The Samsung Galaxy S was one of the most successful handsets last year – it took us with its brilliant 4-inch Super AMOLED screen and smooth performance. The appearance of successors was imminent. And while the Samsung Galaxy S II took most of the limelight, it is the Samsung Galaxy S 4G which we got a hold off as it might launch even earlier than the S II.

Its design is reminiscent of the Samsung Vibrant… or should we say the same? The S 4G has the standard four capacitive buttons, just as the Samsung Vibrant. The greyish back cover on the S 4G differs only in color, it feels plastic however just as its predecessor…

Read the whole hands-on at PhoneArena.com!

Ever since tablets became the next big thing in the mobile computer biz and manufacturers started unveiling their freshly-conceived offerings like there’s no tomorrow, everyone was like “So, where’s HTC in all this?” Wasn’t the Taiwan-based manufacturer who made a name for itself with its magnificent Windows Mobile and Android smartphones going to join the tablet race? As time passed by, the need for a quality product in the market not called iPad was getting ever more evident, especially with “me too” efforts like the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which was actually among the better offerings. Obviously, such quality product could easily come from HTC, but the company was not letting any word out regarding a possible entrance in the world of tablets.

And now that it looks like competition is to get stronger and stronger, with a bunch of Honeycomb tablets being scheduled for a release in the not so distant future, HTC has finally come out of the blue and introduced its first ever tablet – the HTC Flyer. Personally, we feel like HTC has just missed the right moment to appear on the scene, as we are already looking forward to the XOOMs, Tabs and Pads of tomorrow. Nevertheless, HTC has at least taken its time to develop some exclusive services that won’t be available with other brands’ tablets, so it’s once again counting on not only premium design quality, but unique software features as well. Will they be enough to fend off the competition in the upper part of the tablet hierarchy? As we’ve spend our first few minutes with the device, we’re yet unsure of this, but one thing is fairly certain – HTC has taken one pretty tough tablet out of its pocket…

While the reps handled the HTC Salsa, one of the company’s “Facebook experience” phones, it became immediately clear that this one is targeted towards the younger crowd, who want to do some social networking on-the-go and on-the-cheap.

The display is 3.4″ LCD with 320×480 pixels, not great in terms of resolution and brightness, but it does the job. This phone is powered by a humble 600MHz Qualcomm chipset, but it has the generous 512MB of RAM, and a 5MP camera with LED flash on the back, so all the basic are covered. It seemed solid enough in the hand, although it looks like entirely made of plastic.

The HTC Salsa keeps the design trend from all recent HTC handsets, though, save for an area around the camera lens on the back, colored in a lighter than the default tone, which makes it look patchy in the rear. There are several color options – blue, brown and black for the soft-touch plastic on the back – and having it bi-tonal in the camera area brings a more youthful look…

Read the whole hands-on at PhoneArena.com!

The HTC ChaCha is a young and hip phone for all the socially connected cool kids in town with a dedicated Facebook button, which lets them easily share content on the go. Add in the full portrait QWERTY keyboard and Facebook’s own Zuckerberg words about multiple upcoming devices having social at its core, we were thrilled to get our eyes on the ChaCha.

Design-wise the HTC ChaCha is a candybar styled phone with a distinct curvature beginning under the screen. This makes the bottom part with the keyboard to stand at a slight angle when compared to the upper part with the screen. It looks somewhat like the chin on the HTC Salsa or the European version of the original HTC Hero, but it is a bigger one. While this is not something major, it seems to help get a better viewing angle when typing…

Read the whole hands-on at PhoneArena.com!

Hey ho, HTC Desire got a rehash this year, and we managed to get some intimate time with the HTC Desire S. What does the S stand for, is anyone’s guess, we’d go with “second”, rather than Sense or Snapdragon, since we had those in the first Desire.

The handset fits very well in the hand and is fairly solid, although what we were handling was supposed to still be squeaking prototypes. The 3.7″ display size is the perfect trade-off between enough screen real estate, and comfortable grip, according to us, and that’s exactly what the HTC Desire S sports. Exhausted by the AMOLED supply shortages last year, this year HTC went straight with the Super LCD type of the same 480×800 pixels resolution. It is bright, and the colors are vivid, with decent viewing angles for an LCD display…

Read the whole hands-on at PhoneArena.com!

