T-Mobile on Thursday announced the imminent launch of its latest Android smartphone, the HTC Wildfire S. While the Wildfire brand is much better known outside the U.S., this tiny smartphone definitely packs a punch compared to other affordable Android options. Specifications include a 3.2-inch touchscreen display, a 5-megapixel camera, a 600MHz Qualcomm processor, Android 2.3 Gingerbread and HTC’s Sense UI — all in a 3.99 x 2.34 x 0.49-inch package that weighs just 3.7 ounces. T-Mobile’s HTC Wildfire S will launch on August 3rd for $79.99 with a new two-year contract. The phone will be available in white from T-Mobile’s nationwide retail stores and also in black from T-Mobile’s online shop as well as Walmart and Sam’s Club.

It was hardly a surprise when T-Mobile announced the HTC-built myTouch 4G Slide late last month, as a series of leaks left little to the imagination. Noticeably absent from T-Mobile’s official announcement, however, were launch details. T-Mobile on Monday rectified the situation when it revealed that the latest addition to the myTouch series will launch on July 27th for $199.99 on contract. The T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide is no slouch when it comes to specs — the smartphone features a dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor, a 3.7-inch WVGA display, an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p video recording, and a full QWERTY keyboard along with support for SWYPE. The myTouch 4G Slide also features HTC’s latest Sense 3.0 UI overlay and service suite on top of Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which is far and away our favorite Android overlay to date.

AT&T on Wednesday announced a smartphone BGR readers knew was coming — the HTC Status. AT&T’s version of the HTC ChaCha is now official, and it features Facebook integration deeper than any other phone on the market, barring the HTC Salsa, of course. We’ve already seen it live and in person, and we’ve handled the international version personally so we can say that the build is surprisingly solid for a mid-tier phone. Spec highlights include a 2.6-inch touchscreen display above a full QWERTY keypad, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, HTC’s Sense UI, an 800MHz processor, a 5-megapixel camera, a secondary front-facing VGA camera for video chat and a 1,250 mAh battery. Pricing and availability have not yet been announced.

Today, HTC launched a new page on Facebook, all about the HTC Status, coming exclusively to AT&T this summer. You know those priceless moments with your friends on Facebook—that quick pic, inside joke, or perfectly timed post? The first device with a Facebook share button, the HTC Status ensures those moments happen more often, keeping you at the center of your social circle. The HTC Status lets you share just about anything with just one touch, including music, photos, location and status updates. HTC Status also features a chat widget that allows you to, at a glance, see when your friends are online. You can start a live instant chat and juggle between as many private conversations as you want, all straight from the device.

“HTC Status brings a Facebook experience to people who want to share their experiences with their friends faster and easier than ever before,” said Jason Mackenzie, President, HTC Americas. “With a dedicated Facebook share button combined with the hallmark HTC Sense experience, HTC Status makes it easy for people to stay connected to the things that are important to them.”

Dedicated Facebook share button

• One touch to share- Press the Facebook share button from your home screen to instantly post on your wall.
• Snap, shoot, share- Take a picture or shoot a video and share it instantly with a press of the Facebook share button. You can even post pictures automatically as you’re taking them..
• Quick-on-the-draw check-in- Just long press the Facebook share button to check in your location with Facebook Places.
• Be first with the news- See something cool on the web? Share your latest find with a quick press of the Facebook share button.
• Post to your wall – or a friend’s wall – From the home screen, a quick tap of the Facebook HTC share button makes sharing anything on your mind quick and easy.
• Share what you’re listening to- The Facebook share button glows when you’re listening to music, to let you know you can share. Let your friends in on the music you love with the push of a button.

Lock screen shortcuts

Instead of a barrier, the HTC shortcut lock screen just became a launch pad to what you want to do now! Open your favorite apps by just dragging their shortcut icons into the lock screen ring.

See what’s happening before you pick up

Every time you get or make a call, you see your friend’s profile picture and latest status update right on the call screen. If it’s their birthday that week, you’ll see that, too.

Special effects for photos and videos

Anyone can be an artist. Use camera effects to make your photos and videos look like they’ve been taken through special lenses and filters—like Sepia for an old-fashioned look, or Aqua for a touch of cool. Apply effects right in the viewfinder, or apply them afterwards in the Gallery.

Front and back cameras

Take a spontaneous self-portrait or a quick cheek-to-cheek pic with your best pal on the VGA front-facing camera—or just double-check your hair with the Mirror app. With the 5.0 MP main camera with LED flash, you can capture every moment, with pictures or high-quality video.

A smarter ringer

The “Quiet ring on pickup” setting reduces the ring volume when you pick the phone up. The “Pocket mode” setting increases ring volume when your phone is in a pocket or bag, and then returns the volume to a reasonable level when you take it out.

