Verizon Wireless has not one but three powerhouse 4G LTE smartphones lined up for the holidays, and the HTC Rezound is one of them. Launching right after the Motorola DROID RAZR, the HTC Rezound takes things to another dimension, both visually and sonically. With an amazing 4.3-inch 720p HD display, a fast 1.5GHz dual-core processor, Beats-enhanced audio and other competitive specs in a solid package, is the HTC Rezound the 4G smartphone to beat this holiday season? Read on to find out how this phone shapes up against the DROID RAZR and Galaxy Nexus.

Hardware / Design / Display

The HTC Rezound features all the latest lust-worthy pieces that fit together to make up any smartphone-lover’s ideal puzzle: specs include one of the first 720p HD displays, a fantastic 8-megapixel backside-illuminated camera complete with support for full 1080p HD video capture, a 720p HD front facing camera, an incredibly powerful 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, and of course, support for Verizon’s 4G LTE network.

I love the HTC Rezound’s identity and personality. It’s a perfect complement to the red and black branding shared by both Verizon Wireless and Beats. Underneath the battery cover, the phone’s internals are displayed in, you guessed it, a translucent red plastic case, giving the phone an extra detail that only HTC devices have.

Let’s focus on the central feature of the HTC Rezound, and as much as Jimmy or Andre would want you to believe it’s the Beats audio processing features, it’s actually the display. The 4.3-inch 720p display on the Rezound is nothing short of stunning. It’s easily the best display I have ever seen on a mobile device besides the iPhone 4/4S. The screen on the HTC Rezound is the best screen on any current Android device, and completely annihilates the Motorola DROID RAZR’s PenTile display, though I’m interested to see how the Rezound lines up against the Galaxy Nexus.

Looking at the phone, you’ll see the sinister red-tinted Android menu keys sitting right below that gorgeous display. While it’s a bit unsettling at first, that vivid red color shining through the buttons lets you know that this isn’t just a Verizon device, but a Beats device as well.

There’s a gun metal polished bezel around the entire phone that’s cradled in a soft-touch rubber back casing. On the right side you’ll find a volume rocker button, and on the left side you’ll find the phone’s MHL port that lets you use a microUSB connector or mini-HDMI out cable, along with a secondary microphone for noise cancellation. On top is a 3.5mm headset jack and a power/lock/unlock button. Around back is a dual-LED flash, the 8-megapixel camera sensor and a speaker etched out perfectly amid the ridged design of the back battery cover.

As far as the feel of the device goes, it’s much more thoughtfully designed than the Motorola DROID RAZR. The phone fits very well in the hand, and even though it’s almost twice as thick as the RAZR, it’s still infinitely more comfortable to hold and use thanks to the tapered edges and narrower case.

Software

The HTC Rezound runs HTC’s latest Sense 3.5 user interface, layered on top of Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread. While HTC announced that the Rezound would be getting an upgrade to Android 4.0, it’s a pretty tough sell thrown up against the Samsung Galaxy Nexus that should launch within a week or so.

HTC Sense 3.5 is almost identical to HTC Sense 3.0, adding minor enhancements to the interface like the addition of an “All apps” label now included on the home screen at the bottom of the display as part of the arc. I go back and forth on HTC Sense and for the most part, and I appreciate a lot of the innovation from HTC in the early days of Android, especially starting with the HTC Hero. Sense now introduces more problems that it solves for me, though. While it is cohesive and very well designed, it almost offers too much customization now — so much so that the user may not even discover much of its capabilities because it takes so long to dig through everything. I’d run with a stock Android interface any day of the week.

I have also noticed many, many icons, and images that haven’t been updated to support the new HD resolution of the display. That’s an attention to detail that shouldn’t have been skipped over. If you’re going to customize the Android interface and modify stock elements of the operating system, it’s only right that you do this throughout the entire phone, and HTC didn’t do that. The status bar, for instance, is a mashup of high resolution and low resolution graphics. The battery icon is crisp but the signal bars aren’t. The silent ringer icon looks great but the GPS icon does not. Also, due to the fact that almost no app developers planned on a display of this resolution being released at this time, most app icons from apps you download look pixelated and blurry.

