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HTC Rezound available now on Verizon for $299 on contract
Maybe you were one of the lucky few who skirted the system to get an early bird delivery of HTC's latest 4.3-inch handset. But if not, there's no day like today to seize upon Verizon's retail and online stores to sign yourself up for the Dre-approved Rezound. Big Red's offering this Sense 3.5-laden beastie and its red-and-black motif for $299 on contract right now. It's a 4G LTE affair, so prepare to chuck that 3G-only connection and snuggle up to a new data plan. Ready to claim those custom earbuds as your own? Then hit up the source below where the augmented mobile audio awaits.
HTC Rezound starts shipping early because you can't stop the Beats
When HTC took the wraps off the Rezound, it tipped us off to a November 14th launch for Verizon's Beats Audio-branded device. Now, it appears that those of you who jumped on the pre-order bandwagon are getting premature access to the red-and-black-tinged goods, with some units arriving as early as today. How'd this come about? Well, it seems a few eager beavers lucked out during the purchasing process, selecting overnight delivery and receiving the phones tout de suite. We can't promise you Big Red's still honoring this ordering quirk, but don't let that stop you from trying your luck. We have a feeling Dr. Dre would approve.
HTC Rezound hands-on (video)
As expected, the HTC made the Rezound official at today's event in New York. Also, as expected, this is one multimedia-centric phone we're looking at here, starting with its big and bright 4.3-inch 720p Super LCD display. Despite its decently large screen size, the phone is surprisingly light and feels nice in the hand. Unlike Motorola and Samsung, however, the company wasn't all that focused on thinness with the Rezound, and the thing rocks a slightly convex back -- not unlike the HTC Vivid on AT&T, which has a prominent hump on the back cover. However you slice it, though, it's a great looking phone. The company clearly put some though into the appearance of the device, with its textured back featuring red accents -- a clear reference to the company's partnership with Beats. If you read our review of the Sensation XE, you know HTC's design philosophy didn't change much in its journey across the Atlantic. HTC Rezound ad pays Verizon stores an early visit, soonish launch likely HTC confirms security hole, says patch is incoming HTC Vivid review Unfortunately, the company wasn't showing off those custom Beats earbuds for our demo, and we had to settle for an over-ear pair -- naturally, we rocked a little Dre on the thing. As you'd expect, the sound is extremely bass-heavy. You can thank Beats for that, no doubt. Interestingly, HTC apparently didn't devote all that much time to the volume buttons on the side of the device, which aren't quite as responsive as we'd like. The music continues to play, even as you launch other apps, which can be bit a distracting when you're trying to stream a video using the phone's LTE radio. For the record, that video loaded quite quickly. The latest version of Sense (3.5) -- last seen on the HTC Rhyme -- runs smoothly here, thanks to the 1.5GHz dual-core processor inside. Flipping through home screens is breezy, as is launching the camera app the company talked up during today's event. The Rezound is coming at you on Verizon November 14th for $299. Until then, have a gander at our gallery of preview shots and rock out to a hands-on video after the break. %Gallery-138373%
HTC Rezound for Verizon unveiled: Beats Audio, 4.3-inch 720p display, available November 14th for $299
HTC's Rezound first leaked its way into our gadget-lusting hearts in late summer. Then bearing the virile Vigor codename, we suspected a heartily specced, Beats Audio-branded destiny for the device. And today's official unveiling doesn't disappoint, setting this 4.3-inch handset on a 4G course for Verizon's LTE airwaves. Thanks to the company's financial handshake with Dr. Dre, the Rezound's inbuilt Beats Audio integration gets its first stateside debut. Of course, that's not all that lies beneath the red and black tinged surface. Living up to the machissimo of its in-development moniker, the Rezound boasts a 4.3-inch 720p Super LCD display and packs a dual-core 1.5GHz processor underneath, with 1GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage / 16GB on microSD card, 1,620mAh battery, WiFi and Bluetooth 3.0 in tow. And for you Android fanatics, HTC's shipping the handset Ice Cream Sandwich-ready, but it'll come out of the box with Sense 3.5 skinned atop Gingerbread 2.3.4. As for the phone's front-facing / 8 megapixel camera with f/2.2 sensor (capable of 1080p video capture), well the company's tossed in the same suite of scene modes we saw ship on the Amaze 4G: panorama, action burst, instant capture, and new addition, slow-mo. Naturally, this Beats phone package wouldn't be complete without a pair of those customized headphones, which'll be included in-box. With the recent Big Red outing of the Apple iPhone 4S, Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Motorola Droid RAZR, connoiseurs of high-end mobile kit have a lot to consider this Q4. Add this Beats Audio contender to that plethora of options, and you'll be scratching your head come contract-signing time. The Rezound'll be Verizon-bound on November 14th, so if enhanced audio is at the top of your 'must have' list, expect to snag it for $299 on contract. Until then, enjoy the official PR after the break.