Tech Specs

• Platform: Android™ 2.3 + HTC Sense
• Display: 2.6-inch touch screen with 480 x 320 resolution
• Network: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 UMTS/HSDPA 850/1900
• Memory: 512 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM
• Processor: MSM7227, 800 MHz
• Battery: Rechargeable lithium-ion battery, 1250 mAh
• Camera resolution: 5 MP main camera with autofocus, VGA  front-facing camera

Please check out the HTC Status Facebook page and the AT&T Facebook page for more information on the device as we get closer to retail availability.

Best Buy announced on Thursday that it will be the exclusive retailer of the Wi-Fi HTC Flyer when it lands in stores and online on May 22nd. The Flyer is a 7-inch Android tablet with a 1.5GHz single core processor, a 4,000 mAh battery, 1GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, HDMI-out, Bluetooth 3.0, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, a 5-megapixel camera, and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video chats. It was originally announced during Mobile World Congress in February, where we had a chance to get up close for a hands-on. Best Buy has not yet revealed how much the tablet will cost but with the 22nd three short days away, we won’t have long to wait to find out. Hit the jump for the full announcement.

Wi-Fi HTC Flyer Tablet Launches May 22 Exclusively at Best Buy

Best Buy today announced that the Wi-Fi only version of the HTC Flyer™ tablet launches on May 22. All Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile standalone stores, as well as BestBuy.com, will have the tablet exclusively at launch. The HTC Flyer is a fast, portable, light-weight tablet that integrates the immersive and highly intuitive HTC Sense™ experience and enables content including videos, music, games and more to be easily accessed and enjoyed. The addition of the HTC Flyer to our tablet lineup gives Best Buy further opportunity to help connect customers with the mobile technology that best meets their needs.

Pocketnow has gotten its hands on a leaked press image of the HTC Puccini, a supposed 10-inch tablet that will likely run Android Honeycomb. The device looks similar to the HTC Flyer, known as the View 4G on Sprint, but with a slightly larger screen. It’s rumored that the Puccini could ship next month with support for AT&T’s 4G LTE network, although that’s a hard pill to swallow given that AT&T’s LTE network isn’t yet live. Other specs on the device are slim, but we hope there’s a dual-core processor on board, and maybe a newer version of HTC’s Sense user interface that’s better optimized for tablets.

Read

The HTC Sensation is now available for pre-order from Vodafone UK, and the carrier says early birds should have the phone in their hands as soon as May 19th. We had a chance to go hands-on with the Sensation early last month and fell in love with the phone. It runs a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and packs HTC’s brand new Sense user interface, an 8-megapixel camera capable of recording 1080p HD video, 4GB of internal storage, and a stunning 4.3-inch qHD display. It’s scheduled to land on T-Mobile with HSPA+ connectivity, too, although a launch date hasn’t been announced — we’ve only heard rumors it could be available as soon as June 8th.

[Via Engadget]

Read

With the ThunderBolt, HTC has delivered yet another “first 4G smartphone” following its EVO 4G for Sprint (and the often forgotten MAX 4G introduced in 2008). It’s the first handset to run on Verizon’s brand new 4G LTE network, and it’s an Android smartphone powerhouse that is easily the fastest smartphone on the planet in terms of data speeds. That’s not to say the device is perfect, however. The release of Verizon’s first 4G handset was pushed back several times, spanning almost two months, and I’m not so sure all of the wrinkles were ironed out even after all of the delays. But the ThunderBolt is finally here and I’ve spent some quality time with it over the past week or so. Read on to see if this is not only the fastest smartphone on the planet, but one of the best as well.

Hardware / Build quality

The HTC ThunderBolt packs a punch in the specifications department. In addition to being the first Verizon handset to be released with 4G LTE compatibility, the ThunderBolt stays at the top of the smartphone pack with competitive specs like a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 4.3-inch Super LCD display, an 8-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, and more.

As far as the build quality of the HTC ThunderBolt is concerned, it’s a tank — but I’ll get to that part in a moment. The ThunderBolt seems to be very well manufactured in typical HTC style; it feels very sturdy, durable, and solid. There are no creaks, no parts wiggling, and nothing I could conceivably see being an issue down the road with normal use and wear and tear.

The device is, however, extremely large and heavy. It’s one of the widest, thickest, and heaviest smartphones on the market. It absolutely dwarfs an iPhone 4, for instance, and it could pretty easily could swallow a T-Mobile myTouch 4G in a couple bites. It doesn’t necessarily feel as thick as it looks thanks to the heavily tapered edges, but some slick tapering can’t do anything to mask the phone’s heft. Another thing that just might be a personal niggle is the kickstand… I mean, I just can’t honestly ever see myself using it in any scenario. As heavy as the ThunderBolt is, I would like to have seen HTC strip out as much as possible, and the kickstand definitely could have been stripped.