Another irritating thing about HTC’s Sense interface is the 3D carousel of app home screens. The phone comes with seven home screens, way more than I’d like. While HTC finally includes the ability to delete and reorder them, when you flick through your homescreens, the phone still displays them in a carousel as if there were seven. So, if you have two or three home screens, the phone will spin in a circle that’s only 25% full. It’s just odd, and it wasn’t well thought out at all.

Beats Audio / Headphones

The Beats headphones that the HTC Rezound ships with are very good. In fact, they are probably the best bundled headphones I’ve ever used. Music sounds full, heavy on the low end, and clear on the top end even when disabling the Beats audio mode on the handset or using the headphones with other devices.

I’m just not sold on this Beats thing, in terms of the software. If Beats as a product existed solely as hardware, and now is coupled with software processing (EQ) as a selling point, well, I’m not sure I see the advantage of a small increase in audio reproduction. If anything, the Beats software processing amplifies audio, and adds a present equalization that’s meant to make the track sound louder, knockier and fuller. This is artificial, though, and something audio purists won’t appreciate.

Another issue? Beats audio just flat out doesn’t work with many third party music apps, so it becomes a non-factor in many cases.

Phone / Battery / Speaker

Voice calling on the HTC Rezound is reasonably good. Callers sounded a little robotic to me, and would sometimes cut in and out. Noise cancellation worked very well though, with background noise almost completely eliminated and unnoticeable to callers on the other end of the line. The speaker on the Rezound projects nicely, especially when on a flat surface like a desk or coffee table. I’m still not a fan of the actual phone app on HTC Sense devices, however.

As far as the battery, standby mode has been excellent. With normal usage on and off throughout the day, the phone and its 1,620 mAh battery seemed to make it just fine as long as I remembered to recharge when I got home. Even when putting the phone under pressure with constant 4G LTE web browsing, email, video playback and continuous music in the background, the Rezound held up very well.

Conclusion

I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. On one hand, this is practically the same phone I’ve reviewed countless times, in a different shell, with slightly improved specs. On the other, it feels like a completely different animal.

The red and black color scheme, an amazing 720p HD display, Beats audio and extremely fast performance come together in an ergonomic design to create a fantastic finished product. While almost comical at this point, the HTC Rezound is now my favorite Android device in the world, besting the Motorola DROID RAZR, which bested the Galaxy S II. That might be short lived, though, as the Samsung Galaxy Nexus — the first Android 4.0 smartphone — is slated to hit shelves in the next week or two. In the meantime, the HTC Rezound offers up some of the best specs and one of the most complete smartphone packages I have ever seen.

Renders of the HTC Edge appeared online yesterday with some hugely impressive specifications that included a quad-core 1.5GHz NVIDIA processor. We have received some more details on the HTC Edge, and they are flat out jaw-dropping. In fact, this phone looks like it will be the most powerful smartphone the world has ever seen, packed to the brim with cutting-edge tech. Actually, cutting-edge specs and a super slim profile are likely two of the reasons HTC is calling this phone the Edge. Hit the break for the details.

Starting with the display, we have been told the HTC Edge will feature a 4.7-inch 720p HD S-LCD 2 with optical lamination. Translation: this could possibly be one of the best displays in the world; just imagine the iPhone’s display blown up to 4.7 inches.

The unibody design of the HTC Edge will be around 8.8mm thin and it will house 32GB of built-in storage, 1GB of RAM, a microSIM card slot and an 8-megapixel camera with backside-illumination and 1080p HD video capture support. This super smartphone will also feature a 720p front-facing camera, Beats Audio, Bluetooth 4.0, an 1,800 mAh battery and NFC, though it will omit a removable storage slot.

