In the last few years, HTC has quickly moved away from a major innovator and leader in the smartphone world. As a result, the company has also suffered from more than a few fiscal setbacks in recent times.

Despite fiscal troubles, HTC isn’t going to sit idly by and do nothing. The company has started slashing prices recently and even seems to be work on a new tablet which may be shown off later at IFA this week. The new 10-inch HTC tablet certainly isn’t the sexiest tablet on the market, but it is clearly something unique and different from the rest of the pack.

The tablet itself looks somewhat like a digital photo frame or something, not your typical tablet. The thick bezel around the side/bottom is very different and makes it clear that this thing is best held vertically. The camera is also in a pretty odd spot compared to most tablets on the market.

For now it’s hard to say what this thing is. It could even turn out to be a prototype for all we know. IF it is a real tablet that HTC plans to release, what do you think of the design? You have to wonder how well it would work when holding horizontally and how exactly you would position your hands.

Source:
EVleaks via Ubergizmo

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The official word from T-Mobile is that the Galaxy Note is “currently out of stock online… however the device is still available for purchase at select T-Mobile retail stores” or online from Amazon for $159 through AT&T. They have to maintain this official stance until they are able to clear out the remaining stock, but a “very reliable industry source” is saying that T-Mobile is pegging November 1 as the “EOL” (end of life) date for the 5.3-inch superphone. That’s assuming that they’re not able to sell out the rest of the devices before then.

If you happen to be with T-Mobile and you still want to get a gigantic smartphone, but you’re not ready to buy right this instant, you probably don’t have to worry too much. We’re expecting Samsung to unveil the Galaxy Note 2 at the end of August at the IFA show in Berlin. That should give T-Mobile enough crossover time to prepare for the launch of the Galaxy Note 2 in time for the holiday shopping season.

This is probably for the best. Can you imagine how many people would be incredibly upset if they bought the Galaxy Note in the next couple of weeks, being sold on it being a “new” superphone, only to see its cooler, better, and more powerful successor released just a short time after? Maybe the G-Note 2 will finally be able to miraculously float in mid-air like the picture above?

[Source]

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Leaked information from internal slides seem to have hit German news site, Mobiflip, painting a picture of a powerful new Sony Xperia tablet. The new Sony tablet features pretty impressive specs such as a Tegra 3 quad-core processor, Android 4.0, 3G connectivity and storage choices of 16, 32 or 64GB. The tablet actually follows Sony’s existing tablet designs with its folded magazine look and is also splashproof. The pricing on the new tablet seems to start around $450 and from there goes upwards to $650. The pictures from the slides also show a lightweight keyboard that seems somewhat similar to the Microsoft Surface’s keyboard design.

So when is it coming? It’s hard to say at this point as, unsurprisingly, Sony is keeping tight-lipped about the entire leak saying they have “no comment at this stage”. Next month the European trade show IFA kicks off, so it’s very possible we will hear more about it then. Sony might be far from a major leader in the tablet space, but I have to admit it looks like a pretty attractive Android tablet from the limited views we get of it in the slides, and it’s not surprising to see a tablet out there that has a somewhat similar look to Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 tablet, either.

[ source ]

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On August 29^th Sony is planning to unveil several new handsets before IFA starts in Berlin, and one of these is the Sony LT30p. It seems that Mobile-Review managed to get their hands on the LT30p, also known as the “Mint”, well ahead of the event and have not only given us full details about the specifications of this new phone but also have released several screenshots detailing the custom Sony UI running on top of Android 4.0 ICS.

The Sony Lt30p features a 4.3-inch screen with a 720p resolution, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of Storage, a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Dual-Core processor, microSD, microUS, microSIM slot, NFC and an internal battery. What’s most impressive are the video cameras found in the LT30p, which include a 720p front-facing camera and a powerful 13MP 1080p rear-facing camera. Interestingly enough, Mobile Review claims the screen is 4.3-inches but set against the Galaxy S III it looks more likely that the LT30p is 4.6-inches in size.

Unlike the NXT range from Sony, the Lt30P uses ICS onscreen navigation keys and manages to move away from the need for physical buttons on its front. The other physical buttons on this Sony smartphone are a power button, volume rocker, and camera shutter buttons- all of which are curiously located on the bottom right hand side of the phone. It seems that the custom software in the Lt30P has also changed from other Sony offerings including quick access to certain applications from your homescreens and other changes to the Small Apps.