HTC Rezound shows off its Vigor with leaked press shots, Beats Audio demo, HD video samples (update)
HTC's set to unveil its newest mobile creation in a just a few hours, and you can bet that it's likely the 4G LTE-enabled Rezound seen above. In the past few weeks, we've seen a purported pre-release unit and even some colorful renders, but today Pocketnow has snagged what appears to be the first official press shots of this rumored 1.5GHz device. The leaks don't stop there, though, as videos of the Rezounds's Beats Audio capabilities and HD video-chops have recently popped up on YouTube -- this courtesy of user worldofjohnboy, who's had his hands an early-run unit for some time now. Questions still remain regarding any official specs and that supposed November 10th release date on Verizon, but we'll surely find out in just a few hours. In the meantime, you'll find the trio of aforesaid videos just past the break, and more info at the links below. Update: And just like that, the videos have been removed from the interwebs. [Thanks, Florian]
Mobile Miscellany: week of October 17, 2011
This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of October 17, 2011: The HTC Rezound (codenamed the Vigor) started showing up in Cellebrite systems, just another indicator of its impending arrival -- and likely name. [Droid-Life] AT&T's current lineup of Windows Phones, such as the Samsung Focus, LG Quantum and HTC Surround, are now showing up as EOL -- End-of-life -- likely in preparation for the trio of incoming devices we saw earlier this week. [WMPowerUser] Cricket added another ZTE feature phone to its lineup this week, called the Memo (shown above). It's got a full QWERTY keyboard and is available for $100. [Cnet] Google Maps for Android was the beneficiary of yet another update. This time, version 5.11 makes one critical feature change: it offers different-sized maps for phones with different screen resolutions. Thus, if you have a 3.5-inch HVGA screen, you're not forced to download a map designed for a 4.3-inch qHD display, saving space on your phone in the process. [MobileBurn] Vodafone 360, launched in 2009 as a LiMo-based cloud synchronization and backup service, will be officially closed by the end of the year. The carrier stopped developing handsets that took advantage of the plan last year, so it really was a matter of time before this happened. [Wall Street Journal] Toshiba Mobile Display announced this week that it's working on a new type of mobile display optimized for wide-angle viewing. Dubbed the "Soludina," it'll be shown off at next week's FPD International in Japan. [Nikkei] Sprint announced a new plan called Wireless CapTel that's designed for those who are hard of hearing. The service, which can be used on Android devices, allows the caller to view conversations in real time as word-for-word captions on their phone's screen. [BusinessWire] Telus will officially launch the 4G Samsung Galaxy S II X on October 28th, according to its website. [Unwired View]
Galaxy Nexus, HTC Rezound (still) bound for Verizon on November 10th, Droid RAZR bumped to October?
Three's the magic number, and the third time is the charm so, this triple confirmation of release date gossip's got us thinking an Android avalanche is on its Big Red way. We've seen November 10th bandied about as the day Google's Ice Cream Sandwich flagship Galaxy Nexus and HTC's awkwardly monikered Rezound would hit Verizon's shelves. Now, this latest leak over on Android Central appears to set that date in stone and give us potential $299 on contract pricing for both handsets. Alas, eager beavers hoping to get their hands on Motorola's just unveiled Droid RAZR are in luck, as this chart outs an earlier October 27th date for the device. These launch windows could easily slip and slide further into the end of year, so take all this talk with the usual dose of skep. At least we now have the consolation prize of knowing a vanilla Android experience is officially headed back to VZW's chunk of radio waves.
HTC Rezound render resoundingly revealed
Hark! The first renders of the HTC Rezound have appeared online, thanks to some of the device's cases going up for pre-order. You can see that, like the Sensation XE, the phone has red-glowing soft keys -- a bit of a departure from HTC's traditionally conservative design language. If you recall, the phone formerly called Vigor is said to have a 4.3-inch screen, a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 1GB RAM, Beats Audio and an 8MP rear camera. Now that you know what the Verizon 4G cellular telephone will look like, you'll be able to pick one out of a lineup when it's available, which should be on November 10th for $300 on contract.
Verizon looking at November 10th launch for Galaxy Nexus, Droid RAZR and HTC Rezound?
Could it be that a trio of LTE-powered Superfriends are ready for a throwdown on the same exact day at your local Verizon outlet? According to a leaked internal doc courtesy of Droid-Life, signs point to November 10th as a probable launch date for what could be this year's top three holiday gadget gifts: the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Motorola Droid RAZR and HTC Rezound (formerly known as the Vigor). We're a tad confused, however, because Motorola's hero device is referred to as the Droid HD -- which, as we've recently discovered, is certainly not the phone's real name. Also interesting to note is the introduction of a "SMS Sync for Tablets" feature on November 13th, which may refer to some type of cloud backup service or a bridge between your tablet and phone. Either way, color us intrigued. Let's cross our fingers that we'll have a few more details to lean on tonight.