Image source: Pocketnow.com

We just spent a couple minutes with HTC’s latest and greatest, the HTC Rezound for Verizon Wireless complete with Beats audio, and it’s surely positioned as an iconic media device. It’s reasonably thin, packs 4G LTE, a super high resolution 720p display which looks amazing, and that’s not mentioning the 8-megapixel camera with improved optics and low-light performance. And then, of course, there’s Beats audio processing that will work with the included Beats headphones or ones you might already own. All in all, Verizon’s lineup for the holidays is incredible, and the HTC Rezound will surely be music to a media-centric person’s ears. Check out all of the photos in our gallery!

We’re live from HTC’s New York City media event where HTC is expected to announce the HTC Rezound for Verizon Wireless. It’s the first smartphone that should come with Beats audio built-in, and in addition, the display is rumored to pack in a full 720p resolution screen, and run the latest version of HTC Sense for Android. There might be a surprise or two in store as well, so hit the break for all the live coverage.

3:52PM:Jimmy Iovine is on stage now talking about the partnership with HTC and Verizon about how Beats audio will change the industry.

3:53PM:Dr. Dre is in the audience.

3:53PM:You got to a concert, and everywhere you go you see Verizon trying to support popular culture. It's in their DNA. We have to go in and help them how to get to their customers and deliver a great experience.

3:54PM:A promotional video is playing now on screen...

3:56PM:Every rapper now has a headphone deal, and I tell them to money.

3:56PM:We're going to work on not the sound but quality, through HTC and with Verizon.

3:57PM:The HTC Rezound... the design. As products become the most important piece of equipment, design is so important. At HTC we have invested significantly in design to deliver highly designed products.

3:57PM:You'll find it takes some design cues from the DROID Incredible line. When you look inside the product, and you take the back cover off, the design flows throughout the entire product.

3:58PM:Translucent plastic to see inside the phone and see the tech. It's packed with the top tech you can pack into a phone at this point. 4G LTE, 1GB RAM, 1.5Ghz dual-core processor, latest HTC Sense.

3:59PM:It's incredibly responsive, and very quick.

3:59PM:What about Ice Cream Sandwich, I'm excited to let you know that Ice Cream Sandwich ready, so we will provide that update to our customers as quickly as possible, it's an aggressive plan.

4:00PM:We've gone from a market focused on hardware to a market focused on software, you have to have content. We set out to design a product that could deliver your content in the most brilliant way possible.

4:00PM:What are we doing? First the HTC Rezound will sport HTC's first 720p HD display

4:01PM:How is the camera? The camera is an area HTC is very proud of.. it's no secret that just a few years ago HTC's camera quality wasn't very good. We'd hear our customers and we took action, we invested significantly to be a leader here.

4:02PM:Action burst, instant capture, panorama, ability to add effects to your videos. All in realtime.

4:03PM:Another problem we have aimed to solve with the Rezound is one we all experience, you're out in the evening, and something brilliant happens and you pull your phone out to take a picture and you don't have enough light. We set out to insure the Rezound wasn't just a worthy camera, but the best camera. We have a f/2.2 and low-light sensors to ensure the best picture quality.

4:03PM:It also will allow you to record video in 1080p. Very high quality camera. Another trend we see, people want to play and have fun. They want to edit their pictures, add effects, they are having fun. We integrated effects.

4:04PM:Another feature that's amazing is slow motion, this is a feature that was only relegated to the highest end video cameras, now they are in our customer's pockets

4:05PM:That's what we mean about delivering the best in sight. What about sound? You've heard from Jimmy and Peter about the partnership. HTC believes you should have the best audio experience in your mobile experience.

4:06PM:The HTC Rezound will be our first showcase of this experience in the United States. What are we doing on the Rezound? Our engineers have worked very closely with Beats, so its tuned properly. The second thing I'm excited to announce, is we are packaging a custom pair of Beats headphones in the box.

4:06PM:The HTC Rezound is about delivering the best in sight and sound, 720p display, latest HTC Sense, and more.

4:07PM:We're fortunate to have a great partner in Verizon Wireless, VP of Marketing Jeff Dietel is on stage now talking about their partnership. From the millions of DROID Incredibles that have been sold to the HTC Thunderbolt, there is no better network this device can run on than Verizon's 4G LTE network.

