Two of the best Android handsets money can currently buy in the US – the HTC EVO 3D and the Motorola PHOTON 4G – got lowered to $99 on Amazon for new contracts.

What’s more, until midnight today, your activation fee for Sprint is waived as well, which makes the deal $36 sweeter.

We can’t argue with the phrase that good things come to those who wait, but in this case you might have to wait for the holiday season for these two handsets to become free on contract, so if you have been eying one of them, now might be the time to pull the trigger.

Just a reminder, the HTC EVO 3D is the first 3D-capable Android handset to hit the US shores, carries a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor and a 4.3″ qHD display with true RGB matrix. The Motorola PHOTON 4G, on the other hand, also sports a dual-core chipset and 4.3″ qHD screen, and we found its camera and battery life to be a tad better than the EVO 3D’s.

You can read our extensive comparison between the two Android monsters on Sprint here, and watch the video comparison below.

source: Amazon (HTC EVO 3D) & Amazon (Motorola PHOTON 4G)

If you have been thinking to yourself that you just have to own a white HTC DROID Incredible 2, we can steer you in the right direction. The white version of  the handset is available starting today as an exclusive from Best Buy. You won’t find any changes from the original black version of the phone, even right down to the $149.99 price with a signed 2-year contract.

The HTC DROID Incredible 2 brings you a 4 inch Super-LCD WVGA display with 768MB of RAM. Android 2.2 is on board (you will need to upgrade it to Gingerbread yourself) and the model features dual cameras with an 8MP on the back, capturing video at 720p, and a 1.3MP front-facing shooter for self-portraits and video chat. The phone comes with 16GB of memory that can be expanded to 48GB with as much as a 32GB microSD card.

So if you can’t get that idea of owning a white HTC DROID Incredible 2 out of your mind, you can pop into your local Best Buy and pick up the phone. Unless, of course, you’ve changed your mind at the last moment and decided to use that money to buy a 32GB HP TouchPad. Just saying.

source: AndroidCentral

We recently told you about two upcoming, high-end devices for T-Mobile. The HTC Ruby and the Samsung Hercules both have the high-end specs that any power user would love to have in his phone. The latter, basically T-Mobile’s version of the sizzling hot Samsung Galaxy S II, offers a 4.5 inch Super AMOLED Plus screen with resolution of 480 x 800. Under the hood is a dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm APQ8060 processor with 1GB of RAM. An 8MP camera on back captures video at 1080p while a front-facing camera takes self-portraits and is useful for video chat. 16GB of storage is on board with a microSD slot that accepts up to 32GB more in storage. It certainly sounds like the Samsung Galaxy S II with a little bigger display.

The HTC Ruby is just as well endowed. A 4.3 inch qHD screen is on the front of the device with a fast 1.5GHz dual-core processor on board. The HTC Ruby is equipped with 1GB of RAM while the rear and front cameras come in at 8MP and 2MP respectively. Video is captured at 1080p. You can see that both handsets wouldn’t back down an inch in a battle between the two. Both will offer 4G connectivity through HSPA+ connectivity and T-Mobile customers updating to a new phone might have to pick one model over the other.

As if to make matters worse for those with T-Mobile accounts, a leaked screenshot of the carrier’s training material shows that both phones are expected to launch on October 26th. Two great handsets with similar high-end specs being released on the same day. Luckily for T-Mobile customers, they still have plenty of time to think it over. Which of these two Superphones would you select? Let us know by responding in the comment box below!

source: TmoNews

According to a leaked T-Mobile training document, both the HTC Ruby and the Samsung Hercules will launch on October 26th

Although we managed to get first wind about Cellular South potentially selling the HTC Merge way back at the end of March, the regional carrier is just finally coming around to selling the mid-range Android powered smartphone.

Alltel, Verizon, and US Cellular have been the list of carriers that decided to pick up the on again, off again smartphone, but it doesn’t surprise us to find yet another regional carrier joining the crew. Selling for the fitting price of $99.99 with a 2-year contract, which is actually the perfect price point for this one, it’s still guaranteed to attract some potential customers out there. Obviously, it’s no longer the shiniest or most powerful smartphone in the stable now that dual-core handsets reign supreme in the upper end of the spectrum.

Therefore, if you want something a bit more reasonable on the pockets, while still regarded as a decent smartphone, then maybe the HTC Merge might fill in the gap for you.
source: Cellular South via Android Central

Being the latest Android powered smartphone to grace T-Mobile’s lineup, the cute and cuddly HTC Wildfire S is obviously trying to make a name for itself right now amongst a crowded crew.

Taking into consideration its $79.99 on-contract pricing right out of the gate is pretty nice on its own, it’s indeed more than reasonable for any budget out there, but T-Mobile is doing the handset a favor by dropping its price online only. If you’re seriously interested in picking this one up, then you’d better take a peek at T-Mobile’s web site because the handset is selling for free with a 2-year agreement. Yup, the limited time offer is available to both new and existing customers with qualified upgrades!

At that price point, there is absolutely no second guessing on buying it, but you’ll need to come down with a decision on picking it up since the deal is only valid until August 15th.
source: T-Mobile via TmoNews

It may not be official just yet, but according to an HTC customer service representative the HTC Droid Incredible will not be getting its tasting of Android 2.3 Gingerbread despite previous reports that it would.