The design identity of the ThunderBolt is typical HTC — literally, aside from little changes here and there, one HTC device could pass for another most of the time these days. The ThunderBolt specifically doesn’t seem to offer much in the way of differentiation beyond its bulk, at least, and its design seems dated. Compared to, say, the aluminum unibody HTC Inspire 4G, the ThunderBolt just feels kind of last year. That, coupled with the viciously thick and heavy body makes it hard to swallow from a hardware perspective alone. Thankfully that’s not all a smartphone is nowadays.

Display

The 4.3-inch display on the HTC ThunderBolt is beautiful. The viewing angles are here are straight up incredible — noticeably better than the HTC EVO’s screen. Colors are very rich, whites are bright, and text is pretty crisp. With such a big display, however, the 800 x 480-pixel WVGA resolution shows its shortcomings. This is a common issue among devices with larger displays: since they spread the same number of pixels over a larger surface compared to modern sub-4-inch displays, the result is a less impressive picture. The ThunderBolt’s display is still great, but I would have loved to see one of HTC’s qHD displays on here.

Software

The ThunderBolt runs the latest version of HTC’s Sense UI and for all intents and purposes, this is about the same experience as any other HTC Android handset released in the past year or so. There’s really no need to get into this for the millionth time — it’s Froyo with HTC Sense. We should all know it very well by now. If you’re a fan of HTC’s customized UI, you’ll be pleased to know that the experience is still tip top, and coupled with LTE data, a 1GHz processor and 768MB of RAM, it’s speedy and responsive as well. If you’re an Android purist on the other hand, you’re going to have some major issues.

Noticeably absent from the ThunderBolt is the much-touted Skype app with support for video calling. We’re not sure why it wasn’t included on the ThunderBolt, though there are most certainly other video calling apps available for download in the Android Market. It would have been great to have some clarification on why Skype didn’t make it on here though, considering how popular the service is compared to other video chat solutions.

4G LTE

In a word? Wow. As soon as I picked up my review unit from Verizon’s headquarters in Basking Ridge, NJ, I was in 4G LTE heaven. Heading back toward New York City, I was cruising along at download speeds of around 15Mbps. As I set the device up, all of my Android apps reappeared on the ThunderBolt almost immediately with no effort from my end. Web pages load at desktop-like speeds in the Android browser and apps that move data seemed to breathe sighs of relief compared to how they run on other Android devices. I really hope Verizon’s LTE network can maintain this level of performance once it actually has a fair amount of traffic on it, but since 4G is a much different beast than 3G, I’m confident Verizon’s 4G network will maintain a high level of performance.

Things look great over the ThunderBolt’s Wi-Fi hotspot feature as well, with no speed degradation that I could see. In fact, I was continually hitting speeds above 20Mbps with my MacBook Air connected to the ThunderBolt. It is pretty incredible to think that this is over a cellular connection, especially for any of us who remember using tedious WAP pages on a tiny black and white cell phone display in years past. Verizon’s 4G LTE service is truly the next generation of fast — it’s easily the fastest cellular network I’ve ever tested.

Phone calls / Speakerphone

Voice quaily is decent on the ThunderBolt, but not great. As far as the ear speaker is concerned, I’m not a fan of what HTC delivered on its handsets in this regard recently, and that includes the EVO 4G. These phones are always uncomfortable to talk with, and some even sound like you’re talking on a tin can. Unfortunately, the ThunderBolt falls into that category for me. I would have loved the ear speaker to be a tad lounder in certain environments, and additionally, calls just didn’t sound that clear to me. Callers on the other end weren’t overly impressed with the quality of voice calls either, and some went as far as to use particularly colorful language to describe the audio quality. I’ll spare you the details.

Another problem comes into play when speakerphone is enabled, and this is an area where HTC typically shines so I was disappointed. When the loudspeaker is used while the kickstand is closed, the audio becomes slightly muffled. It’s not severe, but it is something to take note of and something that definitely annoyed me. It’s clear enough in most cases, but in noisy environments I found myself wishing I could eke a little more out of it. Callers also told me that I sounded a little “staticky” while on speakerphone, but I was still audible and I was never asked to speak up or repeat something I said.

Talk and Surf

Uh oh. AT&T has really focused on the remarkable capability its phones possess that allows them to make voice calls and move data simultaneously. Verizon Wireless phones have historically not had this ability. I would argue that “talk and surf” capability is hardly as important as a vocal minority makes it seem to be, but that’s neither here nor there. The bottom line is that AT&T’s advertising firm now has its work cut out for it.