4:08PM:This is a product we're very excited about. There's things you can only do with 4G LTE that you can't do with any other network out there.

4:09PM:On November 14th, for $299.99 the HTC Rezound will be available in Verizon Wireless and partner stores like Best Buy nationally.

4:10PM:We're fortunate to have strong Holiday partners, we're happy to partner with Best Buy Mobile, and Best Buy Mobile head of merchandising is on stage now.

4:11PM:A few reasons why Best Buy is here today, Verizon has been a key and strategic partner for nearly 10 years. Also our relationship with Beats, about 4 years ago we strategized how we would launch this new product line and brand, we've continued to innovate with them. HTC, who has seemingly done nothing in the last 4 years in the United States but launch really innovative and successful products that we're excited to sell on a daily basis. That really lends itself to how successful this will be at Best Buy.

4:12PM:Our employees and customers expect us to be at the forefront of technology, so we're excited to launch this later this month.

4:13PM:We're wrapping up here, again, it's $299 with Beats headphones, and it's available on November 14th. It's hands on time...

HTC is expected to unveil a new Beats Audio-enabled smartphone dubbed “Rezound” on Thursday during a press conference, and the announcement is now all but confirmed. Droid Life on Sunday published an image of an in-store ad running at some Verizon Wireless retail stores. The ad touts Verizon’s 4G LTE network and shows three compatible handsets: the LG Revolution, the Motorola DROID BIONIC and the HTC Rezound. Little is revealed beyond the device’s form, though it is pictured with a pair of Beats by Dr. Dre earbuds so Beats Audio is now a confirmed feature. The Rezound is also expected to include a 4.3-inch HD display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and an 8-megapixel camera, hopefully the same one found in the HTC Titan. We’ll be covering HTC’s press conference live on Thursday, so tune in for all the news as it breaks.

Read

HTC just took the wraps off the company’s latest device, the much-leaked HTC Sensation XL, also known by the code name “Runymede.” The specifications on the handset itself read much like the company’s HTC Titan Windows Phone device, and highlights include a 1.5GHz Qualcomm processor, 16GB of internal storage, a 4.7-inch display, HSPA, an 8-megapixel camera and more. The HTC Sensation XL is also white, matching the like-colored Beats headphones perfectly. This sleek Android phone is launching in Europe and Asia at the moment and U.S. availability is unknown, but we’ll keep you updated on that one. Full press release is after the break, and photos are in the gallery.

HTC UNLEASHES THE HTC SENSATION™ XL WITH BEATS AUDIO™ Beats integration, combined with amazing 4.7-inch display, introduces powerful entertainment experience

LONDON – October 6, 2011 – HTC Corporation, a global designer of mobile devices, today unveiled the HTC Sensation™ XL with Beats Audio™ integration. This latest innovation is the result of the new partnership between HTC and Beats announced in August and takes mobile entertainment to a new level with an amazing 4.7-inch screen and a specifically optimized audio experience. The HTC Sensation XL joins the HTC Sensation XE to provide customerswith a strong line-up of HTC smartphones integrated with Beats Audio.

“With Beats Audio, the HTC Sensation XL continues HTC’s commitment of delivering the best audio possible on your phone whether you’re listening to music, watching a movie or playing a game,” said Peter Chou, CEO, HTC Corporation. “This is an amazing example of why our partnership with Beats makes so much sense for customers today and into the future.”

“HTC is an incredible partner and has completely embraced our desire to make the music experience on the mobile phone as powerful and as rich as it can be,” said Jimmy Iovine, Chairman of Beats by Dr. Dre.

Design, Performance and Stunning Audio

With the 4.7” screen, slim 9.9mm design and Beats Audio integration, the HTC Sensation XL was specifically created to deliver the best entertainment experience with stunning audio and visuals for music, movies and games. The HTC Sensation XL features unique audio tuning by Beats that ensures customers will hear their music as the artist intended.