Verizon pricing, release windows for Galaxy Nexus, HTC Rezound revealed
One of our tipsters has forwarded this info from Verizon, with pricing and advertising dates for the supposedly Ice Cream Sandwich-ready Galaxy Nexus and the HTC Rezound (aka HTC Vigor). According to the leak we can expect both to sport on-contract minimum advertised pricing (MAP) of $299 when they launch. While their MAP period is pegged to start November 10th, as Droid-Life points out, they may not be released immediately. Still, it means you may have a couple more weeks to save up for one of these superphones and now that you have a target you can make sure your swear jar, piggy bank, or emergency slush fund is up to the task.[Thanks, Anonymous]
Mobile Miscellany: week of September 26, 2011
This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of September 26, 2011: Last week we heard the rumor that Sprint would be launching the BlackBerry Curve 9350 on October 2nd, and we've finally received the official confirmation. The device will be hitting stores tomorrow for $80 with a two-year contract. [PhoneArena] The Motorola Photon WiMAX, referred to as the Photon 4G in the US, is now making its way to Japan as KDDI announced the launch of the device this past Monday. [Motorola] Verizon Wireless launched the Pantech Jest 2 this week, which is a feature phone with a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard. [Verizon Wireless] The Samsung Galaxy Y is now listed as "coming soon" on O2's website, which makes it the second carrier to announce upcoming availability in the UK. The actual date of release, however, is still unofficial. [O2] Softbank (Japan) looks ready to land the ZTE Lord V882, which appears to be an Android device running on Gingerbread, and comes packed with a 1GHz CPU, 512MB of RAM, 3.8-inch LCD at WVGA resolution and a 5MP camera. [LandofDroid] NTT DoCoMo and Orange have teamed up to offer the Sharp AQUOS SH80F, which features dual 8MP stereoscopic cameras and claims to be the world's first Android device capable of converting 2D content into 3D in real time. It'll first be launched in France on October 6th and will follow to other European and Asian countries shortly after. [Softpedia] Maybe Microsoft Canada just assumed nobody actually reads terms and conditions, because the company outed the names of a few upcoming Windows Phones in the T&C for a developer contest: the Nokia Sabre and a duo of Samsungs named the Yukon and Wembley. The Nokia Searay was also named in the list, indicating the Sabre is a second device running on Mango. [Nokia HDBlog (translated)] In preparation for its Windows Phone debut, Nokia is also rumored to be featuring a new voice navigation system with 3D maps, according to some leaked marketing materials. [WinRumors] Here's a rendering of the HTC EVO Design 4G, also known as the Kingdom or Hero S. [Pocketnow] Samsung may have a midrange device coming soon to AT&T's lineup as a complement to the Galaxy S II. We've already seen the I857 pass through the FCC and show up in a leaked roadmap, and now it appears to have been dubbed the Doubletime, according to uncovered Cellebrite records. [Pocketnow] Also appearing in Cellebrite records are the HTC Vigor (PH98100), Motorola Droid HD (XT912), and the Samsung Nexus Prime (SCH-i515). [Droid-Life]
Another alleged HTC Vigor leak: HD display, 1.5GHz dual-core, Beats Audio (update: more pics)
We know the high-end HTC Vigor exists, but we're still in the dark about its precise specs -- not least because a previous 'leak' turned out to be double Dutch. Now an Italian dude by the name of Fabio Mele reckons he's gotten hold of Verizon's ROM for the Vigor and extracted a ton of information, including tutorial videos (which yielded the render above) and key hardware credentials. And they're some credentials: a 4.3-inch screen with 720 lines of LG-rivalling HD craziness, a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 1GB RAM and an 8MP rear camera. The reported ROM also contains HTC's much-hyped Beats Audio software, which we've experimented with on the Un-American Sensation XE. We're taking all this with a pinch of salt if you don't mind, Signor Mele, but we want to believe you, we really do. [Thanks, Giuseppe] Update: That elusive Vigor tutorial vid has popped up online and shows the handset from all angles, including what lies beneath its battery cover (hint: it's a SIM slot for what we presume to be LTE access). Check it out after the break. Update 2: And now some real photos of the Vigor have shown up online, too. Check out a couple after the break, and get the full spread over at Android Central.