The HTC ThunderBolt is able to send and receive data and carry voice calls simultaneously. It the first of many Verizon Wireless smartphones that will be able to carry voice calls while moving data, and it can do so over Verizon’s new 4G LTE network as well as its older 3G EVDO network. I tested this capability a great deal over the past week, and it has worked flawlessly for me. Whether connected to 3G or 4G, apps and web pages on the ThunderBolt continue to hustle along while voice calls are being made. I’m not sure if this new technology plays a role in the noticeably degraded audio quality I noted above, but the functionality is there so and many users will be elated.

Battery

The ThunderBolt’s battery is obviously a major point of discussion. How does the Verizon Wireless’ first 4G LTE smartphone do in the real world? Well, not that great to be honest — especially with a 1400 mAh battery. Over 3G, the ThunderBolt can easily power through a normal workday. On 4G, however, I couldn’t get more than around 4.5 hours of usage at best… a figure that is not at all acceptable to me.

What makes matters worse is the fact that 4G can’t be switched on and off by the user. There is no widget to disable LTE and there’s not even a menu setting you can check on and off to enable or disable 4G. While there is a method floating around to do this by entering into the phone’s field test mode, this doesn’t even come close to cutting it. While enthusiasts might be comfortable with a “hack” like this, the average consumer will never even know the option exists. Other 4G smartphones like the HTC EVO 4G and the Google Nexus S 4G have a simple widget that disables 4G, and it really helps with battery life. When users don’t have a need for speed, they should definitely have an easy way to turn LTE off and stretch out that puny battery.

Verizon has an extended 2750mAh battery that will effectively double the battery life of the ThunderBolt. To be honest, the extended battery adds so much extra thickness and weight to a phone that’s already way too thick and too heavy, there’s no way I would even consider using it regularly. Most people will likely feel the same way and a widget to disable 4G would have been a much cheaper and more user-friendly way to fix the battery life problem. I get that Verizon wants to deliver a consistant user experience that showcases its beastly new 4G network, but I don’t think a 4G widget would have detracted from that experience or confused anyone.

Conclusion

The HTC ThunderBolt is a phone from the future in many ways. It delivers the fastest internet speeds of any device I have ever tested (at least 2-3 times faster than anything else, in fact), and it runs on a very fast (and customized) version of Android to deliver great performance. In many ways, however, the ThunderBolt resembles phones from a year or two ago — in styling and in thickness and heft.

I’m not a fan of any smartphone that features a display beyond 4-inches, and the sheer thickness and weight of the ThunderBolt makes it a non-starter for a role as my daily driver. In addition, the poor battery performance makes it a tough sell. It’s awesome that I can use the ThunderBolt to email presentations, download files and and stream video at ridiculous cellular data speeds, but all that means nothing if my battery dies after just a few hours of usage. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the HTC ThunderBolt isn’t the right device for you, however.

My advice is to definitely play with one in person at a Verizon Wireless store to see if the device is your perfect Android match. If you can look past the poor battery life — or if you don’t mind reinforcing your pants pockets so that the added weight and size of the extended battery doesn’t rip right through them — then you’ll find yourself with an amazingly fast smartphone packed with all the bells and whistles you need.

Best Buy announced Tuesday that it will exclusively offer the Wi-Fi version of the HTC Flyer tablet beginning this spring. The HTC Flyer, which is also launching on Sprint as the HTC EVO View, sports a 7-inch, 1024 x 768 pixel display; has 16GB of storage; a 5 megapixel camera; a 1.5GHz processor; a 4,000mAh battery a 1.3 megapixel forward-facing camera for video chat; and Android 2.2 (Froyo). The Flyer runs HTC’s new Sense user interface, which offers a host of UI improvements and supports the HTC Scribe — the company’s innovative stylus. Best Buy did not provide pricing details or a specific launch date for the Flyer, but said that it will be available in Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores, as well as online. For a closer look, be sure to check out our Flyer hands-on from Mobile World Congress. Hit the jump for the full release.

Best Buy® and HTC Announce Exclusive Launch of the Wi-Fi HTC Flyer Tablet at CTIA Wireless 2011

Wi-Fi HTC Flyer slated to launch this spring

ORLANDO, Fla., March 22, 2011 – Best Buy and HTC today announced the exclusive launch of the highly-anticipated Wi-Fi only version of the HTC Flyer™ tablet. All Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile standalone stores, as well as BestBuy.com, will have the tablet when it launches this spring.