Overall, benchmarks indicate that the Sony Lt30P is a little less powerful than other high-end devices like the HTC Ones S and Galaxy S III, but it still seems to be a rather capable device that is nothing short of attractive in design.

[ Mobile Review via Slashgear ]

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I couldn’t help but think of Ben Stiller’s hilariously tiny phone in Zoolander when I hit the sWaP (smart Watch and Phones) booth at IFA Berlin; getting no less than an eyefull of their wearable technology. Having already endowed the world with real-live Dick Tracy phone watches, they were showing off the new Nova, a matchbox-sized phone and timepiece that you can wear around your neck (lanyard included), which they say is “potentially” the smallest phone in the world. At that size, not to mention its PacMan-y graphics and mini stylus (!), it seems like something I’d use as a conversation piece rather than for having an actual conversation. So if i’m going get that frivolous, I’ll pass on the red-and-chrome and black-and-chrome versions and wait for the Nova Crystal they had on display to be released. That one’s pimped out in white leather and studded with Swarovsky crystals. Ring my bling, yo!

The sWaP Nova is due out late this year for around £199 ($302 USD).

[sWaP]

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Sampling the future of mobile technology at IFA Berlin has made me kaleidescopically dizzy, so by the time I get to fiddling with the touchscreen of the much talked about Nokia N8, it still feels, for all its graphic snazziness, a tad like a trip into, well, the present (hello, Symbian!). To be sure, its anodized aluminum case in silver-white, gray, orange, blue and, my favorite, a kind of retro sci-fi green, is a treat to hold and behold, but where you really find the wow is on the entertainment side of things. Turn it over and etched around the wide-angle lens are the words “Carl Zeiss” and behind that are 12 megapixels to capture what goes through it. That, and the suite of HD video editing functions and WebTV capacity, seems a bit like the tail wagging the mobile dog (will Nikon now add SIM cards to cameras?), so I’m wondering what could they possibly be thinking here. When I pan in camera mode across the convention hall, I gaze at the 16:9 nHD (640 x 360) AMOLED screen and the picture becomes a lot clearer.

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SigmaTek 7-inch eReader EBKT-101

France’s SigmaTek Computer will be launching a pair of eBook readers at IFA next month. The 5-inch and 7-inch eReaders both have TFT displays with a resolution of 800×480. Inside is a RockChip2808 CPU running 600MHz, nothing sensational and could pose a problem since this eReader is not meant for just eReading. Support for “multimedia” features include AVI, XviD, and MKV video, with MP3, WMA, FLAC, AAC, WAV, and OGG music. How this will handle HD movies remains to be seen, 720p would be expected as it only has 128MB of SDROM.

We’ve been informed that the OS will be “Rockchip OS”, however the specs of this eBook match those of others equipped with Android so that could be a possibility. There is no App store nor support for third party apps yet, so a jailbreak to Android seems possible. Software will be an iTunes like utility for managing your music, photos, videos and books purchased from an “internet website.” That’s great, it means it will be open for you to grab EPUB, PDF and TXT files from anywhere you choose.

They will be in stores this October, for 119 euros and 99 euros for the 7-inch and 5-inch models respectively.

SigmaTek 5-inch eReader EBKT-51

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Elliptic plans to showcase their “Mimesign” technology at IFA in Berlin from the 3rd to 8th of September 2010. Mimesign will bring intuitive ways for people to interact with devices. The possibilities range from tablets, remote controls or in-car media controls. The interface is based on ultrasound technology and allows the user to remain in an unchanged state. Meaning, you can pimp slap your way through a photo album.

It’s really as simple as it sounds. A set of gestures are programmed in to the interface allowing the user to navigate with free, unrestricted hand movements. It’s a great invention and has many practical uses, for instance waving your hand to change radio stations in the car is much safer than leaning over to find the button. But waving your hand across the air to change photos on your media player is a bit of extra work for me, I would rather tap the edge of the screen to flip pictures than to wave my hand across two feet of air. Perhaps the movements in the video are more dramatic than they need to be?

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