HTC leaking bad intel, playing dangerous game of counter-espionage?
By Tim Stevens 
posted January 23rd 2010 8:14AM
posted January 23rd 2010 8:14AM
posted January 23rd 2010 8:14AM
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As long as none of the specs leaked get worse then the disinformation can do no harm.
Leak: "HTC are due to release some awesome devices" HTC: "Here it is and it's better than you've already heard!" - Blogosphere cheers (but still manages a dig at lack of multitouch in the US).
Leak: "HTC are due to release some awesome devices" HTC: "Here it is but those leaks were wrong and they're all powered by the Qualcomm MSM7200a CPU!" - Blogosphere complains like fuck then takes a dig at lack of multitouch in the US.
@ChazClout So no daily "HTC Rumor Roundup" from Engadget?
@ChazClout
I was also confused as to why leaking fake gadgets might be 'dangerous' or 'harmful', but in terms of the stock market, can't they be accused of having a hand in changing their stock value? You hear a tablet is coming out, you might wanna buy some stock (well, someone might).
@ChazClout Do my eyes deceive me? Has an Apple-avatar'd commenter won highest rank? For an insightful comment no less? Well, dang.
Eh. If they're smart it could just be vaporware, and this could be a good thing for everyone. Maybe HTC has a few projects on the burner, but they're prototypes. Right now there are a few device categories that are generating attention: e-readers, tablets, netbooks, and android phones. Seems like it might be a good marketing strategy to just toss out some rumors, see what sticks, and develop that.
The alternative seems more lose-lose. Either people are disinterested beforehand and dismissive of the final product, or eager about the misdirection and disappointed with the real thing.
Controled = some sort of LED light that controls your mind?
Maybe there's hope yet that those leaked 2.1 Sense UI shots are not real...
@Ike Turner Signed. That guy is really full of shit considering the crap he was spreading around
@hq He also twittered WinMo7 would not support 6.5 apps, which two days later was proven to be wrong. Guess he's become an attention whore lately
Tell me more about this 'tablet'
@camroncake
Its a mis-translation from another language..
It's not an "Android Tablet" it's an "Android Suppository".
And now you know why the robots head is so round.
s0 i h3rD u lyk tabl3tz? :O
@MegaJapan
i L0v3 7ha7 9iRL iN y0uR |0iC7uR3. Wh0 i5 5h3?
@onlymyrailgun
7hErE 12 n0 H0pE Ph0R 7eH Phu7Ure. S00N eVery0Ne w1lL 8E Ph0rCED 70 7yPE l1KE 7h12... sAd SaD SaD
@onlymyrailgun
7ha7's M0k4 fr0m R0s4ri0 t0 V4mp1re
Thanks, I got a headache trying to read these comments.
@One Love
I feel sad about being able to read those comments. :(
@jeezus
Me too.
That's why I downranked them all. I feel much better now.
"What's the truth? Can we handle the truth?"
LOL @ engadget
dunno about that, but u handlerumors VERYYYYYYYYYYYYY well
Seems a little unfair to hold counterintelligence activities against companies when blogs and other interested parties routinely seem to engage in all kinds of snooping and digging about to try to find info.
This is getting so ridiculous lately. There was an article about Apple doing something similar just a few weeks ago.
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/how_apple_does_controlled_leaks/
I guess the problem is the modern journalist who doesn't understand that main part of their job is checking sources and looking at data from impartial viewpoint.
I actually laughed a lil too hard at the picture and had tea come out my nose!
Geez, the Smoking Man was one creepy person...
His death was rather anticlimactic but deserving, I think
Perhaps if you a-hole "supposed" journalists would stop whipping people into frenzies over "supposed" upcoming products that you heard about from "trusty" ninjas there'd be no need for companies to leak bad intelligence.
too bad most people here are to young to now how the smoking man is...
And leaking bad intel is something that they should do more often, i miss the "wow" factor from the old days, nowadays you know almost 2 months in advance all the specs of something, yes, its handy, but the surprise and the wanting is diminished, at least for me.
I just wish they would leak the time they are going to update the Hero to Android 2+ other than just saying "Yes, we are working on an Eclair update for the HTC Hero. Because Eclair is a significantly enhanced release, it will require some time to update Sense for this new version of the Android OS. Please be patient while we work to provide you with a tightly integrated experience like the one you are already enjoying on your Hero."
@jtnemitz Or you could go on XDA and get sense 2.1 right now...
Yeah I remember how htc denied even the EXISTENCE of the Nexus One until maybe a day before they made the announcement lol.
p.s. I LOVE my Nexus One!
You gotta love the picture! The truth is out there!
Why is this even news? Companies have been doing this for years, particularly since the rapid growth of the Internet in the past decade or so.
It was never "smoking man" it was "Cancer Man"!
They started calling him smoking man right just when the x-files was becoming stupid.
It was a sign the show was nearing it's end.
Damn, I love the X-Files. Thanks for reminding me. :D
An Android tablet from HTC ?
I don't care about the counterinfo/counterintel BS , just bring it on!
It definitely sounds like something I would buy.
++ for the smoke man reference
I wouldn't be surprised at all if lots of companies did controlled leaks/started false rumors. It generates anticipation and excitement for the products. False rumors would also show how people might like a product they've had an idea for, since everybody provides input on such things.
They're Russians, of course there's gotta be some kind of conspiracy theory...
(joking, people... joking...)
I wish the entire leaked 2010 lineup was bad intel. Other than the Bravo, it was super weak. Oh and whatever happened to the HTC Star and HTC Superstar (with Tegra)? and the Thoth? and the Whitestone? And all the good phones leaked for a 2009 release?
@TareG
The Whitestone was released as the Imagio...it's been out for a few months.
I think the Star and Superstar got their codenames changed sometime before release, though I forgot what they ended up being called (and it wouldn't be the first time HTC's done this...the Leo was originally the Firestone, and they shuffled the Wizard, Prophet, and Athena codenames between multiple devices before they made up their minds).
At least misinformation keeps things interesting; the simply truth is not nearly as much fun as complex lies~
I'm all for gadget rumours but Eldar is a criminal. His ass would be in jail if he lived in the west.
I would rather the rumors continue to hold them to higher standards, thats what we need
Better processors, and cameras, and devices, They are slowly moving in the right direction, maybe the pressure will help continue that
Stop giving this a-hole credibility!
I miss the X Files. Great series.
yawn.. wake me when there's something worth reading
Love the pic! I just bought the poster and I am looking at it right now. I can tell you that the government have a hand in this and it smells of a conspiracy.
The truth is out there.
Why the outrage? I say that it's because foreign corporations have finally learned how to game the system, encroaching on the exclusive turf of US corporations and/or endangering their short-term profits.