HTC have had a great history of releasing popular budget handsets. The wildfire and wildfire S have all been massive sellers in the android market.  The latest generation follows hot on the heels of the current Android leading HTC One series.

Here are the high level specs that will be of interest:

• Ice Cream Sandwich ( HTC Sense 4 customisation)
• Beats Audio
• 3.5-inch HVGA screen
• 600MHz processor (  enough for email, music playback and other apps- might struggle on some games)
• Dropbox integration and free 25MB storage.
• Near Field communication essential for Future proofing your phone for the next generation of apps and services.

T-Mobile UK today announces pricing for the new HTC Desire C. The handset will be free on Pay Monthly plans from £15.50 per month (24 months), or for £169.99 on Pay As You Go. It will be available in-store, online and via telesales in early June.

 

Available in white and black, and coming with HTC Sense 4.0 integrated with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), the HTC Desire C is great as a first smartphone or for those upgrading from an existing one. Packing a powerful battery and offering access to thousands of apps, games, music and movies – available through Google Play – you will always be connected and entertained whether at work, home or on the move.

 

“Listening to music is one of the most popular things people use their phones for, so it’s more important than ever that we deliver the power and emotion artists capture in the studio,” said Jason Mackenzie, President, Global Sales and Marketing for HTC Corporation. “The HTC Desire C offers customers excellent design, easy access to content and fast connectivity – making it the perfect all round device.”

 

Authentic sound without compromise

The HTC Desire C features a powerful, yet rich studio-quality sound experience that is enabled through the combination of optimized Beats Audio and amazing hardware.  This integration enables a rich, clear audio experience to customers no matter if they’re listening to music or playing a game.

 

Premium design taken to a new level

Combining a durable metal frame with precision engineering, the HTC Desire C is ideal for those who want a premium-designed phone. Boasting a micro-drilled earpiece for sharp in-call sound, hyper-viewing angle display and metal camera bezel, this compact smartphone offers an unrivalled level of design and user-experience for its class.

 

Designed for sharing

Packing the latest mobile technology into a neat, eye-catching design, HTC Desire C’s vibrant 3.5-inch HVGA screen makes it easy to browse the Web, view photos or connect with friends and family. If you like to share personal experiences with your social network, HTC Desire C’s 5 megapixel camera and instant sharing capabilities will allow you to post any moment, seconds after it was captured.

 

Through HTC Desire C’s deep integration of Dropbox and 25GB of free online space[i], you also have the freedom to securely back-up, browse and share thousands of photos, videos and documents, whether stored locally or in the cloud.

 

Ensuring that HTC Desire C keeps pace with new mobile services as they become available there is also an NFC variant of this model, allowing users to make payments or access information and offers.

Availability

HTC Desire C will be available from Tesco Mobile, Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile, Virgin Media, Three.

Related posts:

1. Samsung Galaxy S2 beats iPhone to phone of year
2. HTC goes for number 1 in their new range of handsets
3. Samsung Galaxy S3: Smartest Android phone launched!

Developers from all over Europe have come to the new Google Campus in techcity, to get their heads around Google’s new TV platform.

If you are wondering about what Google Tv will be able to do later in the year in the UK. Head on over to the Google TV home page:

Developers: If you want to create the next Angry Birds ( or facebook) for Google TV- then head over to the Google TV Publishers page to get started.

The Hackathon

The morning started with an open introductory keynote, from Google Campus, Londroid and several webservice providers including LoveFilm.com.  The discussions concluded with a group brainstorming exercise where the group was encouraged to share some ideas.  Finally developers were let loose on the Google Tv developer devices which have been stationed around the campus.

We are all looking forward to see what the teams will come up with at the end of the hackathon, when the final apps are presented tomorrow. Thanks to efforts of sponsor ( and android developers) Novoda and Londroid- for organising!

Google Campus

Google’s new Campus building the perfect setting on this Saturday morning for the event. What could be better than an open source building, to build on an open source platform?
Google have designed campus from the ground up to embody its open source ethos. They have taken out a lease on a building in tech city and refurbished it and made it the perfect launchpad for the next Facebook ( or Google!).  Already at about 90% capacity, startups from all over Europe have flocked to take advantage of the networking opportunities and services
Some of the services on offer include:

• Blisteringly fast internet connection
• Co-working space and desks that can be rented by month.
• A great coffee shop!
• One of the best education libraries I have seen.
• Meeting Spaces.