The HTC Flyer is a fast, portable, light-weight tablet that integrates the immersive and highly intuitive HTC Sense™experience and enables content including videos, music, games and more to be easily accessed and enjoyed. For those attending CTIA, Best Buy and HTC will have devices on-hand at Pepcom’s Mobile Focus event on Tuesday, March 22 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

“Over the past few months we’ve seen several new tablets enter the market, and we’re especially excited to partner with HTC to bring the Wi-Fi version of the HTC Flyer to our customers as a national retail launch exclusive,” said Scott Anderson, head of merchandising for Best Buy Mobile. “We have worked hard to bring a large assortment of great tablets to Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores, and the HTC Flyer is a great example of that effort.”

The HTC Flyer features a strong aluminum unibody case that is lighter than an average paperback book. Truly separating the HTC Flyer from the pack is the integration of the acclaimed HTC Sense experience and unique HTC Scribe technology. The new HTC Sense experience offers an interface rethought for the tablet format which allows users to easily scroll and locate photos, entertainment, weather, calendar and mail. An optional HTC Scribe™ digital pen unlocks HTC Scribe technology, which enables the ability to capture and annotate any on-screen content with notes and drawings. Also, with Timemark, handwritten notes taken with the digital pen are synchronized with audio, as well as the popular Evernote™ application, turning handwritten notes into true meeting minutes. Additionally, with front and rear cameras, people can also make live video calls using a variety of available video chat applications available in the Android Market.

“Best Buy offers a number of the hottest products on the market, including the all-new 4G LTE HTC ThunderBolt™and now the Wi-Fi version of the groundbreaking HTC Flyer, which brings the acclaimed HTC Sense experience to a tablet for the first time,” said Jason Mackenzie, president of HTC Americas. “Like all HTC Sense products, the HTC Flyer was inspired by our customers, and offers the most simple and natural experience available on a tablet.”

Other key features of the HTC Flyer include:

Integration/compatibility with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth® 3.0
7″ 1024×600 display with multi-touch capability and an optional digital pen that enables users to take synchronized notes and annotate content
Built-in dual microphones for noise reduction
Android™operating system
Adobe® Flash® 10.1 support
5 MP Color CMOS camera with auto focus
1.3MP front camera for video chatting
16GB eMMC memory plus microSD card slot
4,000 mAh battery
Best Buy Mobile offers an array of services aimed at improving customers’ experience, including Walk Out Working, Geek Squad Black Tie Protection, Buy Back and a full array of accessories for customers to protect and personalize their devices.

HTC announced the HTC Flyer last month during MWC in Barcelona, and now Sprint announced it will launch a version of its own in the U.S. called the EVO View 4G. We had some time to check out the tablet first-hand during the CTIA Wireless show on Tuesday, and have a few hands-on thoughts to bring you. For one, the Flyer feels sturdy and well built; more so than the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab. You can think of it as an over-sized and heavier EVO 4G, but with a little more processing power. Its screen is bright and easy to view, but it did appear to attract a lot of fingerprints. Read on for some of our initial impressions from our hands-on time with the EVO View 4G and definitely check out our photo gallery!

The EVO View 4G is powered by a single core 1.5GHz processor. While that should be enough to make any device whirl, there was a slight bit of sluggishness noticeable on the EVO View, though they device may not have been running release firmware. Sprint also told us that while the tablet currently runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), the goal is to get Android 3.0 Honeycomb on the device as soon as possible. That would hopefully add some more speed improvements, given that Honeycomb is optimized better for tablets.

Either way, we liked HTC’s Sense for tablets user interface, which added some nice graphics for the weather and polished up the entire user interface overall. HTC’s Scribe application allows you to take notes anywhere on the device — you can literally draw all over the homescreen if you want — but it didn’t work very well during our tests. We noticed that you have to press hard to get the pen to write, and text was hard to read even when we could get it to show up. This feature — as-is, at least — is probably best for drawing on photos of friends, but not really for taking notes. Thankfully, though, the stylus can also be used to highlight text in eBooks, which could be useful for students, and any highlights are automatically bookmarked in the eBook itself. While using the stylus, you can opt to record audio at the same time, but again, the writing wasn’t very accurate so it’s not a feature we’d use much in its current state.

Given that Motorola, LG, and Samsung are all introducing tablets with Android 3.0 Honeycomb, we’re not so sure we’d dive for one that currently runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). But that’s not to say the Flyer doesn’t offer a bunch of unique features of its own. We still look forward to bringing you a review when it launches in the near future, and hopefully some of the kinks are ironed out before then.