An eager customer reached out to HTC in regards to the promised Gingerbread upgrade for the original HTC Incredible. The rep responded in a letter and said the Droid Incredible is not on the list of devices slated to receive the update because they only provide updates if it will provide an improved user experience.

There is a chance that the representative’s response is incorrect but nobody really knows for sure. This wouldn’t be the first time that an Android phone awaiting an update never actually got the update. If it does end up receiving Gingerbread this wouldn’t be the first time that a smartphone got an update when it was believed that it wouldn’t.

So if you are holding on to your Droid Incredible in hopes that it will receive Android 2.3 down the line keep your eyes open. Hopefully if this is true we will find out soon. Tell us what you think in the comments below.

source: Droid Life

With mobile payments expected to grow in the coming years, handset makers are naturally going to ride the trend of offering NFC support with upcoming handsets – like what’s offered by the Google Nexus S. Being a major contender in the smartphone space, HTC just announced its plans to produce its very fist NFC capable smartphone – the HTC Stunning.

Expected to launch in the Chinese market with the support of China UnionPay’s mobile payment system, it’s currently speculated to come to market some time in September – albeit, no official release date has been mentioned just yet.  Still, it would be hard to not see this one flaunt some high-end hardware under the hood. Actually, what’s known so far is that it’ll feature a 4” display of some sort and will be powered by none other than the Android platform.

Needless to say, it’s great timing on HTC’s part to announce and commit to manufacturing an NFC capable device – especially when the new form of payment is undoubtedly going to progress healthily thanks to smartphones.

via Mobileburn

As far back as May, we managed to hear about the HTC Bliss being pegged as a handset that’s specifically catered for women, but up until now, we’re heard very little else in regards to its hardware and software.

Some might have wondered what the HTC Bliss will be packing under the hood, but it appears as though it’s along the lines of a mid-range handset. According to rumors, the handset will feature an 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7×30 CPU with an Adreno 205 GP, which should go well with the Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread experience it’s set to offer.

Interestingly enough, it might be one of the very first devices to feature HTC Sense 3.5, which is something that’s rather peculiar considering that the latest one available is Sense 3.0. Already, we’ve seen devices like the HTC EVO 3D and Sensation 4G showing off the latest Sense experience. However, what separates them from the HTC Bliss is the fact that they’re powered by some beefy hardware – whereas the Bliss isn’t the fastest thing on the block.

Knowing that, it’ll be interesting to see how HTC pulls the whole thing off – especially when Sense 3.0 is one graphically intensive customized Android experience already.

via Pocketnow

Oh, you gotta love those tipsters for all the leaks that they kindly share with the World. Sure, the spicy rumors that they bring to the table are anything but guaranteed to be true, but they can surely spark the imagination of pretty much every smartphone enthusiast out there.

Today, we came across a leak revealing the alleged names of three devices, all of which are said to be destined for Sprint. Starting with the most interesting among the bunch, the Samsung Epic 4G Touch is what Sprint’s version of the almost iconic Galaxy S II smartphone will be known like, according to the rumor. That, of course, lines up well with other insider tips that we’ve stumbled upon, so the leak that we are dealing with today might be onto something after all.

The leaked image revealing the names of the three upcoming devices

The second smartphone that we are getting familiar with today is known as the HTC EVO Design 4G, which is the name suggested for the upcoming HTC Kingdom. Now, we are witnessing somewhat of a paradox forming here as the Kingdom might also hit the market as the HTC Hero 4G, yet this monicker has not been officially confirmed either. What is said about the HTC Kingdom is that it will pack a 4-inch qHD display, 1.2GHz Qualcomm chipset, 5-megapixel camera and, of course, a WiMAX radio.

Last but not least, the Motorola Admiral is rumored to be another Sprint-bound cellphone, and by the lack of the 4G designation in its name we are assuming that it will not be sitting anywhere near the carrier’s top-tier smartphones. Sadly, the leak remains silent and does not reveal any further details about the device.

Bear in mind that all there is to back up the alleged names of these three devices is the black and white image you see here, so it would probably be wise if you file this under “rumors” for now. Chances are, however, that if the leak is on the right track, we will be hearing more news about these phones pretty soon.

source: Engadget

The owners of the HTC Inspire 4G are not only receiving an OTA update to Android 2.3, they are also getting some enhancements to their phone as well as some bug fixes. According to HTC, the update started last Thursday but is apparently picking up momentum now. The version of Gingerbread being installed on the phone is Android 2.3.3 which means no gTalk support for now.

Enhancements include updated features to the application tray, an update to FriendStream, added Quick Settings in the Notification
Window, improved power management functions and better media experience. Throw in the proverbial can of Raid to kill the bugs dead, and you have an outline of the changes coming with the update.

For a more detailed list of changes and to manually start the update if you’re too impatient to wait for the OTA one, visit the sourcelink. If you have already downloaded Android 2.3 on your HTC Inspire 4G, let us know what you think about Gingerbread and what changes you’ve noticed on your phone by dropping us a note in the Comments Box below.

source: HTCSupport via IntoMobile

The HTC Inspire is receiving an OTA upgrade to Android 2.3.3