To find out more information – head over to their page: Google Campus

Google TV

Google TV is the up and coming platform for google that is set to revolutionise the way that you watch interact with your tv.  Look out for my handson demo of Google Tv coming soon.  In the mean time- you can check out the introduction to Google TV here:

If you are wondering about what Google Tv will be able to do later in the year in the UK. Head on over to the Google TV home page:

Developers: If you want to create the next Angry Birds ( or facebook) for Google TV- then head over to the Google TV Publishers page to get started.

Related posts:

1. RNIB: Hackathon Apis
2. Isobar O2 #CreateLondon Hackathon Day 1
3. Android devs see red at Google maps tax

The real magic happens when you add it to your tech’ed up mobile phone and thus connection to your apps, and internet connectivity. Some of the ideas talked about are going completely change the way that people, buy, shop, advertise, discover and connect with each other.

Some of the top experts in NFC  are in the room, from companies like Google, Isobar, Kovio,  o2, Proxama and Blackberry. We also have entrants from all over europe, who have come in just participate in the event and win some of the stunning prizes.

Day 1 Roundup

Most of the first half of the day was taken up by lightning talks from experts to try and help them teams resolve their ideas into something that was commercial and innovative. The standout talks by Google and Proxama illustrating how NFC is already being used by companies like Nike, LG and even Lexus were mind expanding. I really loved the idea about how in Taiwan it is already being used for Taxi bookings, illustrate how juicy the technology is and ripe for adoption.

The Event

The hackathon is being hosted in Shoreditch Studios in London and I have been pleasantly surprised by how well its been organised, clearly a lot of thought and effort has gone into it. From having ample food available the whole time, with treats every few hours. So far we have had our own Ice cream cart parked outside, which gave us a great opportunity to chill out on the o2 deck chairs outside and take a break from coding.
Last night when energy was starting to flag, we were treated to our own private pick and mix sweet trolley that would make old Woolworths blush. Not forgetting the Hoolahooping, with Radiohead and Galaxy tablets as prizes for the well earned winners.

Some of the Ideas

Here is a list of a small selection of the ideas that I thought you might be interested in:
Personalization-LG are using NFC in car to automatically switch phones into car mode and connect to the inbuilt home entertainment system.
Advertising-Already pushed out around London, Clear Channel, Proxama and Isobar have rolled out a network of nfc enabled Bus stops which allow users to find out more about the advert by tapping.
Managing Receipts-In san-francisco, a company has already started piloting electronic receipts via NFC- Love this idea especially as it will be real tree saver.
Loyalty- In Nice, France, the government has partnered with local retailers to build NFC infrastructure for loyalty cards ( aka Carte Magique)
Automated Shopping- Purchase Tickets and NFC handles automated check in to your social networks too.
Sales- Lexus have rolled out the technology in their showrooms in Dubai that let people demo their new car entertainment systems from within the car.

Yes- NFC Bingo is awesome…….. trust me, we are hooked.

Our Team is going to spend the next few hours tidying up our ideas so we are ready for the big presentation at the end of the day.

Thanks to the brilliant efforts of Isobar and o2 we have an amazing event and tools to really explore what NFC can ( and probably will end up doing)

For those of you interested in finding out about future hackathons, join the UK Hackathon and Jams Meetup group

Related posts:

1. Create London #NFC Hack day for mobile
2. Android Workshop Day 1 Start
3. RNIB: Hackathon Apis

The fact that the Kindle e-reader has managed to spawn such a huge amount of sales, currently sitting at over a million units shipped a week, completely blows away any of the sales numbers that any Android tablet has hit to date.

What is interesting as well is how its begun to enter the public psyche, spawning its own cottage industry of 3rd party accessories. A quick browse at Mobile fun’s store shows over 87 different kindle covers varying in price from just under £10.00 all the way up to £35 for the “tan leather” cover which is amongst the top 10 covers sold.

I have been told over and over that ebook readers won’t do as much as tablets so will ultimately disappear. By contrast we are actually seeing how very successful these devices are despite using “inferior” e-ink technology, which offer long battery life, easy reading in daylight conditions, and a very cheap price.

So Whats going on here?

