 roadmap goes on display?

Chris Ziegler — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:23:00 EST

Those among us with minds like steel traps might recall that HTC's 2009 was leaked with shocking accuracy way back in January of this year, which lends some credibility to this already-believable series of slides we have seemingly showing off most of the good stuff we can expect out of the company in the coming months. The stuff we're privy to here was allegedly presented at a meeting in Vienna back in October, with both Windows Mobile and Android designs broken up into four target demo categories: Design / Lifestyle, Social, Performance (we like the sound of that), and Productivity -- but don't take our word for it. Follow the break for everything you need to know about this very real-sounding downpour of specs and renders.

Gallery: HTC portfolio for first half of 2010

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HTC's 2010 roadmap goes on display? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Huge stash of HTC Android codenames found within 2.1 ROM

Paul Miller — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:39:00 EST

You know that leaked HTC Sense ROM with Android 2.1 underneath? Well, somebody did some digging and found a wild stack of HTC Android handset codenames buried within. It starts in the realm of the familiar, with mentions of Dragon, Passion, Dream and Hero, but then it starts to get a little wild. Here's the full list: Bahamas, Bravo, DesireC, Dragon, Dream, Espresso, Halo, HeroCT, HeroC, Hero, Huangshan, Incredible, Legend, Liberty, Memphis, Paradise, PassionC, Passion, Sapphire and Supersonic. Pretty wild, right? There's no telling what exactly this list implies, other than the fact that Passion and Dragon are indeed on the books, and that HTC's naming department can really let the superlatives fly, but we're sure all will be made clear over the next year or two.

Huge stash of HTC Android codenames found within 2.1 ROM originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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