On Tuesday at the CTIA Wireless tradeshow in Orlando, Florida, Sprint announced that it will carry a 4G WiMAX version of the HTC Flyer tablet, dubbed the EVO View 4G. The EVO View 4G has a 7-inch 1024 x 600-pixel capacitive touchscreen display, an aluminum uni-body design and a 4,000 mAh battery. It comes with a few unique software features developed by HTC, including HTC Scribe — a note taking application that can be used with an optional pen — and HTC’s Sense user interface on top of Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Other features include a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video calling, an HDMI-out port and DLNA support for wireless sharing of multimedia content to other DLNA-certified devices. Sprint has not yet provided launch details or pricing for the EVO View 4G. Hit the jump for the full press release and stay tuned for our hands-on.

Sprint Introduces America’s first 4G “glasses-free” device with QHD 3D Display, HTC EVO 3D, Coming this Summer

Sprint also brings the popular and powerful HTC EVO experience to a 4G tablet,
HTC EVO View 4G, this summer, with new digital pen technology
that makes it possible to make notes on Web pages, ebooks, PDF documents and more, in an easy and natural way

ORLANDO (CTIA) – March 22, 2011 – As the first national wireless carrier to launch the groundbreaking data speeds of 4G, Sprint (NYSE: S) today announced the upcoming availability of its 21^st and 22^nd 4G-capable devices – HTC EVO™ 3D and HTC EVO View 4G™ on America’s Favorite 4G Network.¹ HTC EVO 3D takes the mobile multimedia experience to a new level, providing the ability to capture and view in 3D and share at 4G speeds, offering consumers the ultimate glasses-free 3D experience. Sprint also announced HTC EVO View 4G, introducing a tablet to the award-winning EVO family.

Both devices will be available for Sprint customers this summer. Pricing will be shared closer to launch. Pre-registration for both devices begins today at www.sprint.com/evo3d and www.sprint.com/evoview.

Built with the Gingerbread (2.3) version of Android™, HTC EVO 3D features America’s first QHD 3D 4.3-inch display and a powerful 1.2 GHz Qualcomm^® Snapdragon^® dual-core processor. HTC EVO 3D also features dual 5 megapixel cameras, which can be used to capture both high-quality conventional and stunning 3D images and videos, opening up new frontiers for user-generated content, social networking and streaming video.

“Sprint is taking wireless innovation to the next level once again as we bring our customers the ability to experience 3D on their phone without glasses,” said Steve Elfman, president – Network Operations, Product and Wholesale, Sprint. “HTC EVO 3D makes it easy to take pictures or movies in 3D when you are on vacation, and then feel like you are there again when you view it months later. This device takes full advantage of Sprint’s powerful 4G network and offers the innovation one would expect as the next benchmark device in the prestigious EVO product line.”

As 3D has become more sought-after in both movie theaters and family rooms, the ability to enjoy 3D on a wireless phone – 3D glasses-free – will change the way customers interact with their devices. According to The NPD Group’s 3D 360° Monitor (September 2010), consumers show a high degree of interest in working with personal media in 3D (with one-third saying they would like to take photos in 3D). For details, visit http://www.3dmarkettrends.com.

The countless ways customers benefit from HTC EVO 3D’s dynamic ability to capture and playback video in 3D include:

• Real estate agents can create and share 3D virtual tours of homes that let out-of-town buyers “walk through” the house and truly experience the listings before they can see them live;
• Dad can feel like he is in the bleachers watching the ball leave the park for a homerun even if he’s forced skip a Little League game because he is stuck at the office;
• 3D mapping of terrain will help build new and exciting features for navigation, and hikers will be able to get aerial views of the topography of rivers and mountains while in the backcountry; and
• Families can “relive” the excitement of their vacation and feel like they are there again.

“At HTC, we believe in offering a wide portfolio of beautifully designed, powerful and highly customizable devices for our customers, and the HTC EVO portfolio at Sprint does just that,” said Jason Mackenzie, president – HTC Americas. “As HTC continues to push the limits of innovation, we are looking forward to delivering the HTC EVO 3D and our first 4G tablet, the HTC EVO View 4G, to Sprint customers this summer.”

According to ABI Research (Dec. 20, 2010) mobile 3D devices will be driven by three key applications: creation of user-generated 3D content by integrated video and still cameras, playback of 3D content and 3D gaming. It also anticipates that mobile devices may turn out to be the most successful form factor towards bringing 3D technology into mainstream markets.

With integrated 3D HD (720p) video capture, 4G speeds, and the latest version of the acclaimed HTC Sense experience, HTC EVO 3D makes it possible to become part of the action and then easily and seamlessly post high-quality video to YouTube™ or Facebook, or share moments in real time over the Internet live, via Qik. Its integrated DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) capability makes it fast and easy to share stored music, pictures and user-generated HD video wirelessly with other DLNA-certified^® home electronics, including HDTVs, monitors, digital cameras, printers and more. Using an HDMI cable (sold separately) makes it possible to also share user-created 3D video content via a 3D TV.

