While they are in no danger of going bankrupt any time soon, HTC did see a 30% drop in profits in 2009’s first quarter.  That translates into a loss of £98.6m, or $147 USD.  HTC representatives say that the economic recession which is affecting a large part of the world and a number of delayed shipments are to blame.  Overall, the company brought in $31.6 billion in Taiwanese dollars, down from the $32.7 billion they made in 2008.  Despite this, HTC reported that sales were up 12% in March of 2010, indicating that while delayed shipments may have caused some issues in Q1, the rest of 2009 may see profits rise once again.

Comment (0)

Rumors from TmoNews (who heard it from a friend of a friend, you know how that goes) list release dates for almost a dozen different T-Mobile devices.  This list includes the HTC Snap and the HTC Touch Pro 2, aka the HTC Rhodium.  According to the list, the HTC Snap will be appearing on T-Mobile July 1, and the Touch Pro 2 will follow it July 22.  One device on the list that wasn’t given a definite launch date was the Android-based HTC Magic, which was still marked with a TBD.  Is this list more fact or fiction?  We’ll have a good idea in about six weeks, which is when the first device (the 2009 Sidekick) is listed for release.

Comment (0)

While it may have been delayed in the UK until May, the HTC Magic/G2 continues to appear at trade shows and the like, including CTIA 2009.  Those who attended got a good look at the device, which is visually very similar to the HTC G1.  The biggest difference is that there’s no physical keyboard.  This makes the phone a bit slimmer and a little lighter.  As far as buttons go, it’s got the standard 5 button design that the G1 has.  Reviews of the virtual keyboard have been fairly good, although some say it’s not as responsive as those found on other phones.  The rest of the Magic’s abilities and apps have, so far, been graded as adequate but not magical.  However, it should be noted that these advance models may not be the finished product, especially after this mysterious hardware issue that has caused the delay.

Comment (0)

Recently, we discussed how Google had removed all tethering apps from the Android Market, but they’ve recently changed their minds, somewhat.  Tethering apps are once again available for HTC Dream users in Australia and Singapore and for users who have unlocked Dreams.  In a statement made about the decision, Google places the blame solely on T-Mobile.  They say that the tethering apps were in direct violation of some of T-Mobile’s U.S. user agreements, which is why these apps are now being made available to the rest of the world but not the U.S. Android Market.  This, of course, doesn’t set so well with some U.S. G1 users, but until T-Mobile changes their policy, it looks like tethering won’t be available.

Comment (0) Read More...

Rumors that the HTC Magic won’t be released until May have sprung up on the internet recently, and Pocket-lint says they’ve confirmed with Vodafone that the Magic will be delayed.  It looks like the new release date for the second Android phone is now May 1st.  Why the delay?  Neither Vodafone nor HTC is really saying much about it.  One HTC rep did mention a last minute hardware change, but he wouldn’t go into any detail.  There has also been no news on whether this hardware change affects only the Magic or if other HTC phones will be delayed as well.

Comment (0)

EA Mobile and HTC have joined forces to release the HTC Touch HD and two EA Mobile games in the Asian market.  The two games EA Mobile has made available to those who purchase this bundle are Need for Speed Undercover and Monopoly Here and Now.  Need for Speed Undercover in a racing game that pits players against an international crime ring while racing through the streets of several cities.  Monopoly Here and Now, on the other hand, is a port of the classic board game where players move around the board purchasing as much property as they can.  Both games have been reported to look great on the Touch HD’s screen.

Comment (0)

DataViz, an app builder, has announced that they’ve added Android friendly versions of their program Documents to Go Standard Edition v 1.0 and RoadSync Beta to the Android Market.  These two apps will allow HTC G1 and Magic users to access Microsoft Office documents on their devices and use Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync to sync their phones with Microsoft Outlook email.  Documents to Go supports Word and Excel documents from Microsoft Office 97 through 2007 for PC and Office 98, 01, 04, and 08 for Mac.  With RoadSync, Magic users will be able to sync up their inboxes with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and 2007, although this app is still in its Beta form.  Documents to Go is currently available for an introductory price of $19.99, and RoadSync Beta is currently free.

Comment (0) Read More...

HTC’s first announcement at CTIA in Las Vegas is the HTC Snap, a new, sleek looking phone that has a fully QWERTY keyboard, a 2 megapixel camera, and runs Windows Mobile 6.1  The Snap is designed for those people who just want to communicate with others without dealing with a phone that has too many features.  It’s also the first HTC handset to include the Inner Circle email system.  This system allows users to decide which of their contacts are high priority, and those contacts’ emails go to the top of the email list.  It’s pretty neat, and it works very well.  The HTC Snap is set to debut during the summer.

Comment (0) Read More...