Shortly after the end of HTC’s press event at MWC, we rushed to get a closer look at the exciting new lineup and the HTC Incredible S stood out with its angular “inside out” design. The first thing that you would notice about the Incredible S is its matte finish and weird shapes on the back.

The capacitive buttons are not painted this time and when the back-lighting is off, the device appears to have no buttons. We loved this little touch, contributing to an interesting design, which is definitely one of the selling points of the device. However the 4.78-ounce weight in your hand is noticeable – the handset is a bit on the heavy side. It is pretty thick also at 0.46″, but overall the build quality feels solid…

Read the whole hands-on at PhoneArena.com!

If you liked those teen-targeted HTC Salsa and HTC ChaCha, with their dedicated Facebook button, they will most likely be appearing on AT&T only in the US.

HTC said their “Facebook experience” phones will be exclusive to the carrier. Now, nobody specified if it will be those same exact handsets as they are, or rebranded under different monikers. It also might be something totally new and Facebook-oriented from HTC further down the pipeline.

Nevertheless, if you love HTC and Facebook, AT&T will be the way to go, moreover these look the type of phones that are almost free on contract, so you’ve got a triple whammy here.

via MobileBurn

Along with the high-end (for its Android lineup) ZTE Skate, the manufacturer lifted the curtain from a smaller creation, the ZTE Amigo. In all honesty, it has been making the rounds since last year, but people are just now paying attention to ZTE, when it turned out it’s the 4th largest cell phone maker in the world thanks to selling affordable phones in emerging markets by the boatloads.

The ZTE Amigo main selling point is the presence of a physical slide-out QWERTY keyboard with four rows of keys. It sports a 3.5″ display, and is powered by an unspecified chipset, probably nothing very fast, considering that even the ZTE Skate got an 800MHz Qualcomm silicon. On the rear you can find a 3MP camera without a flash.

Android phones with QWERTY keyboards are few and far between, so any entrance in that category helps. Knowing ZTE, which, it recently turned out, is the 5th largest cell phone manufacturer in the world, its Android creations won’t break the bank.

The ZTE Amigo will be out some time in May in the UK. Nothing too exciting, we know.

ZTE didn’t skip the chance to show again the ZTE Blade Android phone, which it has done on each major show last year. It is already being sold in several countries for a while, and the company promised an update from 2.1 to Android 2.2 Froyo in January. The ZTE Blade has a 3.5″ touchscreen with 480×800 pixels, 3.2MP camera, and, in the case with the UK version in grey, some units even shipped with OLED displays. We hope ZTE won’t drag this one along on the next year’s Expo too.

source: ZTE via PhoneScoop

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, was featured in HTC’s press event at MWC today to announce that not only one, but a multitude of Facebook-centered devices is coming out this year:

“A lot has been made about an individual Facebook phone, but we’re going to see multiple devices this year. The ones that are best are the ones that jump in and are social from the ground up. … We’re very happy with the direction HTC has taken and we look forward to much more to come.”

Excited? So are we and we’re eager to take a closer look at the devices. Stay tuned as hands-on videos of the already announced HTC Salsa and HTC ChaCha are coming up soon.

If you have had any doubts about the importance of Facebook, the news about its 500+ million subscribers should have changed your opinion. The social network even got a movie dedicated to it, and now with the announcement of two “Facebook phones”, it seems on its way to become an integral part of the mobile experience

source: HTC

HTC just announced the successor of the HTC Wildfire, aptly named the HTC Wildfire S.

Design-wise, this phone is highly reminiscent of its predecessor, as the only notable difference between the two is the optical trackpad, which is missing on the Wildfire S’ front side. It’s quite compact, measuring only 3.99-inches long and 2.34-inches wide, and is available in three colors – black, purple and white.

As for its specs, it is packing a 3.2-inch Super LCD display with HVGA resolution (320 x 480) and a 5MP camera with LED flash. A 600MHz processor is powering the phone, and it offers 512MB of RAM and ROM.

The Wildfire S also adds a variety of  features, which are a must for any modern smartphone – like Facebook integration and a microSD slot.

The real talking point of this phone, however, is none other than the fact it’s to launch with the latest incarnation of Android – Gingerbread – out of the box. Furthermore, the user experience will be enhanced with the well-known HTC Sense UI, which will also be on board.

This phone will be “broadly available to customers across major European and Asian markets during Q2 2011″, but its price is yet unknown.

source: HTC