Amazon are one of the few companies in the mobile market at the moment, who can make more money in the market from selling other 3rd party products to subsidise hardware. Unlike most android manufacturers:
1. they have a successful ebook business,
2. an mp3 store
3. and thanks to their purchase of pushbutton.tv they can do movie and tv shows too.

All the above mean that Amazon can keep the kindle cheap, can bring out a product that is infinitely suited to its purpose and can ship it as a standardised product that other 3rd parties can afford to tool up their factories and make money even on niche accessories (like a pink Kindle Cover with kickstand)

Killing them softly

By selling cheap, Amazon is ultimately setting other Android tablets to their doom. In a market where public expect to buy amazon tablets for £200, a £500 tablet will ultimately be unsuccessful and will die out. This doesn’t bode well for Android as ultimately to drive things forward we want to see better and faster hardware so that we can really push the limits on what is possible. By turning Android into a budget tablet screen, it can’t be long, before they are given away free with newspaper and magazine subscriptions with such low specs that they will struggle to play even the most basic augmented reality game.

Unless the price drops on Android Tablets, I can’t see a day anytime soon where they will be able to match a 3 million kindles shipped in one day The tablet manufacturers view tablets as a safe haven for their declining pc markets, however unless they play their cards right, encourage alternative streams of sales based on using their platforms as a channel for brands and other 3rd party services, it won’t be long till the choice of tablets are Kindle or Ipad. Guys its time to step up your game- now am off to go find me a pink cover for my Motorola Xoom.

Related posts:

1. London Android Hackathon results are in!
2. 2x Motorola Xoom 2s hitting UK in November
3. Countdown to London Android conference has started

There are so many major improvements in latest android that its hard to put them on one page.  Even Google on their Android 4.0 platform highlights  launch page still don’t even scratch the surface on all the amazing features.

The only way to do it is to have  phone with it on.  Up until this morning the only option was to purchase a brand new Galaxy Nexus phone.  For those of you there with a Google Nexus S, there is another way- just follow the steps below ( tested ok on stock UK Google Nexus S )

How to Update: ( Make sure you backup first!)

IMPORTANT! The below method works for me and I have also included a video by another helpful Androider at the end of the method.  It didn’t work perfectly for me first time so I have added some helpful comments in my procedure below to ensure you don’t hit the bumps I did.  As with any update some things may go wrong so if you are concerned, then just wait for the notification for the official update to hit your handset ( any risk you take is your own!)

1. Download the Nexus S Ice Cream Sandwich update package from the google servers here: Link for Android 4.0

2. Save it to your computer

3. Rename the file to update.zip

4. Plug in your phone via the USB and click the button to turn on USB storage

5. Copy the update.zip into the root of your phone( ie not in a subfolder)

6. Eject the usb from your computer.

7. (Optional) Make sure you have backed up everything – Google seem to have done a great job ensuring that your data is looked after even when upgrading but better to be safe.  I also make sure I have put at least half a battery charge on the phone just incase.

8. (Optional 2) I also turn off any security locks on the phone eg lock patterns or pins- but put them back on after the upgrade.  I have had earlier issues before with these things causing problems for the update

9. Power down the phone, and Turn it back on ensuring you are holding the Power button and Volume Up button.

10. This will boot you into the Android Control Screen.  Press the Volume down button to select recovery and then press the power button.

11. You will now be presented with a screen with an Android  and a warning sign.  You have to press the Power button and Volume button within a second or two after this screen appears otherwise like me – you will have to start again from point 9.  I managed to do it after the second go.

12. You are then presented with the android system recovery screen.  Press the volume down button to select “Apply Update from /sdcard)  and then press the power button.

13. My friend Paul doesn’t follow point 13 on anything so moving onto 14.

14. Select the update.zip flle and press power button.

15. Now leave it alone, don’t touch it, definitely don’t do anything except wait for it to finish upgrading.  (seriously don’t touch it)

16. Enjoy your delicious Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android and share with me what new features you love!

Here is the video of how to update

Link found via the cool peeps At Xda Developers and thanks for QBKing77 for his Video

Related posts:

1. Official: Ice Cream Sandwich for Sony 2011 phones
2. Official: Galaxy Nexus Details and Pictures+ More Ice Cream Sandwich details
3. DELAYED! Samsung Galaxy Nexus in UK shipping 2 December

The most interesting thing is that  Android managed to get 3 of the top 5 nominated phones in the shape of the Sony Ray and the HTC Sensation as nominated by press and other experts in the industry.