Unique to HTC phones, the HTC Sensation XL includes new lightweight urBeats™ headphones, created exclusively to integrate with the Beats’ audio profile on the device. The built-in microphone makes hands-free calling easy and the on-cable remote control allows customers to pause, advance or rewind, and to answer a call mid-track.

Customers can also send music recommendations and track information to friends over SMS, email or through their Facebook profile. To allocate the perfect audio alert to an incoming call or message from friends and family, use the ringtone trimmer to edit a music track and add it to a friend’s contact profile.

HTC Watch

HTC Sensation XL integrates HTC Watch, an application and service that puts an entire library of the latest premium movies and TV shows right at your fingertips, letting people discover the latest video content in an easy and visually engaging way. HTC Watch uses progressive download technology that makes it possible to watch videos without waiting for a huge file to finish downloading. HTC Watch offers the choice of renting or buying videos, and, if purchased,lets customers watch them on up to five different HTC devices.

Capture the moment

The HTC Sensation XL boasts an 8MP camera, featuring a f/2.2, 28mm wide-angle lens with BSI sensor to fit more of the scene into every shot and for better low-light performance. In video mode, the HTC Sensation XL enables customers to record a perfect moment with stunning clarity and incredible stereo sound – perfect for sharing on YouTube, Facebook or a TV.

Availability

HTC Sensation XL will be available across EMEA and Asia Pacific from early November. In EMEA, HTC will also be offering a limited edition bundle that includes special edition Beats Solo headphones.

Plenty of information on HTC’s first smartphone to offer Beats Audio technology, currently codenamed Runnymede, has been leaked but now the first press-quality images of the device have been posted by a Chinese retailer. The photo above clearly shows a Beats logo on the backside of the phone, which appears to be made of metal. The Runnymede could have similar specs to another leaked Beats phone, the HTC Vigor, and is expected to come equipped with a huge 4.7-inch WVGA Super LCD screen, 16GB or 32GB of storage, “SRS surround sound with acoustic performance tuned by Beats,” a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 processor, an 8-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p video, support for 14.4Mbps HSDPA networks and a 1.3-megapixel camera for video chats. The Runnymede is expected to ship with an HTC Beats Solo headset, too. Hopefully we’ll hear more about the package during HTC’s NYC press event on September 20th.

[Via Unwired View]

Read

HTC just sent us an invitation for a press event that will be held in New York City on September 20th. We’re not sure what will be unveiled; the company already announced two new Windows Phone devices, the Titan and the Radar, but it is certainly possible we will hear more about U.S. versions of those phones. Perhaps HTC will unveil the Vigor, which is supposed to be one of the first devices to come equipped with Beats Audio and will be sold with a set of Beats headphones. Of course, given the close timing to Fashion Week and the “celebrate in style” tagline, it is also possible HTC will unveil the Bliss, a device that is rumored to be targeted at women. We’ll be reporting live so be sure to check back on the 20th for all of the details as they’re announced.

Earlier this month, HTC purchased a controlling stake in Beats Audio and a new phone called the Runnymede 2 could join the HTC Vigor as one of the first devices to offer Beats technology. According to a leaked spec sheet, the Runnymede 2 is equipped with a huge 4.7-inch WVGA Super LCD screen, a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 processor, 16GB or 32GB of storage and “SRS surround sound with acoustic performance tuned by Beats.” It is also equipped with an 8-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p HD video, a 1.3-megapixel camera for video chats, Bluetooth 3.0, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and support for 14.4Mbps HSDPA networks. According to the leaked specs, the Runnymede 2 will also come with a Beats Solo headset. Those headphones currently retail for about $179, so this certainly won’t be a cheap smartphone package.

Read

On Wednesday, HTC announced that it had invested $300 million in Beats by Dre, which will see its audio tech integrated into HTC phones moving forward. Now, rumor has it that HTC’s first smartphone to include Beats technology could be the Vigor, a device that is said to resemble the HTC Thunderbolt on Verizon. It could pack a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 16GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel camera, a 2-megapixel forward-facing camera for video chats and a 4.3-inch display with a 1280 x 720-pixel resolution according to rumors, but nothing is confirmed for the time being. The Vigor will also supposedly run Android 2.3.4 with version 3.5 of HTC’s Sense user interface. It is still unclear when the Vigor will see the light of day, but its spec sheet definitely has us excited.

