Is This HTC's First Windows Phone 7 Device?
Ian Paul, PC World
Jul 26, 2010 8:40 am
Engadget Photo: HTC's Windows Phone 7?Photos of a near-final version of an alleged HTCWindows Phone 7 device have leaked online. The photos show a handset with a 3.7-inch Super LCD screen, with a purported 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, 8-megapixel camera, and three touch-sensitive buttons at the bottom of the device. HTC is rumored to be in talks with Verizon and possibly Sprint about the unnamed device, according to Engadget.
While the specs of the supposed HTC Windows Phone 7 device are only speculation, they do line up withminimum hardware requirements Microsoft is dictating to its manufacturing partners. The company requires that all Windows Phone 7 devices include Home, Search, and Back hardware buttons; a capacitive multitouch screen; a minimum 5-megapixel camera; and 1 GHz Snapdragon or similar processor. Microsoft is also requiring Windows Phone 7 handsets to ship with Wi-Fi, GPS, accelerometer, and a minimum of 256MB RAM and 4GB of flash memory storage. Windows Phone 7 devices must also ship with Microsoft's interface, and manufacturer device overlays, such as HTC's Sense UI, are forbidden.
Microsoft's hardware requirements will help Windows Phone 7 avoid Android's overly fragmented marketwhere virtually any device maker can slap Google's smartphone OS onto any device it wants. Fragmentation can deter third-party application developers since they have to take into account multiple device form factors when designing an app. Microsoft's approach is similar to Apple's approach to iPhone hardware where certain features have remained consistent, at least so far, throughout different iterations of the iPhone including screen size and physical button layout.
Windows Phone 7: Hot or Not
Speculation and criticism surrounding Windows Phone 7 continues to grow after Microsoft released developer previews of its new handset OS in mid-July. Some critics have completely panned the device calling it a "waste of time and money," while others such as Windows blogger Paul Thurrott call Microsoft's new smartphone platform "more innovative" than anything currently offered by Apple or Google.
Opinions on Microsoft's new smartphone OS may vary, but considering the buzz around Windows Phone 7, it could be Microsoft's most anticipated product launch in 2010. But whether smartphone shoppers this holiday season will pick a Windows Phone 7 device over a strong roster of iPhones, Android devices, and the forthcomingBlackberry 6 OS is anybody's guess.
What is That New Phone Really Going to Cost?
Phenomenal phones are flooding the market. In the past few weeks the new iPhone 4, the HTC 4G EVO, Droid X and HTC HD2 debuted, all phones with fast processors and big screens.
But these new phones come at a cost - a recurring monthly charge. So before you sign a contract for two years of payments, which phone is really the bargain?
Before I get too far, let me acknowledge that the value of a phone is in the eye of the beholder. The least expensive isn't a value if it doesn't have the features you want.
That said, all of these phones are high-powered computing devices, each with features to recommend. But let's take a look at pure costs, compiled with the help of cost calculator Validas.
Pricing of the HTC EVO ($200 with a contract after rebates) which works on Sprint's high speed 4G network, has raised some hackles. The reason is the phone requires a $10 premium data plan, whether you are in a 4G city or not. And chances are that you aren't - there are 33 4G cities, and they are modest markets like my home town, Baltimore. You won't find 4G in New York or San Francisco.
The premium brings the monthly price for unlimited service to $110. That is, unless you want to add hotspot service, which lets you connect your computer to the Internet through your phone. That costs an additional $30 a month.
But that isn't the most expensive plan. You'll pay more for an iPhone 4 ($200 for the 16GB memory, $300 with the 32GB memory, with contract) unlimited plan at AT&T. The iPhone's unlimited plan will run you $115 a month. But don't forget that the AT&T unlimited plan is no longer unlimited. New customers are capped at 2GB of data a month, with a $10 per gigabyte charge when you go over the limit. By AT&T's count only 2 percent of its users exceed 2 gigabytes a month.
Still, it is not the most expensive plan. That honor goes to Verizon, whose unlimited plan for a phone like the Droid X ($200 with contract after rebate) is $120 a month. Like the HTC EVO, the Droid X has a hotspot feature that lets you use it as a router to connect a computer to the Internet. Add that service and it's an additional $20 a month. That brings it to parity with the Sprint's EVO.
So if you aren't going to use the hotspot, the EVO costs less per month than the Droid X. If you are going to use the hotspot, they are equal.
That brings us to the least expensive unlimited plan, which is T-Mobile's, at $95 a month. T-Mobile's HTC HD2 ($100 with contract after a Web-only discount), with a 4.3-inch screen, was the largest display available on a phone when it was released a few months back. It is on the Windows Mobile operating system, which I found quirky, glitchy, and confounding to use. You might splurge for the MyTouch slider ($180 with contract), an Android phone with a slide-out keyboard, a button dedicated to activating voice commands, and a set-up assistant that makes it easy to get the phone configured.
To any carrier's monthly bill you also have to add an average $9 in taxes and surcharges, a total of $216 over the life of a standard two-year contract.
In the end, the HTC HD2, the most economical choice, would cost about $2,600 while the Droid X costs about $3,290 over a two-year contract, a savings of nearly $700.
That is how the pricing shakes out with the unlimited plans, but the best way to save money is to buy the minimum number of minutes you need, so you aren't throwing away money on voice, data and text that you don't use.
According to Validas, a 450-minute plan with unlimited text and data is plenty for most single users and saves $20 to $30 per month. For families with two lines, the company said average use is about 735 minutes, so a 900-minute plans would be ample and save you $10 to $20 per month.
You can check your past bills to find your actual usage, or use an online service like Validas or BillShrinkwhich take your bills and calculate the best deal for you
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by John Paczkowski
Posted on June 17, 2010 at 7:13 AM PT
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During an 2009 earnings call, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg said it was up to Apple to bring the iPhone to the carrier’s network. “This is a decision that is exclusively in Apple’s court,” Seidenberg said. “Obviously we would be interested if they thought it would make sense for them to have us as a partner. And so we will leave it with them on that score.”
Well, it looks like Apple may have decided that such a partnership does make sense, because industry sources are telling the occasionally reliable DigiTimes that Pegatron Technology is manufacturing a CDMA version of the iPhone 4 suitable for the Verizon network (CDMA is short for code division multiple access).
Another Verizon iPhone rumor, I know. But in this case, it’s lent credence by a March Wall Street Journal report that claimed essentially the same thing.
Still, that Apple (AAPL) has contracted Pegatron to build a CDMA iPhone does not necessarily mean it’s destined for Verizon (VZ). There are other carriers that use the CDMA standard: Sprint (S), China Telecom and SK Telecom (SKM), to name a few.
That said, Verizon (VZ) is certainly an attractive candidate, as the carrier would immediately give Apple access to about 80 million new customers. And the concessions Apple has recently squeezed out of AT&T (T)–a “breakthrough” wireless deal for the iPad and a six-month extension on eligibility for iPhone 4 upgrade pricing–do suggest that the carrier is doing all that it can to prolong its iPhone-exclusivity agreement and lock as many customers into new contracts as it can before it ends.
Anyway, at this point I’d be happy to see the iPhone added to Verizon’s lineup if only to put an end to these seemingly endless rumors.
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