Android tempting the Apple masses?

Speaking to many Android users that I do, through work focus groups and from my own personal contacts, there was an interesting change in tone this year. A few android phones have started to tempt the loyal iPhone followers away from their much loved devices.

The HTC Sensation was also in the top 5

In one case, I was shocked that someone who was an ardent iPhone fanatic last year was seen sporting a new shiny Samsung Galaxy S2. When quizzed what made him switch?

Its Beautiful and its fast

Beautiful and Fast- its that simple?

The simpleness of the answer astounded me- after all the manufacturers work on apps and features to let you phone do all but cook your dinner, the fundamental two key things that people want was something that was beautiful to look at ( i.e. amazing screen technology and clean interface) and fast(lets you power through those tasks quickly.)

Clearly Samsung’s focus on creating great devices with great user experiences is starting to pay off, however with Sony recently patenting the next iteration of high end screens, how long will this last?

Sony Ray is one of the phones tempting users away from Iphone

For full list of nominations check out Pocketlint’s site

Related posts:

1. Samsung Galaxy S3: Smartest Android phone launched!
2. HTC goes budget with new beats phone
3. Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc vs. iPhone 4

See below for the video of him giving a video overview of the phone ( perched on the street near the post office he picked it up from)

Here is a great run through tour of icecream sandwich.

Here is a video of the face unlock and the sheer joy of playing with his new toy. You can also admire the intimate details of Andrew’s very busy and tidy desk)  (Andrew do you accept bribes in exchange for phones?!)

Video: Galaxy Nexus Unboxing videos by the Stripey Shirted Andrew McSweeney.

Related posts:

1. Samsung Galaxy Nexus is coming to Uk november 17
2. DELAYED! Samsung Galaxy Nexus in UK shipping 2 December
3. Official: Galaxy Nexus Details and Pictures+ More Ice Cream Sandwich details

Sony have confirmed via their blog that they are going to be releasing the updated versions Android to its 2011 line of Sony Phones.  Here is the official word if you don’t believe me!

We plan to upgrade the entire 2011 Xperia™ portfolio* to the next version of Android known as Android 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich

The full list of handsets include:

• Xperia™ arc
• Xperia arc S
• Xperia™ PLAY
• Xperia™ neo
• Xperia  neo V
•  Xperia™ mini
• Xperia mini pro
• Xperia™ pro
• Xperia™ active
• Xperia™ ray
• Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman™

Sony have already rolled out in their recent 2.3.4 update some Ice Cream Sandwich features eg Screenshots and panorama capture, whether they will be removing these and opting for the Native solutions is anyones guess.  I personally hope they opt for the standard ICS features as that means a lot less work and time before I can load it onto my precious Sony Arc.

Ice Cream Sandwich for Sony Ericsson 2011 Xperia™ portfolio — Sony Ericsson Product Blog.

Related posts:

1. Official: Galaxy Nexus Details and Pictures+ More Ice Cream Sandwich details
2. Nexus S: Ice Cream Sandwich released UK!
3. Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc vs. iPhone 4

If you’re looking to upgrade to the Nexus S you can via The Carphone Warehouse to O2,Orange and of course Vodafone.

As we know Vodafone will be selling it direct themselves with the new exclusive all white version very soon and it’s a waiting game to see if you can get it elsewhere after any ‘exclusive’ period has expired.

You can also still get the buy one get one half price deal on all extras such as cases,pouches etc.

If you want the Nexus S click here, if it’s the extras you want click here.

The bonus of course is that any phone purchased from CPW is you get a more varied tariff and will be both unlocked and not have the branding that some networks decide to paste their phones with.

Related posts:

1. Nexus S: Ice Cream Sandwich released UK!
2. UK Pre-release Galaxy Nexus Unboxing

When you pop down to your local phone shop to browse the expensive shiny phones it can be hard enough deciding what to get and Samsung, in a good way, have made that a little bit harder for you.

They’ll all come packing the Android platform and your and my friend Engadget has a full run down of the specs and press release from Samsung.

Now we suspect that this is a stop gap until Samsung releases something special at the Mobile World Congress.

Related posts:

1. Samsung Galaxy S2 beats iPhone to phone of year
2. Samsung Galaxy Nexus is coming to Uk november 17