Additional key features of HTC EVO 3D include:

• 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera for video chat
• 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot capability, supporting up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices simultaneously
• Android Market™ for access to more than 150,000 useful applications, widgets and games available for download to customize the experience
• Google mobile services such as Google Search™, Gmail™, Google Maps™ with Navigation, Google Calendar, Voice Actions, and YouTube™
• Sprint’s unique implementation of Google Voice, allowing customers to keep their Sprint number and seamlessly move to Google Voice
• Corporate e-mail (Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync^®), personal (POP and IMAP) e-mail and instant messaging
• 4GB Internal memory/1GB RAM
• microSD slot (supports up to 32GB memory card)
• Wi-Fi – 802.11 b/g/n
• Stereo Bluetooth^®
• Integrated GPS
• 1730 mAh Lithium-ion battery

Blockbuster On Demand Provides Access to the Latest Movies

HTC EVO 3D will be the first 3D handset pre-loaded with the Blockbuster On Demand^® mobile application that has access to one of the largest catalogs of movies, including 3D titles. This movie store in your pocket offers video optimized for viewing on HTC EVO 3D’s 4.3-inch screen.

“Consumers want to watch the latest entertainment anywhere, anytime,” said Scott Levine, vice president of Digital, Blockbuster. “Sprint and Blockbuster are taking the movie watching experience to the next level with enabling 3D on a smartphone.”

Blockbuster On Demand offers the hottest new releases on the same day they become available on Blu-ray and DVD. Customers can buy or rent digitally and download directly to their smartphone, along with select 3D movies.

If a video isn’t available digitally, Blockbuster also gives customers access to more than 100,000 movies and TV shows, as well as games, through store inventory at any of the Blockbuster stores nationwide. Also, Blockbuster^® by Mail is another option for consumers. They can manage and update their mail queues from their phone, while on-the-go.

Blockbuster On Demand purchases can also be watched on other Blockbuster On Demand-compatible devices. Rentals range from $1.99 to $3.99 each, and purchases are $5.99 and up. Rentals will be available for viewing on one screen within 30 days of rental, with a 24-hour viewing period once the title is first played.

Bringing the EVO Experience to a Tablet

Sprint and HTC’s first 3G/4G Android tablet together, HTC EVO View 4G, will bring the best of the HTC EVO experience into a tablet design with a 7-inch 1024 x 600 touchscreen display with pinch-to-zoom, a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm^® Snapdragon^® processor and the latest version of HTC Sense. As the perfect combination e-reader, media player and portable computing device, HTC EVO View 4G offers a premium entertainment experience with HD-quality video and a rich Web-browsing experience with the ability to browse the Web on Flash-enabled sites.

With dual cameras – a main 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with HD-capable video camcorder and a forward-facing 1.3 megapixel camera – HTC EVO View 4G unleashes the ability to create, stream over the lightning-fast 4G network, share via YouTube™ or Facebook^® and watch video with the Qik mobile app.

Although the sleek, aluminum-encased tablet weighs less than a paperback book, it is a powerful productivity tool for business customers and consumers. With lightning-fast 4G connectivity and a large touchscreen display, HTC EVO View 4G makes it even easier to manage e-mail, and its front-facing camera makes the Qik video chat application an easy and appealing way to conduct business while on-the-go.

Additional key features of HTC EVO View 4G include:

• 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot capability, supporting up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices simultaneously
• Google mobile services such as Google Search, Gmail, Google Maps with Navigation, Voice Actions, and YouTube
• Corporate e-mail (Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync), personal (POP and IMAP) e-mail and instant messaging
• Android Market™ for access to more than 150,000 useful applications, widgets and games available for download to customize the experience
• Blockbuster On Demand^® to rent or purchase the hottest new releases on the same day they become available on Blu-ray and DVD
• 32GB internal memory, 1GB RAM
• microSD slot (supports up to 32GB memory card)
• Wi-Fi b/g/n
• Bluetooth 3.0
• Integrated GPS
• 4000 mAh Lithium-ion battery

With HTC Scribe Technology™, HTC EVO View 4G will offer a new way to interact with a tablet.  HTC Scribe Technology introduces a unique digital pen to the tablet experience and unlocks new capabilities. When combined with Evernote™, a leading notes application and service, the user will have the ability to capture and make notes on Web pages, ebooks, PDF documents and more, in an easy and natural way. Additionally, HTC Scribe enables enhanced voice-synchronized note taking using a feature called Timemark, making it possible to capture the audio of a meeting at the same time as written notes.