Mobile Miscellany: week of September 12, 2011
This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of September 12, 2011: Vodacom South Africa has joined the data throttling club, though this carrier is taking a slightly different spin: BlackBerry users consuming more than 100MB of data each month will find their download speeds downgraded to GPRS or EDGE. The company claims this will only affect less than five percent of its BlackBerry customers. [via N4BB] Bada fans: the Samsung Wave 578 is featured on Orange's site as "coming soon." [via The Inquirer] Motorola announced the availability of the Fire and Fire XT in India this week. [via Motorola] The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is now being sold at Vodafone UK. [via Vodafone] Parrot announced the most recent addition to its lineup of Bluetooth products, called the Minikit+, a refresh of its popular hands-free speakerphone. The new model offers simultaneous pairing and voice commands. [via Parrot] Research in Motion is hoping to put the NFC functionality in OS 7 to good use, as it announced that the BlackBerry Bold 9900 / 9330 as well as the Curve 9350 / 9360 will support HID's iCLASS digital keys, which means corporate folks will able to use their smartphone as an access card. [via PhoneScoop] While digging through the Droid Bionic's webtop app, the names of two unknown Motorola phones were discovered: the Edison and the Common. Little is known about the Common, but a recent FCC filing mentioned the Edison and is speculated to be the follow-up to the Atrix, albeit sans LTE as originally hoped. [via Droid-Life] The manager of the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, Matt Bencke, wrote a post pleading developers to submit their Mango-compatible apps as soon as possible, as the new update is coming to existing phones soon and it's obviously very important to have Windows Phone 7.5 run as smooth as possible. [via WMPowerUser] A leaked Radio Shack roadmap indicates the HTC Vigor should be available in stores by October 20th, and the QWERTY-packing Samsung Stratosphere will be up for online ordering as early as October 6th. As this is a third-party retailer, we can't say with surety that these dates reflect the carrier's official release. [via Droid-Life]
HTC Vigor hits the FCC with a dose of Verizon LTE
Verizon's LTE lineup just keeps looking better and better all the time. The oft-rumored HTC Vigor is the latest device to pass through the halls of the FCC whilst sporting Big Red's 4G frequencies, along with a handy dose of CDMA / EVDO. HTC's still keeping an uber-tight lid on all of the details of this phone, however, mandating that all of the juicy secrets remain confidential for now. The Vigor's rumored to have a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, but we're still in the dark despite the phone's fancy new badge of approval. We're just another baby step closer, folks, so feel free to peruse the numbers and graphs in the source link.
HTC Vigor poses for a couple of spy shots, reveals little
So it turned out that render of HTC's Vigor on a Dutch online store wasn't exactly kosher; but what might be are two spy shots that Droid Life obtained today, providing us with what would seem to be the first legitimate glimpse of the Verizon-bound, LTE-toting smartphone. Gracing its derriere is a texturized backplate, which sports the usual self-explanatory "WITH HTC SENSE" label along with a large lens plus dual LED flash; whereas on the other side we see a front-facing camera along with four capacitive buttons. Whether or not it'll arrive with the also rumored 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage remains to be seen, but you'll know more when we do.
HTC Vigor with 1.5GHz dual-core CPU and Beats sighted in Dutch online store (update: it's a fake)
Not much is known about the HTC Vigor, but if the above image is accurate, we have more than a wagonload to look forward to. A supposed render and spec list of the new superphone showed up on The Phone House, a Dutch online retailer, and was quietly taken off the site at a later time. According to the site, the Vigor will have a 4.3-inch HD display with 1280 x 720 resolution; it'll also offer a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, Android 2.3.4, and integrated Beats Technology -- which would make the Vigor the first labor of HTC's latest purchasing decision. There's no word on if the device will have LTE inside, though Verizon docs indicated previously that it's geared up to be the Thunderbolt's replacement sometime this fall. This time, let's get that battery life figured out, okay? Update: The marketing manager of The Phone House came out in response to the screenshot, declaring it to be a fake and explaining why the image is wrong. Feel free to check out the More Coverage link to get the full scoop. Otherwise, let's move along -- nothing to see here.
Verizon Wireless year-end roadmap leaks, Android and LTE spotted on the horizon?
Nope. There's no mention of a Nexus Prime in this glimpse of VZW future, but don't let that stop you from drooling over the purported goods. The leaked shot over on IGN lays out a back-to-school road filled with Android phones a plenty, and one lone RIM entry. September 8th is gearing up to be a busy Thursday for Big Red, with launches slated for the Droid Bionic, Motorola Xoom 4G, BlackBerry Curve 9370 (the LTE cousin of 'Apollo'?) and Samsung Stratosphere -- the operator's rumored Galaxy S II variant. The end of the month gets a 2.3 combo of Gingerbread phones as the Samsung Illusion (codenamed Viper), and HTC Bliss touch down on the 29th. Refreshes for a couple of the carrier's early LTE phones debut in October, when the Thunderbolt gets pushed aside by the virile HTC Vigor and LG gets a redo with the Revolution 2. Samsung's Galaxy Tab P8 (most likely the Galaxy Tab 8.9) gets an unconfirmed November mention, while BlackBerry's PlayBook languishes in a release date grey zone. Ready for that end-of-year upgrade? From the looks of things, there'll be no dearth of options.