[Via Gizmodo]

Read

If you’ve been dying to grab some Apple gear but are waiting for a tiny bit of incentive (seriously, we mean tiny), today might be the day. Available online from Apple’s online store as well as in all Apple retail stores (with extended shopping hours), you can currently save a little money on practically anything they carry. Here’s what your savings will look like, just as we reported:

• iMacs are discounted $101
• iPod nanos are discounted $11
• iPod touch in 8GB, 32GB, or 64GB are discounted as much as $41
• Apple TVs are discounted $21
• AirPort Express is now $88 instead of $99
• Magic Mouse and Wireless Keyboards are $5 off each
• Monster Beats headphones in exclusive Apple silver are discounted $71

There’s a lot, lot more so click on over, or head on over depending on how social you want to be today.

Read

Everyone’s favorite gear customization outfit has just announced a new addition that will definitely excite all you audiophiles out there. Yep, Beats by Dre headphones have indeed been added to ColorWare’s repertoire, giving owners of what are likely the hottest casual over-ear headphones a way to separate themselves from the pack. Anyone who has sampled the renowned headphones spawned from a partnership between premium gear-maker Monster and Dr. Dre will tell you they’ve got the goods sound-wise, and now the option to spruce up the look of these beasts seals the deal. ColoWare breaks Beats by Dre down into 11 unique customizable areas and of course all 35 available colors can be mixed and matched however you like. As for pricing, sending in a pair of your own will run $249 and buying a brand new ColorWare-ed pair will run $525. Hit the jump for the full press release.

ColorWare Launches Beats by Dr. Dre Headphones Custom Colored.

WINONA, MN March 2, 2009 — Perhaps you’ve already seen you favorite NBA player sporting a
custom made set of Beats by Dr. Dre already. Well, they got it from ColorWare. You can now get a set of you’re very own.

The color choices and options are practically limitless. You can color them in your favorite team
colors, pimp them out in a gold or silver color, keep them clean in all white, or come up with you own color concoction. You have the option of sending in a set you already own for customization or you can simply buy a new one directly from their website by selecting the “buy new” option.

Check out the ColorWare design studio and play around with all of the possibilities. You can also play available videos that include a review of the custom headphones and Monster Cable giving custom sets to an entire NBA team.

Colorware continues to lead the way by offering the most fashionable electronics worldwide.

“Colorware Your Lifestyle”.

Read

If you haven’t heard about these yet, then you need to hear them! Dr. Dre teamed up with Monster a couple years back to design a fantastic pair of studio headphones. Though it was probably Jimmy who put the deal together. What you get is a listening experience that puts a pair of tuned studio monitors on your head, and that’s a good thing. There are some headphones that offer decent low-end reproduction, but they’re smoked by the Beats. Plus, mids and highs come through incredibly clear with some of the best audio reproduction we’ve ever heard on some ‘phones. There are a couple minor downsides, though. First off, since they offer noise-cancellation, they are powered by two AAA batteries. Secondly, they are sort of a mix between open air and closed headphones, so when you’re crankin’ Soulja Boy on your next flight, expect the seven closest passengers to start doing the superman because they’ll likely hear your music. Open airs let the sound pass through the headphones which is why you get that full natural sound — the drivers are a little exposed to the outside — and not that distorted mess some of us are accustomed to. They’ve even included a special cable which houses a call answer button and mic, so you can take your calls while listening to music on your iPhone or BlackBerry. Nice! Industrial design? Please, this is Dr. Dre. You know they’re going to look great, and they do. With a black lacquer finish and red color scheme, they’ll definitely stand out from the crowd, for better or worse. They’re a tad bit large, and while well constructed, we can’t help but feel that the folding mechanism to store the headphones is going to be a problem. Oh well, Monster will just send us another pair if that happens…

Click on over to our Monster Beats headphones gallery!