Also improving on the tablet experience, HTC EVO View 4G allows users to draw, take notes and highlight text on documents on the tablet with the HTC Scribe™ digital pen. Sold separately and available this summer, the enhanced functionality of the HTC Scribe brings creativity to life. For example, the user can draw a sketch or add notations and highlight paragraphs, while reading an eBook, review and comment on PDF documents and add casual comment on photos.

A Sprint developer guide for HTC EVO 3D and HTC EVO View 4G will be available on the http://developer.sprint.com website at launch. The developer guide will provide details and information on how to take advantage of their unique hardware and software capabilities, including 3D, HDMI output, DLNA and HTC Scribe Technology on the Sprint Network.

As the first national wireless carrier to test, launch and market 4G technology, Sprint made history by launching 4G in Baltimore in September 2008. Sprint currently offers 4G service in 71 markets in 28 states. For more information, visit www.sprint.com/4G.

Citing industry sources, Taiwan Economic News reports that HTC has high hopes for its debut tablet, the HTC Flyer. Announced at Mobile World Congress last month, the HTC Flyer is an Android 2.4-powered slate with a 7-inch touchscreen display, a 1.5GHz processor, 32GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, a 5-megapixel camera rear camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video calling. Despite a tremendous amount of competition expected this year, HTC has reportedly placed an initial order with manufacturers for over 1 million units of its Flyer tablet. This seems like a massive first order for HTC, which is also expected to launch two more Android tablets in the first half or 2011 according to the report. Taiwan Economic News states that the 3G-enabled Flyer will retail for approximately $600 off contract, which would make it over $100 less expensive than the 32GB iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G model from Apple.

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Following our report from Thursday morning suggesting Verizon Wireless is preparing to launch the HTC ThunderBolt next week, an earlier tweet from a California Best Buy store may confirm the device’s launch timing. A Roseville California store tweeted on Wednesday that the “HTC Thunderbolt launch has been delayed :( It looks like it may launch on Thursday, March 4th. Stay tuned for more info.” In line with our earlier report, there is still confusion as to the exact date of the supposed launch, since the tweet mentions March 4th but it incorrectly calls it a Thursday. As such, it looks like the highly anticipated Android phone could launch on Thursday March 3rd, or Friday March 4th. The Roseville Best Buy location has since deleted the aforementioned post from its Twitter account.

[Via Android Police]

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In a forthcoming Best Buy mobile buying guide for the month of March, the popular nationwide retailer has revealed the price of Verizon Wireless’ upcoming HTC ThunderBolt smartphone to be a lofty $299.99. Interestingly, Best Buy has also revealed the ThunderBolt’s price to be a slightly less lofty $249.99 in a separate flyer dated Sunday, February 20th. The latter price point jibes with earlier reports suggesting that the upcoming smartphone would launch later this week for $249.99. Verizon Wireless has not yet confirmed either price point, but unless there was a complete breakdown within Best Buy’s marketing team, we can likely expect at least one of the aforementioned price tags to be accurate. The HTC ThunderBolt features a 4.3-inch touchscreen, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, an 8-megapixel camera and 4G LTE connectivity. Hit the break for shots of both Best Buy flyers.

Thanks, Don

Following our report from earlier this morning suggesting the Motorola ATRIX 4G would become available on February 22nd, AT&T has reached out to clarify launch details surrounding the anticipated device. Motorola’s ATRIX 4G will indeed launch on February 22nd in AT&T stores across the country for $199.99. Pre-sales of the Motorola ATRIX 4G began earlier this week on February 13th, and customers who pre-ordered the phone for home delivery will see their orders ship on February 21st. Customers who pre-ordered their phones and opted to have them shipped to a local AT&T store will be able to pick them up on February 21st, one day ahead of general availability. The Motorola ATRIX 4G, which BGR reviewed earlier this month, features a dual-core 1GHz Tegra 2 processor, a 4-inch qHD touchscreen display, 1GB of RAM and version 2.2 of Google’s Android operating system.

AT&T is hitting the market aggressively with Android this year — for obvious reasons — and with deals like this one from AmazonWireless, AT&T subscribers are going to have an easy time moving over to the Android platform. Amazon is now offering the recently released HTC Inspire 4G at the incredibly reasonable price of $69.99 for current AT&T subscribers and $59.99 for new customers. The online retail giant is also offering free two-day shipping. No expiration is listed for for the deal, though it is possible that this is a limited time offer. The HTC Inspire 4G is an Android 2.2 phone that features a 4.3-inch touchscreen display, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 768MB of RAM and an 8-megapixel camera.

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